Rutus Alter 71 has arrived!

[picklepete]

I first heard of this Polish made detector thru some youtube videos made by ziggyjinx in England. It looked like a nice machine with lots of features that interested me. I found a few 71's listed on the world wide auction site, and a dealer in England was selling a new one with an extra coil included so I bought it. It took 9 days to get to me in the Ozarks . The detector comes with 6aa batts, belly bag, 11" dd coil, 8"x9" conc coil, control head cover, and battery/ speaker box cover. After assembling the detector , it weighs close to what my old T2 weighed, and balances about the same.
The display has a hodograph, similiar to the AKA Berket I have, plus it has a numerical readout, and a display of which of the 7 programs you are running it in. The 7 programs to choose from is .... Ultra deep, Deep, Big Silver, Basic, Coins, Fast, and Ultra fast. This detector has 71 frequencies to pick from to use, starting at 4.4 Khz, and going up to 18.4 Khz. No need to change coils to change frequencies.
The different programs and choice of frequencies this detector can be run at was my main draw for buying this unit. Reading thru the manual it looks rather easy to operate and set up. The ID has 120 points , so it will be interesting to see where our american coinage registers. It also has notch, where i can accept or reject any of the 120 points. There are also a bunch of optional settings, as I get used to the machine, I can go in and fine tune different settings. The operators manual is easy to read and understand, which is a plus for me. i'm getting too old for complicated!!
I'm a bit under the weather today, and the weather is cold and wet outside, but in a few days ill take it out to the barn , run a few air tests, and run it thru my test garden, and share my results. It really looks like a fun machine to run.

 

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[Loco-Digger]

Looking forward to your next post concerning this machine.

 

[picklepete]

I did some air tests tonite.......ID numbers and hodograph observations. Real ground tests will vary of course. There are 120 number segments.
Silver 50c.......115- Silver 25c.....113- silver dime... 109, clad coinage reads a number lower than the silver coins. Copper cent....107, Zinc cent ....97
Nickel .....67. Ultra thin 14k womans gold ring....50- Med size mans 10k gold ring..... 74.
Iron.....7/16 x 2 rusty bolt with nut and 2 washers attached......1 , rusty flattened old bottlecap....99- rusty bottlecap.....82, plated steel bottlecap, no rust....99
Heavy rusted 4" antique nail....9, 1" galvanized roofing nail.....38-
1" long lead fishing weight....71
Alum foil, the size of a 25c piece...44- 1" x2" alum can slaw...57- 1" x 2" melted alum can....85- 2" x 4" shredded alum can 77.
Hodograph observations. If you sweep fast, the hodograph only produces a dot. If its a silver or clad coin, its on the right of the screen, iron will be towards the left side.
Slowing down the sweep speed , the iron pattern will be scattered dots across the screen, a coin, will be a short vertical line. The hodo graph should be helpful in sorting out bottlecaps from coins. Though in real dirt situations we will see how it works. The above samples were tested in the coins program, which runs at 15khz.
I put it in the ultrafast program(18khz), and it was just too fast for the hodograph to work. Sensitivity I turned down to 30 as I was inside my shop, that has a steel roof. Max sensitivity is 90. I think I will like the expanded VID of 120 segments, as it should be easier to separate out targets in the field. Next testing will be depth air testing, stay tuned.
Please note, I still work full time plus, so these tests will be stretched out over days and weeks.

 

[picklepete]

I took Mr Rutus upstairs in the barn tonite, where there is not a lot of metal , for some air tests. Man I could not believe it, this machine sucks at air tests. Could hardly pick up my silver half at 12", with the 11" dd coil! I tried different programs, still sucked! I had the same feeling when I bought a Sovereign xs over 20 years ago. That thing did not air test worth a darn either.
I decided to strap on the headlamp and hit the test garden. I had thoughts of having to put this 71 up for sale quick. I have clad dimes buried every inch from 4 to 10" deep.
My soil is rather nasty. Orange clay, mixed with yellow clay and rocks everywhere. When I had my T2 a few years ago, it could hit 8". My red racer does better, close to maxed out sensitivity, and can hit 9" dime sometimes with a lot of buzzing and jumpy numbers. I tried the 71, using the different programs, and the program that works the best is the deep program. 7 KHz, I set the disc up to 80, and the sensitivity at 85.I left the rest of the settings at preset. Man , this detector nails that 10" dime . Loud and clear, no ground noise, steady 114 ID number. Hotdog. I think I'm going to love this detector. Now the Racer is at 14 KHZ, and the coil is a 7x 11 size, and I do like the racer, but this deep dime test just blows me away. I think the key to having success with the 71 is getting the settings right with the type of soil . Its going to be a learning curve for sure. Maybe I will have to bury a coin at each area I plan on detecting, try a few different programs , then go for it. I also tried using the Ultra deep setting, but the audio is real weird in that program . I will probably have to experiment with the audio gain setting to tame it. I am really pleasantly amazed at the power this unit has, and once tamed , it should produce. I have to travel down to the lakes area tomorrow for my job, If I have some time , Id like to do a beach hunt where the digging is easy.HH

