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My compliments to Skate on his post and I'd like to add just a little more to it. The metal detecting industry is more susceptible to speculation, both positive and negative, than any other industry I can think of. Every time a manufacturer is even remotely suspected of having a new machine coming this same pattern shows up. You get antsy, "kid on Christmas morning" folks who just can't wait, you get doomsayers who can't wait to pick the product apart, and you get others who speculate endlessly as to what the machine will do and how it will do it. For me, this is fun to follow for a little while and then I get burned out on it. It reminds me of the off season in pro sports, when for months all you get are analysts resifting the same sand over and over until the season starts. I commend Rick., Le Jag and Alexandre for sharing their info, and Steve for providing insight and also some much needed discipline to the conversation. But honestly, the only voice I really care to hear is that of Fisher to simply say when they will offer the Impulse AQ for sale. Followed by the voices of people who actually buy and use this new detector. Now that will be interesting.

I found this 1946 $2 gold coin in a pendant today. Found with a kruzer in 3 tone mode, disc3,notch 4, gain 92, pp 8 inches, GB 81, range up 25 to 27. Thanks for looking!

It seems there is a divide happening with regards to the AQ. It seems there are those who want to pick it apart to the point that if it doesn't find a ring every swing it's a failure and they just can't wait to point the finger and say I told you so. On the other side are those who are wide eyed like a kid at Christmas dreaming of how much fun it's going to be going to the beach. I've been watching the discussions here and on the other forums and depending on what side your on Rick is either a snake oil salesman or a prophet. Bottom line is if you want to know what it'll find you're going to have to buy it and go hunt and be prepared to move a lot of sand. No matter how good the detector is the detectorist has to be even better, more resilient and more willing to do the work necessary to find anything of value. If you're struggling finding gold it's simply because you're either looking in the wrong places or you haven't dug enough holes yet and the AQ won't change a bad plan or weak resolve. As for me I'm a buyer as I'm that 54 year old kid who just can't wait. I apologize if this is way off topic but it seems like things are getting beaten to death.

Hey Guys! Remember this thing that I found on Florida’s Treasure Coast a couple weeks ago and posted about? I was so disappointed there were no visible markings to link it to the1715 Spanish Fleet that sunk during a hurricane. Well, I decided to carefully try to separate the silver sandwich with a paring knife, and was successful with minimal damage. The inside surfaces were dark and thick with corrosion but I kept working on them(rubbing on wet aluminum foil did the best...very time consuming. I don’t have an electrolysis setup yet). So glad I did it! I’ve definitely found my 1st Pieces of Eight finally (1/2 Reales likely)! Minted in Mexico between 1700-1715 during Philip V’s reign in Spain, if my research is correct. They may be little, but I’m tickled pink with them! 🙂

Reading through this thread, the consensus is towards an ergonomics, lightweight, cheaper discriminating gold detector. I am hoping that ML can produce such but for me I hope they continue to produce a flagship gold detector that continues in the direction that has made ML the worlds leader in gold detection. The GPZ"8000" for me can be in the same box/shaft as it currently is, ( a lighter/ergonomic one of course if possible) the weight/ergonomics as is, is not a big issue for me, no need for incorporating a GPS unless done with say an android color sunlight screen with popular moving map software that allows downloading/uploading/saving of existing/new data offline. I have no need for discrimination, main need is for more power and GB to penetrate deeper in noisy variable ground. In the coil department I go with the consensus, a range from say 8" round/elliptical up to whatever, and ML if you can`t give us those coils let the aftermarket fellows do it, that is the one concession I ask for. The 8000 priced as ML has been tops at, to allow for R & D financing of future flagship gold detectors, a producer as all previous MLs have been. I just hope there are enough potential GPZ8000 buyers who seek the above to ensure ML produce a more powerful refined gold flagship detector as is their tradition since the mid 80s.

