Steve Herschbach

Nothing wrong with the GPX 4800 at all as long as you get it for a good price. If you ever want to resell it the 4800 does not bring as high a price as other models due to being more rare and unfamiliar. It is not logical or fair, just the way it is.

I agree Keith and was not really trying to predict what Minelab is up to. I am just talking about the weight perception issue with an apples to apples example. There is no doubt Minelab could never ask close to what a CTX 3030 sells for when they came up with the Equinox because it just seems like there is less detector there even though performance is close. Does the $2500 CTX perform three times better than the $899 Equinox? No way. But the CTX feels more substantial, better fit and finish, and pretty carbon fiber rod. No doubt an extra $1000 retail there just for the build and the look. My personal opinion is the GPZ 7000 set a high limit both for weight and price that will not be repeated. The tide has turned in the other direction on both counts. Equinox points the way to the new Minelab philosophy.

I think there is a new problem now for these slow moving companies that did not used to exist enough to matter. Counterfeiting. If you sit on old models too long you are a sitting duck these days. It's not a huge issue inside the U.S., but I'll bet outside the U.S. there are more counterfeit Garrett's sold than the real thing. One of the only ways you can really fight that is with new models on a regular basis so the counterfeiters at least have to work at it. And all the Garrett models are so old that they have little to no counterfeit protection built in.

That is one reason I ask. Forum members are kind of a detecting elite. The last few times I spoke at club meetings it was obvious there are lots of retirees on limited budgets. Many are there as much for social connections as detecting. I had one well attended meeting, like about 100 people, and I asked how many had a DEUS. Only a few hands. I'm guessing $200 - $700 detectors were more the norm. In Alaska $700 - $800 detectors were easily my sweet spot, best selling models. It was weird actually as nobody wanted a $400 - $500 detector. They either wanted inexpensive $200 - $300 detectors or they wanted best bang for the buck at $700 - $800. $400 - $500 was a squishy middle ground no-mans land from a sales perspective. Not cheap enough and not good enough all at the same time. Certain places favor a brand. White's is in Oregon and I was a White's dealer in Alaska for 35 years and sold a ton of White's up there. They make solid performing reliable machines that last forever. So that brand is favored in the northwest especially. Garrett seems stronger back east and south. Nokta/Makro despite strong forum presence I would have guessed as near non-existent in the real world U.S. Just way too new and with no advertising except online. Most people have probably never heard of them.

Good advice above. You may also want to try a version of Lunk's Smooth Settings, which like klunker's above rely on a version of the high audio smoothing being engaged. Lunk's Latest Smooth Settings Older Version of Lunk's Smooth Settings Welcome to the forum and Happy New year!

You are remembering the fake MSRP. The GPZ started selling at 10K in the U.S. and has had one price decrease since it came out to $7999

We already know the power cable routes up through the handle. I would like to see a manufacturer route the coil down into the handle with the connector facing forward just above the rod but under my hand. Just straight out and down the rod. I am not a huge fan of internal rod cables as they add expense and are hard to change, but would like some new thinking about where coils plug in other than the back of control boxes.

Welcome to the forum Alain. This is just my personal opinion, but comparing the Impulse discrimination to VLF detector discrimination is an apples to oranges comparison. To be fair the Impulse should be compared to other pulse induction beach detectors, where it is almost certain to offer a clear advantage. Anyone expecting it to offer discrimination as good as the best VLF detectors may very well be disappointed. My advice if that is a concern is to wait and see. As a longtime PI user the choice in this particular application is very clear for me, but for people like you more caution is advised. It is unlikely the AQ model is what you are looking for, and a coin/relic version of the Impulse is still just a distant rumor, nothing more.

I found the comment interesting. A detector with exactly the same performance as a GPZ 7000 but exactly half the weight and with lighter coils would be worth more money to me. In other words set a new GPZ 7000 in front of me and another machine, same performance, less weight.... which would I pay more for? I’m going with lighter even if it costs more. Yet Mitchel implies other people would not feel the way I do about that so I’m curious what others think. There is true sales psychology here. White’s Electronics used to produce various versions of the same detector and the bigger, heavier ones cost more because bigger is better!

