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It arrived yeaterday late afternoon. Just unboxed it - will edit the VERY short video I made and get it up today. Meanwhile here’s a teaser - if you saw pictures of the prototype, you might notice that there is an new mode “volcanic sand” and that the SAT knob is now marked ATS (it’s a Fisher thing) and the Iron Mask knob is now marked Reject

I may have missed this issue..you know I am not very smart. will the prospecting, nugget finding version be wireless? I could not, would not buy another detector that doesn’t have a module. thanks fred

I think it will also be interesting to see what an aftermarket company might do with the 7uS coils. Will we see more if this machine catches on? Better yet will we see 7uS become the standard? OR... is that a non-issue toward depth and sensitivity?

I think the Garrett ATX challenges the AQ most and maybe TDIBH come close after ATX only in raw depth.I have myself an ATX and hunt my beach with it. Max sensitivity givs me around 15 inches for a normal coin size object.My Garrett sea hunter is absolutly no match and even my Equinox has no chance.The fair comparisson is ATX (PI , almost same coil size,waterproof ) I think the AQ has only one tone for both high and low conductive targets and one for iron.The ATX has one tone for high and one tone for low conductive targets but you have no tone for iron which makes one to digg all.

Hello Guys, I'm new on this forum and like Alexandre Tartar, I live in north of France. I was a young prospector in the 90's and asked my father (electronic engineer with good knowledge in magnetic field theory) to build a PI to hunt the beaches. So we have made, in a few months, an home-made PI metal detector 25 years ago, based on the technology of the old White's Surfmaster PI (mono coil). I remember the use of FETs (Field Effects Transistors to make 200 volts pulses). It worked, but unfortunately, my father was afraid by a so powerful magnetic fields and has continued his research on VLF detectors, until today ! After this short presentation, here's my question : Is the Impulse AQ a bipolar detector ? Le Jag has explained us on the french forum "detecteur.net" this technology developped by Alexandre : Positive and Negative pulse are alternatively sent. The positive one light the gold ring but magnetize the soil. The negative one demagnetize the soil. What about it ?

HI guys! It feels very good that this nice forum is at high speed with all discussions about the AQ with all different subjects about the AQ.We are now in the middle of january and still nothing from the Fisher.No reports from any tester, no videos, no manual, nada...it feels kind of depressing without knowing any informations at all.I know that LE.JAG and Alexander can't say anything about these informations even though the know for sure.Is there any thought or any guesses about these questions?

