Carolina

1 hour ago, EL NINO77 said:

It is definitely a good thing that the Tarsacia detector is being further developed and innovated ..., according to Tom Dankovski, the technology of the 12 "round coil is already technically ready ... and so this coil should be produced in the near future.

 

 

I think they did some testing but not sure the outcome. I also think I read $400. To expensive for my blood. Good luck everybody and Merry Christmas.

11 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

I guess I should have waited to get mine, but great for everyone going forward. The old cap should be eliminated on all versions.

I been waiting for a 12” coil a year and a half. Dankowski says Dimitar can’t make one. 1500 for a detector that only offers a stock 9x11 coil. Much better options out there at that price. I sealed my speaker up and spent lots of time under water but that battery cap upgrade is a real plus.

I will now post a finding with the AQ. There are those here with the AQ who have expressed their liking of the mute mode over tone mode. I would caution you about the mute mode and the volcanic mode. On my beaches there is some iron, bobbie pins, fish hooks and tent stakes. During tourist season lots of coins and junk rings as well as gold. In this situation I prefer tone mode over all metal as the depth loss is little and more than enough for recent drops. You can tell pins and hooks as well as some stakes with a double ping and or broken signal and iron grunt. The gold always comes in as a solid high tone with the exception of those heavy high k pigs which will give a iron grunt. This is where your beach knowledge of classification comes into play. The coin grunts will be much higher up the beach than most of those heavy rings. Now for mute mode and volcanic. If you set up your detector the way Alexandre does your ATS will be between 7 1/2 & 8 1/2 with reject around 3 or 4 for maximum depth. This will give the iron grunt and solid high ping for gold. If you now change to mute mode, the detector will mute iron and ping high on gold. Same for volcanic. Now if you do an air test with say a Carabiner clip the machine will mute due to the metal spring clip. Now hold the Carabiner and any gold ring at the same time and cross the coil. The gold ring will mute in mute and volcanic. Only in tone mode will you get the high ping on gold while the iron is present. I think you could miss many golds if iron is present running in mute or volcanic. How big of iron does it take for this to occur I can not say. There are exceptions to everything. Just something to think about and you can try this at home.  During the off season and out waist and chest deep I would say all metal is the way to go. Good luck everybody.

11 hours ago, Badger-NH said:

 

I can understand reason two but reason one is ridiculous. You should never let those thoughts stop you from posting your finds. If you do well, we want to see it.

 

Sorry I seem ridiculous to you. I only told the truth.

24 minutes ago, stateguy said:

Is there anyone using the machine or is the forum blocking out post 

I saw Joe recent u tube videos. But that’s it

i herd there close to 30 machines out there. Makes me wonder

I myself had two reasons to stop posting. One I felt like a braggart since only two at first were posting finds, myself being one and two, as winter moves in, for me finds are more concentrated to only a couple spots and competition knows where I am, so I’d rather not advertise. I love this machine and Rick and Fisher have been very supportive. Couldn’t ask for anything more.

2 hours ago, mn90403 said:

I just read this thread for the first time.  Based upon the comments I must have received a new shaft with the additional length and the corrected clevis.  When I first put it together I pushed it all the way to the shortest possible length and it was just 'usable' (without a notch) close to my feet.  I'm 5'9"/10" so I can extend it half to 3/4 inch to get to the first notch and it stops rotating.  I can't get it to stop rotating without it being in a notch with the clamp 'locked'.  If I wanted to extend the shaft I have 6 more holes to make it longer but none to make it shorter.  I don't think my wife who is 5'2" could use it without a bungee even tho it is a very light coil.  

So there is an option now of a long shaft or short shaft, right?  It would be nice to be using one of the notches in the middle and that would leave 3 notches on either side for shorter or longer depending on the conditions.

Mitchel

I would gladly trade my short shaft for a long. I’m 5’ 10” and need the longest length available to use it. There is very little difference though between the long and short shaft. I too have a machine that the locking collar does not secure the lower shaft. Creates wobble in the control head left to right. I have not complained though as Fisher has been very responsive to my other issues.

12 hours ago, cudamark said:

I received my new lower shaft and clevis today. I'm pleased to see that it's longer than the original one. Since the clevis is attached to the shaft, there's no way to see if it's now solid instead of hollow. Hopefully it's at least made of a thicker wall plastic. Hopefully, I'll get out soon and give it a good test now that I have one of OBN's batteries and the new shaft.

I have three different lower shafts. One was a complimentary shaft when my first AQ was replaced. This gave me two of the same length. My second AQ purchase has a lower shaft that is two inches longer than the other two. On purpose ? Quality control ? You should be able to open up a wire coat hanger and make it straight and measure the depth of the lower shaft. Keep in mind you need to clear the two pins. My three are hollow.

Very nice! Sore back for sure haha. I did not see the detector or detectors used. From your gear list I narrowed it down to two ? Again nice spin !

Has anyone removed the pins to see if the remainder of the clevis  is epoxied to the lower shaft ?

This would never hold up to water hunting. Dry sand only would be my guess.

