Search the Community

One of my customers just shared last weeks finds. 4 days in AZ swinging the GPZ-7000 and recovers 42 pieces. 39+ grams of beautiful chunky nuggets. Largest was a 1/4 oz'er. Depths of the varying nuggets was from 10" to 24" deep. Just goes to show there is still gold out there. If you're new to the game and want to speed up your game, contact me as we have a 3 Day Field Training session coming up in April at famous Rye Patch, NV.

For various reasons I'm going over metal detecting stuff and gun stuff at the same time. And it occurred to me that an analogy could be made. 95 percent of people that hunt can't shoot as accurately as their gun can. Buying a sub minute accurate rifle for hunting is generally a waste of money unless you practice and are dialed in to your rifle at at all ranges. Spending the money on a $1500+ dollar rifle is not going to make you any better if you don't improve your own game. How many of you out there are hoping to to find the big nugget because you spent $7000 + dollars for new technology that you don't learn to use? I'm not trying to bash anyone, but rather encourage learning the machine you have to to get optimum results. And there is certainly a cost/ benefit equation. I don't detect enough to justify a gpz but have used a used 4500 enough to to get my money out of it if only for the satisfaction of the hunt. My wife and I have spent countless hours using an Equinox 800 and have been fully rewarded for our efforts if only for the time spent learning the machine. The ultimate goal is to come away with a profit ( monetary or historical ) and that is why it is worth while to pursue. I want to find gold..but I know that I have to research, practice and spend the time with the coil to the ground and pay attention to what I'm doing, hearing, and the results I get. I know this isn't technical and a deep dive into electronics but i would like to hear back from some you that make a living or spend a lot of time dedicated to this game.

Calm down ladies, if this was a Minelab battery it would be using USB-ML not USB-C with a funky connector that is different to anything you've seen before🙂 They would put a chip in the battery so it can only power the Equinox, Manticore and other Minelab USB powered detectors, Its plastic would resemble the Strawberry Ice Cream container you opened to tuck into your desert tonight and last but not least the USB-ML connector would twist wildly when you tried to plug your USB-ML cable into it. This thing is cheap compared to a Minelab battery for the 5000, 6000 or 7000. 😁

I had a chance in 2010 to buy the best detector, a 5000 and start doing something I'd never done before. I started going out into the desert looking for gold. To say I didn't know much about it would be an understatement. I did think I could get the best detector and I would find things easily. That is not what happened. The detector was fine but I didn't know where to use it and what to listen for. About a year later I found my first nugget in a tailing pile. That somewhat satisfied the where part but I still had a problem with the what to listen for stuff. I couldn't hear gold and I couldn't hear little meteorites. I wasn't adjusted right. At this point the ability to think and perform a bit outside of the box became worthwhile. I got lucky with finding a nice nugget in a non-nugget location. I kept that in mind and when I upgraded my coil I went back to that same area and I got 'lucky' again with another larger nugget. Upgrading to the 7000 was not the same type of increase in nugget size. I've mostly gone back to where gold has been found before and sizeable nuggets just are not there. Enjoy your walk-abouts. Carry a detector and you will find some missed gold but go one canyon over and you might still find a big nugget.

Yep watched them, I'd like to see the 22" concentric X-coil on the 7000 compared to the modded 5000 with some similar sized coils. Also a modded SD2200 compared with a modded gpx5000 with the same large coil on a larger, deeper target. At the moment my fully modified SD2200 has the edge over my standard gpx5000 with the larger coils and a deep test target. Would the modded 5000 equal the modded SD2200 or better it? If it's better by how much?

I'm debating whether to sell my gpx5000 or get mick to mod it. I've got a modded SD2200 and would love to see a comparison between a modified SD2200 and a modified gpx5000 with the same large coil on a larger deeper target. If the results were similar I'd probably sell the 5000 and get the large concentric X-coil for my 7000. Then again I'd like to see a comparison between the modded 5000 with similar size coil and and a 7000 with the X- coil. Sitting on the fence at the moment. 🤔

Just a reminder. Minelab offers a 15% discount on any Minelab metal detector from the MAP (minimum advertised price) to U.S. active or honorably discharged members of the military. Proof of past or active service is required and must be verified by providing a copy of a DD 214 or Military ID to qualify. The discount applies only to a metal detector purchase - parts and accessories do not qualify. With discount the $799 Gold Monster 1000 is only $679.15. The Minelab GPZ 7000, normally $7999, ends up being $6799.15, a savings of $1199.85