The new Fisher Impulse AQ is doing something new with pulse induction discrimination. I think I have a pretty good idea of what the engineers are up to and so want to pass on my thoughts in case it will help people have a better idea of what to expect. I have posted numerous articles in the past about coin detecting with ground balancing PI detectors. GBPI detectors split targets into two classes depending on the ground balance setting. The two target classes exhibit by different tones. All Minelab PI detectors do this, as do the Garrett Infinium and ATX, plus the White's TDI series based on the Eric Foster Goldscan. White's on the TDI labeled these as low conductors and high conductors but that is not actually accurate. They are items with a low time constant and items with a high time constant as measured on a pulse induction metal detector. For more on signal decay and time constants see the excellent primer by Reg Sniff Understanding the PI Metal Detector. If you could measure the time constant of the various targets and line them up you would see size has a lot to do with it, small items versus large items regardless of composition. White's TDI "Target Conductivity" switch (notice ground balance on required) I caught on to this fast with the Garrett Infinium in 2004 and Minelab GP 3500 in 2005 and when the time came it was I who suggested the tone switch be incorporated into the White's TDI to allow the user to choose between one of the two classes of targets. Plus the TDI allowed the operator to directly set the ground balance, creating a crude discrimination system for savvy operators. It is actually possible to coin detect with a TDI and dig almost no trash, but you lose its PI depth advantage by setting the machine that way. I preferred using the tones with full depth settings myself with excellent results. The two target classes vary depending on the exact ground balance setting, but generally one one hand you have low conductors and small ferrous targets, and on the other hand coins and large ferrous targets. This means if looking for small gold you dug all manner of small trash including small ferrous trash. Coins were better but you would still dig large nails and other large ferrous items. The TDI allowed a person to advance the ground balance to where most ferrous trash could be eliminated while still getting the coins, but the setting was so close to the coin range to do this that depth suffered as a result, and so was no better than a decent VLF. It's a long read but a lot can be learned by reading the following three links. Coin Detecting with the Garrett Infinium Beach Detecting with the Minelab GP 3500 Coin Detecting with the White's TDI Some Commentary On White's TDI Tuning & Discrimination It can be seen that as far back as 2005 I was predicting that high power PI detectors would find widespread use with beach hunters and relic hunters in particular. That prediction did later come true at Culpepper and other locations. It was obvious to me that this crude discrimination offered more room for improvement. I even emailed Carl Moreland at one time and made mention of the concept of using two ground balance controls to delimit another class of targets beyond the two created with a single ground balance point. But really it is not ground balance, it is just a setting that measures a certain time constant. And that folks, is basically what the Fisher Impulse is doing. It is using at least two dividing points to separate items into three classes, lowest time constant, middle (gold ring) range, and highest time constant The Impulse is eliminating the items with the shortest time constant and the longest time constant and focusing on the mid-range. This eliminates tiny trash and tiny gold, and large ferrous stuff and most coins. What is left is the sweet spot in the middle where gold rings occur plus a yet to be determined range of trash targets. There will be some, that is inevitable, but the vast majority of trash should be eliminated with this approach. This picture shows the result of using the Garret Infinium and separating the short time constant targets from high time constant targets in tot lots. Low constants (nickels and zinc penny plus trash) on left and high constants (copper pennies, dimes, quarters) on right. Notice very little trash with the coins if you dug that class only. But that is deceptive due to the location, which lacked any nails. Garrett Infinium targets separated by tone So take a look at this result from a park, this time only the long/high time constant targets with the TDI... coins and large nails. White's TDI low tone / high time constant targets OK, so let's combine the two to get a clearer picture.... Left of red line low time constant versus right side high time constant targets To reiterate, having only one point of separation presents issues. You get coins but you also get large nails. And the low time constant area is a mess, just way too much stuff including small ferrous. But in areas with few nails it actually works well for coins. The dividing line does vary with the ground balance setting but is roughly about zinc penny if ground balanced in moderate to high mineral ground. The Impulse AQ is basically blowing off the high end to get rid of the nails, and the high conductor coins also get tossed out. Most jewelry hunters will be fine with that - digging coins in the surf is a waste of my time and effort. The AQ is adding another separating point somewhere in that left hand low time constant area, that eliminates the tiny stuff including I assume most wire type ferrous items and foil. Rings due to the round shape with a hole read better than most of the misc trash in the photo. However, some of those items will read in the ring range so do not expect the AQ to be trash free. Trash that reads close to the nickel range will probably come through, like pencil eraser ends and some tabs that read like nickels. If you think of the AQ as a nickel detector that will probably not be far off the mark. My biggest area of concern is zinc pennies, especially corroded ones. I hate those things but I suspect we will be digging them with the AQ. All the above is just speculation based on everything I have learned using this class of detectors over the last 15 years. I have had no part in the AQ development. That said, I think most of what I am describing will prove to be pretty close to the mark as far as how the discrimination functions on the Impulse AQ. And just a reminder. The Impulse AQ will let you turn off the discrimination to run in pure pulse mode, presumably with no ground balance engaged. It should be at similar to but more powerful than the TDI Pro with ground balance shut off. This will not be good for nugget detecting in most areas as it will light up hot rocks, but for many beach detecting situations should be giving us a detector like the famed Eric Foster Deepstar in a much more ergonomic and affordable package.

Came across this video of the AQ, filmed late December . Audio isn't great.

I know this is asking a bit too much but for some hunters, a “Lite” version of the AQ would be perfect, especially if it was cheaper 👍 I would be happy with a version minus the REJECT knob and associated 3 ID modes. Running in AM and being able to tweak the pulse delay and ATS is all I need. Having said that, I fully appreciate and respect what has gone into the AQ Impulse....it is “a lot of gun” 🤠 Tony

Explanation of new coil mounting system on the new Fisher Impulse AQ metal detector. ZPT® "Zero Pressure Technology" Official Fisher video. Fisher Impulse AQ Detector Data & User Reviews Fisher Impulse AQ ZPT® "Zero Pressure Technology" Fisher Impulse AQ ZPT® "Zero Pressure Technology" detail image

Demonstration of the high speed responses for various objects waved under the coil of the new Fisher Impulse AQ metal detector. HRS® "Highly Reactive System" Official Fisher video. Fisher Impulse AQ Detector Data & User Reviews Fisher Impulse AQ HRS® "Highly Reactive System"

Demonstration of how the new Fisher Impulse AQ handles non-ferrous items surrounded by or under ferrous trash. ZTS® "Zero Target Separation" Official Fisher video. Fisher Impulse AQ Detector Data & User Reviews Fisher Impulse AQ ZTS® "Zero Target Separation"

And a survey of what a reasonable price "is" would be interesting. TDI or SDC price tiers, or maybe a little more. There is a very long development cycle to be taken into consideration, as well as production costs. Will the coils be machine wound or have to be laid up by hand? Two forward looking warranty concerns, 7us tolerances(drift) & waterproof. There are a lot of knobs on this unit and everyone of them is a potential moisture entry point. You have to cost these factors for worst case projections so in essence you are paying for insurance up front should disaster strike.