Most of you are aware of gold being found with detectors in NV, CA, AZ, AK and even OR or WA on occasion. But the majority (including many who live here in this geological wonder of a state) do not know much about or detect for the elusive Au in Idaho. So I've decided to share a Holiday Special with you, as it is Golden as glee can be. This little glimmer of Au comes in on my postal shipping scale at 1 pound 5.7 ounces = approx 22 oz which is then turned (if my math is correct) to 20 ozt. I did not get a specific gravity test done, but can assure you this astonishing mosaic is about 97% Au. History of this discovery. I'll not provide the name of the finder or site for security purposes. It was found with the Eureka Gold and I know many good pockets of wire gold came from the area. it was unearthed at a location already mined and was missed by the old timers. It is one of the biggest pieces of Idaho gold I myself has ever seen, but I have heard of larger pieces coming from the area. To put a twist on it and to add some beauty to this post, I'd love seeing some of your Idaho Au diggings. No worries about size, value or other as I would (and I am sure many others) enjoy seeing some more Idaho gold.

Recently the GPAA has had six shows per year, four in the US West in the Spring and two in the US East in Autumn. This year they are changing that pattern, with eleven shows all in the first five months of 2020. I haven't read their intentions but I'm sure Kevin Hoagland and crew will be explaining the strategy in their publications. I've gotta think it's good for everyone involved. I've only attended two so far but with 11 on the calendar I'll be disappointed if I can't find a way to make my third this year. Open to the public for a nominal fee ($5 ahead of time and $10 at the door).

I'm the 73 year old kid on the Oregon Coast who in no way in h-ll will ever pay for this thing by finding enough gold in ten years but still wants one to play with! Like Skate says, I'm the only one who's going to know if it works for me or not. If I don't like the damn thing I'll sell it. GaryC/Oregon Coast

It has probably been over a year since I've used my 3030. Tonight I used it for a bit over 2 hours and I got the hang of it again. It is a much different sound than the 800 and now I remember why I had a learning curve about hearing targets. One of the things that came back very quickly is the ability of the 3030 to be 'played' like a violin. By that I mean you can get a target and swing on it and make the detector 'sing' really loud. This was what was happening with the many tent stakes I found. You could tell that it was a mostly iron target because it was down in the lower right of the screen. I still dug most of them and some of the other iron pieces were just the same. The 3030 has clear identification of the target and that lets me choose to dig it or not. If I was getting better targets then I may not have dug so many of those stakes. When I get tent stakes with the 800 it kinda blanks out rather than sings out. The depth was good with the 17. One of the quarters was 13-14 inches. I use it with the Minelab harness because it is a bit bulky and heavy. When I first got the 17 years ago I used it without a harness for the first 3 weeks and I got something akin to tennis elbow. That took about 6 weeks to heal and I've never swung the 17 for more than 20 minutes without the harness since. The screen now has a flaw down the right side where it doesn't show data but I can live with it as a backup. The battery didn't last too long. We'll see what happens after this charge up. It was a real pleasure being able to turn on the GPS and see where I had found rings in the past. Many I had transferred but a few are still there and that made me slow down in those areas. This was an end of the weekend, end of the day hunt and I saw where several detectorists had been out before me. I'm ok with the results.

Good lesson for newbies. You've got to kiss a lot of pigs first! GaryC/Oregon Coast

I agree Alain about a chart, and I have a good start on one, but without actually having a detector it's only educated guesswork on my part based on what Alexandre and LE.JAG have posted so far. The one I posted was just a quick and dirty illustration. Hopefully they or Fisher will do something official before release, otherwise you can be sure people will eventually construct some at a later date. I was hoping for one detector that would do both land and sea, something I liked about my ATX. To be honest I think Fisher will have a hard time making a detector more powerful than a GPX 4500 or GPX 5000 let alone a GPZ 7000, and few people who already own those are willing to give up any power, even if the detector is lighter and costs less. Minelab means gold prospecting to a lot of people so Fisher has a tough road ahead there, and they have let Minelab have lots of advance notice what to expect.... I doubt the engineers down under are asleep at the wheel. The AQ model however has only a couple detectors, the Garrett ATX and Beachhunter TDI, that are truly equivalent product. For me at least, having none of the three at the moment, the choice is pretty clear. I am fed up with 7 lb detectors that have $500 coils, and the Impulse, using the TDI as a starting point, simply has to be better, or Fisher has wasted a lot of time and money. I sent Dave Johnson a TDI (big box version) years ago and Carl worked at White's so they know what they need to beat to succeed. Fisher Impulse AQ vs Garrett ATX vs White's TDI Beachhunter

