Joe Beechnut OBN

I have no issue with judging the depth, size or shape...until the target is close or on the surface. That is where the AQ throws me off..it's as loud on a small gold ring as the Excalibur is on a Aluminum can. Then I have to use the edge of the coil to get a idea of the size or location......The fact you can read/tell a nail or crab pot piece with its double chirp in AM is a good sign you can tell shape of the target. Like most PI's the "AQ" in AM gives your ears information on the target, that can be used for discriminating. I think it has been easier for me to adapt to the "AQ" AM mode for I hunt in AM with the Excal 99% of the time. And they sound very close to the same.

Battery life on the machine I tested..ran between 3 hours and 20 minutes to 3 hours and 35 minutes..I did several test on that. (Hunting and just turned on) The average time to charge 4 hours,... give or take a few minutes..the battery would charge to 17.4 to 17.1..then the Alarm would go off around 14.1 volts..If your in the middle of digging a target you can finish that up but you have to be hitting the target in between the beep for they sound the same. Target and Alarm alerts. Also once the battery hits the alarm it will start to act strange (audio) Just like the excalibur does when it's alarm has gone off. I was concerned about the head phones but after I used them, once.... I see now they are perfect for the machine. My only 2 things would be the connector's safety, and all you have to do is put a stress relief on the cord like pictured below. They are Plenty loud, and all I Would change on them is put the Gel ear pads on to help with comfort...but the Gels are Hot in the summer so keep the stock ones handy.

Welcome, I will be out a lot more this week..So hang tight. I will make a special effort to cover the reject side of the "AQ" Those 7 hunts I dug about 4 pieces but I was only digging deep targets at all of these spots. Passing by all shallow targets..also I would say I only used the reject settings about 2 hours out of 25 hours? Most beach's here the surf is the classifier..it sorts the targets into different areas according to weigh, size and shape..,then add in how old these spots are...I look for tale-tale signs of gold. I see a pattern and that tells me where to look and what to dig. Each beach is different so one really has to hunt these places before with your regular VLF (Excalibur for me) and be aware of what they are walking into using the "AQ". Here is the plan for this week......run the reject Mod "Tones" first High and Lows..and dig all signals. And see what signals give what.. Then go to "mute" mod and dig all that give a signal..then give a report with pictures and video of each mod. So I won't be looking for gold but looking to give a report on the reject mods targets dug...I really don't thing it's going to be good but just have to wait and see. My first opinion, it will take both the hunters skills and knowledge combined to make the "AQ" a Ok discrimination machine. Which is a tough act to follow. I do think in time I will feel comfortable with the AQ enough to take it any where,,but it's going to take time. I went to the public beach this Am, but they were closed..Ouch.. shooting for Tuesday now..

That's a good question...I'm going to say 2? possibly...really hard to say all were deeper then normal seemed....except the one I found in mute...and that one was around 10 inch's. 2 scoops...So the class ring and the broken band that was found at 10 inch's in mute mod. I went back thru the one beach which had several shallow targets just to see if any of them were good ...nothing with the xcalibur. Crazy was walking into the place and the holes were deep, like fall in deep. I can't tell you how many times I have dug deep silver quarters or deep targets only to find a small gold ring in the sand beside the hole. My thinking this machine will find those..unheard small rings.

Photo's from hunting with the "AQ".......... Got 7 hunts in with it so far..been slacking on the pictures since the Depot closed. Has anyone hunted these spots before, Yes ..Hammered over, and over..by just about every water machine made...UP to the "AQ" This machine loves "Deep" small gold rings, only "one" was found in the discrimination mod (mute)..along with one Earring. Total so far is 6 gold rings and 1 gold Earring. ........................And from 3 spots that ............ I would say two are hunted out..until the "AQ"" I have used the Excalibur 3 times now during that period, 2 different beach's..looking for spots I can take the "AQ" too. One gold with the Excalibur, not in Pictures. One of the beach's look good for the AQ, just have to have the right tides. AQ" gold for the year pictured.. Then the trash..or junk..minus two bobby pins..Very selective hunting... less trash, knowing what your walking into and having a plan.. All metal hunting, digging deep targets only..90% in AM, 10% mute mode which I like the best of the reject mods.

Steve no stress buddy, when it happens it happen's. Once we get a few more of the "AQ"'s out there things will level out. I've been chilling all week..tides and winds off... I'm just glad to see, .the "AQ" is finally here.. And Progress is being made.

Amen to that...Steve keeps the dogs under control for sure..Thank You. And a very good day, I'm not a silver person but that stuff does add up, and tells me there is a good chance gold is near..

Nothing that can't be adjusted or added. They should be here Monday, then I can go from there. Finished the clear tube LiPo battery, but need more power...4 hours is just not enough time...and I don't want to be changing batteries in the middle of a hunt.... So I have those above coming (EBL) and some Samsung 35E (8) ..they seem to be a little slower in getting here. But I'll have a few different versions of battery packs..... One with 5000mAh..26650's, then the 18650 with 7000mAh, hoping for at least 6 to 7 hours run time. Rarely hunt that long but I like to know it's there...the 26650 pack I want it to where I can pull the batteries and drop a new set in that is fully charged. The 18650 pack will be a sealed, hoping I can do that battery pack like the LiPo battery but about 2 inch's longer to fit the BMS in.. Thanks For the Help Carolina! You have always been my go to for information person. And PI adviser, even though I am a little hard headed on that..☺️

I think it 's the discrimination side of the "AQ" that most want to see, from what I'm getting messages about from the VLF and MDT owners........ I know several MDT owners that are on the fence about the "AQ" ...But everyone has to remember, like you said Steve. It's still a PI...NO doubt the deepest water machine I know of....I do think live dig's where the Nox is going thru a trashy area and picking out a good target then the "AQ" hunter coming back thru the same area to see if they can nail them. That would be a true test, one I think the Nox may win... Now the MDT owners are worried about if there machine can get the same depth on a target when the "AQ" is in the discriminate mods....that maybe close also...I did have something lined up on that compare but distance and circumstances are not going to allow it . Far as the TDI BH,...close but the "AQ" is just too strong a machine for the TDI water machine.....ATX, now that is going to be interesting...as far as depth. I think Barry owns the ATX so a easy match up there. Over all I think it would be a great video opp for the "AQ"..to get some of these questions answered. But I might recommend the "AQ" owner having some time with his machine to learn the disc side before setting out against experienced competition..

