Steve Herschbach

It’s all Minelab. It’s this brand versus that brand that seems to get hairy.

https://www.faa.gov/hazmat/packsafe/ Portable electronic devices, containing batteries - Cell phones, laptop, camera, smart phones, PDAs containing lithium batteries, games, tablets, watches, etc. Most consumer personal electronic devices containing batteries are allowed in carry-on and checked baggage, including but not limited to cell phones, smart phones, PDAs, electronic games, tablets, laptop computers, cameras, camcorders, watches, calculators, etc. This covers typical dry cell batteries and lithium metal and lithium ion batteries for consumer electronics (AA, AAA, C, D, button cell, camera batteries, laptop batteries, etc.) Devices containing lithium metal or lithium ion batteries (laptops, smartphones, tablets, etc.) should be carried in carry-on baggage when possible. When these devices must be carried in checked baggage, they should be turned completely off, protected from accidental activation, and packed so they are protected from damage. Spare (uninstalled) lithium metal and lithium ion batteries are always prohibited in checked baggage and must be placed in carry-on. When a carry-on bag is checked at the gate or at planeside, any spare lithium batteries must be removed from the bag and kept with the passenger in the aircraft cabin.

Are machines that have a ground balance being properly ground balanced to the brick?

Yeah I am not disputing batteries might be an issue for airlines and us as passengers on board. I am just talking the practical matters as concerns us and how to get them on the plane.

It's legend and nobody knows so you can believe whatever you want.

I think the main problem is separate batteries. A battery integrated into a device is not really the big issue. The GPX for instance, you have to have the battery to operate the detector. It is not a "spare battery". But it could be - the people checking the bags do not know that. And fact is when I traveled with my GPX I did take two batteries. What the heck do you think is charging when I am using the other on long days? The point is even a single GPX battery could be viewed as a "spare" by an overly cautious person and I think that may be where we are getting into trouble here. In the rush to board planes leaving in 30 minutes stuff happens. My advice is have plenty of documentation showing what the entire device is, like the owners manual, and get to the airport and deal with security as far ahead as possible.

I have to admit when I saw that I thought "hmmm, put a larger arm cuff on there and that would be great for mask and snorkel work when I am on my belly needing a super short detector." I have been eyeballing the Nokta/Makro Pulsedive for just that purpose, but this may not cost any more and have discrimination. But mainly I like how it is designed for kids instead of just being a cut down adult detector or worse yet just a toy. Pulsedive Scuba Detector & Pinpointer

I am sure you could contact the manufacturer via their website link above for answers to your questions Tom. Having used, sold, and eyeballed a lot of devices over the years this looks to be a quality well-designed product that I have little doubt functions well as a gold recovery device. There is always a basic trade one is making. At low volumes, in this case hand fed, you can get superb gold recovery. However, you have little volume. Other devices offer more volume, but retaining high recovery rates is difficult at higher volumes without adding undue expense and weight. Good designs usually have to be customized for particular types of soil, clay, rock, and the type of gold sought. Usually one will sacrifice some gold recovery as an absolute percentage in order to process higher volumes, because in placer mining volume is usually what pays the bills. But high volumes at poor recovery rates are counterproductive so it is a balancing act. Due to the small volumes processed a lot of genuine miners would consider this more a cleanup device than a primary mining tool. For us folks with 5 gallon buckets of material it may however be just the ticket. Like strick I prefer a detector these days but were I to lose my mind and decide to move dirt again I'd be considering this. If you are not using a drywasher being able to recirculate water is almost mandatory for many locations these days.

Pans and sluices are recorded back as far as we have history on the subject, and yes the Romans used pans and sluices. The Golden Fleece is thought to possibly have been a sheep’s hide used to line and capture gold in a sluice box. From De Re Metallica, by Georgius Agricola, First Latin edition 1556, picture of gold pan and sluice box in use. Not any different than early scenes in California 300 years later. Interestingly the first English translation was by Herbert Hoover, who later went on to be President of the United States. It also is one of the first written accounts to describe dowsing. It is also interesting that one of the first things discussed in the book are the environmental impacts of mining. Things we think are new to our times have been discussed for centuries if not millennia. The translated text is below but for as easy overview skip to the Wikipedia article at bottom. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/38015/38015-h/38015-h.htm Wikipedia - about De Re Metallica

For the small people in your life! One of the few detectors I have seen that is designed for kids without being an insult to kids intelligence. And waterproof - amazing!

Time to bump to the top. I’ve replaced the old videos in the original posts with the latest versions supplied by Alexandre. 👍🏼

Time to bump to the top. I’ve replaced the old videos in the original posts with the latest versions supplied by Alexandre. 👍🏼

Time to bump to the top. I’ve replaced the old videos in the original posts with the latest versions supplied by Alexandre. 👍🏼

It is not the telescoping or folding rods. A two piece carbon rod would do that the best. A single piece would in theory be better yet but most of us want adjustable length and at least minimum breakdown capability.

I have read posts by Alexandre stating the Impulse is locked permanently in “salt mode” even in all metal mode, and that there should be no expectation it will detect tiny gold items. In fact it is by design excluding small aluminum in order to focus of gold rings to the exclusion of almost anything else. This implies an insensitivity to saltwater that should be in favor of stable operation at depth. You can’t really complain the detector will not pick up small gold items then turn around and get overly concerned it might be too sensitive to saltwater. It’s one or the other, and the machine is stated to be insensitive to saltwater, small aluminum and small gold by design. In any case this is the reason why we have a pulse delay control and a sensitivity control so it seems to me like concerns over saltwater stability is a blown up issue. It’s not like the machine is preset with no adjustments available.

There have been various posts already that explain that the Impulse AQ is locked in “salt mode” and by design is not set to pick up the smallest gold i.e. aluminum even while in all metal mode. The Impulse is designed to pick up gold rings specifically and particularly the “sweet zone” where the most gold by weight occurs while excluding everything else.

To my knowledge there are no dealers or service in the U.S. and AKA has expressed little interest in establishing any. Maybe Sergey can give us some clarification on that but to the best of my knowledge the answer is no. Beware that according to this thread there is a person in the U.S. posing as an authorized dealer who is not. I have no knowledge of that one way or the other, just passing it on as a caution.

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

Actually thought about dip needles not too long ago. I think they would trace black sand in surface washes as well as most metal detectors.

You are digging the right kind of targets.... sooner or later it has to happen!

Welcome to the forum Sergey. There is no specific area for AKA since it is fairly rare here in the U.S. There are threads about it however on the Metal Detector Advice & Comparisons Forum which is a general purpose forum. AKA Intronik Thread AKA Signum Thread

Ok, just checking as iron bias would have an effect on that.

Had this article forwarded to me. Funny how the guy wanted to brag up how much his detector cost. I know there is an exchange rate and all but still..... https://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/118580213/matt-hastings--a-treasure-hunter-at-whangamat-beach

What is your iron bias setting?

The reason I ask is some PI detectors like the TDI are not regulated and so people try and get more depth by applying more power.... at the risk of electronic failure of course. I like that using an external power pack makes battery alternatives very easy. I am sure there will be a larger battery option, perhaps belt mounted, for those who want longer operating times between charges. And of course Li-Ion as an option. Interesting to hear that other battery configurations are possibly planned in the future. No doubt to be used in conjunction with other future models still under development.