A Peek At The Next Version Of Impulse AQ

[Rivers rat]

Not bad guys thats what i wanted to do with my GB pro...

 

 

RR

[schoolofhardNox]

I need 10 hours battery life just in case  😄 Would be nice to not have to swap out batteries during a hunt. In my area, if you move from your spot during a good low tide, someone swoops in and is there in a heartbeat 🤨

[GaryC/Oregon Coast]

I like your design Joe!  But Steve, I already don't have any hair to pull out (I'm bald now) waiting on the current list for the AQ limited!  Now you want to float another list idea and give Rick a heart attack in the process!!  GaryC/Oregon Coast

[okara gold]

I’m probably wrong. But by the time some of us get the limited, the full version might be right around the corner. Let’s say there are ten machines already out there. And if FT currently produces only two per week at the current production rate, it would take another 45 weeks to reach total distribution of the limited. 

[tvr]

8 minutes ago, okara gold said:

But by the time some of us get the limited, the full version might be right around the corner. Let’s say there are ten machines already out there. And if FT currently produces only two per week at the current production rate, it would take another 45 weeks to reach total distribution of the limited. 

I've been thinking the same thing. Sounds like the packaging design is already committed to the 4 lithium ion 18650 type, which may mean they have the design done and are working towards package certifications already. And if the packaging is that far along, and the electronic head is unchanged, then is it possible the advertised 100 limited units that are kitted out could be diverted to producing final version and we get fewer, say 25, limited versions delivered?

Water levels near me are way up, so I'm not out hunting the waters. Already packed for the next trip, so too much time to think!

[schoolofhardNox]

Me too. They may not make the full 99 units. On the other hand if there are major delays, they may extend the limit past 99 right?? Either way, if the machine pans out for me I may get the other one too. That way I have a spare for a friend to use, and if they out-do me with it, I just have to wait 3 hrs for their battery to run dry.

[okara gold]

18 minutes ago, tvr said:

is it possible the advertised 100 limited units that are kitted out could be diverted to producing final version and we get fewer, say 25, limited versions delivered?

I think anything is possible with the final distribution. I wouldn't want to be the last person to buy the limited and then... say one month later, the finished mechanical AQ is released with improved battery, internal power cable, and if the price increase wasn't too bad... I should have, could have, would have waited?  

[Steve Herschbach]

1 hour ago, GaryC/Oregon Coast said:

I like your design Joe! But Steve, I already don't have any hair to pull out (I'm bald now) waiting on the current list for the AQ limited!  Now you want to float another list idea and give Rick a heart attack in the process!!  GaryC/Oregon Coast

Not at all, and it does not matter what I think anyway. 90% of what I tell manufacturers gets disregarded as “you are right, but it’s too late.” It’s just that one reason given for this limited release was to collect user feedback. The reality is the pressure is on to get the final version to market as soon as possible, and that is a good thing I think. In the process though decisions about the design have pretty much been made at FT once again, without regard for user feedback, and that means irreversible decisions have already been made that could have benefitted from listening more to people like Joe and others. It’s kind of a shame that after so much time things get rushed at the end. But that is the way things get done, and why, when all is said and done, people are going to ask “why did they do it that way instead of this better way.”

I’d vote for Joes design in a heartbeat, but that’s not what we are going to get. Still, four drop in 18650 batteries is a huge improvement over the current design. If FT keeps up putting out no more than a couple Limited units out per week, I also doubt we will ever see 99 Limiteds made. For me, if I had not been able to get one by October of this year, I’d end up passing, as winter does tend to shut me down here, and by the time spring rolled around..... well, long story short it seems to me that anyone that would rather have the new battery system and better depth rating are just going to be better off waiting, and that indirectly impacts Limited sales. It’s already getting to the point where the only reason to get the Limited is if you just don’t care about anything but saving a few bucks and want one ASAP. But wait, you can’t get one ASAP anyway. It’s in danger of fizzling out at this rate.

[GaryC/Oregon Coast]

Personally for my own situation, as an Old beach walker (over 70) who has been walking the beaches forever, I don't need a battery that lasts for eight-ten hours.  I like the 2-1/2 -3 hour battery pack, where you can buy two and change them out when and if you want to continue to do an extended walk.  I'm one of those lucky guys who live close to a beach.  I don't have to cram everything into a one day eight hour hunt.  I will never get that machine in over three feet deep anyway so the depth limit of the AQ limited is of no concern to me.  I like the price of the AQ limited, ya, I'm cheap.  Who knows how long I have left on this earth anyway, so $1499 sounds better to me than $2,500 $3,000 or whatever Fisher wants.  The AQ limited is just the right machine for what I want it to do for me on my beaches and lakes.  I hope everybody else does wait for the new and improved version and gets off the list.  Just my two cents worth.  GaryC/Oregon Coast

 

[Steve Herschbach]

26 minutes ago, GaryC/Oregon Coast said:

$1499 sounds better to me than $2,500 $3,000 or whatever Fisher wants.

I hear you Gary, and hope you get an AQ in your hands ASAP. I was more than happy to have a wader unit personally and still am. But I also have little doubt I’ll upgrade to the newer version when it comes out.

If this was the ignore all ferrous and dig rings machine some people thought, FT could name their price. But it’s not. It’s basically a highly refined TDI, and if they price it too high it will really hurt sales. The TDI Beachunter is $1199 and ATX $2120. I can’t see this thing selling for more than $2500 and even that is pushing it these days if you want people to consider it instead of a VLF, which keep getting better. If I was running the show $1999 would be the price out the door. Plenty higher than the Limited, but not breaking that magic 2K mark. Seems like early on this was supposed to be about not being Minelab anyway with high priced stuff. Detectors for the masses and all that.