phrunt

You can turn that chip into a nice adapter, such as the one X-coils made here for testing prototype coils.

I think with any of the high frequency VLF's they're so close it's more a choice of which you prefer for whatever reason, thinking one is going to be significantly better than others is asking far too much, so buying another one when you already have one isn't necessary or beneficial. With the Algoforce PI now on the market for similar pricing to the high-end VLF's, once that hits the US market it might be a better choice for these hotter soils you're talking about than buying another VLF.

Yup, the full package is a rip off and should be discontinued or heavily discounted to be closer to the lite package, it makes no sense at all, if the lite is that price, the full needs reduced too. Maybe they don't want to anger people that bought it at the full price, some people have already taken a 2 grand hit when they bought the first ones released.

It's been a hot dry summer inland where I am so I've not wanted to dig many holes for coins as it does damage, the grass is a bit browned off so digging will just kill it. Autumn if it gets a bit more rain will allow for digging without damage so that might be my peak coin time. That's what I've been waiting for really, some rain to allow me to do proper coin hunting. I've been intending to do some beach detecting but then at the coast it's been the opposite with regular showers and just not the weather I'd want to be detecting in, when they're getting the nicer weather, I haven't had the chance or motivation to go.

I've only taken it prospecting for two half days, I was going to say a day and a half but forgot the first day I left early too as I had some sort of medical issue after a rose thorn got me. 🙂 I did find gold; I would have found the same gold with my 6000 or 7000 though of course. My next intentions are to try it out for beach detecting, I've been dabbling around my local area with it for coins and it's quite impressive with its target ID. I should get around to doing a post on that I guess, just didn't think people would have much interest in a PI as a coin detector.

Currently 35 lites in stock, so they've sold two since Wednesday with today being Friday, that's probably not too bad for the price range of the detector.

I wasn't around then but remember the one with the old ute and couple of guys doing the teaser for the Apex.

That seems a reasonable assessment to me, and why I've been pointing out all along 6000 and 7000 owners don't need one unless there is an attribute of it that they particularly like, like 7000 owners wanting a lighter machine to use for some particular reason or they want a PI they can use for stuff other than gold with its excellent Target ID's. I genuinely think GPX 4500/5000 owners would benefit from it, it's doing noticeably better on small gold than those models, along with its ability to find the gold they often miss, the prickly stuff and not just that, I tested a bunch of regular small nuggets commonly found here, and the Algo was doing better than the GPX 5000 by quite a bit, some the 5000 didn't even hit the Algo did. For them it's of even more benefit as they can share coils between detectors, and their Bluetooth transmitter and headphones. While I've never used an Axiom, I've not really known its comparison. The SDC is an iffy one to me, mainly due to my milder soil environment and it was a pretty poor performer here with the original GPX series being far better when fitted with a spiral or smaller bundle coil except for it being poor on the prickly type gold, so that one makes me wonder, as the Algo for me here in my soils is doing better on the smaller gold than the GPX, I have no doubts a GPX will be deeper on big targets though. What I see with the Algo is a whole lot of bang for the buck, half the price of an Axiom, way less than the 6000 and of course the 7000. The perfect detector for people not wanting to spend a lot of money and still get a very good performance machine, but not by any means the best and is filling a large hole in the market for that reason. Its other notable benefit is its very good EMI handling, it can run well in places others cannot. Now the big question hanging over it is benefits outside of prospecting with its Target Id's, how beneficial is that going to be in parkland and beach settings, for me so far, it's looking good.

I haven't yet found it unstable when sitting it down, I'm primarily using the 10" coil though, even on my very uneven ground it stays up I was thinking due to the coil size, and the super light control pod, the 6000 I just always lay it on it's side like the Gold Monster out of habit, it never stays up unless you're on flat ground 🙂 Here is the USB C dust covers I bought USB C Anti Dust Plugs Silicone Cellphone USB Type C Charging Port Dust Cover for IPhone 15 Pro Samsung Xiaomi Anti-dust Plug - AliExpress And the USB A dust covers 50pc USB Dust Plug Charger Port Cover Cap Female Jack Interface Universal Silicone Dustproof Protector Tablet PC Notebook Laptop - AliExpress

One of my power banks turns it on when I plug in the power bank, the other better one, the Belkin doesn't, I'm guessing the reason is the Belkin doesn't power anything unless you press it's on button, it auto turns itself off when no power draw too. My Momax is always on so if I plug it in my Algo comes on.

