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Impulse AQ In Surf / 36 Psu Salinity


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3 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

I’m not trying to argue with you or dispute the machine works for you. I’m attempting to explain possible reasons why detectors in higher temperature/higher salinity areas than what you are likely working in are having these issues. The machine worked fine for me also but it clearly is not working for other people. It’s great it worked for me, for you, but what about them?

Or it could simply be half these machines are outright defective, and it’s just a coincidence where they are located.

I too am not arguing but only stating the facts. psu levels off the coast of Virginia are as high as or higher say than the Bay Area of Florida where some but not all have had issues. Also at the head of the Chesapeake bay, psu levels can exceed the ocean levels at times. As you know, temperature, currents and estuaries all play a part in salinity levels. I don’t doubt that some AQ’s are different than others. I know for a fact that they are. There is more to stabilizing this machine than settings alone. If you choose to ignore the capacitance issue, try wrapping your index finger around the handle and ground yourself to the locknut. On some of my beaches I must work from north to south while swinging east to west or vice versa. Coil control is paramount. I have a fair amount of black sand on the ocean front verses dense mineralized clay in parts of the bay. One thing for sure is a deep target will almost always sound off the same as a relatively shallow one so slight chatter at times can be ignored. I wish all the best with their machines and if your ever on the east coast give me a PM. 

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I’m not arguing Atlantic salinity versus Bay salinity, but the entire area versus hot climate places like Florida and Hawaii, where near shore salinity is likely even higher. Or maybe not, it’s not like I’m a salinity expert. I just wanted to offer some support and sympathy to the people having issues, who seem to be getting little to none. It is just ideas, I don’t know what the problem is, and it’s not my job to sort it out, so I’ll let it go now.

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I've since gotten a response from Alexandre to my enquiry.  He's suggested two things:  1/ that I run full ATS at Sens 2.  I had tried 3 and 4 but am very hopeful that this will help.  2/ On my last test, I stopped running the cable straight and wrapped it.  This could explain why I was not able to replicate okay sidewall performance once did not work a second time.  Have two full hunt days left here would love to be wrong.  A detuned machine is better than no machine.  .

cjc

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On 12/11/2021 at 6:00 PM, cjc said:

OR stable at the lower delay ranges--but with no target response. 

Cjc... Earlier this year the 7 and 7.5 delay setting on my machine was hardly reacting to anything and was roughly equivalent to an 11 setting. I could turn to the 7 delay in the salt water and it was very quiet and would hardly pick up a target. It was sent back to Fisher and repaired to work as it should. I have had several problems with the pots going bad. Volume control was another.

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21 hours ago, okara gold said:

Cjc... Earlier this year the 7 and 7.5 delay setting on my machine was hardly reacting to anything and was roughly equivalent to an 11 setting. I could turn to the 7 delay in the salt water and it was very quiet and would hardly pick up a target. It was sent back to Fisher and repaired to work as it should. I have had several problems with the pots going bad. Volume control was another.

I warned them about the Vishay pots.   Eric used then on the Aquasearch. I've a  bin full of ones that have had to be replaced. First machine got quieter as you increased the Sens.  My current machine locks up in salt water and then will not take targets once it's been wet. 

Trying hard not to generalize. 

cjc

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On 12/11/2021 at 6:00 PM, cjc said:

