Fisher Impulse AQ (formerly Aqua Manta) Pulse Induction Metal Detector

[Steve Herschbach]

Well, since you brought it up Rick I will chime in. I was not wanting to rain on your parade. ?

You are right, a beach PI is not going to move the needle at First Texas. It’s obvious that after years of work CZX went nowhere, and so FT was stuck in a “we need to find something quick” position. Thankfully for them this came along. But unless it can be leveraged into some sort of dry land detecting model it certainly at this point does not fill that desire by many for a new machine to replace the F75 as the flagship.

Still, for me personally I am ecstatic to see this. I have been beating on Minelab and Garrett for YEARS to just take either the SDC or ATX and put them into something other than an off the shelf expensive military housing. They have the circuits, but producing a PI like what we are seeing here.... they just won’t do it. At least they would not. Perhaps if FT succeeds in getting this off the ground with a dry land version in the wings we will see action on other fronts also.

I love competition! ?

I guess one thing is settled. Fisher posting this info to their Facebook page makes Impulse AQ the probable official name.

[Guest]

7 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

Still, for me personally I am ecstatic to see this. I have been beating on Minelab and Garrett for YEARS to just take either the SDC or ATX and put them into something other than an off the shelf expensive military housing. They have the circuits, but producing a PI like what we are seeing here.... they just won’t do it. At least they would not. Perhaps if FT succeeds in getting this off the ground with a dry land version in the wings we will see action on other fronts also.

Steve,

What if Garrett and Minelab were spurred to the action you note? Suppose they came in at all about the same price, which would you want the most? This is of course comparing two known and a not yet detector, but the Fisher looks to be a well engineered manual model that allows user control of most of the parameters of operation as they want.

 

[Steve Herschbach]

Since the Impulse AQ does not have the capability to handle extreme ground / hot rocks I would be happier with a Garrett ATX in a good ergonomic package. I only ever sold my ATX as sort of a protest move. It is a well behaved and versatile circuit. But they either make what I want or screw it. I’m done lending any degree of support to ergonomic nightmares.

SDC is a bit limited so if I had my wish from Minelab it would be a subset of the GPX circuit. Imagine a GPX 5000 in a package similar to the AQ.

I honestly am content with the Equinox for beach detecting so my interest lies in supporting what this could become as a inland unit. I just don’t get to the beaches enough really to sink a couple grand into a dedicated beach machine. But I will support any company making the moves I like and I like the direction here. I may therefore get one to, as I explained before, to try on milder inland situations. It is mostly a timing thing for me. Too late in the fall and I may as well wait through the winter to see what happens next.

Everyone but me wants more power. There is enough power for me out there already. It simply exists in packaging that I am now waging war on going forward. There is enough heat on now from various companies that we are finally getting real competition. As consumers we are in a good position to start DEMANDING proper ergonomic machines. The old “detecting is a niche market so we can’t afford it” excuse has long since gone by the wayside.

With FT finally making the first move in some ways it is actually Garrett’s and Minelab’s game to lose.

The hardcore beach hunters are going to love Impulse AQ, no doubt about it. If I lived nearer to saltwater it is a no brainer for me.

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

Everyone but me wants more power. There is enough power for me out there already. It simply exists in packaging that I am now waging war on going forward. There is enough heat on now from various companies that we are finally getting real competition. As consumers we are in a good position to start DEMANDING proper ergonomic machines. The old “detecting is a niche market so we can’t afford it” excuse has long since gone by the wayside.

This is precisely the concept I am sorting out this year, opting to spend more time and energy on unmasking than raw depth. I like how you look at things Steve, and your generosity in sharing your knowledge. Thanks

[groundscanner]

2 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

Everyone but me wants more power. There is enough power for me out there already. It simply exists in packaging that I am now waging war on going forward. There is enough heat on now from various companies that we are finally getting real competition. As consumers we are in a good position to start DEMANDING proper ergonomic machines. The old “detecting is a niche market so we can’t afford it” excuse has long since gone by the wayside. 

My days of swinging a 3 pounds or more detector are over!  With modern materials, etc. there is very little need to continue to produce heavy, chunky machines IMO.  I would rather spend the day swinging a light, well balanced, stable machine.  I don't care how deep a new machine will go if I can't swing it all day without being strapped to the machine! ?