Denis (LE JAG) reported back in May that an 8” coil was was being tested on the prospecting “Terra” version of the Impulse, so I figured it was a pretty good bet we’d see it on the AQ also. The stock 12.5” mono is a bit large for some people so there was bound to be demand for a smaller coil. It’s good to hear more confirmation it’s in the works - thanks for posting! Hopefully Denis will post a picture when he gets time. The Impulse with battery on the hip and 8” coil should be a dream to swing! Fisher Impulse AQ Data & Specifications

I am looking for some objective non-partisan opinions on what detectors are in use right now. I am seriously not interested in people promoting their favorite brand but just hoping for some honest observations. At your club what are the most prevalent brands and models you are seeing? Same thing at the hunts. What are the top two or three models you are seeing? My last couple trips to the UK it was simple. Now these are groups comprised not of locals, but visitors from the U.S. I’d say 95% were swinging either a XP Deus or Minelab Equinox, plus a few CTX 3030. That seriously was about it. In my circle of the serious prospectors I know it’s pretty much a Minelab PI/GPZ world. For VLF prospecting units lots of Gold Bugs, Gold Monsters, and White’s Goldmasters/MXTs. Garrett AT Golds are pretty rare. But what about general coin and relic across the U.S.? Not the serious forum types but the folks at the clubs and hunts. I’m guessing some regional preferences, and I’d have to guess Garrett is still big with many club type hunters going by YouTube activity. But I honestly don’t know what the masses are using and thought you all might enlighten me on that? This is really nothing other then pure curiosity on my part. Thanks in advance for any comments.

I can’t disagree Rick if they don’t change their ways and get with the program soon. Though you underestimate how strong Garrett is in the security business so going out of business entirely is unlikely. That may be part of the problem.... more corporate focus elsewhere. Things are shifting quickly however and if they want to stay relevant in the consumer detecting realm they need to pick it up and fast. Things are far from lost for Garrett, and Brent Weaver is as good an engineer as exists in the business. That light weight dry land only ATX with redesigned coils I have been harping on for years still could capture a chunk of the prospecting and beach/relic market at the right price, but the window of opportunity is closing fast with the new Fisher Impulse models near at hand. A Garrett LTX could come in at a much lower price than the Impulse however. It’s just one area Garrett is literally giving away sitting on their hands doing nothing. Nothing in multifrequency or even selectable frequency is making their lineup look dated. I am sure many Garrett fans were hoping the AT Max would be multifrequency for better saltwater performance. Instead they pushed a single frequency circuit to the edge of instability. Personally I am far from giving up hope on Garrett yet, but the next year or two is a critical juncture and will be telling. They can either show that this proud old name of detecting is not going to give up consumer detecting without a fight, or just milk old designs as long as possible and quietly fade away.

Well it’s official. The Garrett GTI 2500, the flagship of the Garrett metal detector lineup, was over 20 years old in 2019. The GTI 2500 was introduced in 1999. Twenty years is an awfully long time in technology land, and I’d say it’s well past time for Garrett to do something about that. What would you like to see from Garrett in 2020? Garrett GTI 2500 Data & Specifications

Well, it’s been over 5 months and no sign of either coil?

So to get twice as much money it would need to be twice the weight?

2019 was an odd year for me. Basically no metal detecting by my historical standards, and the fewest gold nuggets I have found in decades. I did however reward myself with a trip to England for a couple weeks of nothing but metal detecting to help make up for it. The trip produced what will likely be the oldest relic I ever find, a 3500 year old Bronze Age Axe head. So I have to call that my best find of the year. Bronze Age (c.1500-1400 BC) cast copper alloy primary shield pattern palstave, dating to the Acton Park Phase The same trip produced my other two favorite finds. Second place goes to a small Roman bust. It's worn and of indeterminate age, probably 1st century AD going by other Roman finds in the area. Regardless it just tickled my fancy as a favorite find of the trip. Roman bust And finally, not my oldest coin of the trip by a long shot, but I liked it for having sharp detail. A 16th century Elizabeth 1st hammered silver penny. I am not sure how true it is but I was told Elizabeth was hated by some of her subjects and so people would purposefully rub her face out on the coins, resulting in many finds where you see just that. Mine luckily is not one of those. 16th C Elizabeth 1st hammered silver penny

This is the forum for what does not fit elsewhere. That's a beauty for sure! Old 15 kHz Radio Shack model, the one at this link does not look much different than yours, box and all.

