Smithobx

Steve, I have to respectfully disagree with your comment on the QED. I now have about two years experience with the QED on the Outer Banks beaches, woods and field relic hunting, and gold hunting mostly in the mountains of Virginia. My personal experience has been very positive, with no failures of any kind with either of the two QEDs I now have. The performance has been nothing short of excellent and has, in some respects, surpassed that of my friends with Minelab detectors. The warranty is much better than Minelab and the cost is around $1500.00 US dollars, including shipping, (depending on the exchange rate). The availability of a variety of coils is another positive. I have tried the Garrett ATX and I much prefer the QED. Easier to gb and much quieter around power lines. They are computer printed but are way lighter than any of the other contenders you mentioned. Now if only they were waterproof. Just my experience and completely anecdotal.

I used my 800 about 80% of the time and my QED PL3 the other 20%. Had this not been such a strange year with all the travel restrictions and health concerns, I would likely have used the QED a bit more. At any rate, I am convinced these two detectors will do everything I need in the field. I sold three of the 5 other detectors I owned and plan to keep only my EX ll in addition to the 800 and QED.

Larry, Check your mail, PM sent.

One of the most informative threads I’ve seen. Thanks to Steve.

Nice button!

That’s a bit of a hostile response to a fairly benign post. Chase, what happened to open discussion. Sorry if I touched a nerve. I guess no one should question your conclusions. I did not imply you or Steve had any agenda. Where did that come from? As much as I respect your knowledge you are not infallible. I’ve offered my OPINION and foot noted evidence. Done with this “discussion “.

I do not think anyone, other than Minelab, could make that statement as a definitive fact. I say that because on page 100 of the Explorer ll manual titled “Technical Specifications” it states: “Full Band Spectrum. Simultaneous 28 frequency transmission ranging from 1.5 kHz - 100 kHz.” Unless Minelab is flat out lying (which I doubt) they have had the technology to transmit on up to 28 frequencies SIMULTANEOUSLY for at least 15 years. I don’t think transmitting on 5 or 6 frequencies simultaneously would be a problem, especially considering Minelab has had an additional 15 years to refine the technology. I think the much maligned cloud illustration means exactly what it implies. This is just my opinion based on the above as I certainly would not wish to confuse opinion with fact.

I have that same scoop. Does a good job and makes a great all around scoop.

QED pulse timing.

Chase, I simply posed a question to get the opinion of others. I drew no conclusion only posed a question. You have my most humble apologies for making a post that you find tiresome and of no consequence. I should have known better.

Exactly, it says “unchanged in their performance” not unchanged in structure or composition. 🤔🤔

So, is everyone in agreement that 4 kHz is a stand alone frequency and not blended in multi in some way in some applications(or not)?🤔🤔

I have not used the radius but use the Root Slayer Nomad pretty much exclusively where shovels are appropriate. The length is perfect for a walking stick where necessary and I don’t have to bend over to dig. It cuts a neat plug and the shovel is tough as nails. I think the shovel head is a little smaller than the radius. Great piece of gear.

There is good low priced PI around, it’s called the QED, but not waterproof.

Glad to see the QED included in your list of possibilities. I have been using mine since last October and am very pleased with the performance. It is quite a bargain price wise and with a 5 year warranty and free upgrades for 5 years I don't think there is better warranty and customer support offered by any other manufacturer. I have decided to order another one in the straight shaft configuration (I have the S shaft) in August after the new upgrades are available..

Very true, the most versatile detector I have owned in the last 30+ years.

You are correct, it does not have iron rejection and I agree it is a useful feature in some relic sites. Like most detectors there are “tells”with the QED and I am still learning them. Even with shipping cost it is quite a bit less than a third the cost of a SDC 2300. I have been pleased relic and beach hunting with mine in ground that gives my Equinox issues. It performs very well in Northern Va. red clay, which I think you are familiar with. At the risk of sounding like a shill for QED ,which I am not, it is just a lot of PI for the money IMO.

You might want to look into a QED made in Australia. Very lite weight and much less money than a 4500, plus a 5 year warranty.

Thanks Simon, I knew an update was coming sometime in August but was not aware exactly what it would be. Bugs is a bit cagey about his updates and seems to keep that info “close to his vest”. My main motivation to go ahead now is the exchange rates have moved in favor of the US dollar and the QED is now about $150.00 less than I paid a few months ago. Makes what I consider a very good price for a quality PI detector an even better buy.

I can’t comment on the AQ, but I do have the first QED properly tuned to our power grid sent to the USA (according to the manufacturer in OZ). I don’t know what type of detecting you do but if you are looking for a solid PI the QED is a great detector for the money. Compared to other PI’s I have been around the QED handles EMI and other interference better than any of them. It is a great relic and beach detector and is vey deep in those applications. I have only used it twice prospecting and found no gold but did find enough bird shot at various depths to convince me it is a more than capable gold detector. The QED is very easy to navigate, uses cheap batteries, is lite weight and uses almost any coil that will run on a minelab plus some that won’t run on minelabs. I like it so much I will probably order another one as a backup soon. Also has a 5 year warranty. The price is well below other PI’s I am familiar with.

Simon take care with the back problem. $650.00 AUD is about $450.00 US which is half the price of an Equinox. If the performance is there it would be worth it, but hard to make that decision without some data to indicate it will top the Coilteck elite. The elite is the best performing coil I have tried in my very limited experience with the QED. You are correct about the difficulty in evaluating individual coils due to various conditions, especially across continents. That’s what makes this interesting.

I too would like to see more comparisons of the x coil vs others on the QED. I have an 8 in. commander and a 14 in. Coiltech elite. The elite is as large as is practical on the grounds I prospect in the Virginia mountains and is a very deep coil in the mineralized red clay I relic hunt in. I think an 11 in. X coil would round out options and be about right as an all around coil here in the US. The problem is finding a source for the coil at a reasonable price with the high cost of shipping from OZ. Plus I would Like to know for sure it would top the 11 in. Coiltech elite before spending the extra money the x coil would cost.

Minelab replaced my coil but like Joe D. , it took about a month due to coil shortages. They will give you a repair number for the box but you pay the return shipping. Should not be a problem if you are still under warranty.

In park 2, 50 tones I discriminate out from -9 to 3 and 39 and 40 (to help cut down on wrap around falseing). I set the tone break at 10 and the tone pitch at 8/25. I originally used this as a specialty setting but have had such good success with it I have used these settings almost exclusively the past several weeks. The Equinox is amazingly adjustable.

That’s correct with a noticeable reduction of the quality of Cabelas products.