Fisher Impulse AQ Ltd Preliminary Report

[abenson]

I was wondering about the GPX myself as that is what I generally use for the beaches when I want to us a PI. I have the 4000 which cost me $1600 so not a major concern on cost. When I get done hunting around salt I will wash everything that can take a dunk with the hose to get the salt off and then use electronics cleaner to get the control box cleaned up. Never had a problem with the GPX failing going on 3 years use around salt water. But of course I don't wade, just use it on the wet sand. There's only 3 places I beach hunt. Oceanside and San Diego, CA and the Great Salt Lake Marina and public beach next to it, which is a 35 minute drive for me.

San Diego has lots of black sand and I know from my experience, the GPX does just fine. Rick has used the AQ limited in San Diego as well and so we know it gets great depth as well. I've never done any depth comparisons with the GPX while in San Diego or Oceanside because I was on vacation and wanted to get as much hunt time in as possible. But I know I've dug some pretty deep targets.

At the Great Salt Lake, salt conditions are brutal, 8 times great than the ocean. This mega salt would be a great test for the AQ. In addition there are areas in the lake where bedrock approaches the surface and that rock is very mineralized. In the areas away from the bedrock I have done depth tests with the GPX running normal timing and low gain (still get some drift and it will not ground balance), with a 15" coil I can easily get a nickel at 18". Running salt timing I lose a few inches. Over the bedrock areas there is nothing I can do with the GPX to get the threshold quiet and drift free. Running salt timing and running the gain low with a slow steady seep speed is about all you can do. In those areas, depth on a nickel drops to 12". Those areas are where I really want to see what the AQ can do. The volcanic sand mode might be the ticket, but I also worry that without a ground balance feature it might not do any better that the GPX. If and when I get the AQ the Great Salt Lake is the first place I plan to test it out.

I'm also an avid relic hunter and so the next place I plan on running the AQ is the pastures and fields I relic hunt in. Later Impulse models will probably be better suited but I really think the AQ can be setup to relic hunt.

[Badger-NH]

14 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

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.

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 disparate 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! 

Ah, yes I see.

The MSRP prices are found on the manufacturers web page. I rarely look at those and forgot they were there.

Thanks for clearing that up.

 

[Steve Herschbach]

9 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

Nice, no nonesense ("call 'em as I see 'em") review, Steve.  I'm not trying to add more work to your plate as I know you are motivated to give this new detector the best workout you can.  Just wondering, since you've made mentions of parallels between this detector and the White's TDI, will you be trying it out for coin hunting as you detailed years ago for the TDI?  Do you expect better, worse, or about the same performance in that capacity?  7 microsecond minimum (compared to 10 microsecond) delay is one big difference but I suspect that won't add any coins (well, maybe our tiny nickel 3 cent piece...?).  Still, will there be better discrimination against rusty, bent nails?  And there's always almost everyone favorite wish -- deeper.

Hope your cataract surgery #2 goes smoothly and you're back swinging soon (with renewed ability of a 15 year old to spot those sun-bakers 😏).

I always enjoy putting detectors to oddball or unintended use, and I’m sure the AQ will get to a park at some point.

A misconception about pulse delay is that it only adds depth to select target types. The reality is a detector has no idea what it sees. The pulse energizes, and ALL targets start to decay - get weaker, the moment the pulse shuts off. Some fade completely away before the receive cycle kicks in, and going shorter can pick them up. But maybe also an undesired target along with it.

But a shorter delay also means all targets are stronger. They all have less time to get weaker. The main goal, I think, of the Impulse going to a short pulse delay was not for small item sensitivity, as has often been assumed. It is to boost all target signals, which gives the circuit more to work with when comparing signals, and to add depth on ring type targets. So yes, I’d expect a boost on coins also.

[Steve Herschbach]

22 hours ago, abenson said:

I have the 4000 which cost me $1600 so not a major concern on cost.

Buying a Minelab PI used makes a lot of sense for this application. And as you probably know, the Minelab circuit boards are usually quite well sealed. It’s those little toggles and knobs that need the care. If I lived on a huge beach I’d have a Minelab with a 12” x 24” Mono coil for no reason other than ground coverage. Sometimes covering twice the ground is a better strategy than 2” more depth.

[Tony]

From my observations of the AQ and earlier extensive tests of many Minelab PI’s on beach settings......the AQ presents as superior. I found that urban EMI kills the Minelabs and always forced me to use a DD or somehow keep the mono coil and use a less optimal timing. Either way, one had to really dumb down the Minelab PI in order for it to function at the beach.....and I’m talking dry sand beach or maybe just the dampish sand...forget the wet sand. In fact, on my nice coral based sands, my Excalibur with full power settings was right up there with the Minelab PI. 
My records for a buried nickel was about 15” for an SD2200 and GP3500....I think very similar on the 4500 ( DD coil and Normal timing).

The AQ is in a different league for beach hunting......no doubt about it.

Joe’s buried nickel video was incredible.......as for rough saltwater hunting that I’m used to, that may present some challenges to the AQ.......but it’s power can easily be adjusted if needed. 
 

[Steve Herschbach]

Well for me and my purposes, wading and or mask and snorkel use, I have no interest in a GPX. For me the real finds have not only been in the water, but in some pretty rough water. But I can see how it would be quite the opposite for those staying out of the water. Different tools for different jobs really. And as Alexandre points out.... I do like the AQ single minded focus on rings, rings, rings. Nothing was done without that single goal in mind.

[schoolofhardNox]

Thanks for all the replies on the GPX. Some really good points Steve, many of which I share and have observed the last two beach seasons. Thank you Tony for filling in some of my hopes for the AQ, especially with EMI and wet sand. I always use the GPX 5000 with a 12.5" DD coil and can get coins at 15" consistently in dry sand. The limit is about 18". After that the coins stop and the buried beer cans take over😄. Here is a picture of the silver and gold found on this one beach, for two seasons of beach hunting - Off season only. I call this my silver beach since the silver outranks the gold, at depth. I'm hoping the AQ brings out the gold I know is still hiding deep down. This is the beach I will be hunting when I get an AQ, since I know it well enough to compare it to the GPX and not have to bring both machines out (which is impossible really). I have a good feeling about this.

[Tony]

13 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.

Substantially smoother and deeper.......definitely. 👍

[Steve Herschbach]

shooolofhardNOX, I’ve found all your posts on beach hunting with the GPX incredibly interesting, and just want to say thanks for taking the time to post all of them.  

[schoolofhardNox]

1 minute ago, Steve Herschbach said:

shooolofhardNOX, I’ve found all your posts on beach hunting with the GPX incredibly interesting, and just want to say thanks for taking the time to post all of them.  

Thanks Steve, I appreciate that. I'm a relic hunter at heart, but the beaches have bit me hard 😄  I don't dare try nugget hunting or I may never come out of the hills. Technology really helps these days. Without PI's, beach hunting would never return silver and gold like this on dry sand. Time will tell how things work out, but we are in a different era of technology now. It's nothing like 1970 🤩