In the absence of a manual, a summary breakdown of what the controls do combined with an explanation of the various tone modes (in the same post to avoid having flip around the threads, having trouble interpreting Le Jag’s post) would be helpful when you have a chance, Rick. Thanks.

Anyone who has used a White’s TDI much knows that the ground balance can be manipulated to exclude certain targets. This is less about conductivity as White’s sells it, but about target size. What that means is you can exclude high conductors and large ferrous and concentrate on smaller low conductors and small ferrous. Or you can exclude small ferrous and small non-ferrous and go for higher conductors and larger ferrous. The system does not make gold hunters happy because to dig small gold you still dig small ferrous stuff. Or when you are digging larger gold you still dig nails. My guess on the Impulse is that it is using at least two “ground balance” points to bracket the most common ring responses, which tend to be lower mid-range targets. It would be quite a balancing act tuning out both the smallest stuff and the largest stuff and just hit the sweet spot. I personally think this could be a powerful method for essentially cherry picking rings while eliminating most small ferrous and large ferrous. There still will be a class of mid-range ferrous targets that read good - I promise the system can’t be perfect. The flip side however is that at least two large “holes” are going to have to exist as a result. One that misses smaller gold targets, like earrings and chains, and possibly the smaller thin rings. And then on the top end very large heavy men’s rings and silver rings, and most coins may also be lost. The solution will be to turn off the discrimination and go back to digging everything. Hopefully there will be some ability to tweak the discrimination as target / trash mixes do vary somewhat and shifting the accepted range up or down would be beneficial. I am just guessing based on what I know about how a PI works and how one could potentially discriminate out a class of targets. I could see a very acceptable trade being made, more depth at the expense of certain target classes. Yet I wonder how the general public will react to videos displaying numerous gold items, especially large ones, being completely undetectable by the Impulse in discrimination mode? The wiser among us may understand what’s going on and the trades being made, but if I know one thing about a lot of folks, the idea the machine misses good stuff won’t fly too well. Witness the silver dollar on edge fiasco with the Equinox, or the similar issue with the early Gold Bug models. Anyway, don’t take this as being more than speculation, but it is something that the more knowledgeable among us will want to find out quickly once the Impulse hits the streets. It should be easy to find out, just air test with a large range of jewelry targets running from tiny to large and check the results. And the same with ferrous. Unless a Pulse Devil miracle machine is in the works, and I am betting that’s not the case, there will be some definite caveats to deal with when employing the discrimination system. For me it’s kind of a non-issue. I’d be happy with the machine as a straight up pulse digging everything. It’s the ergonomics and price along with the finely tuned low pulse delay that have me looking more than some magic discrimination system. Anything it does there will be just a bonus. I will actually be surprised if the nugget hunting terra version has any discrimination at all due to the possible issues I am outlining. It would tune out most natural gold nuggets. Optional blocking of high end nail type signals would be of more benefit to nugget hunters in small gold areas. It would risk missing large nuggets but in some places that’s not much of a worry. Fisher Impulse AQ Data & Specifications Fisher Impulse AQ pulse induction metal detector

The Impulse AQ has a volume control. The headphones are not the ones Fisher has used for a long time on the 1280X and CZ-21. They look more like the DetectorPro Amphibian without external volume control than anything else I have seen. Should be a great fit, and hopefully we for once will get an underwater detector that has excess volume enough for underwater use. The headphones have a unique but easily obtainable three pin connector so aftermarket phones should be quick to follow. As will some kind of dongle to convert to 1/4” so we can use dry land headphones or wireless adapters. Fisher would be smart to make the dongle available themselves but we will see. Photos by Rick Kempf, click for larger views.

Just read on another forum that LE JAG will soon be testing an 8" coil on the Fisher Impulse AQ! Should make some folks have a Happy New Year. Bill

Per a conversation I had today with Tim Mallory - VP of marketing and sales at Fisher/First Texas - I am apparently “customer zero” for the AQ. For reasons of copyright protection (which I don’t understand) it was important to sell exactly 1 Fisher Impulse AQ in calendar year 2019. I guess because I am a PITA, I was invited to be it. It had to be a bona fide sale, so I am paying for it - cheerfully. Can’t discuss the price because that may or may not equal the eventual launch price. I am told it will ship Monday. Since I figured that I was “in the catbird seat” I asked them to include a Fisher cap to replace the one I lost a while back. My nearest US beach is in San Diego and I have no time to drive there soon. I will be doing an “unboxing” video and some stuff of using it inland here in Gold Canyon AZ - where there is no gold. Imay borrow some of my wife’s “minor” bits to practice with however.

Could there be an early book on the horizon?