It is a valid concern to take seriously. I developed tendinitis one summer from too much detecting and it took me near a year to recover. I had to switch to detecting left handed and even learned to run a computer mouse left handed. Don't ignore this stuff until it goes too far or you will regret it. Anyway, I like the looks of that gizmo so thanks for posting!

You only need one nugget a year like that Gerry to have a great year. That thing looks like a boulder sitting on the Equinox! Just in case any of you are hanging back for fear of being embarrassed next to that huge chunk let me help you out. I went nugget detecting exactly once in 2019 and found 12 nuggets totaling an incredible 15.3 grains or 0.99 grams. Close enough I'll call it an even gram of nuggets for 2019. I'm glad Gerry started this thread as that has to be like a 30 year low for me... I literally can't remember the last time I found so few nuggets in a year. So one for the record book! I'm not complaining though, 2019 was a really great year for me in other ways. So step up folks and show us how you kicked my posterior in 2019!!

Superb write up Rick! 👍🏼

That’s a real beauty for sure Gerry!! It’s too bad Fisher did not listen to actual prospectors in the development phase of the Gold Strike... things could have turned out different. The machine had depth. I hunted with Fred up at Ganes Creek in 2002 and witnessed him recover a 1.48 ounce nugget elbow deep with the Gold Strike. It did well on large gold but was not as sensitive to tiny bits as the Gold Bug 2 so was perceived as a step backwards by some. I lobbied endlessly for a switchable dual frequency Gold Bug 3 but it took other companies to finally make that happen. My buried report on the Gold Strike was quoted by Dave Johnson as being instrumental in the demise of the old Los Banos Fisher. A vast exaggeration, tongue in cheek I am sure. The old regime committed corporate suicide. It’s true though that I did my usual honest assessment and the blowback from Fisher was so strong I apologized and pulled it. That’s always stuck in my craw a bit as I actually had nothing to apologize for, but felt bad as if I had gotten Fred in trouble. Now that time has passed I will dig it out and repost soon as a tidbit of lost metal detector history. Here is Fred and his grandson Brian and the 1.48 ounce nugget found with the Fisher Gold Strike. Fred Brust and Brian with 1.48 ounce nugget found with Fisher Gold Strike detector

The Impulse AQ has a volume control. The headphones are not the ones Fisher has used for a long time on the 1280X and CZ-21. They look more like the DetectorPro Amphibian without external volume control than anything else I have seen. Should be a great fit, and hopefully we for once will get an underwater detector that has excess volume enough for underwater use. The headphones have a unique but easily obtainable three pin connector so aftermarket phones should be quick to follow. As will some kind of dongle to convert to 1/4” so we can use dry land headphones or wireless adapters. Fisher would be smart to make the dongle available themselves but we will see. Photos by Rick Kempf, click for larger views.

Looks fun! Though I sometimes have to wonder if I am the only who prefers to go by my name rather than the nicknames you Lower 48 types like to adopt. Never was a thing in Alaska.

Speculation is $2500 give or take but nobody knows until Fisher makes an official announcement. Given that units are shipping to “testers” I figure we will see official information and availability in the next couple months. You folks waiting all this time may as well get used to waiting a little bit longer. I have been tracking new Fisher PI developments since 2015 and post new information here as soon as it is available. Stay tuned for more info when and as it happens!

That is one of the oddest things I have ever seen posted. It’s weight indicates it is solid, and I would have to guess artificial. Other than that I have not a clue. Do you have a school or university nearby with a geology department? That might be a good place to start. Even good jeweler might offer some insight. If you find out what it is I would love to hear it.