QED Info Thread.

[Mec30]

Having recently purchasing a QED and also previously owning an sdc I can say the qed is better value for money hands down! Choice of more coils, ergonomically better to use and barely any EMI issues, the sdc squeals like a pig in EMI areas, a good detector that finds gold for half the price.

 

[Davent]

I really hoped, when I started this thread, that it would be kept on topic, and peoples views and opinions would be respected.
I made a few comments about how my original QED was difficult to use on some patches of ground I work.
I stand by that.
On other areas, its an absolute pleasure to use.
Its two biggest weaknesses in my opinion, are the audio, in that you need to buy headphones that are compatible. I have a set of ss300,s that are great on a GPX, but because they are mono, I have to pull the plug half way out. I had a set of detecnix wireless phones, that were just about useless on the QED, so I sold them. The transmitter seemed to interfere with the QED, and the volume is not good. I settled on my daughter's $20 Phillips headphones for her DVD player, and they are much better, but not great.

Second weak point, is as Rick pointed out, in variable ground, you need to re ground balance every few steps in some cases. The new auto GB is very good.

All in all, it is a powerful machine, that will find gold, is lighter than all other machines, and is very versatile.
It punches deep, and is very very sensitive to small targets. In my area, it is no match for a zed. But close to a 4500, auto ground tracking, however makes the 45 easier to use. As for EMI, I have noticed that the QED suffers about the same as the GPX....in my area anyway. In one particular area, close to a highway, its cops it bad. Could be the military, as there are several places that cop it bad, the GPX and ZED are the same.

 

[Aussiedigga]

Anyone tried a large coil say like a 18 inch on the QED , I believe from what I have read the QED only seems to operate well on certain coils , would be good to find out what works well and what doesn't

 

[Aussiedigga]

Davent , when I'm in constantly changing mineralisation of the ground I usually turn the mode up ,say around 7 then turn the gain up a bit to compensate, then re ground balance and seems to work fine , tested those settings over some targets .2 it just picked up but would prob miss it thinking ground noise, the .5 bit heard it no problems , so this method sacrifices a bit of sensitivity on the smaller stuff but isn't carrying on like a pork chop every time the ground changes

 

[Goldpiece]

Hi aussiedigga, I used an 18 round spoked Coiltek coil in WA recently with no problems, I have also used it at Welha, VIC with no probs at all, cheers

 

[Reg Wilson]

Aussiedigga, I have used a 25" and a 36" on my QED, and it runs smooth. Good point about about changeable ground I run the mode up as far as 8, and then bring the gain up until noise starts to come in, and then back it off one digit. Some people quickly adapt to the difference of the QED and have success, while others try to use the tactics that they have been using with other machines. You can't force a QED to behave like other machines. You must learn a new set of rules.
I have noticed that some people keep on making the same mistakes and refuse to, or are unable to adapt.

 

[Dave79]

Hope you didn't have steel cap boots on with the 36" one!

 

[Reg Wilson]

No metal in the shoes Dave, and had to carry my pick over my shoulder. I wondered why I got an increase in sound at one end of my swing, until I realized I was hearing the pick in my belt. A word of warning. Never run a coil that big over old ground unless you are prepared to dig some huge holes for junk.

 

[Aussiedigga]

This was rediculusly changing ground where I had to do this , there was a guy there with a gpx5000 and he was having dramas with it groaning and carrying on so it's at the extreme end of the scale , I know in the user manual it says to manual ground balance until it is quite on the down of the coil , but when I'm in this sort of ground I manual ground balance untill it's quite then keep taking it up to a higher number until it gets noisy on the higher number, say it gets high pitch 125 I take it up to 135 until it is low pitched then I know that 130 is the sweet spot , seems to give it a bit of free play both sides of the coin , these are not specific ground balance setting , just a example

 

[Aussiedigga]

Yea reg , Im very impressed with the QED , some cannot wrap there head around all the settings, I really look at it as a specialised machine , because it has so many variations, trouble is there being compared to sdc2300 what are "idiot proof" , but the SDC is what it is and cannot be anything more due to its ball and chain coil

 

[mbasko]

Anyone tried a large coil say like a 18 inch on the QED , I believe from what I have read the QED only seems to operate well on certain coils , would be good to find out what works well and what doesn't

I used a NF Advantage 16" spoked mono on my QED. No gold but dug some deep holes for junk.
It ran nicely on the QED.