Hi Alain, I went ahead and deleted the post and the chart. I put several disclaimers in the post that the chart was for conceptual purposes and was not intended to create an absolutely detailed, accurate, and definitive target response chart. I was assuming some degree of interpretation/interpolation by the viewer. Part of the problem is it is being taken out of the context of everything I have posted on the subject in the last ten days. I explained previously in this thread ahead of the chart that ferrous covers the entire range so I obviously agree with your conclusion since I have explained that exact thing so people would know it to be the case. I included both ends of the ferrous range in the chart and did actually include a portion of the bottle cap range that you must have missed. Long story short since the chart is being taken as definitive instead of conceptual despite the disclaimers, leaving it up is misleading or confusing people, and so deleting it it is probably for the best. I halfway knew when I posted it this was going to happen.

Steve, thanks for posting the video of Jimmy Sierra and Digger Bob. In which they introduced the TDI SL. Seeing them both brought back many good memories of the times that I shared with both of them. Mahalo, Terry

Brother-in-law has recently got himself an SDC and got the 14X9 Coil tech for it. Had a go over a very well flogged spot. Christened it for him with a real tiny bit of gold, maybe a 0.01 gram piece. Ran perfectly on sensitivity 5 in areas of hard pack clay and some with hot rocks that really annoy the QED. He went on to find another 4 tiny lead shot pieces in about a 20 foot X 20 foot area that should not have had anything left in it. I thought the larger coil coil might have lost some sensitivity to the really small stuff but it seems not. Very impressed 👍

As Reg said "Galena" that is a combination of lead and silver and usually it occurs in crystal format.

Dug this hair barrette from a very old home site.

Lots of beaches pay big bucks for beach cleaners. I think a "Saving the Environment & Your Feet" T-Shirt and raking up trash would be a great public service! You might even find something good by accident while performing this great service.

Steve I find you absolutely right! The other big question is when will it go on sale?

It’s all missing the point. It’s not about what can’t be detected. It is about how well the small gold that can be detected will signal, and there is good reason to believe Impulse will improve in that area. On any small gold that the Impulse can detect in saltwater, it should do so better than other existing products. In theory, subject to independent testing. We have had detectors that can easily detect thin gold chains since at least 1995. We don’t use a Gold Bug 2 in saltwater. Why? It’s not rocket science. A decent nugget detector is so sensitive to a conductive salt signal they will detect your hand, let alone an ocean. Any detector that is tuned such that it gets a bare salt signal is tuned as well as is possible for small gold in saltwater. That is the limit and we have been there for at least a couple decades. Saying anything will do better in that regard reflects a lack of understanding about the issue. When I hear claims about improved ability to find thin gold chains in saltwater I just ignore it as nonsense. I did hope the Impulse on dry land could run full out at 7uS but being locked into salt mode negates that possibility. It may be a practical limitation of what can be done at the analog level, something to hope for in a future digital version. Or it may be a marketing move to differentiate the AQ from the prospecting version, which by nature has to remove that limitation. Whatever, it is what it is. Once we eliminate salt though there is still small gold we can detect. The question is “at what depth?” For the small gold that the Impulse can detect in saltwater, how well will an Impulse detect it by comparison to the competition? That is the real question. Personally I don’t care much about finding the smallest gold in saltwater. I will be hunting the largest gold I can find, not the smallest. Micro jewelry detecting has always been a thing people talk about more than do. I don’t see troops of people on the towel line with Gold Bug 2s or Goldmaster 24Ks or even Equinox with small coils. If hunting micro jewelry is so great why is everyone not doing it? Answer - micro aluminum. Micro jewelry detecting is actually aluminum detecting and gets old pretty quick for most people. Those 1 carat diamonds on a post are a lot rarer than you think. If you want to hunt thin gold chains in the water get a rake. and another.... https://youtu.be/zbXNcUqLAM8

I've been thinking about it for a while, however to reach low prices it would only be ALL METAL. No magnetic ground effect compensation. I also drew it completely. It would of course have all the settings ... delay, freq, volume, threshold etc ... a waterproof version 60 meters

For information Manta was 4 years ago. There have been a lot of things done since ! 😉 The biggest technological advances were made in 2019, if I look back on the past 10 years for me and for Le.Jag when we dicuss together.

