okara gold

I run FE 0. I read about the bottle cap improvements using FE2 but I don't mind digging extra junk if it means possibly not missing possible gold.

I use wired headphones that are not Minelabs. I like the extra volume. Also... I hunt predominately in water and the wireless don't worked with the unit submerged. I used the external speaker once or twice when demonstrating to a neighbor how the machine responded to targets.

I used a coil stiffener from Detecting Doodads and it broke. I sent some pictures to the company/owner and he was surprised it broke and stated he would send me another. Never received a replacement and he won't return emails or any correspondence. I guess the initial $15 I paid for it filled his pockets and he won't honor his word. Lousy place to do business with.

Arizona and Nevada for me, but if you throw in a dredge... Vermont, New Hampshire and Virginia.

You can't keep a good man down! 🙂

I’ve been poked by a few of those rusty needles too. I wear a pouch with two different pockets and those go in the trash side. Every once in awhile those needles go right through the pouch and hit the leg. Not fun. Now I try to bend them over into a U shape and they don’t tend to jab you.

Joe. That story sure scared the heck out of a lot of us. So glad to hear you are going to be OK and my best wishes and prayers to you. Bob

That chain sure looks good to me and with a 1 sounding off I’ll bet it’s gold.

Some of those surfers are wearing the gift or an inheritance of a grandparent. They would never take them off so they wear them in the water. Just this past year I heard numerous stories of lost jewelry that fits this exact scenario. I zig zag the wet slope looking for any line of targets then start gridding. Towel lines are obvious depositories but with a lot of hunters too.

It’s always a pleasure to see those old rings Joe. And as always, I’m amazed at what still lies under the water. Well done 👏

Nice first find! Glad the new earphones are working out. After FT replaced my original earphones my AQ worked perfectly until the glitch with the volume knob. Now waiting for the repair and anxious to get it back in my hands!

Nice looking ring and 18k too!

Yep. I agree this is normal. The AQ is a nice machine to operate. I didn’t think there was much of an issue with black sand especially on the Florida west coast.

Nice rings of gold! As for the falsing, it happens to me also, but predominately when swinging from the wet to the surf. I figure there is more of a salt concentration as you approach the water causing the reaction. Better to hunt parallel to the water if possible or turn the delay higher. I have stopped a lot of falsing by stopping my swing for a brief second and then starting again. As soon as you hear the increase in sound, stop for a brief instant until it quiets down and start again. It seems to work well especially if in the water. When the swells come in and the machine starts to react... stop. Then all is quiet and you can hunt quietly again for a little while. This is not a fail safe, sure cure but with some practice it does helps. I can also lower my delay when walking towards shore from the deeper water. Then increase it slightly when heading from the shallows into the deeper water.

Nice try about keeping me off the beach😆 but I have another machine all charged up and ready to go. I did hunt in the water yesterday and as soon as I stepped off the beach it was up to my chest and cold. 61 degree water and a 3 mm wetsuit with additional 3mm top and my hands got numb. Need gloves now. Deep trough but not much in it.

The volume control has not been working properly for awhile. Same amount of volume was heard on approximately the 2 through 8 position. Crackling static sound when turning it and now it is on loud as soon as the machine is turned on and slowly dies down in pitch until an object is detected and then continues loud again and then gradually goes down.

I’ve been using the AQ exclusively since I’ve had it and already am missing it’s performance. I’m hoping I won’t have to wait a month again to get it back. If so then I would think FT should take care of us on the end term of our warranty by extending it accordingly. It’s the proper thing to do.

Well... I never was able to try it on the other coast. The volume knob acted up so bad before I left, that it was game over for the AQ. All I could get was a loud sound that would slowly drift lower and then would get loud again. I'm now waiting for a response from an email I sent to FT.

Well done Compass! And a nice video too. I'll never say that something is the find of a lifetime. There's always something bigger or better just around the corner. Years ago I found a 5 ounce nugget. Everyone said "That's the find of a lifetime!". I thought... bummer... I've hit the pinnacle already, now what lies ahead? About 5 years later I found another nugget 3 times as big. True hunters never throw in the towel! Congrats on a great year! Hope to see more.

Nice older finds!

Congrats on your first gold ring! Gold sure sounds sweet on the AQ.

I figure it is a bad pot and I’ll bet Rick keeps a close eye on this forum. I’m going on a 4 day camping trip over the Christmas holiday to the Daytona Beach side of Florida and want to see how it does on the wet slopes over there. Will be hunting every day so I’ll see what happens. Taking it out tomorrow for a swim here on the West coast. 😊

My AQ has been working fine since I got the new headphones BUT ... on the last 3 times out hunting, the volume knob is starting to act up. From the 2 position to about 8, the volume stays about the same. No difference. And when turning it, it makes a static crackling sound. Then when you turn it above the 8 position it goes to full blast loud. I’m living with it for now as I hate to send it in but I think eventually the volume will not be adjustable and it will have to be returned. If I play around with the knob I can get it to a position where it works for me and I won’t touch it. I had it all set today but had to increase the volume a little during the hunt and it would not increase until the full blast position.

Those are a couple of nice rings Joe. Good to hear you were able to get out for awhile! Why did you think the stones in a lot of rings are missing? It seems this happens more with the older rings.

How about this?