 

[picklepete]

Yesterday I managed a 45 min hunt at a beach area. I usually get there about once a year. Never found much, but I gave it another try. i ran it in the deep program, but there was too much trash. in the deep mode , it is set up like the nautilus machines, all metal audio and also disc audio. It became rather fatigueing , so I switched over into the basic program, which only uses the disc side audio. I picked up 2 zinc cents, not deep. They Id'ed around 87, 10 points lower than the bench tests. Then i got a good sounding signal that showed 74. thats the same number my 10k gold test ring bench tested at. I dug up a gold looking mans ring, which turned out to be tungsten. Almost! I picked up a few bottle caps which read in the coin range, but the hodo graph had a back and forth wiggle on the top section of the line, which was a clue that it was not a coin. Coins show a straight ine . I really like the hodo.
I had a few deep signals that read hi on the TID, and I dig down a foot, and still did not hit it.
My garrett carrot indicated it was big, and I got tired of digging through the rocks to find it.
One thing I do not like is the speaker is under the box, facing down. I put some tape over the speaker holes to keep the sand and dew out. They did include the box cover, that would keep the speaker clean, but I did not put it on.
This polish puppy is deep!
Today I went to a local park for about an hour. There is a power pole with underground lines going up it, and 10 wires branching out at the top. Most detectors I have used i cannot get within 30 ft of this pole. The 71 did not react to it al all, even right next to the pole. i found a handful of the usual clad. I really need to put more hours on this machine, and to start tweaking some of the audio settings. This machine has alot of potential, but it has a learning curve.
Tonit I went back to the test garden, I bumped up the sensitivity in the basic program to 95, I could still hit the 10" dime, but the TID was jumpy, but hitting 112 every now and then.
In the deep program, I adjusted the settings to get rid of the all metal audio, and It still hits the 10 dime , but a tad weaker. I will be hitting more parks over the coming weeks, I have alot to learn , so i will not be posting for a while. I will post again , when I'm a bit further into the learning curve. I will check in every now and then, to answer any Q's if I can. HH

 

[picklepete]

I'm up to 11 hours on this machine, starting to get it figured out. Still using the 11" dd coil.
Been detecting and testing on freshwater beaches, mostly dry sand. Buried a silver half dollar, and this machine gives a decent audio report most of the time in the Big silver mode. I buried a 10k equivalent tungsten carbide ring 18" deep, and I get a great audio signal, though weak, but consistant, with the VDI reading up around 110, instead of 74.
The weak signals get averaged up. I have dug a 12" quarter, and a 14" pulltab, the tab had good audio, but no VDI, so I dug it. The first 30 segments , are for iron with the remaining 90 for everything above. With a widely spaced zone, I'm finding the pulltabs usually have a 5 segment bounce, but rings lock in with only one or two numbers. That maybe why I have dug 7 rings so far, though no gold yet. Also the hodograph tends to smear horizontal dots, where as the rings tend to produce a more verticle line on the hodo graph. I'm also starting to notice that coins produce a more smoother audio , than the junk targets. I'm still digging a few plated bottle caps, but the rusted caps sound good one way, and usually sound bad the other way, and also the numbers drop lower , and the hodograph tends to produce a more horizontal line. I'm really liking this machine. Its also fun knowing its got the horsepower to punch deep!

 

[wackid]

Nice reading thanks... So on a scale from one to ten (maybe to early) how does it compare to the T2?

Edit: never mind I bought one.