My two cents worth. This is the shaft lock on my MDT 8000. It is adjustable for the tightness needed and is without a doubt the best I have ever used. You can even stop the pin between holes and set the shaft lock and wild horses couldn’t rotate the shaft. Been in salt water hundreds of times now and still looks brand new and operates smoothly. I wish I could source them.

47 minutes ago, tvr said:

Today I went to shorten the rod by one notch to put the coil closer to my feet for water hunting. I have been hunting, both in and out of the water with a length more suited to wet sand sweeping. It was very difficult to get the locking mechanism loosened up so I could slide the rod. Same issue I've had before with similar locking mechanisms when used in salt water; particularly with fine sediment in the water.

Please change to a different type of locking mechanism.

The one in the first picture is the AQ, and I do not like it since it is already freezing up and took a lot of work to free it up. The second picture is an after market straight shaft with locks that work very well and don't freeze up. The last two pictures are of locks on my wife's shell / shark tooth scoop with the lock open and closed; this one works well and also does not freeze up after much sand and salt water use.

My AQ shaft and locking collar are terrible. Shaft wobbles and collar does not lock. I know someone else who has your problem but he would never say anything negative about the AQ. The locking collar on the MDT is similar to the blue ones you show. It is the best collar around.

1 hour ago, dewcon4414 said:

So now I have to ask.... surely Fisher is seeing this.   Even 6 hours on their production model isn’t close to this.   If Joe can do this in his garage as inexpensive as he’s doing it .... why can’t they?    Joes been the innovator now for the Xcal and now seems the problem solver for the run time.  His design is clean... and works.  Run time has been my biggest complaint.

Hi Dew, do you have your AQ now? How do you like it ? Haven’t seen any pics yet. I know Cliff got his awhile back. If the run time is to short for you, buy one of Joe’s big batteries. That should hold you on those long hunts. Good luck.

1 hour ago, Willy said:

 

ASK jOE, HE HAS TESTED IT;

Why yell at me Willy? Was a simple question.

2 hours ago, Joe Beechnut OBN said:

 

How bad can a little coil be, I've used several over my short time as a water hunter..Never....a issue when they were small And submersed....My only concern is the price.  

15% more power? OOoo..We're going to need a Bigger battery.

Thanks for the report Willy, Good to know things are moving. 

Come on AQ 8 Inch!!

Hi Joe, Man my 10x5 coilTek for my CTX will wear you out, trying to keep it on the bottom. Granted it’s a clam shell design not a spider but I just hate the thought of a buoyant coil. I’ll take your word for it though as I have limited experience with floating coils. Now price,I’m with you there, it definitely can be a show stopper.

5 hours ago, Willy said:

Just ballast it

 

So Willy, is that a yes it is buoyant? Thanks

On 10/18/2020 at 12:37 PM, JohnnyRox said:

Is Carolina more of a water hunter?  Bay or ocean hunter?

I hunt the ocean front beaches (3 main beaches ) usually starting in May and run thru October. That’s not to say I won’t change it up and hunt rivers and the Bay on occasions. Then usually November thru April I am in the rivers and the Bay. Last two weeks of February and March are hit and miss for me as unlike Joe, I don’t like ice !!! He is one tough cookie. I would say my gold comes from 50/50 water vs wash and damp sand. No dry sand for me. July, August and September are productive ocean front knee deep to damp sand times. Storms also guide me from ocean to Bay. Just depends. I have 11 gold from 9 spins so far with the AQ, two being chains without medallions or lobster claw clasps. All these targets were from the ocean front deep in the wash. I have bonded with this machine quite well, but still have a lot to learn I think. If you know PI characteristics, don’t miss a chance at this machine. Call Rick and put your name on the list. People may drop out, or God forbid have unexpected hardships or just plain grow tired of waiting. Believe me, it is worth the wait.

4 minutes ago, ALEXANDRE TARTAR said:

I agree with you and Le.Jag, Eric foster has never done coil covers and these search coils 20 years later still work.
At the beach the pebbles are blunted by the waves, it's not flints!
Here it is not brittle resin as we could see on other competing brands made in China.

I think if the resin breaks it will be due to misuse.

 

Alexandre, Eric and I have had this very discussion. He also wound me a 12” coil for my VALLON, no coil cover. I know on some of his coils, he will pour a light weight potting material half way and finish with a heavier abuse resistant potting material. If it’s good enough for him and good enough for you, it’s good enough for me ! 

On 10/9/2020 at 7:49 AM, LE.JAG said:

a disc guard is useless on impulse
the resin is very strong
and as a general rule, disc protectors should be avoided
on a beach finder
or stick them and make them waterproof

salt and sand passing between the coil and protecting it
screen and make you lose performance ...

I agree whole heartedly. The potting material used is hard as nails and should be no problem, even for rocky beaches. That is unless you swing your coil like a pendulum and bang the hell out of those rocks 😂. I never have used the covers. I have friends who spray truck bed liner ( no metal ) on theirs though with much success. For me though just a waste.

