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Everything posted by Tony
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Fisher AQ Limited Is Now Available
Tony replied to The_Stalker's topic in First Texas - Bounty Hunter, Fisher & Teknetics
Could have been a legendary detector but unfortunately it was poorly engineered in many aspects. I was really hoping that Fisher would relaunch a much improved version instead of letting it wither on the vine…..so much R&D, money and time has been sunk into this model that it beggars belief that Fisher can simply let this detector go the graveyard. Who knows, maybe Garrett might step in and do the job properly and put the AQ brain into a beefy waterproof enclosure with two or three beefy controls……get rid of the complexity with all the controls and settings and keep it powerful and simple…..just like some earlier companies did 20 and 30 years ago 😳 $2000……..with the history behind it…..🤔 -
Looking For Knee Pad Recommendation
Tony replied to Bill (S. CA)'s topic in Detector Prospector Forum
I used to use a section of thick closed cell foam……about 12” x 4” and it wasn’t a problem to carry around or secure under your belt. -
I’ve always used hardwood handles for my water scoops…..cheap and strong. I’ve never broken one……but I alway do a left to right rocking motion to break the suction and then a quick shake before I even attempt to raise the scoop from the sea floor……a bonus is you won’t ruin your back as well.
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Coiltek Now Selling From Their Own Website?
Tony replied to Rob Allison's topic in Detector Prospector Forum
……and avoiding counterfeit coils 🇨🇳 -
Thanks Steve, I wondered what caused that weird format……caused me all sorts of problems with “JPS”. I only resolved the problem by rotating my iPad from Landscape to Portrait……all by chance of course.
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Missing Radioactive Capsule .... Found
Tony replied to geof_junk's topic in Detector Prospector Forum
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Missing Radioactive Capsule .... Found
Tony replied to geof_junk's topic in Detector Prospector Forum
Oh good…..I can stop inspecting the tyre tread for the missing culprit…..as we were advised to do 😳 -
Plenty detect the vast salt lakes here in Western Australia….although challenging, the extreme salt can be tamed. As well as the salt there is often a thick heavily mineralised clay/mud to deal with. If there’s that much salt content where he’s testing that is 8X typical beach then why bother testing there? A VLF has no advantage over a PI in regard to any salt content. I’m always sceptical on any testing videos 🤔
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Generally speaking, the larger and higher karat gold targets don’t need a quick delay. Delays of 15uS to 20uS in conjunction with longer pulse widths are ideally suited for these types of targets. The stability you refer to is simply the salt signal decaying away and not being “heard” by longer delays. Yes, the small low conductors are not detected as deep at these settings. I guess if you’re really keen then you could run different settings or detectors over high value beaches. I’ve also noticed that the nice diamonds are nearly always set in higher karat gold….18K and up. Sometimes “less is more”.
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This forum has a wealth of information but make sure you satisfy yourself with your needs as far as detectors go. I’m after heavy gold (18K and onwards)…..this stuff sinks fast so you need a high power PI or let Mother Nature do the sand removal for you. I generally prefer pulse delays of 15uS as a minimum or even 20uS (coupled with longer pulse widths)…….but this is me and some people prefer much faster delays (too much salt signal for me).
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Running a GP3500 in “Deep” mode with the 14”DD and a fixed GB will punch deeper than a 5000 in a “Salt Mode”….salt modes will generally cripple depth. Additionally, I never use a US Nickel when assessing PI performance……I use 18K or higher gold rings. I would like to have seen more of the VLF detectors being swept away from targets to see what sort of falsing there is…..I’m sure there would have been some chirps and beeps which would demand the sensitivity be reduced. And finally, when testing, I like blind tests where the operator has no idea where targets are buried and none of this sweeping back and forth over targets……unrealistic testing in that regard. To me, it’s just another staged test……but better than most. Yeah, I’m a harsh critic but “testing” must match typical “hunting” to truly get a feel for detector performance. Steve is spot on when he talks about the VLF v PI in nice white coral sand being fairly comparable but detectors such as the SD/GP have an ability to really punch to the next level (even in these benign conditions) by brute force….Amperage to the coil and “power” pulse timings.
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Re/ AQ Threshold Pot Burnout
Tony replied to cjc's topic in First Texas - Bounty Hunter, Fisher & Teknetics
I’m surprised you need a dry suit when hunting Joe with that thing warming the place up….😳 -
Just do a quick search on “GP3500” and there’s plenty to read about…..I’m already a bit off topic.
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I did (and still do) what Steve did many years ago and use a GP3500 on the beach. My coil of choice is the Coiltek 14” DD and a lightweight 6v Lithium battery. If EMI isn’t too bad then the 14” Mono goes on. Two silicone end covers keeps it very well sealed from salt and sand……it’s the deepest setup I’ve ever used and I’m confident would surpass the Fisher AQ in all of the lower beach and hard pan. Basic iron discrimination to several inches takes care of the bobby pins and fish hooks. It’s a formidable setup as the coil is drawing 0.75A.
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I can thoroughly recommend Mick at Detectronics. His work is of a very high standard. He repairs most Minelab PI detectors and provides excellent modifications as well. He’s regarded as the “Gold Standard”. https://www.detectronicsaustralia.com/
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I find that noticeable delay settings are probably in the order of around the 5uS mark……that is to say, a delay of 15uS is fairly distinct from a delay of 10uS but a delay of 10uS v 13uS may sound about the same. With the extremely limited delay range of the AQ then I’m not surprised by your impressions and it would appear that the first 180 degrees of rotation of the delay knob doesn’t really do much at all in regards to “useful audio”.
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I don’t find much in calm water…….pretty sure that the sand has had time to settle and bury the gold. I have one of those neoprene headbands which works well in securing the phones or use the bone-phone (Sea Hunter) if it’s not too windy. I like to sit behind the 2-3 foot breakers and then duck in behind the whitewater……..with one eye on what’s coming in next 😖 The “impact zone” is where the gold is…..either lost there directly from swimmers or moved/uncovered there by Mother Nature. Love it……have that area to myself as no one else is crazy as me. The Nox’s get munched up as well and leak from water impact 👍
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Thanks Clive…..what sort of salt “conditions” are we talking about. You know I like to have 3 foot waves breaking over me and with headphones stripped off my head every minute or two…….and then go looking for my scoop in the whitewater 🙂 None of this boring millpond conditions for me……..gimme fast water any day . Maybe I could take my surfboard next time and mix the two hobbies together. HH Tony
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JPS……I replied (again) to your PM. I did extensive testing and field use with my TDI BeachHunter…..there’s plenty archived for you to read about this subject. Essentially, I achieved between 10% and 15% depth increase moving from the 12v pack to 14.6v. Not much of a real gain. The heat increase on the PCB was unbelievable….I opened the case to check things out and one part of the board left a small red mark when I put my finger on it for just a second or two…..that’s hot. Amps to the coil has a far bigger result than voltage when it comes to coil “depth”. A capacitor may be able to handle the extra voltage but I can assure you that not all parts on the PCB will enjoy the extra heat. Maybe you can add a heat sink? Stick with the stock battery and let Mother Nature take off the extra 10% to 15% of sand. An example of volts v Amps is my GP3500 which I use at the beach. Now it’s only running on a measly 6v battery but it’s drawing about 0.75A from that battery…..that’s where the power is.
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You know Slim will come home with five gold now……🤬
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I Think The Manticore Falls Short On Saving Programs
Tony replied to khouse's topic in Minelab Manticore Forum
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I guess the Axiom is that good after all….🤔