Aureous

Watch sales of used and new SDC2300's fall dramatically now....and possibly 6000's too. Not everyone will like the E1500 as an alternative coz the 2300 and 6000 are almost 'automatic' and easy to learn for beginners. But a significant number of buyers are now gonna look at the E1500 as a 1st option now. I think ML left the price gap open out of disinterest, rather than intention. The gap between the GM1000 and the 2300 is very wide!

Coz.....China. 'nuff said 😉

I think you're spot on, I was thinking exactly the same....

Absolutely, its lack of adaptability sucks. For sure, an unknown amount of gold is left in the dirt because of it....

Yeah, I get ya. Absolutely zero doubt that a HF VLF detector will find more tiny gold than ANY pulse induction machine ever could. I don't know of anyone who's found more individual pieces of gold with a HF VLF in the past 20 years than me....its gotta be more than 10,000 bits all told....easy. So Ive done the 'hard yards' learning and using those types of detectors... If the mineralization is low and the gold is shallow'ish, then the likes of the 24K, Gold Bug 2, Gold Kruzer (and I 'spose even the monster) will be unbeatable. Its when the ground minerals kick in that the PI's create a whole new 'ball game'. As you say, its gonna be very interesting to see what the E1500 can do. Certainly it has a similar level of sensitivity to the 6000 and the price point will make it very attractive to those who cannot afford Minelab's insane pricing. We just need a couple more weeks for info to trickle back from the field. @phrunt has started the ball rolling 🙂

The 6000 already does this....Ive gotten gold where 40+ bits to the gram is the norm. Most don't weigh either. Last year I re-tried a spot I'd detected back in the 90's and found that someone had heavily raked it.... using the 6000 with a 10x5 Goldhawk coil I got almost 200 bits there for just over 6 grams. Only 3 of them were over .1gm.

Same for me, I often have a ratio of 30:1 shotgun pellets to gold using the 6000. Plenty of un-detected deep gold around, its just that we don't have any new detectors capable of hearing it. I am soon getting a legacy Minelab PI (maybe SD2200D) and modding it for use with big coils. Beats a 7000 by a noticeable margin so should be interesting....

I'll point my fan North tomorrow, keep our damn Aussie heat away from our Kiwi Cousins for at least a day or two so Simon can get the testing done....its the least I can do 😉

YES! Try it on a flogged patch and see what it finds that the other detectors cant hear. Fingers and toes crossed....🤞

....might have been 2 or 3....Actually, thinking about it, I dont actually recall digging the signal up either...could have been 5 or 6 😉

Everyone uses just 3 types, ABS, PET and PC. PET is the worst wearing (recycled ice-cream containers 🙄) like Minelab decided to use with their 6000 coils. ABS is commonly used but skid plates are now more often made with PC (polycarb) for longer lasting use. The 'heavy duty' Nuggetfinder skid plates are thicker polycarb and last 3x the time that ABS does to my mind.

The only thing Ive ever found that got my heart racing (besides gold) was a 5-6 foot python! I got a signal with a Tesoro Diablo 2 back in the early 90's in Western Australia...was under a big flat rock, so I wedged my pick under the rock to lift it and there was a Woma Python curled up under it...it struck out at me instantly and only missed me by inches. Needed a beer after that.... 😉

Timings refer to a Pulse Induction detector's code. The long string of code that a PI metal detector needs to use is often called a 'Pulse train' whereby the fractions of a second in each pulse need to have a switch on and switch off sequence. The switch on is a transmit phase and then a switch off is a receive phase. The various gaps between these, the sampling speed and the frequency determine the ability of the entire detector. Each individual string (train) of code for each purpose that the detector is designed for, is called a 'Timing'. For instance, on the GPX5000, you have timings for 'Fine', 'Sharp', 'Normal', 'Sensitive Smooth' etc. Each of these sets of code is designed to achieve a different capability on the detector. The word 'Timing' is used because the Pulse Induction detector type is referred to as a 'Time domain' detector. Time refers to the switch on-switch off sequence (so that a single loom coil can be used for both transmit AND receive), whereby a VLF or IB metal detector is termed a 'Frequency Domain' metal detector which requires 2 looms, one for transmit and one for receive. Hope my rambling makes some sense....