Well, since I wrote those words about a year and a half ago, I guess I get an opinion on what I meant. I meant simply salt water - sand wet with it, wading in it and coil submerged to some reasonable depth. I stated that the ability to find small gold would surpass any existing detector in said salt water - due to it having the capability to operate at shorter pulse delay settings in this environment. Since I wrote that - based on what I have read, I have used AQ prototypes breafly in salt water - including with the coil submerged in running salt water. I found no need to adjust the pulse delay from the setting I was using - 8 microseconds of I recall rightly. Also however, I have tested the AQ against tiny gold targets such as small posts and earring backs. I found it to be less sensitive to these than something like a Minelab SDC which is targeted at tiny low conductors like gold nuggets. In discussing this with Alexandre and in subsequent posts he has made, he made it clear that a degree of insensitivity to tiny low conductor trash like foil bits and tiny melted AL fragments from beach bonfires. This of course means that hunting for tiny 10k crucifixes is pretty well out. It is well documented that as the quantity of salt a detector sees increases, the ability to operate at very short pulse delays is lost. Diving PI detectors have quite long minimum pulse delays I believe. When Alexandre was questioned why no pulse delay longer than 12 microseconds was available, he answered, as best I recall, that within its submergence limits, the design of the circuitry and coil made that unnecessary. The proof of the pudding is in the eating thereof. You stated that “So it now appears that “in the water” this detector will provide little additional benefit against existing products.” Time will tell if you are right.

Dew..... if you are implying I don’t have experience at this you are mistaken. I am a scuba diver with dry suit, night, zero visibility, ice diving, and instructor ratings. I’m fairly proficient at breath hold work and have recovered a lot of jewelry while doing so. I have been water detecting for 40 years; started in Alaska as a freshwater lake diver and graduated to saltwater 20 years ago. I have done so in zero visibility conditions as well as in heavy surf using 40 plus lbs of lead weight. Water so rough that simply staying on the target with 40 lbs takes great effort. I have been knocked off my feet plenty of times. Chest deep? I often work to tip-toe depth using mask and snorkel and breath dive to recover targets in water that deep. If chest deep I am often in surf so heavy I can’t see the bottom. I almost never use a scoop in those conditions as I have to recover targets by hugging the bottom to stay under the waves. I then recover the targets by hand, digging and fanning. I have plenty of time on scoops though, often in zero visibility conditions. Suffice it to say I have had a hell of a time recovering some targets! In retrospect probably at more risk to life and limb than was really warranted... but I lived to tell the tale. My first water machine was a 1280X when they were new to the market. Main water machines have been the 1280X, Surf PI in various versions, Garrett Infinium, ATX, and CTX 3030 plus minor use of CZ-20 and Excalibur. I am quite familiar with what a DD coil is and how to use one. The Infinium had a 14” DD stock and I have probably got close to 100 hours running the CTX 17” coil in the water. So I’ll repeat. From my perspective a 12.5” mono is not all that large so I’m not too worried about it. The 8” mono will be a piece of cake. Geared up for surf with Garrett Infinium - note dual weight belts (not recommended, dangerous) My scoops - heavy duty stainless on left my favorite by far Infinium finds from one Hawaii trip Two weeks in Hawaii with ATX - 28 rings, 11 of which are gold or platinum, gold bracelet Closer view of better finds from trip above

I believe that is for a woman's shawl, it would be missing the pin that goes through the material. I have seen similar pieces before, it should date around the late 1800's to early 1930's. Most were made out of silver or silver plating. Very nice find.