Me too. 😕 I'm hoping when it does come out that it does not pick up these rocks. They read #1 on the Equinox - right where the small gold and chains read. I would be willing to pay postage and send some of them to Fisher to make sure they are invisible to the Impulse AQ

Just noticed the pulse delay ranges from 7 to 12 in comparison of the TDI 10 to 25. Now this is for the salt water environment and not for dry land "Terra". I might surmise the 12 would be more than adequate for the salt water hunt but on my TDI a pulse delay of 17 1/2 is required. Always good the ponder why!

he is in production // finally .. I find it amazing that your dealer does not speak a French seller already takes pre-orders without delivery date .... price announce France / Europe 2490 euros 2020 Edit: The Impulse AQ has been revealed - see details here

I consider myself to be extremely fortunate due to the fact that the entire age of modern metal detecting has taken place over the course of my lifetime. I was too young in the 60's to be one of the many famous names that were there first on the ground with these new toys that go beep. That's good though for me as most of them are gone now and I'm still here. I got my first detector at the true dawn of the modern detecting age when I got my White's Coinmaster 4 in 1972. It was one of the first of the new "TR" machines that were the starting point for what most of us use today. Mine was as basic as a detector gets, no ground balance existed yet or discrimination. Just a couple inches depth and a beep, dig it up. So I have been involved in detecting now for 47 years. I started my business while in high school in 1976, and have been involved in metal detecting pretty much daily ever since. Anyone who followed my online presence starting in 1998 may see a pattern. I have been involved in some top end machines, some VLF, but basically almost every ground balancing PI made has been in my hands at some point. I had a vision in my mind based on my background in computers that told me what was possible and where we were headed. I was particularly incensed when an upstart company from Australia showed up the industry leaders at the time with the world's most powerful gold detecting PI machines. All the more so when I heard White's had a shot at it and passed. I made it my mission to jump on and foster anything that came along that might compete, and so I was involved with the Garrett Infinium, the first U.S. ground balancing PI. I had a lot to do with White's finally producing the TDI. Yet the fact is nobody ever seriously took Minelab on, and finally they won me over because they delivered when the rest just milked us. Minelab has been the sole company at the forefront of this technology since the SD2000 was introduced. All this time I have wanted two things. A vision in my mind of what a VLF could be. And a similar vision regarding a PI. Both those visions basically revolved around something a normal person could use both as regards ergonomics and price, two areas we kept getting bent over on for 20 years. Long story short I am grateful to Minelab for allowing me to be involved in the machine that delivered on my first vision. The Minelab Equinox is the first machine ever that really can do any VLF metal detecting task and do it well. In any one area it may not be "the best" but no one machine delivers across the board like the Equinox. My VLF quest is over. I will use an Equinox as my primary unit until a detector comes along, probably a Minelab, that does what it does but better. No more VLF buy and try for me. Yay! In 2017 I laid out my vision for the PI I wanted. The price was kind of a set the bar high (with a low price) thing so there is a little wiggle room there. But not a lot... the machine price should be something most people can stomach. As far as I am concerned the GPX 4500 sets the standard at $2699 both for performance and price. The TDI wins on ergonomics but loses too much in performance for me. All I really wanted was a GPX performance in an ergonomic package, and we all know it can be done. That is what is so frustrating. It's one thing to introduce new tech but all I want is proven tech packaged right. Garrett has really been a disappointment not putting the ATX in a light box. They can do it but so far have refused. I would have been satisfied with that. Right now I am calling the Australian made QED as being the default winner of my challenge. The rough edges have been smoothed out, and it's got the ergonomics, coil selection, and price all right. I am not going to argue with anyone over performance. Based on what I know it's good enough for me to go find gold and easily beats the TDI and is competitive with GPX. Good enough for me and good job boys. The only niggle is no FCC approval for U.S. sales, no U.S. dealers or service. But by end of 2020 if there is nothing better I will have one anyway. But we have the Fisher Impulse AQ on the verge and a dry land prospecting version promised. I would be crazy not to wait and see what develops there. I sold my GPZ for many reasons, mostly because I was not going to be detecting much this year, but I resolved when I sold it I would wait until my vision appeared. I knew it was close. I decided I can have fun enough with Equinox until that happens. Put as simply as possible I want a reasonably powerful PI packaged like a good VLF that most of us can afford. Something that can get in and out of a small backpack with an hour of labor being involved. So I am tossing down the gauntlet. I have my magic VLF and am looking for a mate for it. Right now QED and Impulse are in the running. And it's up to Minelab, Nokta/Makro, and sure, let's toss Garrett and White's in there also. It's time to deliver as by the end of 2020 I am getting one. I prefer in the spring but if something is one the radar I may wait. By 2021 I will be using something that finally fulfills what this high school kid from Alaska has known would happen someday. And I got to be there and see it all from start to finish. As I said... a very fortunate soul! Interfacion QED PL2 Fisher Impulse AQ

They have taken the original youtube video of the Aqua Manta down. I've had the youtube site ear marked since they first made the beach video and it is now gone. It was very interesting to see the machine work on the beach but no more.