Good point, had me in a panic then it wouldn't fit my tiny battery so I just checked. Don't mind my messy straps, I wasn't leaving the battery on so didn't bother fixing them up. It's a great fit with the little slimline 10,000 mAh battery. Nice and snug. The battery size difference between the 10,000 mAh and the 20,000 mAh.

I was initially thinking of ordering longer ones too, then it occurred to me that I never need to remove the cable, to charge my battery bank I'll just plug another cable into it, so why not just use some decent quality black tape and tape it on, that makes this 25cm size ideal. It will be locked in place and look neat and tidy. The cable is very heavy duty, nice gold connectors too.

That Jaycar battery looks pretty good, being a reputable company, their battery is likely true to specification too. It's great to have another Algo user on the forum to discuss it with, it's been a bit lonely. Another USB battery cable arrived today from my orders of various cables to try on it in my quest to find my perfect cable. This one appears very good quality, it's significantly thicker than the standard cable which is the one I've sat over top for thickness comparison. I was worried it would be too thick to fit through the little cut out they've done for the cable, but in fact it fits exactly, so there is no longer a gap around where the cable enters. I need to fiddle with wrapping it more, this was a 25cm cable, perhaps I should get the 30cm version as that would allow another shaft wrap to keep it neater. The right angle is doing as intended and tucking the cable neater so it doesn't get hooked on stuff, as you can see by the photo below the straight cables are a bit of a hazard. Of course, you could pull the standard cord upwards and make it head straight up like the right-angle cable, but then you're putting pull force on the USB port, not a good idea. I've now also got all of the correct USB port covers to cover the unused ports. Not even wrapping the cord probably gives the neatest results, and an added bonus is the thicker USB cable with the right-angel strapped on like this really secures the battery in place. So quite happy with this cable, best so far and would work on all battery banks. Here is a link to where I bought it if anyone's wanting one. Select the UP angled version.

If you have some Bluetooth LL headphones already from another detector you could just buy a LL transmitter, Avantree have some good ones available, the Avantree relay is good.

The Axiom did well, especially seeing it was running DD's.

It should cost more regardless, it's a detector with coil and battery, it has iron discrimination which is increasingly rare in these higher end machines. It's got plenty going for it, a really good detector from what I've been able to see so far. The new pricing isn't too bad, and a few months ago the new lite price would be considered a very good deal, might annoy a few of the early adopters though that paid the full price, it was originally even more expensive than the current full package price, it's already dropped about two grand since release on that package. I've not done the math but I think you could buy the Lite package and the missing coil, battery and headphones and it still be cheaper than buying the full package?

Had it of been sold at AU $3000 when it came out, I would have bought one and I'm sure many others that would never consider it at their current pricing would have too.

The Axiom has had quite a significant price drop in Australia by calling it the Garrett Axiom Lite and dropping back to a single coil although the coils are quite inexpensive anyway. Now at 5 grand Australian, they're saying the Lite package RRP is $6299, but selling for $4999. They're still trying to get $7385 for the full package though, super expensive, I think. Better to buy the lite and whatever other accessory from the full you want; I'd skip the headphones and just get a Bluetooth transmitter for 30 bucks if it were me and use headphones or in my case the Avantree Torus I've got already. I've been monitoring their stock levels which for what appears to be a poorly selling detector (In Australia) they should never display; it's hovering at 2 detectors of the full package. They must think the lite package is going to sell more, they have 37 in stock of it. This is direct from Garrett Australia, Axiom Lite 11" Mono (garrettaustralia.com.au) We will be able to monitor how well its selling by looking at their stock levels, see if it goes down from 37 at any point soon. It will be interesting to see if this new pricing model helps with the uptake of it in the Australian market, although with other players now in the game also there it may end up more difficult than just this price drop and they may need to go a fair bit further yet but a step in the right direction for sure, hopefully it helps them get more sales in Australia so we can see how it performs in Australia more so than we've been able to see so far with very limited users, especially on social media and forums. Update - 12 March 2024 New Zealand is now also offered the Garrett Lite package!

The arm cuff certainly looks more VLF like. It must be the AT Pro Multi freaker. Good on Garrett for getting the business done and bringing it to market.

That's why I'm not overly concerned, although having it connected would never hurt, as they say better to be safe than sorry, especially on a stupidly high-priced piece of equipment. It certainly made a difference on my poorly shielded 4500. If you had a choice, it may or may not improve performance, but it can't hurt and could very well be beneficial, which would you choose?

