Steve Herschbach

Compared to swinging the SDC the Impulse is an ergonomic dream come true. If performance is similar, and the price is right, Fisher will have a real winner. And honestly, getting away from the issues surrounding trying to make a submersible detector would help a lot! Dry land or wading, ditch the epoxy filled box for serviceability, no worries about knob corrosion, battery integrity, etc. I never understood why a beach machine was getting all the attention first. When the nugget + relic market is a larger slice of the pie.

The AQ and Impulse Gold have no discrimination at all in the classic sense. The AQ is using manipulation of the ground balance via presets to achieve a pseudo discrimination function. In other words, they are using the ground balance to discriminate instead of ground balance, leaving the machine out of balance in many situations. The inability to adjust the ground balance on the AQ makes it non-functional in some ground. For gold prospecting, the ground balance must revert to its intended use, and so there would be no discrimination per se. However, the Gold version would be able to get similar results by purposefully offsetting/misadjusting the ground balance. All in all it is very similar to how people were getting discriminations results with the TDI, and from my use the Impulse feels like nothing more than a finely tuned high power TDI. Whether that is technically correct or not…. that is how it acts and feels. Once you understand this, then all questions about discrimination etc. can be understood.

This is a plus in my opinion, and no serious need for tracking on a PI. Every PI that I had that had tracking, and the option to turn it off, I turned it off. It takes the fine edge off as far as I'm concerned. Hopefully it goes to production, as it is more the machine I want anyway. The ground balance being preset and fixed on the AQ was my biggest gripe about that model, that removed a lot of its ability to get the best performance in all situations, and made the AQ near useless for all but beach detecting. In a perfect world there would be only one model combining the settings available on both.

I'd hit the Geotech Forum up for stuff like that.

You have devices as good or better already. If you don't not like the screens, tape them over or put the controller in your pocket, and hunt by ear. Most XP users hunt by ear anyway. You can go down nostalgia road if you want, but personally I have done it many times, and reality never measures up to memory when it comes to comparing the old to the new.

I’m going to unlock this thread so a more recent post by Jennifer above on another thread can be combined with it here. It’s a sad subject so I’d like to keep all the sadness in one place. Let’s show some respect and not go off on opinions on various items, especially political, that might cause conflict here, lest we have to lock the thread again. If you want to offer condolences offer them. Keep the rest to yourself.

Photo of suspect on Sheriffs Office Facebook page Mohave County Sheriff’s Office Detectives are continuing their investigation into a double homicide that occurred east of Kingman. On Tuesday (6/28) at 8:15 PM, Deputies responded to a residence in the 9200 block of Dilligaf Rd. for a welfare check where two deceased victims were located. The victims have been identified as Darren Vanhouten (50) and Retta Atkins (73). Detectives have also been able to capture still images from the home surveillance system. The subject depicted in the photos is currently wanted for questioning in this case. Mohave Silent Witness has offered a reward of $2,000 for anyone with information leading to the arrest of the person responsible for the homicide. Anyone with information about this incident or may be able to identify this subject is encouraged to contact the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office at 928-753-0753 or call our toll free number at 1-800-522-4312 and reference DR# 22-024010.

The head is epoxy filled, basically non-serviceable. I expect very few of the AQ Limited models will still be running in ten years, due to various design and serviceability flaws. Throw in lack of parts going forward, not looking good.

Heading into July 2022, still nothing about an updated AQ with redesigned drop in battery system. Even less about the Impulse Gold. 2023 now, if ever?

Seriously? I can see the marketing whiz kids at work on this one. “People love pirates, right? Alaska shows do well. Pirates in Alaska, that’s the ticket!!” Like many tales this one has a source that seems based on a tale, with the likely amount of gold inflated, and the idea it’s buried someplace a real stretch based on a few oddball finds. More likely a few coins were found on Adak, and a tale concocted to explain them. https://www.historicsitesandshipwrecks.com/seal-pirates-missing-gold/ Alaska Lost Mine & Treasure Tales

I agree. Worse than that, I suspect even Minelab is hitting a wall. What real difference was there between a GPX 4000/4500/4800/5000? I expect the GPZ 8000 to merely be a tweak on 7000 performance, hopefully in a lighter chassis, but not much difference in horsepower. Even that may be farther off than people think. And people who are waiting for some new detector to genuinely light the gold fields up one more time, may be waiting a very long time indeed.

