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Fisher Impulse AQ Ltd Preliminary Report


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Informative report and enjoyable read- thanks for doing this and good luck today.

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Hi Steve - good luck with the surgery today...

This is very good info and I would think that Fisher would just throw this extra shaft section in with the detector.  Especially with a powerful PI and beach detecting using a large scoop...you want that coil way out in front of you...at 6' tall - I would definitely need that middle section too:

There is only one thing about this machine I did not like to the point of needing to do something about it. At 5' 11" the two piece rod is too short for my liking, like by a couple inches. I had to keep the coil a foot ahead of my feet and was still bent over. Thankfully I just found that the middle section out of a standard Fisher three piece rod (I have one in my pile of stuff) plugs nicely into the gap, and will give me that extra reach I need.

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I admit, I was disappointed (just a wee bit) about your report of it picking up bottle caps and hair pins.  With my first PI (Sand Shark)  I could usually tell a wire or hair pin but dug them anyway expecting a chain.  Bottle caps are a big issue on the beaches I hunt.  The good thing is they don't sink deep before being extracted by someone!    

Thank you Steve for your honest, easy to understand review and I hope your surgery went great!  Get well soon!

 

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3 hours ago, Sting Ray said:

I admit, I was disappointed (just a wee bit) about your report of it picking up bottle caps and hair pins

Would have been nice if the disc knocked them out but I was not expecting it. Sounds like the hair pin responses are what you are used to. Not sure about whether there is an audio tell on the bottle caps yet. At the moment I would say wire and bottle cap responses at default settings are similar to what most people expect from a PI. The reject function, as I very much anticipated, is not a magic bullet for all classes of troublesome targets. Unfortunately we are working not with conductivity or ferrous versus non-ferrous, but targets sorted by their time constants. The discrimination responses are not very dissimilar to what I would expect from a White's TDI with the ground balance control appropriately manipulated, but without near as much depth loss as I would anticipate with the TDI.

More on other questions in a few hours.

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1 hour ago, Bill (S. CA) said:

My only real comment is that if Fisher had the sense to send you a test unit a year ago the product would be done and available for sale.

True that. The external battery with power cable and tiny connectors are pretty obvious non-starters. Either the White’s MX Sport or Tarsacci MDT 8000 point to better drop in battery solutions.

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11 hours ago, schoolofhardNox said:

Thanks Steve for taking the time to post your first impressions. I'm glad it has solid performance even maxed out. Were you in a location that had any noticeable EMI when you used your other machines previously there? How did it handle the EMI? Also how does it compare with the GPX? Sounds like it would be smoother and a bit deeper than the GPX.

No EMI of consequence at the beach. However, my house is not EMI friendly at all, not just the house but the immediate area. The Equinox for instance is not happy in my yard. The Impulse is very EMI resistant, especially for a PI. I'd rate it better than the Equinox in that regard.

I must admit the GPX question was not on my radar, since I am thinking waterproof competition like the Garrett ATX and White's TDI Beachhunter.

waterproof-pulse-induction-pi-metal-detector-comparison-chart-2020.jpg
Fully submersible pulse induction metal detectors

It is however a terrific question on two levels. First, what about those people who only do very shallow wading at most and usually are on the beach, out of the water. How does the GPX fare in that regard? Well, I have not run a GPX in several years. Not being able to do direct depth testing I am going to fudge a little, but I think I can answer the question.

On the negative side the GPX 5000 at $3999 is not an inexpensive option. The amount of money combined with the number of toggle switches make it a detector I'd just as soon not expose to salt air a lot. But it's only money and may be of no concern to many. The 5.3 lb weight on arm does not count the battery on harness normally required with GPX use, so obviously more heavy and cumbersome. The Impulse obviously wins on both price and ergonomics.

On the plus side the GPX harnessed up properly is actually a joy to swing with large coils, and that battery has a very long life, up to a couple days of hunting. The GPX has an incredible array of accessory coils. The obvious cheat is to compare the GPX with a larger coil to the AQ with the 12.5" coil. Say anywhere from a 14" round up to 18" round mono, for example. While some may call this cheating, I call it common sense. I compare machines based on their most optimum setups one against the other, and if one detector can beat another due to a better coil, so be it. I'm not going to constrain myself with a false sense of fairness. when I'm looking for gold.

The GPX and Impulse AQ I think are in the ballpark for raw performance, but for large beach detecting and for rings and coin size or larger targets the GPX would, I'm almost 100% certain, have the depth advantage if you use larger coils than are available for the Impulse. You also get the benefit of up to twice the ground coverage, a not inconsiderable when considering beaches of immense size.

So for dry beach use I think the GPX still has a lot going for it, even if you assumed the performance between the two detectors was identical.

Compared to the upcoming Impulse Gold, Fisher has an opportunity to get it right where Garrett failed completely. The Garrett ATX is an underrated performer compared to the GPX 5000. Yes the GPX 5000 has a performance edge, as it should for twice the price, but it is not as huge as people think. Garrett mainly failed by sticking a desert detector in an overpriced, heavy dive housing. The housing design also calls for coils with expensive rods attached, resulting in a limited and very expensive set of optional coils. To this day I think the ATX would have more into Minelabs pockets if Garrett had not came up with a design absolutely no desert prospector was requesting.

If I was advising First Texas, I would recommend the final Impulse models have an internet price of not more than $1999. Working backwards that give us the stupid fake MSRP price of $2349 that manufacturers seem compelled to use in this country.

I suspect the Impulse Gold will give the GPX 5000 a run for the money on performance. It does not have to beat it, though getting better small gold capability should be no great challenge. Let's assume the Impulse Gold beats the ATX at least, and if you read my report above at the link, you can see the space between an ATX and GPX is not vast.

Is there a market for a 4.2 lb Impulse Gold at $1999 versus the 5.3 lb+ $3999 GPX 5000, assuming the performance exceeds the ATX and comes close to or equals the GPX? I definitely think so. Let's face it, even Minelab has moved on from the GPX now, so surely it is about time somebody at least catch up to Minelab on detectors they have been making for a long time now. My personal wish from First Texas is for a machine that basically duplicates SDC 2300 performance, without the warble, stays easy to operate, is more ergonomic, has accessory coils, and at about half the price of the $3799 SDC. I'd get that in a heartbeat.

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1 hour ago, Steve Herschbach said:

If I was advising First Texas, I would recommend the final Impulse models have an internet price of not more than $1999. Working backwards that give us the stupid fake MSRP price of $2349 that manufacturers seem compelled to use in this country.

What do you mean by internet price?  Aren't all prices advertised on the internet MSRP when a new detector is introduced?

.

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1 hour ago, Badger-NH said:

What do you mean by internet price?  Aren't all prices advertised on the internet MSRP?

No, all prices on the internet are MAP (Minimum Advertised Price). MSRP (Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price) is the fake price everyone creates so everything can be on sale 365 days a year at the same price it always is. Illegal in many countries, but not here. Often also referred to as List Price.

473D117E-7CEA-483B-BEEF-9DA287CE1994.jpeg

It does give cover for the few retailers who actually ask and get paid full MSRP by their customers, since technically it is the manufacturer recommended price. But you have to not be paying attention or desparate to pay MSRP for a detector.

It's not like anybody is a bad guy for doing it. Everyone does it in the U.S. Everyone wants a sale price so everyone gets one!

You can read the Garrett MAP policy halfway down this page.

If you see somebody on the internet advertising new product well below MAP price, the odds are extremely high you are going to get ripped off. Legitimate dealers can't do it, and it is strictly enforced.... mainly by other dealers! :laugh:

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