THE QED - PL2

Today I had the pleasure of meeting Howard ( the QED inventor ), to pick up my QED that had been prepared for me by Stinky Pete. To say that the package Pete had put together is light, is an understatement ! 2kg all up with Minelab 11 inch mono and batteries fitted.    

We did some comparisons with my ZED in Howard's back yard, and I was impressed with most aspects of the machines performance. I was a bit surprised at how well the ZED ran at a gain of 18 and no audio smoothing, considering the proximity to 240 v.

The QED was able to ground balance easily over a very noisy patch of dirt from Beggary Hill that Howard has put in his backyard, where the ZED was almost unusable !  

It became immediately clear that the QED does have at least one detection " hole ", on a 11.5 gram specimen I have, that the QED with a 14" round N/F got from about 8 inches, but the ZED was hearing at 14 inches. The QED with a Sadie 8x6 seemed to be no better than the ZED with the standard 14x13 on a tiny 0.08 gram test target, but let's not forget that the QED is a fifth of the price of the ZED !!

Overall, very impressed with what Howard has achieved without the vast resources that Minelab has.    

I will be putting the QED through it's paces over the next 10 weeks before going to WA, where it will be running a 24x12 N/F as my main raw prospecting tool.

Will give a warts and all appraisal as I go, but I can tell you confidently from what I have already seen, that the QED is currently the best value for money PI on the market.    

Cheers,
Rick

Good to hear Rick. By the sounds of it, a very positive outcome all round (especially regarding the price & weight of detector). Do keep us informed of your endeavours/trials with the QED.

Cheers Kon.

G/Day Rick.
I am still keen to hear more about the QED.
Those test figures for the 11.5g nugg. Were they in ground or air?

adrian ss wrote:G/Day Rick.
I am still keen to hear more about the QED.
Those test figures for the 11.5g nugg. Were they in ground or air?

Adrian,

All the tests we did were air tests, as we were in Howard's backyard, however, they are good for direct comparisons between the two detectors.

I personally air test my little 0.25 round ball of gold every time I use the ZED, and if I can't 3 inches I want to know why !

Cheers,
Rick

Is that a good signal at 3 inches or a quiet one for the ZED?
What is the QED performance on the same nug?

AraratGold wrote:
We did some comparisons with my ZED in Howard's back yard, and I was impressed with most aspects of the machines performance. I was a bit surprised at how well the ZED ran at a gain of 18 and no audio smoothing, considering the proximity to 240 v.

The QED was able to ground balance easily over a very noisy patch of dirt from Beggary Hill that Howard has put in his backyard, where the ZED was almost unusable !  

Rick having the ZED's Sensitivity/Gain as high as 18 with Audio Smoothing OFF then that sure is surprising especially within proximity to 240v.

Therefore with those settings then what Ground Type and Gold Mode settings were you in over that very noisy Beggary Hill patch of dirt, so were you in Severe and High Yield?

Just got back from 4 hours of testing the QED on a goldfield near Beaufort, and I can report the following :

Claims that the QED is a " SDC Killer " are probably a little exaggerated. I also don't believe it to be quite as good as a 4500 either. However, it is a damn good machine for the money !  

I can confirm that it works fine with an 11" Commander, a 17x13 Evo and a 24x12 N/F Advantage.
Testing over my little 0.25 g sphere of gold ( which is a difficult target for any machine due to the small surface area ) was impressive ( air tests only ).
3" with the 11", 2.5" with the 17x13 Evo, and 1" with the 24x12 ( good result for big coil ! )  

The machine ran well over the very variable and often noisy ground, with only the occasional tweak to the ground balance.
I was in mode 9, THS B was 47, THS A was 77, gain at 6 ( out of 10 ), pitch 25, and GB was around 110.

I found that if I swung the coil a bit too quickly, I got some ground groans, but at a nice steady pace ( similar to my ZED ) it was quiet, and seemed to get the best response over the little test target. I air tested all 3 coils with a 5 gram piece of what I believe to be a copper nugget, and all coils gave a strong dipping signal from more than 8 inches, so response on bigger bits was good also !  

No hint of EMI where I was, had a nice quiet stable threshold, and the targets jumped out over the threshold.  

Where I was today is a place I have flogged for 10 years with a 4000, 4500, 5000, SDC and ZED, with numerous coils on the GPX, and have been unable to find any more bits. The QED also found no bits ! Which leads to my next observation : if you are using a QED after multiple Minelab's have flogged the area, I believe you are wasting your time ! However, if you take the QED to somewhere that hasn't been relentlessly flogged, then you are in with a good chance.

Bang for buck, it can't be beaten !  

Wantmoregold : yes, severe and high yield, but the ZED also whined badly when moved from the noisy to the quiet ground.

Adrian : 14.9 gram specimen ( 11.5 grams gold ) was also an air test, but gave a good direct comparison between the ZED and QED.

More testing to come in about a week ( I've got some fishing to do )

PS : I tried mode 1, 2 and 3 with the 11 commander, and I couldn't see a noticable difference on the little target ??
Maybe an 8 commander would be better for fly sh#t, however Howard had an 8x6 Sadie on his QED in his backyard, and I wasn't all that impressed for a tiny coil !!??

Cheers,
Rick

AraratGold wrote:
Wantmoregold : yes, severe and high yield, but the ZED also whined badly when moved from the noisy to the quiet ground.

Adrian : 14.9 gram specimen ( 11.5 grams gold ) was also an air test, but gave a good direct comparison between the ZED and QED.

Okay thanks Rick.

