Steve Herschbach

Another possibility - the 11” mono from the DetectorPro Headhunter Pulse. Looks identical to Eric’s coil, I wonder if he designed it? Seems I have a vague memory that is the case, will investigate more.

Did anything come of all this? It would be nice to know if anyone has had success with alternatives to the 12” dual field for underwater use. The White’s Aussie Mono coils are what first jump to my mind, but something like the Sea Hunter coils would be good. If I could pick a size though a 10” to 11” round mono would be great. Both Eric Foster and Minelab long ago settled on 11” round mono as an optimum general purpose size for stock coils. Eric Foster 11” coil.... should work on TDI?

Hi Lennie, good to hear from you and welcome to the forum! Yes, a saga long in the making, and far from over yet.

The battery is slotted on top, and there are two big knobs on the side just under the armrest that tighten clamps that fit into the channels on top of the battery. Just slide it in, tighten two knobs, attach cable, done. Photos below courtesy Rick Kempf Fisher Impulse AQ Limited battery attachment clamp/knob Fisher Impulse AQ battery top showing attachment channels

Photo courtesy of Rick....

Yeah, the life kept getting shorter over time, settling at 3.5 hours in the final NiMH version. So I have to do some search and cleanup editing - thanks for letting me know. Fixed. I know there is a downside to this but must note that NiMH eliminates many shipping and airline issues. It is not all bad. The battery is slotted on top, and there are two big knobs on the side just under the armrest that tighten clamps that fit into the channels on top of the battery. Just slide it in, tighten two knobs, attach cable, done. Manual is in progress and will be available soon. I just posted charger information here. Photos below courtesy Rick Kempf Fisher Impulse AQ Limited battery attachment clamp/knob Fisher Impulse AQ battery top showing attachment channels

Well, since you asked what I'd think, I'd not think people who have no control over the situation are "gargling with the disappointment of users outside France" or wherever. I'm certainly not pleased with anybody being left out on this and have no control or say in that matter. I can however take the future owner discussions to a private forum so as to not be shoving it in the face of others, if that is what people prefer.

Guess I joined that club back in 2013.... https://www.detectorprospector.com/magazine/steves-mining-journal/gold-and-silver-with-new-garrett-atx-metal-detector/ Gold and diamond ring found with Garrett ATX at Lake Tahoe

An hour more or less depending on which beach I hit. It is a huge lake, and alone could keep me busy for years. I also have been getting advice on other smaller lakes, mostly up in the Sierras, that are popular with the summer swimming crowd. No lack of places to use this thing, and by and large very thick with magnetite sands. I have to admit working around nice cool fresh water in the summer will be a pleasant change from my normal hot, sweaty desert digging for gold nuggets!

On one level I think the compact fold up design of the SDC 2300 is just about the coolest thing ever. There is a definite wow factor when you take it out of the box for the first time. And waterproof for work in and around streams is nice. I sure had fun using mine. But I can't help but imagine an SDC stuffed in a Eureka Gold housing. Ability to mount control box up front, under elbow, or chest or hip mount. Plus a selection of accessory coils to match. To this day I think that simply releasing a version of the SDC in this configuration would make a lot of people happy and sell very well.

I definitely hear and understand your frustrations after waiting all this time. I for one do not understand why this version was not simply released as a wader version. Just say this is the wader version we have ready now, and that the dive version is still in the works and will be available later. Personally I would have priced it higher and included a second battery. Instead of "here is our failed diving version at a great price" I would have sold you "here is our fantastic on beach and in water wading detector." I think the battery with cable design can make sense for dry land versions, like the prospecting version especially, if you also offer a belt mounted 8 - 12 hour battery option at time of release. So people who normally detect a few hours have a nice 4.2 balanced detector with a NiMH battery that can get on an airplane without getting a third degree or flat out tossed off the plane. They would also have the option of going even lighter, 3.4 lbs on arm, by removing the underarm battery and using the longer life belt mounted battery. So there you go, with me running the show you'd be getting the Fisher Impulse AQ Wader right now, at a higher price but with two 3.5 hour batteries included, and a 8 - 12 hour belt mounted battery option. And the Fisher Impulse AQ Diver with integrated Li-Ion battery in the works available soon. There would be no limit on supply, machines available though all regular dealers and distribution channels. But it's not my gig. All I can offer is that there will supposedly be a fully waterproof version more in line with what you are really wanting at some point later, that you will presumably be able to buy from dealers in Italy. For you and all the people like you, I truly am sorry. However, I will also say that it is what it is. I'm not going to let all this devolve into a litany of complaints. I want to recognize your concerns and dissatisfaction as being real and for good reason, but at the same time I want everyone to be aware that complaining further here won't change anything. Your best bet if you are really upset is to contact Fisher directly with your concerns. http://www.fisherlab.com/contact.htm Fisher Labs 1120 Alza Dr. El Paso, TX. 79907 USA 915-225-0333 1-800-685-5050 info@fisherlab.com

