Steve Herschbach

I use the stock headphones when hunting in the rain. If it’s not raining enough to wear my rain racket I don’t worry about it. If it raining enough to put on the jacket, the hood goes over my head and headphones. I’ve hunted a lot of days in the rain like that and see no need for anything more personally. I have some Bose earbuds I could plug into the ML80 and use instead but have never found it worth the effort. Prior Thread on Rainproof Headphones For Equinox

It’s all missing the point. It’s not about what can’t be detected. It is about how well the small gold that can be detected will signal, and there is good reason to believe Impulse will improve in that area. On any small gold that the Impulse can detect in saltwater, it should do so better than other existing products. In theory, subject to independent testing. We have had detectors that can easily detect thin gold chains since at least 1995. We don’t use a Gold Bug 2 in saltwater. Why? It’s not rocket science. A decent nugget detector is so sensitive to a conductive salt signal they will detect your hand, let alone an ocean. Any detector that is tuned such that it gets a bare salt signal is tuned as well as is possible for small gold in saltwater. That is the limit and we have been there for at least a couple decades. Saying anything will do better in that regard reflects a lack of understanding about the issue. When I hear claims about improved ability to find thin gold chains in saltwater I just ignore it as nonsense. I did hope the Impulse on dry land could run full out at 7uS but being locked into salt mode negates that possibility. It may be a practical limitation of what can be done at the analog level, something to hope for in a future digital version. Or it may be a marketing move to differentiate the AQ from the prospecting version, which by nature has to remove that limitation. Whatever, it is what it is. Once we eliminate salt though there is still small gold we can detect. The question is “at what depth?” For the small gold that the Impulse can detect in saltwater, how well will an Impulse detect it by comparison to the competition? That is the real question. Personally I don’t care much about finding the smallest gold in saltwater. I will be hunting the largest gold I can find, not the smallest. Micro jewelry detecting has always been a thing people talk about more than do. I don’t see troops of people on the towel line with Gold Bug 2s or Goldmaster 24Ks or even Equinox with small coils. If hunting micro jewelry is so great why is everyone not doing it? Answer - micro aluminum. Micro jewelry detecting is actually aluminum detecting and gets old pretty quick for most people. Those 1 carat diamonds on a post are a lot rarer than you think. If you want to hunt thin gold chains in the water get a rake. and another.... https://youtu.be/zbXNcUqLAM8

This and other free books can be found here on this website. See also the Downloads Area for manuals, catalogs, and more.

Well with apologies to Dew and in defense of the overthinkers (I’m one myself) the whole reason for a forum is to ask questions and discuss things. I guess where I have a hard time though I endeavor to be patient is when questions are asked that were answered earlier on the very same thread. People don’t read through, they jump to the end the ask the questions again. But that’s ok. It’s just the nature of the medium and people being in a hurry. And some stuff is complicated, like how disc is implemented in a PI detector and how it differs from a VLF. Bottom line is it is a job I took on myself to set up and moderate a forum and I’ve got no right and in fact am stupid to complain when people ask questions and discuss things. It is the reason the forum exists. So I do apologize Dew... your questions are welcome as are your contributions to the forum. That out of the way.... yes, I agree with you Joe!

You can’t separate small gold from saltwater using conductivity as your basis. Period, end of story. My hope however had been that on the dry beach the Impulse AQ at 7uS would have exceptional small gold capability and maybe even do well nugget hunting in low mineral ground. That hope was dashed. The minute I asked this question and got this answer I knew it was not to be. The Impulse AQ like the CZ-21 is locked into full time salt mode, even in all metal mode. It truly is designed specifically for saltwater use and specially targets the ring range at the exclusion of the salt/small gold/small aluminum range. It appears the 7 uS design is intended to boost ALL signals prior to processing. You can’t process what you can’t detect. Then unwanted signals are removed. First, ground and salt in all modes. Aim for stability. There goes small gold. Then add disc to take out most small and large ferrous leaving the gold ring “sweet zone”. That eliminates lots of targets like high conduction coins, silver rings, and large high purity gold rings if you set the disc aggressive,y. The tipping point is somewhere around zinc penny. The emphasis on both salt and black sand elimination at the expense of small gold sensitivity should make for a stable machine. It turns out the 7 uS spec was not intended as a way of finding small gold with the Impulse AQ model. That was just an assumption on the part of myself and others that has proven incorrect. It will no doubt be implemented for that purpose in the gold prospecting model, which will get rid of the salt elimination and disc modes in favor of small gold capability and variable tuning for highly mineralized soil and hot rocks.

Please read the posts Dew...I linked directly to the discussion of the 1c, 2c, and 5c Euro. First link in my last post and the discussion prior to it at that link. There is even a picture of the coins. To be honest, you have so many questions because you don’t follow the entire discussion and ask questions answered before. It’s like the small gold salt thing... I’ve tried to explain it to you before but you go on hoping and asking again when it is a futile hope. No matter who you ask or how often you ask the answer is always going to be the same. Tuning out salt tunes out small gold. For me there are almost zero questions left about the Impulse AQ. Except for silly stuff like will it leak? 🙂 But the performance parameters have been pretty well laid out already as far as I am concerned. I suggest you go back and read everything over from the start in the last half dozen threads.

That is the Minelab repair center where response has been exceptional. What email are you using?

The answers to all your questions are in this thread if you go back... https://www.detectorprospector.com/forums/topic/11421-fisher-impulse-aq-discrimination-explanation/?do=findComment&comment=112905 https://www.detectorprospector.com/forums/topic/11421-fisher-impulse-aq-discrimination-explanation/?do=findComment&comment=113006 Plus in this one... https://www.detectorprospector.com/forums/topic/11450-fisher-impulse-aq-unboxing-first-photos/?do=findComment&comment=112642

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.