Well without getting much into this it's both. My TDI vs MXT was comparing a low power PI to a good VLF. Even with high power PI it is a generally known fact that PI compares poorly to VLF in air tests because it is the ground that accentuates the difference between the two. But target size is also very important, and as the targets get larger a PI will pull ahead of a VLF even in the mildest soils. There is also the wild card of the GPZ 7000 to consider. Some might be considering it a PI, and if so it does beat VLF across the board easily even in mild soil on all but the tiniest targets. But it's not actually a PI per se but a whole different beast, Zero Voltage technology. This is one area where air tests are applicable as being the same as the mildest of mildest soils. Test a GPX 6000 on a dime size target against a Manticore and see what you get. Other than that seems like a tempest in a tea pot. PI people usually like PI and VLF people like VLF and whatever floats your boat I say. In general, for most people my old saying does work pretty well "Use a VLF when you can and a PI when you have to." Thanks for the plug Chase.

I hope they call the next generation E1500 the E1600, that way I can get the detectors for $1,500 & $1,600 🙃and still be able to use the interchangeable coils and battery systems. When backpacking in the outback all I would need to do is bring one detector with two pods, then switch out the pod when going for smaller gold and vice-versa for deeper gold detection. This Algoforce has so much potential to expand. Currently most top end Pulse Induction detectors such as GPX 6000, GPZ 7000, SDC 2300, Axiom, Garrett ATX, have no interchangeability with coils or shaft systems., so if Algoforce can bring back the good ole days of SD/GP/GPX interchangeable components, then zippy do da. All the way. 😄

Yep, this is just the start and what a start it is. Thinking further, 6000 owners will appreciate the E1500's hot rock handling, it's EMI handling, they don't need to throw on some crazy 14" DD coil and maybe they'll find a use for the Target ID's for prospecting, if not for general use they are great. 7000 owners will be appreciating its light weight, super light weight I should say, ability to run a zillion coils of all shapes and sizes that the GPZ severely lacks so they will benefit greatly in areas where they couldn't even get their coil to the soil. There are likely plenty more reasons too, I'm just learning it now, I haven't even experimented with big coils and bigger target depths, and switching into the normal or large gold modes.

It could easily be AlgoForce who is the next big name. Just think in Spring 2026 the E-2500 for $2500. If such happens, if? It could be a detector with GPX-6000 or GPZ-7000 depth capabilities. At least we are now being provided an option from a company that was silent a month ago, at least I had never heard of.

Simon, I feel if you are comparing performance of the 6000, the 7000 and the E-1500, then you are 100% correct and for those who already own them, they'll be happy with what they already have. Here are a couple reasons why I think the E-1500 will beat out the 6000/7000 and you already shown us. EMI and Power Lines - I personally have 4 sites I hunt and try my best to get as close to those power lines as possible. I have yet to get decent performance out of my other detectors because of the power lines. 2 of those sites have produced multi ounces pieces, so you know where I'll be heading when time comes with an E-1500. I also know guys in AZ who try to detect gold in or around the military facilities and EMI is serious. Sure you can dumb down the detector, but then depth is compromised to a point, a VLF could be used, but the hot rocks make that extremely hard. The E-1500 Digital readout system. That one feature right there will allow me to hunt some of the hand placer mining of old and also tailing piles. Both have more trash than many can handle with a traditional 6000 or 7000. Those high dollar detectors, even though has top performance, are lacking any potential target identification help. Again, you have shown me enough to realize the importance of this feature. Sure it's not 100%, no machine is. But my last few years of gold recovery, most ounces recovered has been with ID detectors or with the aid of such, to save me time and energy. Having the option of a Pulse Induction detector to handle hot rocks and has a form of target ID is right down my alley. The guys who enjoy fishing as their favorite hobby, have at least 4 different rods. Heck, I don't even fish as often now, but still, have my 3 heavy duty sturgeon rods, 2 ultra light crappie rigs, my 2 Steelhead and Salmon poles, 2 bass outfits, and 3 trout rods. I have another 3 or 4 fly fishing rods. Other favorite hobbies we enjoy with multiple tools, guns. We won't even go there, but the bucks some folks drop on the various weapons, is eye opening to some. I actually feel many folks who already own a 6000 and or even 7000, will certainly want the E-1500. If anything, just for price point and having someone come along and join them, they can hand them an E-1500. Even as we are patiently waiting, some of the guys on my list for an E-1500 already have the 6000 or 7000 and a couple own both. I totally agree 100% with your last part of post and the new prospectors getting into a PI. I also see many previous customers swinging VLF type detectors now wanting to step up. They don't have to try and chase down a half worn out and heavy GPX-4500 for $1500 and then hope there are no issues with it. The E-1500 easily fits that bill as well. Sure a good running 4500 will find a bigger solid placer nugget a little deeper, but as been mentioned many times over, those are now the rare finds. We've been hunting those areas with capable depth/power PI's for 30 yrs. I get your point though as you are letting folks know, this price point PI is not going to match overall depth of a 6000 or 7000. I don't expect that either, especially for the price point. We'll have to wait for the E-2500 model and then we could be doing some serious overall comparisons.

