Early Field Review Of AlgoForce E1500

[Aureous]

My 'disappointment take' on the new E1500 is a rationale of what 'could have been'. With ex ML engineers being involved, I would have thought that a more variable detector would be sensible. Some minor hardware additions (bigger dump capacitors for example) and coding to allow for a truly deep-seeking detector using big coils would have been a sensible option. Its simply a mode change. Their 'large' mode doesnt recommend using anything bigger than a 14x9 coil FFS! If their idea is to launch their brand with a small gold detector and sell a big gold detector in the future, then they may miss the boat if Nokta beats them to it. Possible bad decision. On a side note, I cant even tell from their quick start or user manual downloads how you even select the different modes.... The modes are mentioned, but nothing directly on how to select them 🤔 The lack of ground tracking may also become a big issue, especially in Australian goldfield conditions. Tracking and locked should be a 'no brainer' I would have thought. 

But, disappointments aside, it may still be a useful detector.... I still want to try one, just to see how it compares to a 6000 on small gold. The target ID with a mono coil is also an interesting development.  Massive potential for lots of users, not just us gold prospectors....

[phrunt]

Sounds like all you do is press number 9 (Auto GB) and it allows you to use + and - to scroll to the setting you want to change, which is number 5, then select the detector mode you want which must come up on the display.

To do the AGB you hold down the button, a press appears to activate the menu.  It all seems pretty easy to me, much like many of the VLF's in a way with the navigation.

You can see here when selecting the detect mode with the + or - buttons it displays the mode 

It all seems pretty straightforward.

Time will tell how well it goes with bigger coils, just because the manual doesn't talk about them doesn't mean they aren't beneficial.

 

[PhaseTech]

27 minutes ago, phrunt said:

Sounds like all you do is press number 9 (Auto GB) and it allows you to use + and - to scroll to the setting you want to change, which is number 5, then select the detector mode you want which must come up on the display.

To do the AGB you hold down the button, a press appears to activate the menu.  It all seems pretty easy to me, much like many of the VLF's in a way with the navigation.

You can see here when selecting the detect mode with the + or - buttons it displays the mode 

It all seems pretty straightforward.

Time will tell how well it goes with bigger coils, just because the manual doesn't talk about them doesn't mean they aren't beneficial.

 

Yes Simon is right. The Left and Right arrow buttons are for scrolling the menu. 

So basically, you press the Power Button. Wait for it to boot up. It defaults to being on Sensitivity adjustment. Pressing the + or -  buttons immediately adjusts sensitivity. Volume +/- has it's own dedicated buttons. 

When you are in the Default screen, the left arrow button is for switching into pin-point mode. Pressing the Right arrow button takes you to Threshold, then Audio Tone, Freq Scan, Detection mode, Mic Volume, Coil Selection then Misc info which shows software version, serial number, Factory Reset. 

When you are done just press the Back (#8) button which takes you to the default screen. Very easy. 

One cool feature is that in the default screen, under the speaker icon, #18, this flashes to show what timing is selected and also what Coil Selection is selected. 

[Steve Herschbach]

3 minutes ago, PhaseTech said:

Yes Simon is right. The Left and Right arrow buttons are for scrolling the menu. 

So basically, you press the Power Button. Wait for it to boot up. It defaults to being on Sensitivity adjustment. Pressing the + or -  buttons immediately adjusts sensitivity. Volume +/- has it's own dedicated buttons. 

When you are in the Default screen, the left arrow button is for switching into pin-point mode. Pressing the Right arrow button takes you to Threshold, then Audio Tone, Freq Scan, Detection mode, Mic Volume, Coil Selection then Misc info which shows software version, serial number, Factory Reset. 

When you are done just press the Back (#8) button which takes you to the default screen. Very easy. 

One cool feature is that in the default screen, under the speaker icon, #18, this flashes to show what timing is selected and also what Coil Selection is selected. 

I think you got a hot one on your hands Nenad. Any tidbits you can offer as far as possible availability? I understand it can't be sold in the U.S. yet but that might help make more supply available in Oz initially.

[jasong]

@PhaseTech Compared to the 6000 is it about as fast in terms of bootup, noise cancel, ground tracking, and generally processing speed such that a person can swing it at a fairly decent clip for exploration? Good sharp signals on small stuff like the 6000 has?

The coil selection thing is kinda new, for PI's anyways. Do you know more about this, in specific is there a reason that each coil needs configured in the machine? I'm curious if it's just fine tuning, or if the machine itself is able to accept a wider range of parameters for coils (inductance, resistance, etc) than regular PI machines who require fixed values?

 

[Steve Herschbach]

Normally a detector has a fixed parameter that coils must meet and since "dumb" coils always vary to some degree, you get performance mismatches between coil and detector. It is a problem with coils being out of spec, and I have always wondered how many people dissatisfied with a detector were only feeling that way because they got a substandard coil. It is not as much an issue with smart chipped coils as that is less about keeping third parties from building coils as it is about making sure the coils interface properly with the detector. Build quality of aftermarket SD/GP/GPX coils has varied a lot more than people realize over the years, and I suspect that since this machine is pushing the small gold limits (this requires tighter tolerances), a way had to be found to deal with coil variance to insure best performance. In other words, instead of the coil having to be to perfect spec, the detector has more room to adjust to the coil.

[phrunt]

@PhaseTech Is there any particular powerbank you recommend? I was thinking of ordering this one

20,000 mAh Laptop Power Bank (cygnett.com)

 

[Reg Wilson]

There are pros and cons in regard to power packs. When Howard Rocky used a power pack for his PL4 the first batch that he ordered (without prior testing) turned out to be useless, so he then had to negotiate returning them. The ones that he settled for still had problems in that they turned themselves off at first start up and had to be restarted. I personally would prefer one of the model aeroplane batteries which both jr Beatty and I used with our prototype QEDs.

[phrunt]

That's why I was looking at that one Reg, it can power laptops which will have a much bigger power draw than a detector.

[PhaseTech]

9 hours ago, jasong said:

@PhaseTech Compared to the 6000 is it about as fast in terms of bootup, noise cancel, ground tracking, and generally processing speed such that a person can swing it at a fairly decent clip for exploration? Good sharp signals on small stuff like the 6000 has?

The coil selection thing is kinda new, for PI's anyways. Do you know more about this, in specific is there a reason that each coil needs configured in the machine? I'm curious if it's just fine tuning, or if the machine itself is able to accept a wider range of parameters for coils (inductance, resistance, etc) than regular PI machines who require fixed values?

 

Noise Cancel on the 6000 is lightning quick. This one is slower, but you can see the visual progress, and can observe the noise levels in each of the available channels. I timed it and it took 43 seconds. 

The Auto Ground Balance takes about 7 secs, but it can vary depending on how "out" it is. If it's totally out of whack, it can take around 10 secs, so you just pump the coil and watch the indicator bars come back to the centre - I like it! 

Signal sharpness / tone modulation is very good, but like with all PI's, to get the maximum sensitivity, you should sweep fairly slow. It will handle a fairly moderate patch hunting speed, but if you whip it around too fast you will miss targets. 

Steve's reply about the coil parameters is bang on the money. The Coil Calibration feature basically tweaks the detector to be in harmony with your specific coils parameters. I would assume there is still a required tolerance for the coil to work, and the detector can't pick up the slack if a coil is wound too far off the mark. I tried a really old beat up 11" Minelab super gold search mono, and it calibrated and worked just fine.