My first set of AQ phones were like Joe’s, two 35mm drivers per cup. I had an issue with one cup. One of the two drivers in the same cup would cut on and off intermittently. The on and off lower volume was annoying to say the least. You could still hear the threshold, but it was much like when flying and your ears stop up and then pop only in one ear. Fisher was very fast with their response over nighting a new pair and providing a shipping label to return the original. My next pair came with one 35mm and one 28mm driver in each cup. Picture below. I have since acquired a second AQ and those head sets have the same.  I have a set for sale should anyone want them. I also have a new never used stock battery for sale.

9 hours ago, Slimpickuns said:

Hmmmm,  wish I had some advice to give ya on the tent stakes, You probably know more than me...Have you tried bumping up the ATS? I had my ATS set at around 8.5-9, with the delay set at 7, Reject set at 6, sensitivity maxed out...

When I run tones I set mine up the way Alexandre does in his video. I think he calls it expert. I use the test nail, not the tent stake so I probably could use it. I run mine with as much depth as possible. ATS 8 1/4 to 8 1/2. Start my reject at 6 and lower it till the grunt and high tone are mixed for most depth. Around 3 reject. Thanks for the info.

1 hour ago, Slimpickuns said:

Been waiting for fresh drop season to slow down a bit before taking the Fisher AQ out for it's maiden hunt. Some big surf hit a spot and exposed some black sand under decent looking cuts so figured it would be a good time to try it out. Started out in all-metal under suggested stock settings. Unfortunately there was quite a bit of iron bits around. Decided to give the "Tone" mode a try, about 15 mins later I hit a high pitch sound at the lower slope, 2 scoops down and I had my 1st AQ gold, 3.6 grams of 14k! I like the Tone mode a lot, I can foresee how it's going to be a useful setting when trying to cherry pick gold rings out of coin & iron infested areas. Quarters, dimes, pennies, tent stakes, nails do come up as a low tone. Some rotten Felix pennies did come up as a high tone though, but surprising most zincs were weeded out by the machine, a lot of the trash you see in the pic sounded off as a low tone. Nickels and Gold sang out as high tones. The 925 chain came in as a high-tone surprisingly, the silver ring was a low tone. Also another note, this area was already heavily pounded by someone else judging by the grid marks & dig holes left behind. I couldn't be happier with the performance of the AQ and I can tell after I spend more time learning this machine, I'll be able to expedite the gold extraction process on some challenging beaches this fall/winter!!

I can’t get my tent stakes to low tone or iron grunt. You are lucky. I’ve dug a ton  of them. Nice hunt and congratulations!!!

50 minutes ago, dewcon4414 said:

I dont take anything personal......unless its obvious lol.  Otherwise i learn a lot from peoples opinions and comments.  Hope the machine keeps your attention Chase, id like to hear what you think.   Who dont like real opinions ....... good, bad, and ugly. 

Thomas.... ill sent you the video of the hammer job Demitar was doing on the screen plastic.  Humm i cant even Zip file it Thomas and send it Email for some reason it keeps saying to large.  some kind of a movie formate maybe.

Thanks Dew, I think he should make it available somehow. Never seen ML, Whites, Garrett etc. do anything like that. On another note, guess I’ll wait on Cliff’s report from you guy’s outing yesterday. 

12 hours ago, Chase Goldman said:

I guess I am wrong so let’s just drop it please.

1 hour ago, Chase Goldman said:

 

Edited my post.  Sorry I caused you such consternation but no one was belittling anyone.

You did indeed say your detector "has" four frequencies. I first misread that at first as kind of snarky statement back at Dew because it was stating the obvious as ALL MDTs "have" four frequencies.  So, in fact, I was giving you the benefit of the doubt that it was not just a snarky retort but just a misread of what Dew was trying to say on your part because I misread Dew's statement at first myself.  It was no intent to belittle anyone since that would be hypocritical.  So I simply misinterpreted what you were attempting to say because you left out some rather important info by being so terse, my bad.  Would have been clearer if you actually spelled it out that you "run" all four frequencies successfully at your beach.    Apologize again for the misunderstanding, sir.  

Dew and I have exchanged mail for several years and I hope he knows it was not a snarky remark.  

On 10/2/2020 at 7:56 AM, Chase Goldman said:

Can't speak for the BBS Excal, but ML makes it pretty clear that the beach modes on the Nox are biased towards targets that are registering in the lower frequencies of the multi IQ MF spectrum ("low frequency weighting") which makes sense from a salt stability standpoint and woud corroborate your personal experience that the Nox is not finding micro gold stuff that the MDT isn't because you are running at 6.5 and 9 to max salt stability.  As Steve has said repeatedly and most recently here, you are just not going to find micro gold that is likely going to fall right in the salt cancellation range of detectors set up to run stable in high and variable salinity (e.g. salt surf) environments.  In other words, what you are saying makes perfect sense.

If one reads through your previous post too quickly, it can be misinterpreted in the manner Thomas did, that you were stating the MDT only has 3 frequencies, but a careful read of it shows it is consistent with what you stated above.

I believe I said mine has four. 6.4, 9, 12, 18. I read Dew perfectly and I have no problem running 18 here in Virginia. Thank you though Chase for belittling me as Dew took the high road and did not. Again I have no problem running all four.