Hi Fellas I am seeking for some advice. Currently I have a GPZ7000 and GPX6000 both with standard coils only. I am planning a trip to WA or Tib in NSW either this or next year with dad, so we will use two detectors. I have seem some positive reviews on 12' coils for GPZ7000. I wonder what is your advice? With a GPX6000 would it be a good complementary to 7000 instead of spending another 1300 dollars?😳

There are also coil cable ferrite snap on shields, but I dont know if they actually do anything

I think if litigation was a problem, it would rear its ugly head in Australia, it's an Australian made detector and just down the road from Minelab HQ, it's not from some far away land where they have no control of the situation So, being concerned it won't make it into the US for this reason like Quest is doing is a non-issue. Perhaps the reason it doesn't have ground tracking doing the automatic adjustments is for this very reason, it is tracking the ground, you can see it on the screen, it just doesn't do the process for you. No big deal, and for me I prefer it this way. This is just me speculating of course. Without the Bluetooth transmitter and battery included some of the hurdles have already been overcome, so the FCC testing shouldn't be too brutal. Plenty of the people on this forum don't even need one, when armed with both a 6000 and a 7000 unless you're using it for something other than gold prospecting it's not going to offer you that much. If you have a 7000 it offers a bit, and for anyone with an earlier GPX it offers quite a lot, and also shares coils with it, a great thing to get for those people. The real winners are those new to prospecting wanting to buy a PI, they get a great unit an affordable price and don't have to feel like they're missing out by not having to sell a kidney on the black market for body parts to buy a Minelab.

What’s all the excitement about a $1500 PI when my beloved GPX-6000 does just fine on tiny gold. My recently acquired (used) GPZ-7000 easily puts my back into traction bars while I swing a boat anchor and dig beyond the depths of modern man with a handheld pick, to get the rarest of gold, a 1/2 ounce nugget. Why do I say rarest of gold. Because the majority of folks in the US who put a 2nd mortgage on their house to purchase a GPZ-7000.. has yet to find that half ounce nugget. Now I’m taking pain pills to manage the beating from the ZED’s capabilities and lack of ergonomics… as well as from the old lady who seen the credit card bill. We know this new AlgoForce E1500 is not going to perform any better than what many of us here on DP already swing. Or do we??? Who wants tiny bits, specimens and reef gold anyway? Do those kinds of Au even classify as gold and register to those around us? Most folks only know what a solid gold nugget looks like, right? Show them anything else and they just role their eyes and wonder why you spent $4000, $5000, even $6500 or the crazy few (more than I realized who would), spent $8000 and up to $10K. Which begs me to wonder again and out loud this time so I can hear myself. What am I missing? Well, I’m the odd duck here in the crowd most of the time anyway. I pretty much speak my mind and offend a few when doing so. When it comes to using a metal detector, I seem to be a lone wolf in my style and desire to swing. I say that because I swing many states, and pursue a variety of treasures. I do like to specialize in gold though and since I enjoy the hunt and travel, I make the time to reach far places while trying to collect a variety of gold occurrences. I’m not the norm, for that is a sure thing. I like collecting all gold that can be found with a metal detector. And…I seem to find my share of gold, a great deal of the others miss. Is it because they are lacking knowledge or skill and possibly both. I’m not sure? I do know that my finds have increased substantially since I learned the importance of how different kinds of gold responds to detectors and their technologies. One of the things that immediately caught my attention about this new detector being released, was mentioned by our friend Nenad. On 1/25/2024 at 11:51 PM, PhaseTech said: If you want to find small gold as well as specimens and reefy gold, then the AlgoForce E1500 is worth a look. I’m licking my chops and counting the eggs (golden eggs) my roster is going to provide me. How about you.