 Glad to see that Im not the only dog barking at the carriage.   What's disturbing is the elegant array of denials--some unwitting--others not.  Im kind of reminded of a concept in Group Dynamics--that of the "Abilene Paradigm. "  With this--a group of people feel compelled to travel to Abilene for ice cream. But when the get there they  realize that no one really wanted to go--problem being a lack of communication.  Maybe a better metaphor would be that of a train that has travelled for quite a long distance at speed--but no one paused to check if the wheels were actually touching the ground.  In this case the ground would be the simple basics of detector operation--ease of use and stability.   Without them we're well beyond the "ugly baby" simile and into the realm of  "le infante terrible."  The term that comes to mind is "ass in the breeze" interference -wise.  I get the sense that Alexandre was not able to replicate a broad enough spectrum (and  ranges) of interference sources (mineral / salt, EMI) to produce a machine with a range of adjustment to allow for stability under a wider range of conditions.  Although his efforts to look at salinity, sweep variation, tuning and other factors were valiant--the product lacked versatility. Ive never had a detector that I didn't quite know what to do with.  this is that machine--squelching on my freshwater dream find--big 22k, and temperamental in salt.  Im testing on a hotel strip beach and from the looks of it the amount of electricity in the ground precludes the use of this machine--after almost 3 weeks of fiddling.  I've just finished taking it back to the one area of sidewall where I was able to take out a dozen or so deep coins--only to find that now--something had changed--even at 11.5 uSc--basically haywire--with severe sweep  / response latency issues----OR stable at the lower delay ranges--but with no target response.  Frustrating  and bewildering.  Noise when the coil jack is touched, noise when the coil itself is touched--"ass in the breeze"--no match whatsoever for a rough salt environment.  The only suggestion I can offer is  that FT need to quit this tap dance of excuses and recommended "tweaks" and send one of  this detector to the master-- Eric Foster--free.  Something along the lines of the Aquastar's coil ground pin might bring this machine successfully to market--where it deserves to be.  Eric has also  suggested to me that problems with the distribution of power throughout the charge cycle might be at fault.

Tantalizing is exactly the word. 

Im very grateful to you Steve for your reply,  deft "voice of reason" analysis, and reporting on this machine. 

cjc

Okay--Im going to qualify and retract the above because I'm now getting the sense that I have a second defective unit.  The first got quieter  on targets when you increased the Sensitivity.  This one shuts down when and after being wet.  It also fails the pinch test--the coil is live to interference. 

As tempting as it is to generalize--I know that others are getting stable results in salt water environments. 

cjc

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2 hours ago, cjc said:

I know that others are getting stable results in salt water environments. 

If I run the 8 inch coil, mine is fairly quiet in the saltwater. I can run 8.5 + or - providing it's not too rough out there.

I would send my machine to FT if it failed a pinch test or problematic if it got wet.

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On 12/13/2021 at 1:06 PM, cjc said:

Okay--Im going to qualify and retract the above because I'm now getting the sense that I have a second defective unit.  The first got quieter  on targets when you increased the Sensitivity.  This one shuts down when and after being wet.  It also fails the pinch test--the coil is live to interference. 

As tempting as it is to generalize--I know that others are getting stable results in salt water environments. 

cjc

So I discovered that the reason this machine is shutting down after immersion is because the Souriel jack needed one more click and the aperture was filling with water. So, down it goes but does this solve the problem?  No way.  Still full toning never mind in water but even up on the side bone dry.  But at the same time the depth is less than other pulse machines running 11.5 (or 15...) such as the Dual Field.  This setting has less depth than an Equinox--faint past about 9".  

(Sens. 2.5 - 3, ATS full)

Another thing Im noticing is that this jack in normal usage has moisture in the aperture. It's as if I missed an "O" ring in the box.  How does a unit running this much power run with water on the pins?  Unstable from the look of it..

cjc

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Wow, I just read the last few pages of this thread as I'd completely gone off wanting to know anything about the AQ some months ago, I seriously hope Fisher recall these AQ units for everyone and replace them free for the final product when it's released if its ever released or just refunding everyone and letting them keep their test unit, you're clearly just beta testers, or even alpha testers of a detector that was nowhere near ready to be released in any form other than provided free to some experienced users to help establish all of these flaws and problems with it before trying to take peoples money. 

They should be announcing now they'll replace all of these detectors with the final product when it's ready and just allow the users of their current machines to become beta testers giving feedback about issues and repairing and replacing their beta units as necessary and offering the money back to those that just want to get rid of it.

You've paid money for something that should have been provided for free, you're doing them a free service by testing and finding all the problems with the machine.  I read back to the point where Steve posted this,

Tom Walsh, President of First Texas wrote in his “Disclosure” which each buyer was asked to read and confirm their acceptance of:

“Fisher is offering the Impulse®-AQ Limited to a select group of experienced early adopters who want to experience design and technological innovation in real-time, as it unfolds. The Impulse®-AQ Limited is not a prototype or pre-production metal detector; it is the first edition to a new product line of Impulse® technology.” 

This is an outright lie, either that or seeing they haven't released a new detector in so many years they've forgotten detectors needed tested that they're fit for purpose before they can be sold.

Sorry to read about all the problems you're mostly all having, you're a lot more patient than me, I'd be asking for my money back, no,  I'd be getting my money back if I had one.

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