Good place to start is detect older areas. So round up an old map, say 1920 for example, and hunt existing places that are on the map back then. Try Old Maps Online for general maps https://www.oldmapsonline.org/en/California#bbox=-124.48200307000002,32.529523530000006,-114.13078163999997,42.009498940000014&q=&date_from=0&date_to=9999&scale_from=&scale_to= and Sanborn Fire Maps are great for down to the nitty gritty local details https://www.loc.gov/collections/sanborn-maps/about-this-collection/

Back when I got it there was just the one supplier. Not the case now. Google: XP DEUS 2 Remote Control Headphone Jack Adapter Part Number D2-RC1-G0-002 It is a genuine XP part, and any XP dealer should be able to at least order it for you. And surely somebody can put it in a small padded envelope for shipping, not some ridiculous oversized parcel. The thing can weigh a ounce or two at most. XP DEUS 2 Remote Control Headphone Jack Adapter

Fearless leader my posterior! Very nice to finally meet you Chuck, and hope to run into you again some time.

The problem with your 5000 is you are laser focused on what it can’t do, and ignore what it can do. All detectors have weak areas, which is why most proficient detectorists own more than one. Your Equinox misses deep gold a PI easily hits. Does that mean it’s worthless? Long story short it seems you sunk you teeth deep into Gerrys little demonstration of an outlier issue, won’t let go, and completely ignore that the 5000 is one of the best PI detecting values available on the market to this very day. Given that the 6000 misses gold a 7000 can hit, you would face the same issue. It’s not a perfect detector, it misses certain types of gold. It bangs on hot rocks a 5000 can easily tune out, and is a real squirrel with EMI issues. So why would you be any happier with it than a GPX 5000? Which by the has a halfway decent ferrous discrimination capability the the 7000 and 6000 completely lack, and which could have been used to great benefit where you hunt. Best bet is to stick with what’s working for you, and get out and use that Equinox some more. Congratulations on a truly excellent find! If small gold is your concern, the Nox can hit stuff smaller than the 5000/6000/7000 can touch. https://www.detectorprospector.com/forums/topic/7468-my-tips-on-nugget-detecting-with-the-minelab-equinox/ What timings are you running on the 5000 Simon? Sensitive Extra I assume? As you know the “hole” moves with the timing and ground balance settings, and so trying Sensitive Extra, and then Sharp on the same targets, might be interesting.

Great post Andy. I was exploring the potential of the GPX for coins and relics on the forum, before getting derailed by the ever present PI skeptics. Good to see you taking you the ball and running with it.

I’ve written the QED off, and continue to hope for viable alternatives to Minelab from Fisher, Garrett, or Nokta/Makro. I appreciate what Minelab has done for us, but I also think competition is a good thing. Though the way things are going, it simply may be too little and too late, by the time it ever happens.

I’m sorry to hear that. Weird thing about the internet is people kind of live on via old posts. A new kind of immortality that will live on long after we are gone. Maybe something to remember when we are about to make a post that makes us look like jerks? Here are Dave’s posts on this forum, not a huge number sadly…. https://www.detectorprospector.com/profile/950-digger1955/content/ Including this one where he tells us about himself. He did not intend it as such, but a nice obituary if I ever saw one.

Cables wound too tight would not be a manufacturer fault, but still falls into “something wrong with that detector.” I have no idea what the cause is, though coil failures have not only been common, but repeat. Lunk with three bad coils? The fact four other people used the machine and “don’t like it” simply confirms something is wrong. That’s a problem for Minelab, when at least four potential customers say “no” over just one unit that is misbehaving. Multiply that by the number of other machines out there not performing as they should. It’s not just warranty cost for Minelab, it’s lost sales.