I would never worry about powering up a control box without a coil attached. On the other extreme, I would never under any circumstances want to connect or disconnect a coil on a GPZ 7000 if it was powered up, but due to the way you have to half disassemble the detector to do this it is unlikely anyone would. On the other Minelabs Carl is probably right but it is also something I would never do. We are creatures of habit, and developing a habit of being sure a detector of any sort is not powered up when connecting or disconnecting a coil will never cause you grief. You can't say the same the other way around so do please just look at it as good practice. And again... From the GPX 5000 and earlier manuals: “Always ensure that the control box is turned off before connecting or disconnecting the coil to avoid damage to the detector's electronics”

The ideal people to buy an Algoforce are those with an earlier model GPX, a 4500 or 5000, or any of the earlier models, it will completement those detectors so very well, they can share coils and the Algo provides a lot of attributes they lack, the lighter design would be a big plus too with the tiny little light batteries. It would give them better small gold sensitivity, and from what I've seen so far hits the difficult bits of gold the GPX models (except 6000) miss or are very weak on. I wish they didn't call the 6000 a GPX, it's frustrating as it's not even remotely a GPX model. Earlier GPX users will greatly benefit from its EMI handling too, they can use mono's when normally they'd need an AI coil, or if lucky a DD may work OK. QED owners, it's a no brainer, perfect upgrade. As I've never used a TDI I can't comment much, but it might be something they would be interested in too with its features, coil compatibility and performance along with the attractive price. SDC owners I have no idea, never used one. The next set of buyers would be those that don't already have a 6000 or 7000, someone looking to buy a PI, but not sure they want to spend Minelab pricing, they'll get a great detector with far less outlay. They could also use it for other purposes, I think it's going to end up a pretty damn good dry and wet sand beach detector, and will be a very good way to use a PI for coin and jewellery hunting anywhere with it's great Target ID's and EMI handling. GPZ owners may like it for a lighter patch hunter, it's yet to be seen how it would perform in this situation, and the Aussies will soon report on that no doubt, it may even outdo the GPZ with stock coils or official aftermarket coils on some small gold, and seeing the 12" round is the officially smallest coil for the GPZ without modifications then the Algo brings those people small coil support for a detector that doesn't cost too much more than some aftermarket 7000 coils and the Sadie to pair with it is a pretty cheap little coil too. It's most certainly its own detector and has features and benefits that no other PI has, such as its incredibly stable Target ID's, which put most VLF's to shame from what I've seen so far. I'll be interested how people doing all sorts of different things with detectors are able to adapt the Algo to their detecting style and the benefits it brings them.

You're correct, I didn't find any gold, I was going over ground I'd done before with the 7000 and 15" CC and 8" X-coils along with the 6000 and 10x5" Coiltek, and even the Equinox 800, it was an area I'd found one of my biggest nuggets along with a few small bits so I really wanted to just check out how it performed on the same ground doing the same things, and if it did find anything I'd missed, The area has quite bad hot rocks too, yet I never found one, the E1500 went over them like they didn't exist. It was just nice to experiment with it and hit the heavy junk area trying to take advantage of the Target ID to experiment. JW was with me and he was smart for someone trying to find gold, he went to the spot I found a nugget right as his 6000 coil died the last time we were there so that area hadn't been as detected and we knew nuggets were likely hiding there, he found 3 little bits with his 6000 and Coiltek 10x5" in the time we were there, which was only a few hours. I could have done the same sort of thing but just wanted to experiment more, learning the detector. It won't easily perform miracles finding gold where the others have already done, I never expected it would but wanted to try experiment more with the Target ID feature and just see how it behaved in various situations. We ended up spending a big part of the day not even detecting, driving exploring gold producing areas I'd never been to before, largely as I was too worried to try take on the 4x4 track up the mountainside, it's a challenging drive, even the drive back down the various gates along the way had all been bent and buckled by being crashed into by vehicles with their breaks failing so it was good to have someone experienced with me to take on that drive for my first time, I got stuck once where even in 4x4 mode my tyres just skidded but he advised how how to get through that 😉 I'm not an experienced off road driver. I learnt plenty and saw a whole lot of new detectable ground that I could experiment with in the future, a little more confident to take on the drive myself now, in the right weather as long as there has been no rain for quite a while as I would get stuck 😛 It was nice to get out of the mid summer heat and go cool off in some snow too. There is a town down there, can barely see it. This is Jw that found the 3 bits of gold with his 6000 and 10x5" in the thyme bushes. My 10" round would have struggled in that area anyway, I'd have to put on the Sadie.

