Fisher Impulse AQ detector update

[Surf Master]

Rick

Sorry , if you got the wrong intention's, everyone on here know's i like joking around, and i to am interested in another , or should i say one more PI , just making sure , checking , gathering information before buying, sometime's people take me the wrong way that don't know me , it's all good here , i will most likely buy in the 1st batch made , as far as my beach find's go slim to none, in 2018 January , i am a permanent resident at the beach the season here fresh drops July , August, replenishment sand here is over whelming before i was 130 miles from the beach, i need a deep detector, but i will say 17 inches on the video i was not impressed , my Whites Surf PI can punch that deep, all way's looking , watching for more information, Earl

 

[lytle78]

Here’s my take on the thing - I think a fancy word for that is a synopsis.

Alexandre and his friends pursued their dream/obsession with PI detectors over 10 years or so - first by buying, using, analyzing and then improving on Eric Foster’s designs.

They never stopped, never gave up - they built a series of prototypes. Each time pushing the envelope, better components, tighter tolerances, better coils...every step in one direction - superior performance from a PI detector on a lower power budget - so it could be light and handy.

Their favorite kind of detecting was on the long flat beaches of France - with the large tidal range. The resulting machines were intended to be the best detectors ever made for those conditions.

Will the AQ be the best detector ever made for every beach under all conditions - very unlikely.

What it will be is our latest chance at the “beach gold monster”. I did suggest that they call it that, but the email I got back was - shall we say - not encouraging.

 

[lytle78]

SM - happy I can now call you Earl -

We all want the same things - more fun, more learning - MORE GOLD.

I wish you and all our pals here great fun and great finds.

I expect that the AQ, whenever it appears (and that may be later as well as sooner) will cause a stir. Whether it will be the detector everybody must have or just another tool offered at a premium price - time will tell.

I know all the keen folks here will watch it closely and comment freely on what the like, dislike, hate or love about it.

At that point what Fisher, me, you or any other one voice has to say about it will be weighed in the range of opinion, test results, videos etc.

If you think you and I are scratching our heads, just think about poor Tom Walsh, CEO of First Texas, wondering if he bought a “tiger by the tail” or a “pig in a poke”.

The folks in El Paso are running a small business, trying to make a fair return on capital while employing lots of Americans in a lively border town which - by the way - is a clear example of how cross-border trade is making two countries more prosperous. The place is booming - electronics, aerospace, all kinds of companies are drawing on the talent and education of the local area and, through agreements like Trump’s proposed USMC - drawing on talent from both sides of our southern borders - but I digress, I guess growing up in San Antonio just naturally made me appreciate how cooperation could result in mutual benefit.

 

[Surf Master]

Rick

Ran Cz20, Cz70pro, 2 - F75 standards, one of which i was a winner on 1st Texas site, still have my F75 se with upgrades , love detecting , even though i am only an occasional hunter, not avid, any tool that will help me on these hard to find gold beaches is wanted, getting old now just turned 59, a few days ago i covered 47 blocks down & back 94 total, at the end not showing much as far as finds, only the next day i felt like a Mack truck hit me, gold is not the only thing i like, silver coins i love, never nugget hunted but all ways wanted to, i never vacationed in gold country, but i did spend 5 weeks in Florida looking for 1715 fleet items i never found, this year hopes are high to find some gold, its been a while since Fisher braked out a good machine , looking forward to it , as far as electronics go, how they work, the thread maker knows, maybe some pros will chime in here that know & find treasure on a regular basis , stick around you will get your enlightment , happy hunting.

 

[lytle78]

All good. Nice we could air everything. Good thing about forums - at their best - folks can express themselves anyway they want within reason - and if somebody (like me in this case) feels bad, they can say so - and then with a bit of back and forth folks can learn more about each other and discover that there isn’t really a big problem after all.

You and I have been here a long time (12 years in my case) , I should have been a bit less thin skinned - apologies.

 

[Ra1der5]

Today, I read every word of this thread. Every word! I've learned nothing new about the AQ/Manta except maybe, maybe, it's getting close to being released... maybe.

I've only been at this hobby eight years, so I guess you could say I'm about to graduate from MDU with a BS in beach hunting. I've gone through an Ace 350, Sea Hunter MII, CZ21, and finally landed on the BBS machines in my 3rd year. I also have a CTX, but keep going back to the GT and Excal. I just love the BBS, but something in the back of my mind says I need a PI for the quiet winter beaches.

So, my only question is ease of use. As with any machine, I expect some transition, but would one be able to pick it it up, set it, and have fun day one? Is this so drastically different that an inexperienced PI user would struggle to understand?

I know, I know, one's intelligence isn't easily determined by thread posts, but I have slept in a Holiday Inn and do know how to write!