Know that feeling, our house was across the road from a bunch of decimated houses in SE Queensland, the road was the barrier that saved ours. In the end the termites got it though, probably would have been better off the fire, at least insurance covers that 🙂 In saying all that, a year or two later my car was drowned in a flood while parked at my workplace that came on so quickly, we had no hope of saving our cars while trying to save the hundreds of thousands in computer gear, and insurance didn't cover my car either, so I hightailed it out of there. Which battery did you end up choosing? I wouldn't worry too much if it has bevelled edges, it just takes more effort to do it up securely, minor problem really. I don't care about variable ground here, however I'd really like to know how it goes in that situation, as really, that's the main question mark over it at the moment, that and larger target depth, also something I'm unfortunately not all that concerned about.

True that, the loudest voices are the most dissatisfied.

The Manticore will beat the Algoforce and every other PI and GPZ with the most sensitive of sensitive X-coil on tiny gold, that goes without saying, much like all PI's the Algo taps out about about 0.03 of a gram if it's lucky on a nice solid flat chunk, 0.05 is more realistic to get a broader range of nuggets. The Manticore hits in the 0.00X of a gram. Now depth is interesting, in air tests the Algo will hit the very small nuggets that it is capable of hitting at very similar depths to a VLF, so how does that translate to in the ground? This we don't yet know however I would expect a PI will hold in ground depth better than a VLF. My testing of the Target ID is outstanding, very stable, HOWEVER it's not an iron discriminator, iron could be anywhere, unless you're in a spot riddled with a bunch of the same nails and you work out the ID of those nails then the ID's won't help you much. I was comfortably able to eliminate 22 shells in this one spot that had a lot of them by ignoring their Target ID, which ironically was 22, yes there is a very small chance a bit of gold in this area may have come up 22, very unlikely though, so I dug everything other than 22 ID's. Some iron acts odd, with bouncy ID's and regularly hitting 99 ID, whereas from what I've seen so far gold is more stable on the ID's. Lead pellets also almost exclusively come in at 00 on the ID's whereas MOST gold comes in with numbers, the lower the numbers the smaller or deeper the gold, so some very small gold comes in at 00 too. I think part of the ID's stability is its non-motion, so you hone in on the target, have it pinpointed perfectly, sit the coil still and the ID locks on, it barely changes and, on most targets, it won't change at all, a solid lock on a number. Target ID on it is quick and easy to use, so I use it often, just gathering intel at the moment, so I mostly check everything before I dig it. I'm seeing the Target ID's very beneficial for cherry picking coins, so perhaps pretty cool at a beach. I think we need more people to get Algo's so we can get a broader range of opinions in different conditions, I'd love to hear how it's going in Western Australia, and parts of the USA, sadly owners so far don't seem the helpful forums/social media type that reveal how they're doing and how it's performing for them. Hopefully in the next batch which I believe would be due very soon more people get one that are willing to share feedback.

I probably won't use the 12" Spiral all that much, I really like the 10" spiral X-coil, that's my primary coil, I quite like the 14x9" EVO too for covering a bit more ground and it's got quite good sensitivity for its size. I have a 15x10" Spiral X-coil too, but think I'd prefer the slightly smaller 14x9" if only for the smaller size. With all of my GPX coils, for the Algo if I had to take a pick I'd pick the 10" Spiral X-coil and the 14x9" EVO. I have the 10x5" Coiltek Joey bundle wound which I haven't given a fair chance yet but that's likely going to be a good coil on it too and benefits from being waterproof, calibrates fine, as does virtually every coil, I just struggle with bundle wound coils and their lack of sensitivity compared to spirals, very small bundles can't even keep up quite a bit bigger spirals. It's no surprise the same goes for the GPZ, Minelab were wise to finally dabble with a bit of flat windings with their 6000. It's a shame they never allowed official spiral coils on the GPZ so people are buying sanctioned aftermarket coils so similar to the stock coils. Now, where bundle coils excel is edge sensitivity with the entire coils bundled up wire at the edge of the coil, and that's why I recently bought a Sadie, a nice feature on a very small coil is having hot edges for poking and prodding, spirals are pretty poor for edge sensitivity with the hottest part of the coil smack in the centre.

The $1 and $2 coins have to be the easiest to find on the Nox, with their 21/22 ID, unmistakable, you could pay off the Equinox finding them alone, just cherry picking those ID's, it's why I like the Equinox and Vanquish so much, they both just love those goldies.