Some Things To Take Note Of With The Algoforce

[phrunt]

3 minutes ago, BigSkyGuy said:

Doc's GPX 5000 lower shafts measure 19mm in diameter.

I think that'd work fine with the cam lock.  I'll experiment and see with a slightly smaller shaft.

[Taz]

1 hour ago, phrunt said:

It's lower shaft is 20mm, the same as my GPX 5000's shaft, but my 5000's on an aftermarket carbon shaft, the good bit about it means if people dislike the different coil connection method where you have to line it up in 2 places and prefer the GPX style they could use GPX 5000 lower shafts by the looks of it, I can't find my standard one to measure it.

Thanks for your reply appreciate it. Sounds like what I have is all good. 👍

Sold out here the 15, but no probs. 1oz will buy it with a coil and power bank. Good stuff. Thanks again.

 

[phrunt]

@Wiggins at Avantree was kind enough to send me a Bluetooth LL transmitter to test out, along with their NB18 wireless neckband earbuds.

I'm currently using the Avantree Torus neck speaker with my Algoforce, although the built in speaker is just fine, it's been windy lately so the Torus is helping with that by having the speakers right at my ears.

I've been using this MPow aptX Low Latency transmitter on it, using adhesive Velcro to attach and detach it, the Velcro actually came with my Quest Wirefree Mate wireless kit which uses 2.4 GHz, but I now prefer the Bluetooth aptX LL stuff.

This is the gear Avantree sent, the NB18 isn't LL however it was sent more to test the design, build quality and sound quality for suitability for detecting, I'm yet to try it out as it only just arrived today, I have however tried out their Relay product, it' is atpX LL and aptx Adaptive using Bluetooth v5.3

The Relay product is really good on the Algoforce, very loud audio and adjustable volume on the Relay as well as the detector, and Torous.  The downside is it has a short little cable built in, it fits but its a tight fit.

I just put adhesive Velcro on it to attach it.

Nice little product, 20-hour battery life too, so will give a couple of days detecting for most.

They're intending to make a version of this ideal for detecting, and really, all I can see that needs changed is it needs to have a socket to plug in a cord rather than a fixed cord, to give it the best compatibility with a range of detectors.  Perhaps they could include some adhesive Velcro for both the detector and transmitter with it too.

I've tested it a fair bit today and its audio is very stable, no drop outs, no noticeable interference causing it any issues and it's not causing the detector any interference either.  I can see this being good for detectors, I'll have to try it on a range of detectors yet but so far so good with the Algoforce.    They just need to release it with a 3.5mm female socket rather than the fixed cord and maybe include a short cord to get people started until they adapt to the right size for their detector, I often prefer right angle plug ends if the situation suits as they can be out of the way more so if the female socket is offset to the side rather than the middle that also helps keep the plug out of the way.  

[Norvic]

That`s more compact, the sort of size we need, Avantree`s timing is spot on I can see a lot of E1500s fitted with it. What changed you over to using a Torus, your first posts on it weren`t positive?

[phrunt]

23 minutes ago, Norvic said:

That`s more compact, the sort of size we need, Avantree`s timing is spot on I can see a lot of E1500s fitted with it. What changed you over to using a Torus, your first posts on it weren`t positive?

I just don't like how it crackles, but I've been told it's a flaw with aptX LL not the fault of the Torus, perhaps interference or just not keeping up with its fixed transmission rate for whatever reason, EMI, my body between it and the detector and so on.  I've never really properly used my atpX LL headphones to know if they do the same as I don't like headphones, maybe now with the Algoforce and it's built in microphone to transmit the surrounding sounds into the headphones I may like them a bit more, I just like knowing what's going on around me.

I also think the Torus isn't robust enough for the sort of detecting I do, the cloth type stuff over the speakers will be torn and destroyed in no time so I've been consciously trying to be very careful with it.  The new "detecting" focused version will be on my must buy list.  I currently use the Torus is if windy or for whatever reason I think the built in speaker won't be suitable for the day as I want louder volume, I often detect close to very fast flowing big rivers and they're LOUD! It drowns out speakers but the Torus does the job great.

You're spot on though, Algoforce owners will be looking for a good wireless transmitter with long battery life and suited well to the detector, and Avantree is already well on track to having that with this one, just needs some minor changes to be perfect.

[Norvic]

Yes the Torus has proved themselves, original set I`ve had on the 6K are into their 3rd or is that 4th season??? They are popular here in OZ, Sales to detector user would show that. Perhaps as they have proved themselves Avantree should leave the original Torus as is.... have a go at making a more rugged Torus but just in case that`s not the go, leave the original Torus as is ,,, If it aint broke don`t fix it 

[Lead Detector]

@phrunt, have you run it long enough to get an estimate of run time on your battery pack? 

[PhaseTech]

On 2/8/2024 at 8:43 AM, Taz said:

Hi, may have been answered already but there's so many pages of stuff I may have missed it.

Is the bottom shaft the same diameter as the Minelab ones so I could use the longer one I kept from my 5000 on it? I find the industry standard length ones and will the overall length of this 1500 a bit too short. All Minelab machines over the years have been too short for me and I used longer lower shafts on them all. I'll definitely need to use a longer shaft than the supplied one this has. Cheers.

 

Can't speak for others but I'm 6'4" and I can get that Sadie coil much further out in front of me than I would ever want. 

[phrunt]

23 minutes ago, Ndplumr said:

@phrunt, have you run it long enough to get an estimate of run time on your battery pack? 

Well, just in case I charged it up before going on the gold hunt the other day, since then including the gold hunt it's had about 13 hours on it, and the detector is reporting 4.9 volts, the same volts as it did with the fully charged battery.  My battery has some white lights which I assume are charge bars and they're still on full so I don't really know, but I have a 20000 mAh so it should last about 20hours at max draw of 1 amp, although I'm not using the speaker, I don't need the backlight bright as I'm in sun, so that will only extend my battery life as it's a 1-amp maximum draw from the detector.  I'll probably get 24 hours out of it.  Based upon the average current consumption the manufacturer provided me I should get 28 hours and 34 minutes off my 20000 mAh Belkin battery, it's looking like I will too.

This was from the manufacturer, and sounds correct to me.

The average current consumption of the detector is 700mA. Thus, even a 10,000mAh power bank will provide more than 12 hours of usage.

This calculator makes life easy if you're looking at which battery to buy, keeping in mind the lower capacity batteries are lighter if you wanted a lighter detector, not that my 200000 is heavy 🙂

Battery Life Calculator | DigiKey Electronics

It's vital to buy a real genuine brand name though, so many dodgy fake capacity power banks floating around, hopefully Algoforce dealers start stocking recommended batteries to sell with it to solve that.

[Lead Detector]

32 minutes ago, phrunt said:

Thus, even a 10,000mAh power bank will provide more than 12 hours of usage

I'm thinking (2) 10,000 mah packs would be ultimate. Keep one in your pocket if you can swing that long. It would be super lightweight, but maybe not balance as well? Hmm I guess I have plenty of time to think about ot lol