mn90403

Where did you throw your detectors? I'll be down your way in April to pick them up.

I used to buy used and surplus computer equipment. Most of it was put back into service but a good portion of it was dead. I would separate the metals and boards and get a different price for each by the pound/truck load. The recyclers need quantity. They would break off all the fingers by hand and treat them as School said. The old main frames and the CPUs had much more gold. Many people put boards up from the 80s and 90s and got pretty big offers on eBay from people that would do recovery. I got out of the business in about 2006. I couldn't do enough volume and I didn't have a yard. When I stopped doing it I could get lots of stuff for free and the desks the computers were sitting on were worth more than the computers.

I went out last Saturday to a club claim where guys were finding big nuggets (up to 11 grams) 15 years ago. I was using my X-coil and I'm pretty sure I was the first one. It was the first time there for me and I didn't get any gold but heard lots of stories (clues from the past). The regulars have reduced themselves to digging the banks and getting nuggets with the Gold Monster.

Maybe someone can find a use for this in normal gold recovery. How to Extract Gold from E-Waste Using Old Milk - GreekReporter.com

You said it better than I did. I started late to this game and my kids won't have the 'clues' I did because they will look at a contact zone and not find gold and not get exited. Everything will seem like a one-off event. Not true everywhere but truer than in the past.

A new detector is not going to find gold that is gone. Along with the gold some of the clues are gone as well. New clues are made with dry wash piles, hand stacks and dig holes.

I've hunted that same beach twice in the last 3 days and the majority of what I found was dimes. There are a lot of zincs and a few quarter but it is not much of a jewelry beach right now. That little cut was made by the wind waves and it can change at any time but today I took a break. Yesterday when I was there a guy took an electric bike that you rent into the surf. He laid it down and then he went for a 'swim' with all his clothes on. He was loaded or something. He came back to the bike after about 10 minutes and laid next to the bike and waves were washing over him. I couldn't let this continue so I propped up my detector and went over to him. He didn't want me to help him. I called 911 and waited for someone to show up. In the mean time another guy went to help and this guy got him and the bike out of the surf. This was right in front of a life guard station and a life guard who was in his truck. They apparently knew him. The other good Smartian got him up to about where you see the detectorist in the pictures above and the police showed up. I told them I had called and I was told if they had any questions they would come to me if I was still working the area with my detector. After about 20 minutes of talking to the guy they just left. The guy refused help from them also. He was wet, his pants coming off and he was just out of it but they have lots of guys like that that refuse help. I had been reluctant to try and help him and this is why. He is not ready and with the drugs he is on he may never be ready.

There are a lot of things that can be said about Los Angeles and Los Angeles County. Much of it is bad right now but we do have some very good things from the past that are still World Class. One of them is the Natural History Museum. It is part of the whole complex around the University of Southern California and Exhibition Park. I've been several times and there is still much to be seen. A permanent exhibit that interests most of us here is about gold. I've got a link and then some pictures I took. Maybe you will see something in the link that will have you explore more online. Discovering Gold: Exploring the California Gold Rush | Natural History Museum (nhm.org) Here are my pictures I took in December 2023.

Detectorists and dealers can be a competitive lot and few of us hold a grudge, but we have long memories of hunts gone by. Sharing some of that knowledge and passing it on to others is a personal choice. Many don't share. From my perspective Rob, Gerry, Steve, JP, Norvic, Simon and many others share a lot. It makes us all better to hear different perspectives about different areas. We're potentially fighting over the last scraps of gold so let's get out there and get some.

What would you estimate the total market to be for the E1500? Is it 10,000, 25,000, 50,000 units or more? How many of us want one now? How many of 'us' are there? I don't know how many 800s sold or 7000s or 5000s or XPs or any detectors including Bounty Hunters. I'd probably be surprised. Everyone is saying that this E1500 (is it named after this original $1500 US price?) is more affordable and will have a bigger market. It is all good. I wonder for a couple of reasons. One is just how much of a task is it to contract up the manufacturing and the second is related ... when will that mean there will be one of these detectors available that I can buy? If there is going to be a long waiting list (already is) and the number of units produced per month is low then it could be a long time before most of us get one, right? Even longer than just the FCC approvals.

If it powers that car you were talking about then I'm going to put together 3-4 and power my house and the electric heaters!

I would buy one but I like more moving parts when I spend that much money. If I can't see something moving and have big arrows and balance beams then I've paid too much!

The 6000 can find large nuggets too! Thanks for posting.

Typo ... E15000

Someone needs to give us an 'estimate' of hardware costs for the components of these detectors. What percentage of the final sales price is it? We will then know a bit more about the R&D 'mark-up' associated with the final price which has to include profits. Without profits there won't be any follow-up or service deep pockets to correct problems. I buy phones that are in the $100-$150 range that brand names like Apple and Samsung sell for $800 plus. This means that the components must only cost $20-30 ... $50?

Simon, Glad to know you recovered and will give it a go again under better conditions. You found two little pieces in a flogged area. How do you explain them? (missed or unseen)

If there is any detector that will find a significant amount of gold at Rye Patch then the price is relatively unimportant to someone like me. I want to go out and find gold. I bought a $1500 X-coil so that I could do that with the 7000 and I think it is money well spent. We are at the end of the gold in places like Rye Patch and I still haven't found a chevron. I've found missed pieces in our local areas when I get out. Some guys who get out often are still finding a few nuggets here and there. We've got some patches down here that had a 'lot' of little gold 4-5 years ago but it's gone now. We can't find any with the VLFs, the 7000s, 2300s and the GPXs. If an AlgoForce can find some there it won't be because of its price. It will be because it has the right stuff. No doubt it could have found a lot of the gold found by previous detectors and we can prove that by using some of that gold as test nuggets in those patches. I'm with Gerry. This detector just seems to have some different features and some new PI views. Now, how can dealers make a buck? Gerry will provide training with his experts. Just my thought when you buy something as a direct sale to consumer.

Let's see what Reg uses to test his!

Thanks Simon. You do your testing. You can't respond here and test at the same time.

Jeff, You have been involved with updating detectors, right? I'm betting that AlgoForce plans to listen to the users and tweak the units as necessary. That being said, your SDC comparison would seem to put it on a standard that many of us understand and tweak it to be as good ... maybe better.

Consider the massive investment in inventory required to go from 'mom and pop engineers' to global marketing mavens. The 'fun' part for them may be the development of the detector. They are surely going to have to bring on someone that lives, sleeps and breathes marketing if they want to get tens of thousands of machines sold. What pieces of the company would they have to give away and more importantly their control. Does someone have deep pockets you want to help them out with and not charge a premium? haha That would make the price go up.

Better to be on the list and cancel than ...

The Lost Dutchman Mine | News & Stories | arcadianews.com

I'm anxiously awaiting Simon's tests. His insanely mild soil reviews are a standard now.

You have to have a detector that can find what is left in the known gold patches. The E1500 and my X-coils have a chance at it if you learn to use them. Both of them seem to be pushing conventional detecting to new limits. No doubt the ergonomics of the E1500 are superior to the 7000. That and the price will bring back the fun factor for people to get the remaining bits. After these machines deplete the fields will my sons be able to look forward to more detectors that will consistently break the .01g barrier in 5-6 years?