Thanks for the vote of confidence Chuck. I was very specific in wanting to be a regular buyer of this detector for a couple reasons. First, I want to use it or not as I please for my enjoyment. Obligatory testing is work and that sort of thing was sucking the fun out of my detecting. Proving the old line... don’t make your fun into work. That being the case though I’ll report or not as I please on my own timeframe and nobody else’s. Second, I wanted to remove any and all ideas that I have heard in the past that perhaps I’m doing some pay to play thing where people are buying my opinions. My opinions have never been for sale in that way, in fact it’s that I speak my mind that has made me valuable to the manufacturers, though they often do not like what I have to say. Whatever, I got tired of the accusatory B.S. and decided that if I am involved in detector prototyping I will recuse myself from discussing it, or I will buy the detector and be free to discuss it as I see fit. For example, I was on the Vanquish prototype team, but when it came out, I stayed on the sidelines. In this case I expressly avoided inquiring about prototype testing because Vanquish really burned me out on that, and in this case I just wanted to go detecting and have fun. I’m overdue at this point. Anyway, whatever I say about the Impulse people can rest assured is just commentary from a test weary detectorist who has just about seen it all at this point. I’m pretty sure this thing will go beep and find stuff and I’ll have fun. That’s really all I ask for anymore.

Just the opposite. The battery is located under the armrest attached by a cable for the express purpose of being easily swappable. And optional replacement batteries will be available - price to be announced. It is unfortunately this attempt at an external battery that has lead to other issues, that will probably be addressed by the battery being more integrated in future versions to eliminate the cable and connectors. Some people may actually consider this version to have advantages an integrated version may not, like easy add on batteries. AQ Homemade Battery Thread The battery will be charged by disconnecting the cable and attaching the battery to the charger. Anyone potentially pissed off by the battery did not read the disclosure and would not be the sort of person who should consider purchasing this detector. This is a detector for people who make things work, not pissers and whiners. The terms of the release are specifically set up to try and weed those people out. There will be no “group buys”. These are available in limited quantities to select individuals.

I suggested to Minelab that one of their updates include the ability of the detector to display the update directly somehow, like a button push combination or on power up. Not everyone who buys a detector even owns a PC these days.

It does make a person wish there was some kind of internet search engine a person could use to educate themselves. Not much you can do to help people who can’t bother with proper due diligence buying used products. Of course a buyer of a used unit need not agree to anything, but they should be aware of the service limitations of the unit. I’d certainly provide that information to anyone if I was selling the detector used. If anyone buys one and wants to sell it used contact me for an easy sale. I would not mind having two, one for fresh water and one for salt water. And in any case I never travel to remote locations to water hunt without a backup. Lost a whole two weeks of hunting in Hawaii once to a new detector that leaked brand new out of the box... I won’t repeat that experience ever again.

If it’s not obvious looking the detector over try looking in the battery compartments or remove the armrest and rod and look in that area. I’m not entirely sure and it may have moved over the years but Garrett would of course be able to tell you.

There is no reason to be “absolutely gutted.” I would call Garrett with your serial number for starters. But unless you have good reason to think it is a fake, I would assume you have a genuine unit. There really is no reason to worry about it unless it is not working properly. Note that the consensus in this thread was that the unit under discussion was genuine. Counterfeiters go after hot selling models, and the ATX is a less popular niche detector not really targeted in that way. Your unit is far more likely to be genuine than a fake unless you got it for a killer price from a Chinese online seller. https://www.garrett.com/counterfeit-notice

I would assume a line is starting also to be the first people to buy one of these used. There inevitably are going to be those who think this is a magic wand, and who find out when they get it that it is a metal detector. Especially those who have never used a PI before and are expecting VLF type discrimination. There are no limitations on resale of the purchased units, other than to note that they would be without a warranty of any sort. I want to note I sympathize with those who have been waiting a long time for this and who are unable to get one at this time for one reason or another. My posting I’m getting one is not intended to rub salt in any wounds. All I can do is hopefully make up for that by providing some decent feedback to help potential new buyers in the future. Hopefully Fisher will come out with new models that have improved battery systems and a more robust design with a better waterproof depth rating sooner rather than later. The price may be higher, but they can’t go sky high without hurting long term sales. Any extra money will be worth it in the form of more than 3.5 hours operating at more than 3 feet of depth for four hours. Quite a few people really do want a seriously robust detector for hard core water hunting, and this version is not it.

