Steve Herschbach

I doubt those machines can detect the post. It's too small and white gold - bad combination. And those are lower frequency detectors specifically made to not pick up every little bit of aluminum... and unfortunately tiny jewelry. You are probably going to need a 13 kHz or better machine. As Fred notes the Fisher 19 kHz Gold Bug or F19 or Teknetics G2 or G2 plus would do the trick, as would many others. Not sure where you are but you might try Ringfinders or a local metal detecting club for help.

Looks like slag from a smelter. Not uncommon near railroad tracks transporting material to and from smelting operations.

$180 for a complete head replacement? Seems more than fair to me.

Stick with Minelabs, the number one choice of professional prospectors worldwide. There are less expensive alternatives but nothing better. Beware the many vendors who want to take your money by making excessive claims. No metal detector made can find gold nuggets, even the largest ones, more than a few feet deep.

I have reported enthusiastically about models made by every manufacturer of note, but the trolls do seem to come out the most when it is a Minelab. Since the internet relies on people hiding who they really are I do tend to think it is not a coincidence. There are lots of people out there with agendas. Minelab is top dog in many ways and lots of people do hate the company and would love to see them taken down. Many are Aussies oddly enough. My early report on the Gold Monster drew a vicious attack here by a couple Aussies. Yet another machine I feel quite comfortable with having called it right. There is not one review I have ever done that I can go back and read and think I mislead anyone. Why don’t I do big negative reviews ripping on a detector? I simply pass on those since I am only interested in the good machines. The only exception was the MX Sport but that was because White’s backed me into a corner on that one. Having initially been extremely enthusiastic in reporting on the machine, more so than anyone else, I felt I had a responsibility to report when I discovered it was released with massive flaws. Not bugs, but known flaws. I thought all that history mattered but I guess not. Well, that’s not fair. It does to the decent people, just not to people with an agenda. It’s too bad the internet has become such an unfriendly place.

Carl is actually their PI expert. Not saying he is not brilliant on VLF, but I am guessing he is the guy that convinced FT to go this route. Carl knows just how many years this sort of PI has been dangled out there, only to never appear. Anyone remember Pulse Devil? What I sure need is the gold nugget version of this machine, although if it costs more than a GPX 4500 I am not sure how much market traction it would get in the prospecting world. In that regard it will all revolve around whether the iron disc truly is better than any other PI. That alone is worth a fortune to a lot of nugget hunters and is really the key question for me. Simply matching the power of the Minelab big guns won’t be enough, and it is looking like the Impulse would need a large external battery just like the Minelabs to get the operating time hard core prospectors would want. A big battery on a harness or belt just puts you back in GPX land. It is the discrimination that will make or break the machine in the prospecting world though, not the price or ergonomics. Prospectors are purely about results. No matter how much I push ergonomics, if a 10 lb detector came out tomorrow with razor blades in the arm cuff that detected gold better than anything we have today people would buy it. That very same question applies to coin and relic hunters. Just how good is the iron disc really? We have had power for years. It is the ferrous disc that has been lacking. A PI with decent iron disc could set the coin and relic detecting world on fire anywhere bad ground exists. While I really want the gold nugget version of this machine I am convincing myself I want this one because it should really work well at Lake Tahoe. That would be the primary use. And then I could give it a go in the milder goldfields. Anything I learn with this version would probably benefit me as getting a head start with later versions.

I copped a lot of heat when I made this post and Minelab picked it up as a Treasure Talk blog. The “shilling for Minelab” rhetoric got bad enough I abandoned the other forums. I really don’t need the abuse. So I have to admit I find it gratifying when I see people still “discovering” what I saw and what caused me to go “all in” with Equinox. Naysayers inevitably appear, but they are getting fewer and farther between now as the reality of Equinox is revealed. http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=271405

Carl is probably exhausted from trying to herd other engineers. One minute on the forums is a minute lost getting Impulse to market. Maybe Alexandre Tartar will wander over sometime. There is not enough room for both shoveler and I on the Dankowski forum unfortunately. I still can’t figure out what I ever did to make that guy hate my guts so much.

Welcome to the forum! There is a great deal of information on the Equinox subforum to help you with your goal.

It would help more than hurt. The more metal the better.

A GPX with stock coil can hit a U.S. nickel alone to about 16-17”. I would estimate 2-3 feet to be fairly easy but it depends a lot on how the coins are packed in the jar, orientation, and whether it has a metal lid. Nuggets weighing multi ounces but far smaller than a jar are found at depths exceeding two feet with a GPX. My favorite “large” coil for a GPX was the Nugget Finder 18” round mono, but with over 100 compatible coils having been made the choice is vast. Bang for the buck is the GPX 4500 but the GPX 5000 if money is no object is still in many ways the most powerful general purpose PI device on the market. For your use though the 4500 would probably be the way to go.

Used them myself also. They simply find what they find and won't what they don't. Treasure hunters have used them for decades and so this is not even an open question. However, If you don't want to use a two box get a Minelab PI with a large coil.

I can live with an open coil that has a closed scuff cover option. Win for everyone!