 

[picklepete]

I had a T2 3 years ago. The 71 handles bad soil much better , runs quieter, and is much deeper than the T2. In all fairness, the 71 has a 11" round coil, the T2 a 7 x 11.
The 71 does not have a smaller coil than the 9 x 8 available. The T2 has a better selection of coils to pick from. The 5" coil on the T2 is great. The 71 has a larger learning curve, than the T2. In a trash filled area, I would use a T2 before the 71. So far anyway. I still have a lot to learn on the 71. I sure do like the hodograph in addition to the VID numbers. I find it hard to go back to just watching VID numbers, and audio. I used a Racer 1 on the beach with the stock, and 13 x 15 coils, and a Sovereign GT with sunray meter, 10" and 13" coils, and have sold them both since getting the 71. The 71 is just so much deeper in my sand and rocks I have here. I hope to get out next week again. Will report my results. HH

 

[picklepete]

With temps in the low 80's today, I took the day off and took Mr Rutus back to the beach in my last post. I used the 11" dd coil, basic mode, disc at 35 to knock out iron, sensitivity at 80. For the first hour I still dug a bit of trashy stuff, mainly lead weights and some aluminum. The round lead fishing weights fooled me , as they read the same from all directions. The oblong weights would read about 5 digits higher the long way, than the shorter side. I also dug a few pulltabs that were reading in the nickel range, the number spread was about 5-7 digits but I dug them anyway just to see. I dug 2 pulltab tabs , they were laying flat. Scanning one way , then scanning at a 90 degree angle produced a number that was 3- digits different from the first scan. Also the HODO showed a scattered pattern. I really like the expanded number scale on this detector. It really fine tunes or shows more detail whats under the coil. The only iron I dug was 2 small carpet tacks, and also a good size nail which was laying next to a quarter. It told me the quarter was there, but the nail was a surprise.
I did dig a few steel bottle caps the first hour also, just to check. They were reading near the quarter range, but the HODO was indicating an iron smear. After the first hour, I concentrated on just digging targets that sounded good, showed a tight number group, and watched the HODO. After 2 hours, I picked up 6 quarters, 6 dimes, 1 nickel, 9 pennies, and a sterling silver ring. I dug very few trash items during that period. But I did spend some time analyzing signals. It reminds me of the explorer I had. Kind of working the signals, and going at a slower pace. The numbers do tend to jump around a bit. Now the quarters were locking in at 107, but the corroded dimes and zinc pennies were jumping. The dimes were locking in sometimes in the low 90's, sometimes in the hi 90's. But the audio was telling me its a coin, and the HODO as well. The pennies were doing the same thing in the 80's. The ring read in the dime range, I thought it was going to be a dime. I have around 15 hours on it now ,Batteries are just above the halfway mark. I'm feeling very comfortable in the basic mode, I hope to hit a park or two after we get some rain. HH

 

[TabWhisperer]

Good reports so far. Can you give some feedback on it in a typical urban/park hunt? Not necessarily super heavy trash but the usual assortment of bottle caps and aluminum tabs, EMI issues, etc. Does the hodograph help or using some coil edge pass rejection to sort out the junk? Also in these conditions does it give a real noticeable audio hit on good targets? Any way of guestimating approximate depth? I know this machine is targeted for relics but with the reported depth ability it is interesting to find out if it can also perform in the city. Thanks.

 

[picklepete]

Hey Tab, I only have 4 hours in the local parks so far. I have had no emi problems yet. I have nasty orange clay soil here. I have been running in mostly the basic program( 7khz) so far, and detecting areas that are not heavy trash areas. On the beach hunts , due to the easy digging, I have concentrated on learning the audio, watching the number VDI and the hodograph. That knowledge is paying off in the parks. I'm running the 11"dd coil, and have the disc set at 35, which is about the high end of the iron range. I tend to run the sensitivity quite high, so I'm getting a fair amount of false signals , but they are only one way hits. So far in the parks I have dug NO IRON. Iron smears on the hodo in a series of horizontal dots, so I just choose not to dig those. I am still digging some pulltabs that read out at the nickel area of 52-54. Most of the aluminum tabs and canslaw have a wider number range than a coin or ring, but some of the square tabs read out in the 60's , example 65-66. I dig those tight numbers as they could be a ring. Also the hodo tends to give a straight vertical line, so I dig. Some of the round tabs that read like a nickle have the tab attached and curled around the ring. The tabs that have the tab stretched out flat will give a larger number range, and more horizontal hodo , so I do not dig those. Canslaw is my biggest challenge so far. And also whole aluminum beer cans squashed flat, 6" deep. They sound good, but when I cut a plug, I stick the garrett carrot in the hole, its a wide signal, So I plug the hole. Todays 1 hour hunt, 8 coins, and maybe 12 alum trash items. I picked up 3 coins in a 10" radius , and I was able to separate them rather well. The other day, I dug 2 Wheaties 5+ " deep. Good loud audio, rather tight numbers , and good hodo. That is the first time in 7 years I have dug Wheaties in this park, coincidence, or just a more powerful detector now? Time will tell.
If you are looking to go into a park, quick stab some shallow clad and leave, there are better detectors out there for that purpose. I feel this machine will help me pull out the deep stuff , without digging the trash, as time goes on. Its fun to use, but I still have a lot of learning to do with the audio settings.