I believe that I will find more with a good quality light machine that I can swing for 8 hours vs. a supercharged monster that I can only swing for 1 hour.  Not everyone is 25 years old and built like the Hulk. LOL

[Noah (FL)]

11 hours ago, SLGuin said:

Steve,

What if Garrett and Minelab were spurred to the action you note?

 

Garrett’s response to these new machine rumors appears to have been sending the “HooverBoys” a few ATXs.  They have been releasing youTube vids the last 2-3 weeks with nothing but ATX relic hunting.  If they are pushing those machines it’s doubtful anything new is in the pipeline 

[Guest]

21 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

Since the Impulse AQ does not have the capability to handle extreme ground / hot rocks I would be happier with a Garrett ATX in a good ergonomic package.

This has been circling in mind. Is it because it does not ground balance, or is there more to it? The ground is generally milder where I live, it is more discrete sites that make VLF work poorly. Trying to figure out the puzzle of this, and a decent strategy. Things like EMI, bad ground, extreme nails, nearby airports, and unknown factors make some sites challenging even in general geographic areas thought to be mild. 

[Guest]

12 hours ago, Noah (FL) said:

Garrett’s response to these new machine rumors appears to have been sending the “HooverBoys” a few ATXs.  They have been releasing youTube vids the last 2-3 weeks with nothing but ATX relic hunting.  If they are pushing those machines it’s doubtful anything new is in the pipeline 

Noah,

Thanks for bringing this up. It is easy to see how you reached your conclusion, but there was a further lesson for me or rather a concept I am working on for this season. In those videos, the narrator brings up again and again how many of those finds should have been found by the many VLF machines run over them. That those targets, and that many, are still there in a well hunted site leads to another possible conclusion. PI is finding something that VLF does not. I say possible because there is no way for us to know the whole story, but possible nonetheless. No way I am buying an ATX, but the idea stands.

Masking. That is my sense of it. Masking by what is another story, but as a central umbrella theme. Why would silver like that not be hit by any half decent VLF?  Not just there, but lots of places probably. Those boys worked for it though. That is a lot of digging, more than most would do, but it shows the concept. This is what I am going to work on this year, strategies for masking.

It leaves me to wonder how many good targets that should have been in range I have walked over with absolutely no idea. Sometimes we know we are losing depth or our detector will not run stable, but there are times too when we have no idea at all. If ignorance is bliss I should be the happiest guy in town.

S

[Steve Herschbach]

2 hours ago, SLGuin said:

This has been circling in mind. Is it because it does not ground balance, or is there more to it? The ground is generally milder where I live, it is more discrete sites that make VLF work poorly. Trying to figure out the puzzle of this, and a decent strategy. Things like EMI, bad ground, extreme nails, nearby airports, and unknown factors make some sites challenging even in general geographic areas thought to be mild. 

The Fisher Impulse AU apparently ground balances but the current system does not have enough range to deal with serious ground and hot rocks. This has been stated repeatedly by the sources. It appears instead that the ground balance system is tied more to discrimination than dealing with extreme ground or hot rocks. We simply won’t know for sure where the line is until enough people try it. But there is a reason this is being aimed at the beach market only. Anyone thinking inland is going beyond the intended use and really can’t complain if it turns out to be no good for those uses. They are explicitly saying they are still working on inland models for future release. So jump early and you may be selling and getting the more appropriate model later. People buying for beach use only need not be concerned as much, though Hawaii comes to my mind as a location where I have wanted a robust ground balance to deal with basalt rocks embedded in blond sand.

Luckily I am in no rush. I am content with what I have already. It will sort out.

[Steve Herschbach]

17 hours ago, Noah (FL) said:

Garrett’s response to these new machine rumors appears to have been sending the “HooverBoys” a few ATXs.  They have been releasing youTube vids the last 2-3 weeks with nothing but ATX relic hunting.  If they are pushing those machines it’s doubtful anything new is in the pipeline 

And I see signs of just the opposite. John in Edmonton NEVER speaks of anything but Garrett. Ever. His blood runs green. So what to make of this post he made recently.

”But......are there more coming from other manufacturers?”

Looks like a heads up to me from a guy who knows something but can’t say. I’ve done that in the past for people with eyes to see. Another interpretation of the videos is they are pushing the ATX to clear inventory ahead of a release. It just depends how you want to spin it. I sure am not going to hold my breath though. Been doing that for years and I just don't have the lung capacity anymore! 

I can’t say much for Garrett’s VLFs but the ATX is a decent multichannel PI and Brent Weaver is a brilliant engineer. I would not count them out.