Thanks guys, though when I posted that I was referring to new videos and tests, especially those from the soon to be new owners of the Fisher AQ.

Unfortunately not on mine. Even medium rings were jumping all the way into ferrous. Basically it was simply tripling whatever the normal target id was in 22.5 kHz regardless of target type. Anything that might read about 35 or higher was launched all the way into ferrous. I assume different Bigfoot coils work differently on the V3i. I’ve heard some basically don’t work at all since they are not V rated. Mine must be one of the borderline ones. I’m not getting rid of the V3i, and maybe someday I’ll put the Bigfoot back on it and experiment some more, but right now I just want confidence everything is working as it is supposed to.

Very doubtful it will work but it can’t hurt to try. Nothing in the coil or detector will get damaged by just giving it a go.

Thanks for the feedback everyone! The fact is I have used the elliptical coil - I had one of the first ones out. So I'm familiar with what it can do on gold nuggets at least. The bottom line for me is there are other detectors and coil combinations I would use that do better on tiny gold. The elliptical HF coil runs with the best of them when other detectors have the same size coil for comparative purposes. But I don't play fair. The HF elliptical can't keep up with something like a Gold Bug 2 running a 4" x 6" concentric, the Gold Monster running the 5" round DD, or Goldmaster 24K running the 6" round concentric. So for me I'd at this point in time, if I had to choose one, I'd pick the 9" round as still being extremely good on very small gold. The elliptical has an edge on the tiniest bits but truthfully there gets to be an aspect of hair splitting in gold bits weighing well under a grain. I'm used to finding nuggets weighing a tenth grain or less, but at a tenth grain means you have to find 4800 of those bits to have an ounce of gold! There is a balance to nugget detecting between finding the tiniest bits and finding the little bit larger stuff that actually adds weight to the bottle. So I'd rather give up a little on the tiniest bits, to get more depth on nuggets weighing a half gram or a gram. That's what the 9" round offers. Overall I think it is a generally more versatile coil, with the elliptical being a little more a specialty coil. They are both great, no wrong choice, it's just a decision for each of us as to what works best for us.

Welcome to the forum. The latest information is that a version waterproof to greater depth will be available at a later date, so if this version does not interest you, perhaps one available in the future will. Whatever you end up with, best of luck to you!

Thanks Simon. I look forward to getting my hands on this detector and sharing what I can about it with you all. I think it is a good idea for Fisher, in that if they do this right they can use the feedback to get the final version dialed in properly. Lots of people have already pointed out the obvious limitations in this version, and Fisher listened to that and decided they are not done. They also don't want the work so far and money invested in the current version to go totally to waste. In my case I am honestly just fine with a wading version, which I am more inclined to do now with the locations easily available to me. A battery attached by a cable might even be better for me than a model with an integrated or attached battery of some sort. I will probably make a belt mounted 12 hour battery for my own use and having it connected via a cable actually makes that easy. Most people are probably looking for videos and depth comparisons. I'm sure somebody will get on that, but I'm going detecting. My main plan is to use the discrimination features and go dig everything the machine says is good, and keep it all. We will find out just how good this much touted PI discrimination is in the real world and what junk it calls as good. There will be plenty; it is a PI after all and anyone expecting VLF type discrimination is going to be disappointed. For me though it is any possible technology advance in that regard that I am intrigued by. A PI that goes deep... I've used those. PI discrimination on the other hand is a long promised holy grail of the metal detecting world. What I'll be doing is going detecting and testing that by showing you what I find, the good and the bad. And I'm going to go find a gold nugget with it just to say I did it. Finally, thanks Rick and thanks First Texas for once again allowing me to play with cutting edge technology! Kind of icing on the cake of 45 years of good times metal detecting.