Steve Herschbach

I agree. For now I am not looking to chase super faint, whisper signals seeking max depth. Frankly, the areas I hunt I generally don't lack for targets. So my goal is more to see how well I can use the machine to pick better targets. That may mean just using my ear in all metal mode, or seeing if the discrimination system really is all it is supposed to be. On one hand the disc system is touted as amazing new technology, and on another the only serious long-time user of the machine eschews using the discrimination at all. We are now being told the disc modes are more a tool for beginners. That kind of puts a dent in the idea a person is going to be able to use this machine to focus on ring range targets while getting PI type depths. I once had this idea I would be putting the machine in tone mode and only digging clean ring signals, moving the numbers more in my favor compared to an all metal PI. Now I am not so sure that will be the case, and is really the number one item I need to sort out with the machine. It could be the depth loss in employing the disc modes removes much of the reason for having a PI, once again making a VLF the better option if discrimination is the goal. I suspect this will prove to be the case for places like Florida. As always I assume it will depend on the location, with some areas calling for all metal, and some for discrimination. But I'm having doubts the discrimination system is the magic bullet it was being sold as at one point.

I purchased this detector as an on beach or shallow wading detector. And in my case for now freshwater use only. Assuming I am happy with what I see, I will get the newer model with drop in batteries for deeper water / saltwater use. This unit would then be more of a backup detector. I don’t mind having two, one that never sees saltwater use. Besides, this is a guaranteed genuine Limited Edition detector... I’m going to keep it as pristine as possible.

No worries, nice finds, love the quarter! 👍🏼

Stunning!

Used to be a land surveyor so I’ve seen both ends. If you do have genuine property rights, and do not enforce them, you can lose those property rights. Being a nice person and allowing public access across your private property can result in a chunk of your property being deemed public access based on historical use. We see it as people who want access. If you own the property you see it differently. So while I’m on the access side, I certainly respect the rights of property owners. It’s those dick heads who do not have genuine property rights and are attempting to block access on one side, or trespassers on the other, that are a problem. As usual the bad apples cause problems for the rest of us. Something I have to be mindful of as I get more aggressive seeking out locations to hunt up at Tahoe. Lots of private property up there.

If you got a couple M8 Protective Caps and installed it might be all a person needs. Do that and place in dry bag, double protection.

Well burped dry bag? I know for people a long way from the rig that may be an issue. For me after 4 hours I’ll be fine with a hike back to the car for lunch and a restroom break, swap batteries. I’ll be keeping canned air and Q-tips in the car to properly clean the connections before swapping the battery. For now at least I’ll treat the battery connections with kid gloves until I get a better feel for the detector in actual longer term use.

Great info, thanks!

I agree, no need for a new post every two hours scattered all over the place. I have merged them all into one thread. Welcome to the forum!

Yes, platinum unless large runs much lower reading then the same size gold jewelry.

Official color flyer, click or double-click for larger version....

I pitched a royal fit to get a spare battery with my AQ Ltd, and it helped get an official retail price formulated, which I gladly paid. Fisher Impulse AQ Limited spare NiMH battery, part# PI-BATPK-NIMH $199.00 Fisher Impulse AQ NiMH battery Fisher Impulse AQ NiMH battery

The included headphones, remind me of my old Gray Ghosts... Fisher Impulse AQ Limited headphones

I am having a hard time reconciling “there are no holes” with “most U.S. coins are lost if you disc out ferrous.” Yet I am also more than happy to concede that Carl’s technical expertise and knowledge are an elephant to my gnats arse. If he says in his opinion the AQ lacks a hole as it would normally be thought of in the technical sense, I bow to him on that issue. For me all I have ever wanted was Aquastar type power in a 21st century package. All that matters to me is the raw depth. Any, and I mean any, discrimination capability is pure gravy as far as I am concerned. I never turned on the disc on my GP and GPX detectors. I just did not trust it, still don’t. I will experiment with the disc on the AQ just to learn what it can do, but suspect I will prefer using the machine in all metal mode most of the time. It’s just a cleaner, simpler mode of detecting for me. Seriously, after digging holes in tailing piles day in and day out, junk for days on end for a nugget or two, beach and water detecting is a literal walk in the park. Digging in sand... what a treat!

I ordered a spare battery - two batteries.

Planning water hunts in coming week. Bad timing, doctor appointment Tuesday, cataract surgery. May take it easy Wednesday also. One eye done already so not that concerned about it, just being cautious. Plan is head to desert the following week with AQ and new Tarsacci to try salty nugget location.

Good question, I do not know. It is odd, but do not see an issue for water use. The gold prospecting model - I shove coils forward hard to get under brush. Bad location for that, I would have to reverse the coil in those instances, and being rear mounted would limit how flat to the ground I could get the rod. The Equinox grip and AQ are both about 4 3/4” around. But the Equinox is near round 1.4“ x 1.5” and hard. The AQ grip is reminiscent of the F75, larger at base, taper to center, slight flare again at top, and with some forward curvature, 1.06” x 1.68” and padded. Basically the difference between holding a sculpted custom grip and a post. World of difference, in AQs favor. But need I remind everyone grips are like shoes, what fits me may not fit you.