And everyone that’s used my machine immediately bought one. The coils are not knock sensitive, period. There is something wrong with the detector.

I sure was not looking to bum anyone out! For me it's just a simple recognition of reality here in the U.S., and there was no intent on my part to imply the same of Australia, or anywhere else for that matter. For me, everything has a season, and I am not one to grasp after things when it is their time has passed. I've many interests beyond metal detecting or gold prospecting, and if I quit both tomorrow it would not trouble me unduly. But that's just me. There will always be gold for those with the intelligence and willpower needed to seek out the overlooked areas that still exist. And they do still exist - the dream is alive for those who want to pursue it. It's just harder now than it used to be, and I very much admit I'm spoiled by better days gone by. I was commenting to Condor recently how people would pay happily pay big bucks, and spend entire vacations, to find the amount of gold we find in a single day... but we whine that it's not enough, not like the good old days. Waa, waa, waa - old cry babies!

Detectors are just tools, and which as best depends on the job. Which is king, pliers or a 12mm socket wrench? Just depends on the job at hand. There is no doubt the GPZ 7000 is the more powerful detector, and what we are really taking about is which is the better value for most people. All I know is the desire to prove any one detector as best has been a rather decisive thing in the detecting community as of late. It’s just human nature in all things it seems, not just detecting. People in general just seem to love taking sides on just about anything, and then arguing about it. 🤔 There is no doubt some performance to be eked, but it appears to me the technological gains have been getting increasingly small, at increasing price. If they came out with a GPZ 8000 that was basically the same design as the 6000, with a rod that does not twist, and a battery door that works, no weird EMI instability issues oddly related to the speaker, and better reliability, plus a good coil selection at reasonable prices, then I might be tempted to bite. Lots of big ifs there however, so I’ll not be holding my breath. The real problem is the gold patches basically playing out, and “going deeper” is not going to make the majority of them come back to life. We have lots of relatively shallow placer here, and with the last small bits getting hoovered up, there simply is not that much left in most of the places that most of us have ready access to. It’s a good thing you are getting near to retiring Gerry, because I don’t think gold prospecting detectors are a growth market anymore in the U.S.

I admit I read this thread with a degree of satisfaction, and a feeling of being vindicated. As a prototype tester I put out a very early report on the GPX 6000 trying to tell U.S. operators only (not Australian users or X Coil users) exactly what is now becoming accepted as fact. And that is, for the average U.S. user, especially new buyers, the GPX 6000 is a better value than the GPZ 7000. Despite my clearly stated caveats, however, I got enough blowback from the very people I was exempting from my commentary, that I pulled all my reviews and information on the 6000. I did finally post them again about three months ago, once the heat died down. I must say that the quality control, and therefore all the problems people have had with the GPX 6000, have been very disappointing. The fact is most people do not have issues, but so many do, including quite a few people that I know and respect, that it has taken some shine off what should have been a truly excellent release by Minelab. Were it not for the issues that plagued some people, a lot of the pushback would not have existed. We hear "yes, it does find gold, but the problems......" far too often. Still, the Minelab GPX 6000 for me is a joy to swing, and literally paid for mine in two days last fall, on the kind of gold the GPZ 7000 is weak on, and that I had been over and missed with the 7000. Again, because of the grief I was given, I did not post about any of my GPX 6000 finds last year, but it has left me with a hole in my Steve's Mining Journal last year, that needs to be filled. So I will finally get around to writing that up and posting about it soon. Thanks Gerry, and everyone else posting on their GPX 6000 success, for making me feel more like saying something now, than I have this last year. A few ounces of GPX 6000 finds from the Mother Lode country.....

Yes, a 12” DD would have been preferable to the 14”, or an 11” if using the existing housing made it easier. I think I could use a small DD even more than a small mono, as the 11” round mono does suit me pretty well for most of my detecting.

The MXT is one of the very first true "do it all" metal detectors, good for almost anything you want to do. Like locator says, the only weak area is salt beach, and it still is not half bad at that. Pretty much anything you need to know about the machine can be found at the link below.