AlgoForce E-1500, Is It A Zip-a-dee-doo-dah Zip-a-dee-a? I Think So.

[Gold Catcher]

2 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

Calling people bashers is a way of downplaying or disrespecting opinions that do not fit the mold of being happy with anything a company does.

Fair point Steve, and I certainly did not want to insult anyone. So, apologies for that. I just sense that many folks hate ML so much that whatever they do or not do is bad. I have noticed that across many threads over the years, and also in other forums. Now, everyone is entitled to their opinion and that is of course totally fine. You have been involved with ML way longer than I have and on a much deeper level, so I am sure there are many reasons why this company is so much disliked, and I heard of some of them. I can just say that I enjoy their detectors and like their innovative thinking. I am not sure why they had a monopoly for so long, but I suspect it is not because they aggressively prevented others from emerging, or because of some unfair business practices, but rather because there were not many companies who would spend a similar R&D budget to come up with all these innovations (which also comes from their military work). Anyway, I am glad we now have true alternatives (Axiom, Algo, etc) and this will be good for everyone.

GC

 

 

[phrunt]

Some great reports are coming in from Aussies using the Algoforce on Facebook, particularly in regards to handling ground, it's running over hardpack ironstone like a dream and no issues with the red and orange clays in Victoria, the guy was finding bits around Bendigo. 

None of this surprises me.

[Gold Catcher]

2 hours ago, Gerry in Idaho said:

Do you know it's background? It's housing is the exact one provided to the military

Thanks Gerry and yes, I know. When the MF5 came out I hoped for a next gen SDC, but that did not happen...

GC

[Gold Catcher]

11 minutes ago, phrunt said:

Some great reports are coming in from Aussies using the Algoforce on Facebook, particularly in regards to handling ground, it's running over hardpack ironstone like a dream and no issues with the red and orange clays in Victoria, the guy was finding bits around Bendigo. 

None of this surprises me.

Which coils do you recommend for the Algo that you liked the best thus far?

[phrunt]

26 minutes ago, Gold Catcher said:

Which coils do you recommend for the Algo that you liked the best thus far?

I would say the 10" Spiral X-coil as it's handled everything I've thrown at it and is super sensitive to small stuff being a full spiral but seeing it's not sold at the moment it's the NF 8x6" Sadie for its size and nice edge sensitivity for rocky bushy areas and NF 14x9" EVO for general use out of the coils I've tried, I'd love to try the Coiltek 9" Spiral Elite though, I think it'd be great.  I have plenty of coils I liked on my GPX though so I've got a fair few to try out yet, part of the fun of getting a new detector ?

I haven't messed around much with bigger coils on it at this stage other than seeing that they calibrate fine.   The next spot I intend to hit is a black sand beach with a 15x10" Spiral and 12" Spiral, might also take the Coiltek Goldstalker 16" mono just in case for a bit of a play but of course that's more for the coin and jewellery side of it, it's nice to have a PI so resistant to EMI to even use on the beaches with a mono.

It kind of feels like I'm doing something wrong plugging these mono GPX coils into the Algo, the detector looks and feels so much like a VLF, yet I'm putting these GPX coils on it ?

 

[Gerry in Idaho]

13 hours ago, Lead Detector said:

It will be interesting to see what price point it actually comes in at in the US. So far we are just going off the price point in Australia.  We may see a surprise here in the US. What if it ends up at $2000-$2500 instead? Add a couple coils, batteries, and good headphones,  and your in the ballpark of the axiom price. All we can do is eat our popcorn till Gerry has them in stock lol

1st off, I need to be clear on me being a dealer for AlgoForce.  It's not a done deal but he knows me from Minelab, he knows I enjoy metal detecting for all kinds of gold (natural nuggets, specimens and gold jewelry) with a passion. He also knows the Field Training my Staff Experts/I offer.  For a new customer coming into this game, that's important. But at this time it's not a done deal.

You bring up a valid point of the E-1500 possibly being more money when it hits the US market and that easily could be. Your price points mentioned and compared to an Axiom MAP $4000?  I have no worries the E-1500 will easily outsell the Ax.  Garrett had their chance to price point Ax to actually make a splash and evidently a few higher ups wanted a quick pay back.  In the end the $4000 US and crazy AU price was more than most wanted to pay coming from a company not known as a top PI player.  It really cost them and now they're probably scrambling wondering how to play their hand.

My personal opinion and I have made it pretty clear on DP.  I feel the Axiom is the best price vs performance PI gold detector on the market today.  I feel the E-1500 is going to soon take that spot over unless Garrett has an Ace up their sleeve or how soon Minelab reacts.

Bottom line and I have said it until I'm blue in the face.  It's the opportunity to get another tool/option for me and also my customers. 

When selling a detector to someone who wants to get into the gold hunt.  I always try to sell them what I consider the best value detector out there, for the tasks they want to pursue, within their budget.  The E-1500 is just another option.

[ChuckScrivener]

On 2/14/2024 at 6:47 PM, Gerry in Idaho said:

Now I do like the idea of an SDC-2300 packed inside a Manticore housing and shaft for $1700.  Boy would that hurt E-1500 steam train.

That would be a dream detector for me. You could even go with a smaller housing because I’d buy it without the screen and just go simple like the SDC is now. Giving me goosebumps just thinking about heading out on my electric bike to one of my nearby old patches and picking up some crumbs for an easy half day hunt. I used to like the SDC for patch hunting too but it got too heavy as I got older. 
 

I see fewer young prospectors out there these days so maybe a super lightweight easy swinging PI would help boost sales amongst the old minelab faithful who are an aging demographic. 
 

I’m not sure if I’ll be buying an Algo Force but I thank them for bringing something competitive and new to the PI detector market. 

[Nedkelly]

16 hours ago, Gold Catcher said:

Which coils do you recommend for the Algo that you liked the best thus far?

The coils I like so far that I own are the nuggetfinder 8x6" Sadie, 9" coiltek elite, 12" round nuggetfinder evo,  14x9" coiltek goldstalker 'blitz' series. They're all stored in the detectors memory. There's one slot left for another coil after further testing.

Still haven't tried the 8" minelab goldseeker, 11" minelab goldseeker, 11" minelab commander, 15" round nuggetfinder evolution.        

Not sure if the coiltek AI coils are compatible but might be worth a try.

[phrunt]

7 minutes ago, Nedkelly said:

 Not sure if the coiltek AI coils are compatible but might be worth a try.

Nope, Coiltek AI coils need to run in DD mode on the GPX, so they're not going to be an ideal coil, likely one that won't calibrate, or if it does calibrate will just be weird running as a mono.