R5

 

[Playsndirt]

Don't forget, In Germany theirs the Oct Fest and The May Fest, Beer will be flowing poss. for the show!!!

 

[Cfmct]

Don't forget, In Germany theirs the Oct Fest and The May Fest, Beer will be flowing poss. for the show!!!

I'm confused now...

 

[Surf Master]

Cfm-ct +1

Were's Beer Doodle when we need him

 

[lytle78]

Now we are having fun.

My vast experience with the AQ - 2-3 days - combined with my use of 4-5 other PI detectors in the last 2 decades, suggests that they are basically uncomplicated. OK, if your include the “Magical Mystery Tour” modes on the GPX series from ML, maybe not - but basically, they are simple.

Threshold, gain, pulse delay, —- that’s about it. When you add two channels for ground balance, then you get a sort of “balance” control which can cause two different tones on either side of the setting - and, depending on how it is done - give some discrimination.

Alexandre and his merry band of “euroelves” have developed this into a focused for the salt beach iron ID function. Not absolute, something you ought to “tickle” for your site and your quarry - ever hunted live game - sound fimiliar??

It’s not complicated, the controls don’t adjust 5 things in the backrground without telling you what they are - I’M TALKING TO YOU MINELAB - and sadly to you -
Boeing.

Just discrete controls which the user documentation will tell you pretty much the exact effect of.

 

[Steve]

Now we are having fun.

My vast experience with the AQ - 2-3 days - combined with my use of 4-5 other PI detectors in the last 2 decades, suggests that they are basically uncomplicated. OK, if your include the “Magical Mystery Tour” modes on the GPX series from ML, maybe not - but basically, they are simple.

Threshold, gain, pulse delay, —- that’s about it. When you add two channels for ground balance, then you get a sort of “balance” control which can cause two different tones on either side of the setting - and, depending on how it is done - give some discrimination.

Alexandre and his merry band of “euroelves” have developed this into a focused for the salt beach iron ID function. Not absolute, something you ought to “tickle” for your site and your quarry - ever hunted live game - sound fimiliar??

It’s not complicated, the controls don’t adjust 5 things in the backrground without telling you what they are - I’M TALKING TO YOU MINELAB - and sadly to you -
Boeing.

Just discrete controls which the user documentation will tell you pretty much the exact effect of.

Can it discriminate between 24k and iron? If yes, sign me up

 

[lytle78]

Sadly, probably not. Both iron and 24k gold likely fall in the same “zone” Hopefully your 24k treasure is not in an iron patch, otherwise you fall back on all metal and other “tricks” to try and tell a nail from a jewel - if it’s a ring, it ought to be easy, if it’s a bracelet, not so much, but then - it’s only sand - and it you live on the few paces on the world where 24k jewelry is common - the Far East, thenyou will probably work out your own techniques —

Otherwise, for most of us mere humans, it’s not a big problem.

P.S. - we should all have such problems - “oy veh”

 

[Sandcrab]

When and if you can get your hands on an AQ, you can answer all of your own questions. Even before that, there will be lots of folks posting their experiences with it.

Until then what you and I say about it is pretty well pointless except to help and focus our questions and expectations so that we can properly evaluate it when it appears - whenever that is!

I was lucky enough to use one for a few days but even then my use was limited by the need to drive from PHX to San Diego and do a fair bit of normal tourist stuff with my wife.

My TDI use included lots of hours with 2 different ones. I followed that project from its very start because I had been corresponding with Reg Sniff for several years about PI detectors, especially Eric Foster’s. Reg was part of the team which turned Eric Foster’s Goldscan 4 into the Whites TDI.

I got one of the original thru hole ones in July 2008. My beach time with it was mostly at Virginia Beach during the time I worked in Yorktown VA on a contract with the USAF at Langley.

My modded TDI that got a faint return on a quarter at 17” in the air is now with “Paul CA” who is using it relic hunting in central CA. He agrees that it is the smoothest TDI he has ever seen

Hilarious… Just like before, I do not want a history lesson about who you know, or other machines. Just like a couple pages back… Maybe you are not understanding what I am asking. I asked you what significantly deeper was? You posted the Fisher was significantly deeper. If you had read my post a few pages back, I also have high power pulse machines. You ignored it then, and ignored it now. (I will bet on your modded TDI you are running stock power which probably is under 14v and probably using the stock DF coil as well. Remember that little tid-bit.) The Fisher has a mono… So what is significantly deeper???


You stated “Until then what you and I say about it is pretty well pointless”, that is interesting with all the posts you have written… You being the mouthpiece for JAG and fisher’s number one cheerleader. Like a few pages back you can’t answer anything I asked before, but you can ramble on about what it can do on every other board. JAG posts something and you right behind him, going into detail about what he posted licking his boots. Seriously, are you channeling him or something? You have no facts, none. Just speculation which you pass off as fact. You don’t beach hunt, probably have less than 10 hours beach hunting with a pulse in the past year. But look at you go on other forums. "They can price it where they want - it’s only a few ounces of gold after all." (How many rings is that? I am over 30 rings for this year and over 250 grams, I can buy one!!!) I thought Drayton was bad with Minelab, you take it to a whole new freaking level...

