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One Suggestion For The Impulse AQ Going Forward


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Today I went to shorten the rod by one notch to put the coil closer to my feet for water hunting. I have been hunting, both in and out of the water with a length more suited to wet sand sweeping. It was very difficult to get the locking mechanism loosened up so I could slide the rod. Same issue I've had before with similar locking mechanisms when used in salt water; particularly with fine sediment in the water.

Please change to a different type of locking mechanism.

The one in the first picture is the AQ, and I do not like it since it is already freezing up and took a lot of work to free it up. The second picture is an after market straight shaft with locks that work very well and don't freeze up. The last two pictures are of locks on my wife's shell / shark tooth scoop with the lock open and closed; this one works well and also does not freeze up after much sand and salt water use.

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47 minutes ago, tvr said:

Today I went to shorten the rod by one notch to put the coil closer to my feet for water hunting. I have been hunting, both in and out of the water with a length more suited to wet sand sweeping. It was very difficult to get the locking mechanism loosened up so I could slide the rod. Same issue I've had before with similar locking mechanisms when used in salt water; particularly with fine sediment in the water.

Please change to a different type of locking mechanism.

The one in the first picture is the AQ, and I do not like it since it is already freezing up and took a lot of work to free it up. The second picture is an after market straight shaft with locks that work very well and don't freeze up. The last two pictures are of locks on my wife's shell / shark tooth scoop with the lock open and closed; this one works well and also does not freeze up after much sand and salt water use.

DSCN0185.JPG

DSCN0188.JPG

DSCN0189.JPG

DSCN0191.JPG

My AQ shaft and locking collar are terrible. Shaft wobbles and collar does not lock. I know someone else who has your problem but he would never say anything negative about the AQ. The locking collar on the MDT is similar to the blue ones you show. It is the best collar around.

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Another upgrade that has already been done (according to Fisher) is the lower clevis that is riveted to the lower shaft. That wishbone plastic piece breaks easily where it attaches to the tube. I just had mine break and from what I heard when I called Fisher, three others have broken too, and it's been redesigned to where it's now a solid piece instead of thin-wall hollow tube. As far as I know, I didn't do anything to make it break. I was just walking along swinging the coil over flat wet sand, I heard a light "crack" sound, and the coil just fell off. I'll let you know what the new one looks like when I get it. My shaft lock was a little tight getting loose, but, not too bad. I always rinse the whole detector after each use, and I have collapsed the shaft a few times when I needed to shorten it for transport. So far, so good in that area. Might be a good idea for everyone to do that every now and then just to keep it from freezing up. The second photo in TVR's post looks like a Plugger clamp setup, one similar to the one I have on my Equinox. So far, that clamp has been working fine, but, I'm a bit disappointed that the bolt is not stainless, so, it rusts. The wing nut is stainless, but, not the bolt for some reason. The upper clamp has all plastic nuts and bolts, but, they're kind of wimpy. The ears on the wing nuts have all broken off, but, since I don't usually take that clamp loose, it hasn't been a problem yet.

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I hope they fix these issues before the AQ goes into production.

There is no excuse for seized rods and broken coil/rod mounts on a high end detector when the technology is readily available.

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5 hours ago, Badger-NH said:

I hope they fix these issues before the AQ goes into production.

There is no excuse for seized rods and broken coil mounts on a high end detector when the technology is readily available.

Let me add to my experiences with the rod clamp type used on the AQ. Most of my detectors use the same type. For the dirt detectors, they work just fine and are not problematic at all. Even my trusted, well used CZ6a uses a clamp that looks the same and it gets salt spray that is wind carried, but does not get dunked in the water; that clamp has worked fine for decades. The detectors that get used in the water, even with rinsing after every use, that have that type of clamp, get very stiff and or seize up. That is part of the reason my other water detectors get put on aftermarket shafts or I make a shaft without a lock.

It appears to me that First Texas / Fisher Labs is being responsive to several pieces of feed back. How many other detectors have you seen an initial limited build released for users to exercise in the wild who have the ability to comment on an open forum prior to a full production version release? 

 

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My two cents worth. This is the shaft lock on my MDT 8000. It is adjustable for the tightness needed and is without a doubt the best I have ever used. You can even stop the pin between holes and set the shaft lock and wild horses couldn’t rotate the shaft. Been in salt water hundreds of times now and still looks brand new and operates smoothly. I wish I could source them.

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