Steve Herschbach

That is common with lakes in many states as far as property lines. If the lake gets lower your property gets bigger. But usually once in the water there is more free play. People normally can anchor a boat offshore and you can’t yell at them for being on your property. Wading and such probably varies by jurisdiction and local practice.

First off, I have to say I’m very impressed by the depth of thought being applied to this subject! I feel rather inadequate by comparison. When I started with Equinox there was no iron bias. My only real issue was with flat tin type steel in old mining camps. Decomposed rusted cans. Then Minelab added iron bias. I tried it set to max on the flat steel... not a bit of help. Ever since I have set iron bias at 0, or if I forget, leave it at default for whatever mode I select, which is often Park 1. Can’t say it makes any real difference in my detecting either way most of the time, other than nugget detecting, where I try to make sure it is set to zero. The tells I get between running full tones and paying attention to 39 spikes seem to be sufficient for me as I almost never dig ferrous objects. BI do dig some bottle caps, but not tons of them, and usually shallow plated or foil wrapped ones, which are not true ferrous targets anyway. I hate to say it, but since the F2 setting came out I’ve pretty much ignored it. Just never got around to playing with it. I tell myself I should be going to F2 setting of 0, but generally forget when I hit the field. It truly is a case of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” and in general ferrous is just not an issue for me and Equinox. I’ve really not nugget hunted with Equinox but once since F2 came out, and need to remember to go to F2 0 next time I give it a go. You never want to give tiny gold a chance to read ferrous... it wants to do that enough already. Blah, blah, blah... just really posted to say don’t read too much into manuals. All the statement in the manual is saying is that if you are in a lot of ferrous and want it to shut up, use a higher iron bias. If you don’t want to miss non-ferrous targets, lower it. Yeah, it was poor use of the word “mask.” 🤷‍♂️

I have seen people question why the waterproof rating of the Fisher Impulse AQ Limited is only 3 feet if it uses the same connectors as the Minelab Equinox. Well, it does not. The Tarsacci uses a mix of connectors, and has the same M8 size headphone connector as the Impulse, but 4 pin instead of 5 pin. The Tarsacci coil connection is larger, same size as used on Equinox and MX Sport. The Tarsacci is rated IP68 (Up to 1.5 meters for up to 30 minutes). That's it, thirty minutes. So the Tarsacci is really only a shallow wading machine also. The Equinox has no M8 connnectors but instead a pain in the butt proprietary headphone connector. Now maybe we know why. The Impulse power connector on the battery is the same 4 pin connection Tarsacci uses for headphones. The Impulse headphone connection is 5 pin. Go figure. The White's MX Sport / GMX connectors are very similar to the Equinox, coil identical, headphone 4 pin. The White’s connectors look like the best of the bunch in my opinion. Looks like what Fisher should have used instead of the smaller connectors. To sum up, Impulse AQ Limited power and headphone plus Tarsacci headphone only are M8. All others are M12. Click or double click for high resolution photos.... Impulse AQ Ltd power compared to Equinox and Tarsacci coil Detector connections, Equinox, Tarsacci, & Impulse AQ Limited White's MX Sport connectors

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!