So there will be "lots of folks posting their experience" that have little or no experience using a pulse in the first place... This gets better by the minute.

So significantally deeper… You write this???

“I had the Manta for two days and the TDI was gone by then, but I am certain that the Manta was quieter and at least as deep as my “souped-up” TDI.”

 

[dewcon]

This is what Terry Crenshaw said....... he helped Eric Foster debug the AquaSound: "Based on information that Denis has posted. He has detected gold rings 20 inches deep in the all metal mode. My Aquastar could not reach that depth. He has stated that using the discriminate mode reduces the depth 10 to 20%. So worst case could be a lost of 4 inches on a target. The Aquastar put out a 430 volt pulse. I suspect that the Impulse AQ puts out a higher voltage pulse. I dug a lot of gold with the Aquastar operating at 10 uS pulse delay. Will the Impulse AQ find smaller gold while operating at 7 uS pulse delay then the Equinox will. I do not know at the present time. But bottom line, I do not care what it cost. I will have one to use."

The 4" sounds about right..... but the depth in AM.... we know how digging goes... its all a guess unless done slowly with a PPer.... which no one does at the beach with the moving sand. Id be MORE than disappointed if a 7uS cant find the same smaller gold the Nox can. Because i know what the Nox is missing..... and IMO, ill see a lot more yellow using the 7uS than digging SOMETHING 20" down. A lot will also depend on how we determine its ferr from non-ferr in disc at 16" down. Will it be as clean a signal or will we be right back to digging like a PI. We are lazy ya know.

 

[Slimpickuns]

 

[lytle78]

Time will tell. I doubt Fisher will release any detailed information beyond what is out there until they have production AQ’s for sale. At that time, I expect folks who have received so-called marketing test units it will be able to talk about their experiences with it.

Until then I guess we can all enjoy what it is we do - picking fights on the internet or discussing what we would like to see, how we would use the device, our experience with other machines - whatever.

 

[lytle78]

SC - you keep asking about what I wrote in post #23..

“It’s not just the discrimination that sets this apart. It is significantly deeper than any beach or diving detector. At the same time it is significantly quieter than the TDI, for example while being significantly deeper on targets large and - more importantly - small.”

In fact, the whole phrase should have been stated differently - my bad. I believe that the statement is correct based on what has been reported by LE.JAG. The videos I posted links to show a Manta prototype getting more depth on test rings than a TDI and a GPX5000 among others. I also should have said deeper than any production unit. What you or others have achieved with modified units are unknown to me.

It would be interesting to hear what kind of performance improvements you have measured with your modified TDI, compared to a stock unit.

You asked about my modified TDI - here’s something Reg Sniff wrote about the modification

“mods, which included a quieter preamp, a special noise reduction board and an additional addition that further enhanced small gold signals.”

I did’t have a TDI modded - I bought it from a guy on one of the forums and he is the one who had the mods done. The coil I was using was a 14” open loop mono which was built by the guy who did Razorback coils, before he sold the biz off to Miner John. The battery was the stock Whites Li pack. The 17” air “depth” was on a nickel, not a quarter - I just had a look at my old notes.

The 17” air test was a surprise to me - my original TDI would only do about 12” on a nickel.

 

[Surf Master]

Dew ?

You stated 20 inches depth, David reported 24 inches with a TDI , i would expect nothing less than the 2 foot + range , at that price tag in the wet sand. My Surf pi hits 17-18 inches , 20 no big deal , you can get a Surf Pi Df for 700 clams , bottom line here is Rick need's to go in to detail on the depth, if he doesn' t know so be it, however the question from Sand Crab still goes un-answered , s----------------- deeper must be explained in detail, due to the high price tag , Dew even though i dont care about the money, the point is i won't spend it, knowing a TDI beach hunter will smoke it for less than 1/2 the price.

 

[Ra1der5]

Call me intrigued.

Back to MD-101: How Metal Detectors Work.

R5

 

[dewcon]

The problem is SM....u don’t know if it will or will not smoke it. Read a post on one of my Facebook pages from the guy who helped Eric Foster debug the AquaStar. He said the guy using one expected a 20% lose in depth when in disc. I’m not ready to buy either SM.... but I can’t compare machine if it’s not out. People can hype all they want.....even after it gets here because would you be the guy who said it bites after paying $3000. Besides people tell a lot of fish stories. Now if Fisher trickles them out.....it won’t take long to know.... because there will be a couple who love to post comparisons.