In regards to the 14.9 gram (11.5 gram gold) specimen air test the detection hole from the QED that produced the depth difference to the ZED then the ZED would also have a detection hole on a piece of gold that the QED would produce a better depth and response on, as detectors have a detection hole of some sort.

Wantmoregold wrote:

AraratGold wrote:
Wantmoregold : yes, severe and high yield, but the ZED also whined badly when moved from the noisy to the quiet ground.

Adrian : 14.9 gram specimen ( 11.5 grams gold ) was also an air test, but gave a good direct comparison between the ZED and QED.

Okay thanks Rick.

In regards to the 14.9 gram (11.5 gram gold) specimen air test the detection hole from the QED that produced the depth difference to the ZED then the ZED would also have a detection hole on a piece of gold that the QED would produce a better depth and response on, as detectors have a detection hole of some sort.

I believe that the QED will have more detection holes than the latest Minelabs, simply because the QED is a single channel PI, whereas the Minelabs use multiple channels to minimise detection holes.

Rick

AraratGold wrote:

I believe that the QED will have more detection holes than the latest Minelabs, simply because the QED is a single channel PI, whereas the Minelabs use multiple channels to minimise detection holes.

Rick

Thanks again Rick and a fair point although the QED being a single channel PI then there may be other settings that may close detection holes that more testing might show.

I suppose new buyers then have to way up the overall purchase price and others factors that could sway the buyer to choose between the QED , Minelabs, Whites, Garretts and others....

WMG

Wantmoregold wrote:

AraratGold wrote:

I believe that the QED will have more detection holes than the latest Minelabs, simply because the QED is a single channel PI, whereas the Minelabs use multiple channels to minimise detection holes.

Rick

Thanks again Rick and a fair point although the QED being a single channel PI then there may be other settings that may close detection holes that more testing might show.

I suppose new buyers then have to way up the overall purchase price and others factors that could sway the buyer to choose between the QED , Minelabs, Whites, Garretts and others....

WMG

WMG,

The trouble with detection holes is that they will vary on the QED depending on the coil, mode used and size and type of nugget. Doug on his forum has acknowledged the shifting detection hole depending on mode : " The GB hole will also be dependent (shift) on the mode used. "

This throws a spanner in the works because it is labor intensive to test every mode with varying coil types and multiple sizes and types of nuggets to try and work out what the holes are !  

This is why the Minelabs with their multiple channels are so successful, and why I stated that if you are coming along with your QED in an area that has been pounded my Minelabs, you are probably wasting your time.

Rick

Detection Hole?? Please explain.
Coz I always thought that was something dug in the ground with yer pick.

Well after quite a few more hours of testing, my initial testing is still valid.

I am unable to get it to perform as well as a 4500, although it does go well for the money.

It is a bit fiddly to use, having to match a mode to each individual coil, and setting Threshold A and B, which is also dependent on coil size. A and B can be set to accentuate rising or falling targets, but once again, this is a bit fiddly ! With any of the Minelab PI machines, you can strap any coil on it and away you go. Not so with the QED.

Increasing the mode to suit larger coils and noisier ground decreases the sensitivity to small targets, and also increases susceptibilty to EMI, although that is to be expected. Much the same as enhance on the 4500.

The light ribbon cabling from the main control unit back to the battery box is very exposed, and will be a real problem in thicker brush. I can see it getting ripped out if you are not very careful !

Overall, a good machine for the money, and will be my main search tool in WA in " virgin " ground with a big coil, but I won't be using it here in Victoria much at all !

Cheers,
Rick

back from a few days out with qed, around the mt crawford area in adelaide. watts gully flogged out but plenty gold in other areas ...research is a must. firstly an update on qed since updated and agb added. i took to a spot near home where i previously tested qed when i received it. last time gb number was 128 to 132 from memory, this time sat on mostly 106, with 108 sometimes. the agb works a treat if done, how bugs recently explained, first time it went to 106 but had to adjust to 108, got bit noisy after a few steps hit agb again sat on 106 and thats where it stayed pretty much the hour i was out there. mode 1 is the best with 8 inch coil, but 2, 3 and 4 seem just as sensative when gets a bit noisy. had bias set on 44 was the best for where i was, also mucked around with volume a bit, around 30 now get faint stable threshold, if i up volume to 70 i get a more sensative machine by far, all be it a bit noisy though, as some people have stated by gettting the extra mode update could be dumbing down machine, i have found no evidence of that as yet..... now an update on mt crawford trip....

was out mt crawford for 2 days well well away from the flogged and famous watts gully, had a ball out there machine was a joy to use , is light , very sensative, and is a proven gold finder, ie, reg wilson and jr beatys photos of numerous nuggets found so far. i got a few emi spikes from 4wd near by a few times but thats all i had , i say this though the agb upgrade is a must, and ive found it no different to use then minelabs little green button, qed is actualy quicker, hold button in drop cil to ground let button off, easy peezy, u dont have to sit there pumping coil up and down like others, well done bugs... anyone with a qed that hasnt had the agb upgrade its a must for sure, its like say having a 2000 then for $110 you have a 4000, its a no brainer....whist out i found 2 bits, 0.09 and 0.29 pieces respectively, how do i upload pics

Sensitive to say the least dasenator. Sounds like that agb upgrade is not only a must, but a must have (works wonders). Much appreciate your info update on the QED.

Cheers Kon.

Kon61gold wrote:Sensitive to say the least dasenator. Sounds like that agb upgrade is not only a must, but a must have (works wonders). Much appreciate your info update on the QED.

Cheers Kon.

no probs mate il keep posting for sure, yes agb is a MUST, cheers