Wow! That's my first impression. Wow! It showed up today in a large box. The detector is fully assembled, simply broke into two halves in the box and packaged up well with headphones separate. That ends up making for a large box, about three feet tall. Only things missing is an owners manual (not ready yet) and a coil scuff cover (don't know if there is one). Fisher Impulse AQ Limited arrived in box The label on the side - I paid for an extra battery People, I am used to using machines like the GPZ 7000 and Garrett ATX or GPX 5000, or SDC 2300. This detector by comparison is like holding an F75, light weight, and perfectly balanced. The grip is really nice. Love at first sight and especially first heft! Steve Herschbach Fisher Impulse AQ Limited Quick first impressions. The coil is much lighter than I thought it would be looking at it. It has that heavy epoxy look in pictures, but it is lighter and smaller in real life than I was anticipating. I'll have no problem with this in the water - I've run a CTX 3030 with 17" coil for full days at neck depths. This will be a piece of cake by comparison, especially as regards water resistance. The coil cable is far more supple than I thought it would be. Looks very stiff in the pics, but is very flexible in real life. The over-sized plastic connector to the back of the pod is unique, never seen one like that before, but clicks nicely into place. The power cable is smaller and more supple also than I thought it would be. I'm just too used to huge detectors. This thing - 4 lbs 5.3 ounces on my postal scale. Performance will wait, but this detector looks and feels great. Once the battery and cable gets the do-over, this will be a real home run. But as is, very finished in feel and appearance. Well done, could not be happier at this point. Plan is to go up to Tahoe on Monday for the inaugural run. I have no plans to run to the coast any time soon so those wanting saltwater answers should not be looking to me for them. Maybe someday. If you have other questions, ask on the forum. There is nothing I will say privately that is any different than what I will say publicly. I have no secrets, and sending me a PM or an email will get a "post the question on the forum" response. I'll warn you all right now though that I got this detector to go detecting, so wish lists for tests and videos and whatever... we will see. My plan is basically go do my thing and share any thoughts I have; job one for me is go detecting!

Only quick from your perspective Simon... I’ve been waiting years!

That’s quite a soft sell of the true ground breaking feature some people are focused on. That’s one reason I’m dredging all this up. But truth be told, I’m usually one of those all metal guys myself. Well, I’ve stirred the pot hard, you all have fun while I go open this box that just arrived from Fisher!

So if I adjust a TDI so the ground balance is mid-range, we have a hole. But if I adjust it to either extreme, I’m just rejecting the top end or the low end. It no longer a hole, but a cut off! Semantics, my friends, semantics. I did agree in my original post that there is no hole in the intended target range of the AQ, so basically I’m being a butt head. I’m amazed you guys put up with me. I drive my wife crazy at times, now you know why!

Mostly is the key word. Name one timing on the GPX that misses no nuggets that can be found with some other timing. How does the GPZ find gold the GPX misses? There is also some gold the GPX does better on then the GPZ.

Well I fully admit to shaking the tree here to see what falls out. I’m not aware of Minelab explicitly addressing the issue anywhere beyond the original SD2000 explanation provided by Candy in an old magazine article I have on hand. They’ve always kind of implied and let people assume there are no holes, when in fact every machine they make has some. I’m not aware of any official definition of holes anywhere, just loose talk tossed around mostly among people like Reg Sniff or Eric Foster or you or me or whoever. But nothing really in-depth definitive anywhere I have seen. Any really always mostly around the idea of a ground balance point taking good targets with it. Back to my assertion... the ground balance here is relabeled a disc control, and moved to a certain location to take explicit advantage of the “hole”. Was the goal to eliminate most U.S. coins also, or was that an unintended side effect? If I was marketing I would say a guy like Steve does not want to waste time digging coins at the beach, he wants to dig gold. That is 100% accurate. So for me it is a benefit and could have been designed that way for me by intent. Or it is an unintended and unavoidable side effect of eliminating the ferrous? Ok, that’s life. But there really are many beach hunters who like the coins. Lots of complaints now about coins drying up due to closures. This inability to find coins while discriminating ferrous would be a big deal to them. I’m not trying to make a legal case and certainly not trying to step on toes. My main goal is.... what does the detector detect, what does it discriminate, and what gets lost as a result? I’m really interested in what others think here. It’s not a fight... let’s figure out what a hole is, what it is not. Is a no holes claim valid... what do you all think? Am I being a picky jerk? Do I owe Carl an apology... I’m all in and will be more than happy. But let’s talk about it some more. Great subject. I will say again... I like the chosen AQ target range and focus, and am very happy to pass on coins! I’m just being pedantic and argumentative this morning.

Perhaps I misunderstood. When I inquired previously of Alexandre about being able to get full use of the 7 Us in all metal mode, he explained that the AQ was specifically designed to reject small foil items, and that thin gold chains, ear rings, and other micro jewelry targets would also be lost due to this intention to reject short time constant/low conductive targets. The Gold model were said to eliminate this low end limitation. Again ,perhaps something lost in translation. If all metal mode is a pure PI mode nobody will be happier than I. Not to sure about the spirit stuff. I fully admit there are different ways at looking at the subject, and none are "wrong" per se. Or maybe I am flat out wrong... I can live with that if good info comes of it. It is semantics on one side, and what the machine does or does not do on the other. No matter what.... I'm all ears for sure on the great responses. Nothing like a challenge to bring good info to light! 😉 When it settles out and when/if I am proven in gross error, I will edit my post to suit.