Don't let it bother you. Every new detector that comes out has a buy and try crowd. Been there done that many a time. I will ditch a detector simply because it feels wrong on my arm or does not have enough external speaker volume. Their reasons for owning the detector are most likely just different than yours and don't actually reflect on the detector itself. It does tend to be hard to get the real story as those selling them want to sell them. So there is usually a narrative that explains it is a great detector but they don't need it because of a surprise bill, etc. Such is the world of being an early adopter. I always tell people to wait six months to let the dust settle, but I have been one to be the first kid on the block and so I don't follow my own advice!

Welcome to the forum! People who just bought them and are ditching them already with remaining warranty will generally get you the best price. Two sold in the last five days on the Dankowski forum.

And I see signs of just the opposite. John in Edmonton NEVER speaks of anything but Garrett. Ever. His blood runs green. So what to make of this post he made recently. ”But......are there more coming from other manufacturers?” Looks like a heads up to me from a guy who knows something but can’t say. I’ve done that in the past for people with eyes to see. Another interpretation of the videos is they are pushing the ATX to clear inventory ahead of a release. It just depends how you want to spin it. I sure am not going to hold my breath though. Been doing that for years and I just don't have the lung capacity anymore! I can’t say much for Garrett’s VLFs but the ATX is a decent multichannel PI and Brent Weaver is a brilliant engineer. I would not count them out.

The Fisher Impulse AU apparently ground balances but the current system does not have enough range to deal with serious ground and hot rocks. This has been stated repeatedly by the sources. It appears instead that the ground balance system is tied more to discrimination than dealing with extreme ground or hot rocks. We simply won’t know for sure where the line is until enough people try it. But there is a reason this is being aimed at the beach market only. Anyone thinking inland is going beyond the intended use and really can’t complain if it turns out to be no good for those uses. They are explicitly saying they are still working on inland models for future release. So jump early and you may be selling and getting the more appropriate model later. People buying for beach use only need not be concerned as much, though Hawaii comes to my mind as a location where I have wanted a robust ground balance to deal with basalt rocks embedded in blond sand. Luckily I am in no rush. I am content with what I have already. It will sort out.

Since the Impulse AQ does not have the capability to handle extreme ground / hot rocks I would be happier with a Garrett ATX in a good ergonomic package. I only ever sold my ATX as sort of a protest move. It is a well behaved and versatile circuit. But they either make what I want or screw it. I’m done lending any degree of support to ergonomic nightmares. SDC is a bit limited so if I had my wish from Minelab it would be a subset of the GPX circuit. Imagine a GPX 5000 in a package similar to the AQ. I honestly am content with the Equinox for beach detecting so my interest lies in supporting what this could become as a inland unit. I just don’t get to the beaches enough really to sink a couple grand into a dedicated beach machine. But I will support any company making the moves I like and I like the direction here. I may therefore get one to, as I explained before, to try on milder inland situations. It is mostly a timing thing for me. Too late in the fall and I may as well wait through the winter to see what happens next. Everyone but me wants more power. There is enough power for me out there already. It simply exists in packaging that I am now waging war on going forward. There is enough heat on now from various companies that we are finally getting real competition. As consumers we are in a good position to start DEMANDING proper ergonomic machines. The old “detecting is a niche market so we can’t afford it” excuse has long since gone by the wayside. With FT finally making the first move in some ways it is actually Garrett’s and Minelab’s game to lose. The hardcore beach hunters are going to love Impulse AQ, no doubt about it. If I lived nearer to saltwater it is a no brainer for me.

Well, since you brought it up Rick I will chime in. I was not wanting to rain on your parade. ? You are right, a beach PI is not going to move the needle at First Texas. It’s obvious that after years of work CZX went nowhere, and so FT was stuck in a “we need to find something quick” position. Thankfully for them this came along. But unless it can be leveraged into some sort of dry land detecting model it certainly at this point does not fill that desire by many for a new machine to replace the F75 as the flagship. Still, for me personally I am ecstatic to see this. I have been beating on Minelab and Garrett for YEARS to just take either the SDC or ATX and put them into something other than an off the shelf expensive military housing. They have the circuits, but producing a PI like what we are seeing here.... they just won’t do it. At least they would not. Perhaps if FT succeeds in getting this off the ground with a dry land version in the wings we will see action on other fronts also. I love competition! ? I guess one thing is settled. Fisher posting this info to their Facebook page makes Impulse AQ the probable official name.

I love telling a story that also informs, so thanks for the comment Joe

Well, not always. I pay my domain up in advance because I don’t want to lose it. I may switch service providers any time though and so pay as I go there.

The stock shaft is fine by me. I never use the arm strap. I did rig one Equinox on a Golden Mask rod but that is to make it more compact. I am with Cal - the Impact did not get along with my hand though the balance was good.

I love competition.

Yeah and I know a few things also JP. The same was said about Minelab when they first came out. It will be a few years before NokMak goes toe to toe with Minelab. They are going to eat First Texas, Garrett, and White’s first on their way there.