Nobody ever said it was a miracle machine so this is a classic straw man presentation. This whole idea of this needing to outperform the GPX 6000 and GPZ 7000 at one third the price or less was brought up before, and I flat out said no, just go use the GPX 6000 and be happy. Same still applies here. If that is what anyone is looking for then look elsewhere.

It’s also true that diminishing returns is a real thing. Spending ever more money for ever less gold is not sustainable forever. I did this for profit and made good money at it up until the release of the 7000 and for several years after. Yes, the 6000 kept the number count up, but the weight dropped off dramatically. I finally shut the doors a couple years ago on my small gold mining company business license after turning steady profits since 1979. I simply could not reliably cover expenses anymore, let alone turn a decent profit. The fact is the glory days are over but few want to admit it. I officially entered the ranks of hobbyist detectorist and still enjoy getting out and having a bit of fun looking for gold, but I’m far less motivated now than I was when I was getting 1/4 oz a day minimum. It’s been a couple years since I got more than an ounce in a day, something I used to do regularly.

Today I took the Algoforce to a gold area, the first thing I did was put it under some powerlines in the gold area and see how well it would do, the 6000 is very ratty under and even some distance from these lines, the 7000's also a little unstable but more usable at higher sensitivity than the 6000, the reason this is important to me is I've found good gold around these exact lines, biggest bit was .7 of a gram only a few meters from where this video was filmed with the GPZ and 8" X-coil. So being able to run nicely around these lines is a big plus. So, rather than my word, here is a video This was my first target under the lines, unfortunately just a little bit of wire, but a demonstration of how it works under them with a target. I will do a post about the rest of the day also; this was just my first target as I entered the area I was going to be detecting and like every new coil or detector I wanted to test it under these power lines as these ones run straight through a gold area. I'm sure if you went back through some previous posts, you'll see the 6000 here, and the 7000. Again, I haven't watched these videos back yet I only just got home, I have no idea if its windy, or if there are any other disturbances, I like to do raw video, not editing out bits and pieces. I like people to see exactly what I see. By the way I found gold, so hopefully I'm the first E1500 paying customer to find gold with it!! that'd be cool.

Very good insights Jeff, Simon and Andrew... The Force 1500 may not be the best PI in the world... but it can be the best PI Detector in terms of Price / Performance.. In my opinion, there are more people who would like to buy a powerful PI detector, but they are always deterred by the high price of such PI detectors, which are 3000 to 7000 dollars/euros... - Here the PI Force1500 with a price range of 1500-1800 dollars appears as a detector that is already affordable for them.. because it is that in the prices of powerful VLF detectors /Manticore or Deus 2/... I myself once bought a second-hand PI Garrett ATX for 1300 euros, so it was an affordable investment in a powerful PI detector.

Hey Jeff, looks like you did well price-wise on the Axiom. The Axiom retails here in Australia at $7,385 or on sale at $7,185 which is not only way overpriced, but unfair that Garrett charges international buyers such a premium. It's the same for coils - so at $3kUSD you got a fantastic bargain! Also, there is a growing amount of us that are having endless problems with the Axioms not to mention faulty coils. I went out and got another Minelab GPZ 7000 yesterday as the Axiom has been nothing short of disappointing for the last 6 months, and useless for 90% of your prospecting day. We have collectively sent back our detectors "again" to Garrett Australia for testing. I personally wont ever use it again. The GPX 6000's are known for poor EMI shielding, but aftermarket modifications to fix the shielding and earthing removes those issues from the 6000. Also, more after market coils for the 6000 have been released and keep coming. Minelab applied a conductive coating to the inside of the GPX 6000 box but "forgot" to earth it back to the PCB properly amongst other things. One thing for sure, the Minelab range really is without competition. They were built and designed by people who live and breath gold prospecting, especially in the Australian environment. My plan is to strip back the 7000 and Frankenstein it into a lighter body and lighter battery. My research says it can be done, especially running the lighter X-coils....If the Axiom worked anywhere near as good as my wife's GPX 6000, I'd probably would never had got another GPZ 7000 - but they are such a good detector, you can't loose!

and another spot that I have been getting small gold from that was very close to or had been gone over somewhat last year with the Zed and the 17"cc x-coil. So the last two days on this next patch had yielded 32 bits of gold so far and have another go at it today to see if there might be a few more.