I've had this coil for quite some time, but it was packed away and forgotten. It was purchased for A$60 because I was intrigued. It is the anti-interference version. Measures 12 x 4 and uses the MInelab lower rod. Weight is decent, build quality is good. Performance in the field still remains a mystery as I've yet to use it. I gave it a quick air test just to see how it behaved on the Tdi Pro. This version has a hot spot in the centre of the coil which appears very sensitive to small targets at shallow depth. Seems to hit fairly well at shallow depths but doesn't have much punch for the deeper targets. Test garden results on coins would give real world depth on coins between a solid hit around 15cm or 6 inches and fading fast past 20cm or 8 inches. Useless air test with ground balance off, gain at max, in ALL, frequency in the middle, pulse delay at 10. 1 grain was 7cm .5 gram gold coin 16cm 1/2 Sovereign 23cm Us Quarter 23cm Aussie Penny 25cm Whites Buckle 33cm So in summary it hits hard on small and shallow targets, the centre of the coil is a hot spot for sure.. Fades fast as depth increases, the big Whites buckle just managed 13 inches. Since I managed max gain on the Tdi Pro in an EMI hot zone, the Anti-interference feature seems to work ok.. One of the things I like about the Tdi machines is the ability to plug in all sorts of coils, never know if you don't have a go.. My Tdi SL is highly resistance to EMI and the Pro less so but still very good. This coil could make more sense mounted on a Minelab around electric fences and mobile phone towers.. etc. All the best, Karelian

I think they would be a large step ahead if they solved their silly ergonomics. Even though it is not a problem for you, a rather sizable majority have been outspoken about the design weight among other things, and if they want to sell lots of units, this should be one of the key areas of change.

It’s almost enough to make me want to get an SDC and gut the thing out, put it in a real detector box and rod combo, so I can use coils like this the way they were meant to be used. I’d love an SDC configured like a Eureka Gold with a set of coils like this.

Could they be galena?

If someone from Fisher wants to send me a detector and I'm going to try Tenerife! I make video to see how it works in black sand

That sure looks like one, and I must say that you have some very nice finds there. Keep up the good work.

Wow super find, congrats!!

Great find that you found today, now what is it going to be tomorrow? I hope that you get something bigger and better.

Jimmy Sierra T-Foot dual field coil for White's TDI Jimmy shows off his coils including the T-Foot starting at 10:45 in this video.....

I had a couple Jimmy Sierra T-Foot 5.5" x 18" coils in stock at one time, and really wish now I had kept one. I thought exactly what you are thinking - perfect coil for beach sweeping. Jimmy Sierra coils for TDI Anyway, similar to the 6" x 18" mono you have coming but supposedly a dual field instead of mono. Very interesting about the Nuggeteer coil, I don't recall ever seeing anything about them before. Are they still around? I see the website is dead. Some coils for White's TDI

I recently used the "after" picture in another thread, but while I was looking for the after picture I also found the "before" picture. The product I use is Ali Brite. I have no idea if it is available in the States but it is described as a "etching type acid". Be careful with the stuff, above all, don`t get it in your eyes, and if it comes in a plastic bottle, use a plastic container to soak your speci`s in. And you have got to be patient, I left these pieces in acid for several months. Anyway, this is the before and after. Dave http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/Product/Septone-Ali-Brite-Aluminium-Cleaner-1-Litre/1747

heres 2 very small nugglets i just found with the coiltek its a hot coil

Unfortunately PI technology as it currently exists does not lend itself to accurate discrimination. The physics just don't support it. I'm sure some form of hybrid technology will come along and eventually solve the issue. Maybe a combination of PI and magnetometer could help with ferrous discrimination.

Now that’s some serious honest to God treasure hunting well undertaken and executed. Good for you and your team! I was going to ask but you pretty much answered the research part. To me that is the key to real treasure hunting.... having something real that can be researched with some degree of certainty. I see way too many people chasing pipe dream treasures that don’t even exist. Probably the vast majority of treasure hunting is somebody going after some story made up by a writer for a treasure magazine. Or being the zillionth person looking for the fabulous legendary whiz bang legend. And let’s not forget to use LRLs while at it. Anyway, it’s very nice to see you do something real and do it successfully. Congratulations!

Yea the sdc is an amazing MA Hine and don't get me wrong I found lots small stuff with it but side by side my gpx was defanitly hitting harder and deeper on smaller gold.. I had the max mods by woodland in aussie and I could run it flat out in normal.. I'm defanitly regretting selling it hence my predicament now if I get a gpx5000 and mod it it will owe me as much as a gpz..