 

[wackid]

Hey Tab, I only have 4 hours in the local parks so far. I have had no emi problems yet. I have nasty orange clay soil here. I have been running in mostly the basic program( 7khz) so far, and detecting areas that are not heavy trash areas. On the beach hunts , due to the easy digging, I have concentrated on learning the audio, watching the number VDI and the hodograph. That knowledge is paying off in the parks. I'm running the 11"dd coil, and have the disc set at 35, which is about the high end of the iron range. I tend to run the sensitivity quite high, so I'm getting a fair amount of false signals , but they are only one way hits. So far in the parks I have dug NO IRON. Iron smears on the hodo in a series of horizontal dots, so I just choose not to dig those. I am still digging some pulltabs that read out at the nickel area of 52-54. Most of the aluminum tabs and canslaw have a wider number range than a coin or ring, but some of the square tabs read out in the 60's , example 65-66. I dig those tight numbers as they could be a ring. Also the hodo tends to give a straight vertical line, so I dig. Some of the round tabs that read like a nickle have the tab attached and curled around the ring. The tabs that have the tab stretched out flat will give a larger number range, and more horizontal hodo , so I do not dig those. Canslaw is my biggest challenge so far. And also whole aluminum beer cans squashed flat, 6" deep. They sound good, but when I cut a plug, I stick the garrett carrot in the hole, its a wide signal, So I plug the hole. Todays 1 hour hunt, 8 coins, and maybe 12 alum trash items. I picked up 3 coins in a 10" radius , and I was able to separate them rather well. The other day, I dug 2 Wheaties 5+ " deep. Good loud audio, rather tight numbers , and good hodo. That is the first time in 7 years I have dug Wheaties in this park, coincidence, or just a more powerful detector now? Time will tell.
If you are looking to go into a park, quick stab some shallow clad and leave, there are better detectors out there for that purpose. I feel this machine will help me pull out the deep stuff , without digging the trash, as time goes on. Its fun to use, but I still have a lot of learning to do with the audio settings.

When going in a park and want to pick up modern coins. Use the Fast mode. You will be amazed you much you pick out of the trash.
It's a joy to use.

Verstuurd vanaf mijn LG-H815 met Tapatalk

 

[picklepete]

I've been detecting 2 local parks. I've been running in basic mode, ( 7khz) sensitivity from 75-85, disc set at 40, to knock out iron. On the beaches I have been at, I have dug some iron, some of the steel bottle caps read close to coins, but by watching the VDI and hodograph, I have been able to not dig them. In the parks, with different soil, clay and rocks, I have dug no iron. No caps, no nails. I really love the target ID 's on this machine.
The soil is rather dry, and my joints are getting older, and digging everything above iron, just does not interest me any more. There is plenty of alum can slaw and tabs . I have been using the 11 dd coil , and detecting in fairly thick trash areas. Any good solid audio signals I investigate. Nickels bounce at 51,52.. Alum tabs read 54-78. A lot of tabs come in at 54-60, bouncing 4 numbers. I basically dig all signals in the aluminum range that bounce between 2 numbers. Sometimes I get fooled, and dig a round pullring with the tab wrapped around the ring, or a squaretab. Those 2 items show very tight numbers, and the hodograph shows a vertical "good" line. Most aluminum show at least a 4 number spread, and the hodograph line ends wag like a cats tail, when they twitch the end. Today I hit a 57-58 ,which is right in the heart of the pulltab zone, and dig up a junk ring.
Last year, I dug probably 2000 clad coins, and 5 rings, so far this year with the 71, I'm at 108 clad , and 9 rings. With the expanded target ID scale on this machine, It makes ring picking so much easier than any other detector I have used. I really like the tri-ID combo........, audio, VDI numbers and the hodograph.
Zincolns read in the 80's , and tend to bounce quite a bit if corroded, but the audio is good, as is the hodo. Dimes read in the 90's , if tarnished bad, sometimes they read in the low 90's, sometimes dimes read in the mid or high 90's, but again, good audio and hodo. If 2 out of 3 ID 's are good I dig. Quarters hit at 106-107, very consistently.
I hit one target, good audio, numbers bouncing from 70 to 95. It turned out to be 4 targets in a 6" radius, a nickel, pulltab, zinc and dime.
So far, its an excellent beach machine, ring machine, and excellent discriminator, I really need to work on going after deep signals. We need more rain, and I need more practice. The deepest coins I hit so far are 2 wheat cents at 5". In my test garden, much deeper of course. HH

 

[wackid]

So any further news or recommendations?