Where Is Fisher On The Impulse?

[Chase Goldman]

6 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

I'm sure it is good for FT to know that there are at least a few rabid interested buyers, and for every rabid buyer there are going to be many who are silent. So I think lobbying and letting FT know we are interested is extremely important. If nobody cares.... they best hang it up.

I'm a very long term hard core detectorist, I can have anything I want, and they only thing I'm interested in getting beyond what I have right now is an Impulse. That's got to count for something. As a retailer I always looked to what I wanted to determine if there was a market, and I rarely was wrong. I've got a pretty good nose for what detectorists want. Beach hunters chase gold, and Minelab proved long ago the gold market is pretty immune to detector pricing, if you can just deliver some kind of edge. I think this machine will offer a true edge, and therefore it will sell even if the price comes in a little high. If I was still a dealer I expect I'd do pretty well with these. The main problem initially is surely going to be supply. If they are a unit that is slow to build, demand could easily outstrip available supplies for quite some time.

Though if I was running FT if that's how it's going to play I'd cut dealers out of the loop and go factory direct. It would help keep the price lower, and most dealers these days are just order takers and drop shippers anyway. Somebody is going to do it sooner or later, and this machine would be the perfect machine to use as a test bed for a factory direct model.

Not saying we shouldn't lobby for it at all and not express our enthusiasm for Impulse, all I am saying is its a business (just like you said earlier, Steve) so folks should keep a realistic view of their perceived influence on FT.  I think a huge value of this forum, and perhaps of greater importance, is having that direct access to the design team and potentially being able to influence some of the design decisions.

[Rick K - First Member]

FTP is closely held - they need to please no one except customers and Tom Walsh the CEO and his partners if he has any.

Still, there is no doubt that they need to “up their game”.  Alexandre Tartar is designing highly marketable new development detector systems WAY faster than FTP can figure out the mechanical design, do the sourcing of bits, set up and qualify the production system and figure out how to sell the darned things.

 

[schoolofhardNox]

Well I hope Alexandre didn't sign away all his secrets to them. It would be sad if this does not turn out well, and the rights were sold off to Fisher.  Alexandre deserves to see his inventions come to market in a timely fashion, and to profit from all his hard work.

 

[Chase Goldman]

1 hour ago, schoolofhardNox said:

It's amazing to me, that companies whose profit margins are being squeezed these days by competition, would adapt this strategy in putting their products to market.  You would think that getting a machine out there quickly would be in their best interest.  [Not if it doesn't work the way it supposed to, recovering from that backlash could be near impossible,  detectorists are notoriously fickle and hard to please].  I don't know if FTP is a publicly traded company, but I would think their shareholders would start to complain. It makes absolutely no sense to talk about your new product and showcase it's capabilities, so that other manufacturers can have the time to roll out a similar model to yours. [FTP is not talking about it, the designers are, as noted in earlier posts, this is an important distinction]. I want that machine and I want it now. [Frankly, FTP, ML, or Garrett doesn't really care - they want to know if it has legs, meaning is the demand high enough and sustainable]  If I'm forced to wait another year or two and Minelab comes out with a waterproof, upgraded GPX 5000 (or better), I will buy it and forget all about Fisher [FTP probably knows that is not happening, ML is more focused on gold prospecting which has greater worldwide appeal than niche beach jewelry hunting]. Life is short and wasting years waiting on a machine is just ridiculous. [I agree if what is happening is just polishing the cannonball out of some obsessive-compulsive engineer's desire for perfection, but it sounds more like mandatory design changes to meet international regulatory compliance regulations regarding EMI and/or electrical safety or personnel hazards regarding electromagnetic field emissions or to be internationally certified to environmental performance standards such as watertight integrity or finding solutions to fundamental issues with the mecanical design/packaging]  In the old days when White's,  Garrett, Compass, announced a new machine, it was already in it's dealers hands (including additional coils, etc...) Corporations are like mini governments..... too many people deciding and delaying production [In reality, it might be governmental regulatory authority that is the hold up]. It's really simple guys .... just produce it and release it quickly and you will make more money. [It's really not that simple, frankly].  This is the best thing that Fisher has had happen to them in many, many years [jury is still out on that, need more than just the designer's claims and videos, and that is all we have so far] and they just can't seem to move on it. Just makes me shake my head in disbelief .

Nox, I sympathize with your disappointment and impatience, but the real world from an experienced engineering and business perspective is a little more complicated than that.  See my interjections above.  Yes a lot of it is speculation, but informed speculation based on what has been posted here by folks like Rick Kempf who are closer to the project and my own personal knowledge regarding the realities of delivering tech gear to a demanding customer.

[Steve Herschbach]

3 hours ago, Geotech said:

Outside of myself, I doubt there is anyone in FTP who pays much attention to forums. They mostly focus on Facebook & such. I try not to say much because I've been chastised a few times in the past for doing so. Rick & LeJag have a bit more leeway.

Well that sucks.  The part about you getting chastised. As far as Facebook goes I refuse to do anything to support Zuckerberg so avoid it as much as possible. I think lots of people feel similarly and focusing too much on Facebook misses a large segment of this particular market. Though I have to admit watching the sh#tshow on many forums they can't be blamed for ignoring them either.

[Gold Catcher]

6 minutes ago, phrunt said:

I've mothballed my T2 and Gold Bug Pro as they've both been superseded by an entry level detector from a competitor for my needs... after all they're very old models... yet, still the current models.  

Spot on, Simon!

[Chase Goldman]

7 minutes ago, phrunt said:

I've mothballed my T2 and Gold Bug Pro as they've both been superseded by an entry level detector from a competitor for my needs... after all they're very old models... yet, still the current models.  

Well said.  I really want FT to get back in the game.  But a niche detector may not be the answer even though I DO want to see Impulse come to market, if only to see if the Impulse designers can follow up with a viable "terrestrial" focused detector for nuggets or relics.

[Rick K - First Member]

I have no solid information, but Alexandre is no fool and EU laws are very favorable to the rights of inventors to a fair share of their inventions profits. 

[Steve Herschbach]

11 hours ago, Chase Goldman said:

Well said.  I really want FT to get back in the game.  But a niche detector may not be the answer even though I DO want to see Impulse come to market, if only to see if the Impulse designers can follow up with a viable "terrestrial" focused detector for nuggets or relics.

I agree. FT needs a new model that addresses the latest competition in the general coin and relic arena. There should have been a fast recovery digital CZ in a F44 type package ages ago.

[schoolofhardNox]

12 hours ago, Chase Goldman said:

Nox, I sympathize with your disappointment and impatience, but the real world from an experienced engineering and business perspective is a little more complicated than that.  See my interjections above.  Yes a lot of it is speculation, but informed speculation based on what has been posted here by folks like Rick Kempf who are closer to the project and my own personal knowledge regarding the realities of delivering tech gear to a demanding customer.

I guess my biggest complaint Chase is the silence from Fisher. It seems that the new norm (from most manufacturers) is to ignore your customers and just not comment on anything. Delays of years are now the norm. It's sad really how business has no enthusiasm, just dollar signs. Whether they believe it or not, some people will be turned off by there way of doing business. For a niche machine, every sale counts. I hope if a relic version is released it is by some other company.