Platinum can be marked many different ways. PLAT, 800, 850, 900, 950 and 1000. My best year, I got 18 platinum rings and a platinum cross loaded with diamonds with the platinum chain. But we are not finding platinum rings like we used too here in Honolulu, Hawaii. So many people now wearing titanium and tungsten carbide rings. I miss the old days where you could dig up 10 rings and 9 would be either gold or platinum. Now you are lucky if 1 ring out of 10 rings is gold or platinum.

Ok everyone, Let's do 10 seconds of deep breathing!.......... and be thankful for what we do have!!! 😡☹😤😐😬😁😄😊🤩🥰 That will be billable for a full hour! Cash (and Gold Rings) only!👍👍

That was Rick, not Fisher, talking over year and a half ago. Guess they figured after all this time you can't alter the laws of physics and do the impossible (at some point, small gold disappears if you are going to salt balance). Moving on now...and welcome to the reality of Impulse AQ in 2020 vs. the boundless optimism of Manta in 2018.

I only paid money for my first (GT16000) after that, I traded gold for all my later detectors. The only exception was a Garret Infinium. I never found anything with that and quickly traded it for an SD2100. This (attached to Jim Stewart's 36" Bismarck") found an awful lot of big gold. Haven't bought a detector for years now, mainly testing new QED prototypes for Howard. These always earn their keep very quickly.

This morning's finds on Matey's home turf.. i was almost not going to bother searching at Horseshoe Bay as there was a long line of unfilled holes (Matey's calling card) but then thought it would be a great chance to compare the Equinox 600 against his GoFind 44.. I noticed he sticks to the dry sand so this left the wet stuff for me.. once again i can't believe just how good the Equinox handles the beach (much better than the Chinese GBP).. I found 2 more rings (both silver) and an earring as well as $14.40 worth in coins.. Considering that i'd never managed to find any jewellery before, since i've had the Equinox 600 i'm almost starting to count on finding a piece every time I go out..

So to get twice as much money it would need to be twice the weight?

Got out again today since I had it off from work. Could not resist. Found this ring that rang up 12-13 on the EQ800. Although it looked promising there are no markings on the ring. Where there should have been a marking it looks "repaired" in that area. Can't figure out whether it is plated or just some old junk ring. Will try to get it tested at a jeweler tomorrow if possible. Also found a quarter, couple dimes, some pennies and loads of can slaw with wonderful pull tabs. I also noticed since updating that corroded clad pennies ring up low, 17-19. The previous version never did that for me in the couple times I used it. So dunno if I will stick with the update or not. For fun I also ran this ring over my Teknetics T2 and it read 55. *shrugs* it may be a low karat gold but will not know til it is tested.

You’ve all seen my pics of the tiny gold I get from the Boise Basin area up by my cabin....imagine my surprise when I unearthed this! For sure thought it was going to be a bullet lol!

I recently bought a Teknetics Patriot. I have been interested in this detector since it was released and finally found a deal I could not refuse. I have owned another Teknetics 13kHz detector that had EMI issues in the urban areas I usually hunt in . I was afraid that the Patriot would exhibit some of the same behavior. Fortunately, even on the default settings in Program 1 (discrimination mode) the Patriot was very quiet and needed no adjusting except to turn up the sensitivity!!!! So far, I have really enjoyed detecting with the Patriot both for its detecting prowess and for its outstanding ergonomics. It will easily detect accurately past the 5" level in my two to three Fe3O4 bar mineralized dirt and is an absolute joy to swing. It is beautifully balanced and feels like a 2 pound detector not a very nose heavy almost 3 pound detector like some of the Fishers and Teknetics that do not have a battery box under the arm rest. It should be a great relic hunter, a good prospecting detector and has already proven to be a very fine coin and jewelry hunter. If you are considering buying one of these, read up on recommended settings for the F70/Patriot. Lots of good information on this forum and two others that will really help setting it up for your conditions. I highly recommend this detector either for a relative newbie, intermediate user, or a very experienced hunter in need of a mid single frequency or backup detector. Jeff

This is what happens when I start reading post's without 1: my glasses and 2: my Caffeine.