Smithobx

On 5/3/2021 at 4:23 PM, Steve Herschbach said:

 

Australian QED

Due to various bad reports on QED build reliability, I do not recommend the machine, leaving only the Garrett ATX as a current 

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 “.

On 8/12/2020 at 10:10 PM, Chase Goldman said:

confusion with their infamous "cloud" diagram (below) that implied but never actually confirmed that the 5 original individual single frequency settings of the 800 were also the individually transmitted, simultaneous multifrequency constituents of Multi IQ.  If this were actually true, then that would probably be one of the most craptastic multifrequency detector technology implementations of all time for the reason stated previously regarding power efficiency.  Adding 4 khz would just make the situation worse, as stated above. 

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.

On 5/27/2020 at 8:39 PM, SidTheKid said:

I got my scoop today. I shouldve done more research before buying one but wanted to get out asap and this one shipped fast. I'll try it out tomorrow or friday. After watching some YouTube videos it seems the guys have scoops with much bigger mouths and more holes drilled. 

This is mine: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LX79QFT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

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

46 minutes ago, jasong said:

What are the SDC and QED pulse times?

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. 

7 minutes ago, phrunt said:

They say in the update notes that multi and other single frequencies remain unchanged.

All other single and multi-frequency settings are unchanged in their performance. 

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)?🤔🤔

14 hours ago, pinpointa said:

Hi Guys,

Has any members got or used the Radius Root Slayer coin hunting. Have noticed they have a very narrow one which tapers in which would give you a small hole.

Regards .

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. 

On 3/21/2020 at 11:14 AM, Noah (FL) said:otherwise a good functioning low priced PI would still be around.  
 

 

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F143557955352

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..

On 5/11/2020 at 12:31 AM, Steve Herschbach said:

That’s what I love about Equinox, not that it is perfect at finding everything at once, but that it can be optimized to do extremely well at so many different type detecting scenarios.

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

1 hour ago, Chase Goldman said:

Good point.  The only down side being available direct only from AU so you have to add in the shipping cost and  a lack of iron rejection from what I can tell (correct me if I'm wrong QED experts) which is a nice feature to have when hunting in nail and farm junk infested relic sites (vs. Prospecting) which is what I assume is the OP's intended use.

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.

1 hour ago, Chase Goldman said:

 

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. 

On 3/31/2020 at 8:38 PM, Whitbey said:

I also let it go, no AQ for me anymore they lost me as a client, looking into the Aussie detector QED even without service in the US, when having problems I just send the pot in for service to Down under land, only concern I have is it needs certain adjustment/tuning, for use in gold country in the US what I read.  Steve H. Can you tell me what adjustment the QED needs to used in our gold country. I would appreciate any information on this, so I can ask the Aussie maker of the QED to make these ajustments. See this as my experiment for 2020 /2021, I also wouldn't mind to lend my QED as a test machine to you or any other experienced nuggett hunter for experiment testing.

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. 

On 1/19/2020 at 3:36 PM, phrunt said:

X-coils have shipping included in their price.  The price you see on the X-coils website is the price you'll pay to have it delivered.  The GPX/QED coils are $650 AUD with worldwide shipping included, there is no variance in price between sizes.

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. 

7 hours ago, Cal_Cobra said:

I believe Bass Pro Shops and Cabelas are owned by the same company, not sure about Dicks.

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