Great saves on the gold!! Like it when the cam was upside down and you could see the waters surface....☺️

I agree we do need more to get the "AQ" for beach's can be so different and hunters can vary in the way they see things. Variety is good..

It was close but I will give it a shot..

Just a calm water day...which allow the best for hearing and testing..we have crazy tides but nothing like where your at...Ours is up and down 1 to 2 feet, but mainly controlled by the winds..North winds the water is lower (winter) South winds higher (summer)..Yours is more predictable but change 7 to 8 feet then down. We never have a down like up there .......only during the winter..which is my best time, and I think the AQ will pay for itself then.

Wow, really sorry to see....And looks like you did everything possible..............but a good indication something may need adjusted. You know something I did was move the battery toward the front more. I did have to pull the arm rest off but I think they are better protected..by the two support legs. And I've already got the new battery piece I'm working on ........A 90 degree m-8 4 pin which is less to get in the way.. Maybe they can make some changes on those.

Near the end I call the 10.8 gram gold ring 14 grams but it is 14k... Next week coming I should have more Video's , winds and water have been bad all this week. When sharing video's I like the audio to be as clean as possible so those watching can get a better idea of what to expect...since I feel the audio is very important. I will be headed back to the two beach's I'm focusing on for right now. Both cove beach's, up rivers with calm waters. Very excited that I can get back to these two spots and even find good targets...So more to come on those.

Thanks TVR..... I'll try and give that a shot but more then likely I'll use some thing like pictured..our favorite..Crab pot pieces. I did a little concentrated dig just to captures these specimens. I did notice that most of the time they are not so bunched together as I was collecting. SO I may thin them out after I have did a gold ring test. Then retest.... Several have asked the same question. On question two, Yes..I love my push button on my Excalibur, quick and effective. Would be nice to have that option on the "AQ" but I don't see that possible until the "AQ" Warranty runs out and even then I will let that though rest I believe. Me I would say mute on which one to switch too but tones is another option. Since it next to AM..

I love big silvers!

Barely ..it kind of just hangs where you leave it..Nothing like the DF where you had to hold the coil down. I'll be out more next week, winds won't be as bad. I'll give it another try..

Calm water I can run it Hot, if the coil stays in the the water it is silent. Now in rough water I started at 8.5 with the factory suggested setting ..........it was almost fine..just a little swish at the end of the swing now and then... but I did settle at 11 then went to 11.5 when the water got really bad.. I will be doing more time in rough water soon....So I will make sure to take more video....One thing, my excalibur has the swishing false when the water is rough also. But I run it Hot all the time..sens almost full...in all metal'' One must take in account my water is not 100% saltwater.. My water is Brackish and last time I checked the salinity was 30 in my area.....Saltwater range is 32 to 50 I think...

Thanks Carolina...I think these maybe the ticket..going for a cheap battery pack..maybe 50 dollars total? Don't want to use 1 inch PVC pipe but may.... I want to have it so anyone can make one without having to much trouble finding parts..

Very Sad to see. ☹️

Just (AQ) Air test to see if they even hit...Compared to the yellow gold I can see why I don't find a lot of white gold rings. Seems the smaller the gold target....the less they are affected by the reject modes...Tones/Mute....Also from testing the machine I can almost tell you how they will hit in the sand..just add one (inch) for the small gold (.49) and (maybe) two inch's to the (1.36) but I will test and see.. Have to check my video's and see if I have any of these on video being found with the Excalibur.. MY GUESS IN THE WETSAND... (.49) 5 inch's.....................(1.36) 9 inch's

Very True, I did this little test cause I figured some would someday ask...Slightly Buoyant..Perfect report

Old ears here buddy....The video does not share the full volume on the targets all of the time...so the video volume can be a little off (Normal or faded) .... The Go Pro has 3 holes for the micro phone to capture the audio and for some reason it will switch from one Mic to the next which causes the audio to fade in and out..only if I use the external speaker, like I used in the test can you really hear the normal audio. That make sense..? Go to 1:10 in this video..as I am Pin Pointing the target you will hear the audio fade out then come back..............6 minute video also...Very first time I was in the water with the AQ, and very first target I dug with it, and first target of the day...so excuse my poor pinpointing...I've got it perfect now so I will share more later...so go to 1:10 in the video to see the fading of the audio.. All metal hunting.. OO and the "AQ" loves to go off when your scoop is several feet away, I learned as the scoop comes around the "AQ" goes far right, then after all is dug the scoop goes far left then the "AQ" can come back around. Also notice one reason I chose this spot was those big power lines up in the right hand corner, after 3 minutes you can see them in the video... And something else, I have No problem giving away the location...for I know "Unless you have a AQ your not going to like this spot" It's been hammered for years and years by almost every machine made.....And I even mined it with my sifter and scoop............but the "AQ" lights this place up still. In the 1950's

Couple possibles white golds...., I air tested a lot of gold just to see if I can get any details on the audio signals.I know the "AQ" loves small gold rings...Not sure on the white gold but we will see... Ring #23 was airtested..small but still hit at 11 inch's..My guess it would hit about 13 in the sand.