Ummmm....test specks <Reg Approves> 😉

Price is utterly irrelevant, as we all know, Minelab could sell the 6000 for the same price as the E1500 and still make money. A lot less money, but there's a profit still there. A couple Aussie reports are already saying that the E1500 can hear tiny or weirdly shaped gold that the 6000 cannot. So, it seems is isn't a dream after all. In my region of say 10km radius, there are about a dozen good operators with GPX6000's. Even tiny gold is getting very hard to find and I gotta drive more distance, use more fuel and hope I can make a profit. ANY tool that gives me the edge and brings home the $$ so I can eat and prospect another day is a major win for me. If that tool happens to be 1/3 the cost of the machine I am currently using, I couldn't care less. All that reinforces is that Minelab have been over-pricing their machines to us all since day dot. To be fair, the 6000 still makes me happy. Its kept me fed and the bills paid. But, if I get a detector that allows me to spend less $$ on fuel and find more local gold, I am even happier 🙂

Same, my only gripe is their pricing. But their products have made me some serious money over the years so my gripe is somewhat muted lol. I just wanna know is the E1500 an actual worthy purchase to make some more $$ from my locally thrashed patches....

Home and test patch trials are one thing....and so far it appears that the E1500 is not a 6000 beater. But, the real test is the in-field ability of the E1500 to find the small gold that the 6000 doesn't hear. Just how much of it is 'find-able' ??? In other words, how long will it take for anyone to recoup his/her detector investment in gold value? The main driver of interest is gonna be if the E1500 can magically make old patches worthwhile again. If not, its just gonna be an option for those detectorists wanting to finally obtain a super sensitive PI without the massive Minelab price tag , or new beginners wanting a cheaper option than a used SDC2300. If scenario 1 if a reality, then I'll be buying one.

Re the 5000, my only certain info is that the 5000 PCB's are no longer in production, since 2020. So depending on how many 5000 PCB's they now have in store, will determine how many 'New' 5000's can be manufactured. Its simply not a focus product for Minelab anymore. If they continue selling a few dozen each year, great for them coz the costs are already paid for, its all profit for that model. When they run out, they run out....no biggie for Minelab.

Yeah thick grass and brush can be a huge pain....open coils can certainly slow you down there. Not much of that here thankfully. My gold-size terminology is: Over a gram = 'Nugget'. Under a gram = 'Bit'. Under .1 gram = 'Speck'. Probably unapproved by Reg, but hey....works for me 😉

Yeah the 'problems' with open center coils are well known but really, its just a personal preference issue. I don't care much about sticks etc, a fraction of a second and Ive shaken them loose & continue. I used Coiltek Platypus and UFO coils a lot , plus the NF Superlight coils. Not an issue for me. In my potential build, If I use epoxy with micro-spheres, the weight will be minimal and no need for a coil cover. I just like the 12x7 size and this one is the only shell commercially available. Ive made a few rectangle ones in the past and I'll give them a trial as well.

For the legacy GPX, there is.....its called Modding Ron. Adds up to 30% depth on bigger targets and matches the GPZ with X Coils Big Concentrics on most targets that I've seen.

Sadly, I off-loaded most of my legacy GPX coils....I got a few that I gave to my Brother that I could get back though. Am thinking if I get an E1500, I'll do some testing with friends coils and see what works best for my needs and then build a couple with identical specs. I really like this shell (pic) plus I still got a few old Bill Hayes shells in small sizes to experiment with.

Seeing how they sold out in 3-4 days, I hope the next batch is more than the 100 they started with... unless that was the Amazon-only stock....🤔 If the field reports continue to be positive, I might be on the 2nd batch list.

I got almost 9oz with the Coiltek Elite on my modded 4500. Had a coil failure though and had to buy a used replacement....but hey, the results spoke volumes. The NF 12x8 EVO is also a killer small flat-wound coil worth trying. You must be like a kid waiting to go to the lolly shop Simon 😉

Im hoping that the 100 units they just sold in 3-4 days will easily pay for that procedure....