 

[Dave79]

Got a few beginners questions about the QED that someone might be able to help out with. Firstly, what is the order that you adjust the various menu options in? I've been selecting a mode then finding bias neutral then adjusting volume and finally playing with ground balance and gain. Smf doesn't seem to have much effect near the high voltage transmission lines at a spot i have tried. Is a high setting usually best if emi is a problem? And finally, is it true that a drop in threshold volume can indicate a target ?

 

[Reg Wilson]

Dave 79. I start at Ground balance, using auto to get close enough to start with. Next is bias. The factory preset is 50, so if I am using a small coil I go down the scale until the threshold starts to rise, say 47 or so. If that is a bit noisy I may back it off a bit. The next setting is default 30, and using the phones that I do I find that is OK, but you may like to dial it up until it suits you. Gain and mode need to be in balance, so leaving the gain as preset I adjust the mode to as low as possible to suit the coil I am using, so that the detector is not sounding off all over the place. Once I have it smooth in the mode, I then go back to gain to see how high I can set that and still have it running smoothly. The combination of mode and gain is important in getting a sensitive yet stable situation. Finally I go back to ground balance and manually adjust that until it is spot on.
In noisy ground don't be afraid to up your mode quite high, as it will not compromise sensitivity much at all. Some QED operators swear by a mode of 8, but if you do increase the mode, go back and adjust gain to suit.
I know this sounds a bit awkward, but after a while it all becomes second nature, and once set up, the ground balance although not auto tracking, is quite forgiving, and depending on the ground on which you are detecting, will rarely need tweaking.
A drop or gap in threshold can simply mean an anomaly in the ground. I am not sure if in certain circumstances that it could mean a tiny barely discernible signal or not.
I hope this has been of some help, and will enable you to become familiar with, and confident in your machine.

 

[Dave79]

Thanks Reg! I'll try a factory reset and follow those steps tomorrow when the rain stops and the trees stop dropping! Winter has returned every bloody Saturday recently!

 

[Reg Wilson]

Hope the weather soon improves, as it is showery and strong winds here today. Not good detecting weather.
Let me know how you get on, and only too happy to try and sort out any problems that may arise.

 

[Dave79]

That was very helpful, thanks Reg. Took my new Detech 11" coil out for its first run today. No gold but plenty of ammo. Mode 4 went pretty well until I hit a really red patch but changing to mode 6 seemed to do the trick. Working from a factory reset and following your recommendations will be my plan each day out from now on.

 

[Crow Pickens]

Hi All.
My attempt at make a cover for my QED. mite give some others ideal to make a cover.

Cheers Crow Pickens

 

[Reg Wilson]

Not too bad at all. Maybe you should market them.

 

[golddigger dave]

Reg Wilson,
Could you explain what Mode is.
A few days ago, you gave us a description of how you set up the QED. ........ EXCELLENT summary.

I really have no idea of the function of MODE and its effect on the machine.
Then comes Gain. What does Gain adjustment do to the mode setting?

Thanks Reg,
Newbie Dave (Geelong)

Gold is where it is, but i haven't been there much.

 

[Dave79]

In my limited experience lowering the mode and raising the gain lead to more ground noise (mineralization ) especially when using a larger coil. In mild ground with a small coil mode 2 or 3 should run nicely with a gain setting of 8 to 10 but in highly mineralized ground with a larger coil you may have to run mode 8 or above and lower the gain to 4 or less to avoid signals from hot rocks. Interesting that even in a high mode and lower gain small targets still give a clear signal if bias is set accordingly.