Testing The New AQ

[barryny]

Good morning and Happy Father's Day to all...

I've participated in lots of extensive field testing over the years: from being one of the first of 3 Deus owners in the USA and testing it privately (specifically for Minelab against the E-Trac), or for field testing the Blisstool V3 and then the Deeptech brands of metal detectors - before I became their initial USA importer for both of these products.

Burying known objects and observing the depth/discrimination capabilities of a new machine (while standing there and swinging over and over) is a great way to learn how to operate and understand its feedback from the different settings - but the ultimate test is in the real live hunting conditions..."How is this machine going to give me an edge over what I already have?"..."Is it stable enough to use at the tuned in for the buried object settings for under normal detecting conditions or do I have to dial it back?"..."Will it outperform what is the current standard machine known for all around best performance in these conditions?"

I think the best testing methodology will be to have 2 people administer the live hunt tests...one using the subject new machine (AQ) and the other using the current "machine du jour" for that type of detecting.  I think, right now, for salt water beach detecting both wet sand and wading - it should be tested against either/both the Nox or Excalibur.  The method I would use is that both people go about their detecting business as usual and then call the other over when a target is detected - both a good target or trash...make the call what you think it is...then dig it up - all while filming the comparison of either machine "approaching the vicinity" of the target..did the other machine get any signal and is it a dig/no dig signal. 

I think this is what everyone is waiting/looking to see.  This takes time and effort.  I'd be more than happy to do this at the NY ocean and bay beaches versus the Nox/Excalibur when I can eventually get a hold of the AQ Ltd...

[Steve Herschbach]

2 hours ago, barryny said:

it should be tested against either/both the Nox or Excalibur. 

So you want to bring a gun to a knife fight?  Testing a high power PI against a VLF can be informative, but testing against other competitive PI detectors would be more apples to apples. I’d suggest the TDI Beachhunter and ATX as the two main competitors. Looking forward to your tests. 👍🏼

Waterproof Pulse Induction (PI) Detectors Compared

[Joe Beechnut OBN]

1 hour ago, Steve Herschbach said:

So you want to bring a gun to a knife fight?  Testing a high power PI against a VLF can be informative, but testing against other competitive PI detectors would be more apples to apples. I’d suggest the TDI Beachhunter and ATX as the two main competitors. Looking forward to your tests. 👍🏼

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..

[Steve Herschbach]

Well, I can see due to the early promotional material put out, why lots of people are thinking the AQ is possibly a super discriminating PI that will somehow replace their VLF. In that case tests of the AQ in Tone Mode or Mute Mode versus VLF detectors would be of great interest to them, and certainly something Barry could focus on with great intent from his viewers.

I think the AQ is a step up from the discrimination on the Beachhunter TDI and ATX, both of which are tone based, the TDI adjustable, the ATX less so. In my case though VLF and PI remain different tools for different jobs, and I advocate having both. My Equinox is sure not going anywhere. The AQ complements the Equinox, it does not replace it, as both have strengths where the other is weakest. The AQ plus Excalibur or Equinox or possibly a Tarsacci is a near perfect pairing in my opinion.

[barryny]

1 hour ago, Steve Herschbach said:

So you want to bring a gun to a knife fight?  Testing a high power PI against a VLF can be informative, but testing against other competitive PI detectors would be more apples to apples. I’d suggest the TDI Beachhunter and ATX as the two main competitors. Looking forward to your tests. 

Steve - love the analogy....I always opt for the gun..........

Just dumped the ATX (I think most have already given up on it for the beach as too heavy) and got rid of my old Dual Field when I got the ATX...LOL.  Yes - finding someone with the Beachhunter would be ideal....

[Steve Herschbach]

Since we posted near same time Barry, I’m not sure if you saw my other post. I was not thinking of all the people who think this is a replacement for their VLF, so serious discrimination tests using various items like steel wire, hairpins, and bottle caps would be very helpful for that crowd. Not depth tests so much as discrimination tests. That’s the ticket! So back to plan A, Equinox and Excalibur, plus Tarsacci if you can lay your hands on one.

Test AQ versus VLF on stuff in left of photo...

[barryny]

3 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

Well, I can see due to the early promotional material put out, why lots of people are thinking the AQ is possibly a super discriminating PI that will somehow replace their VLF. In that case tests of the AQ in Tone Mode or Mute Mode versus VLF detectors would be of great interest to them, and certainly something Barry could focus on with great intent from his viewers.

I think the AQ is a step up from the discrimination on the Beachhunter TDI and ATX, both of which are tone based, the TDI adjustable, the ATX less so. In my case though VLF and PI remain different tools for different jobs, and I advocate having both. My Equinox is sure not going anywhere. The AQ complements the Equinox, it does not replace it, as both have strengths where the other is weakest. The AQ plus Excalibur or Equinox is a near perfect pairing in my opinion.

Hi.  Yep Steve - you are spot on (as usual)...

I think the vast majority are "hoping" that even when giving up the +/- 10% in depth while in those Tone/Mute modes - the AQ will "avoid" most trash while gaining that additional depth over the Nox.

Most guys want the "ease of use" and light weight on these relatively clean east coast ocean/bay beaches that the Nox delivers...if the AQ can now get those additional inches while not needing to be digging everything - that's going to be a BIG win...will blow out any ATX or Beachhunter competition...

I know a few very old beaches that will need the straight up full power of All Metal to pull out old gold.  I've witnessed the original TDI from back in 2009 pulling out nickles from 18" where the Excal had zero response...

In the end - I agree - the AQ is a perfect companion for the Nox/Excal - it's gonna be the best tool in the right circumstances.  I mean you can't screw a slotted screw with a phillips head screwdriver...

[Steve Herschbach]

40 minutes ago, Joe Beechnut OBN said:

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. 

TDI and ATX versus AQ... well, people always focus on depth, while I’m looking at other factors. I’ll give the nod to AQ for sheer depth. The AQ adds some discrimination tools the others lack, but the difference there is not huge. A skilled TDI operator should be able to pass trash nearly as well as a AQ operator, but with more depth loss while doing so. The AQ has a far more efficient system with less attendant depth loss, which the TDI is well known to have in ground balance mode. The only way to get the real power out of the TDI is to shut off the ground balance and go straight PI.

The problem is hot rocks. The AQ ground balance has been hijacked to created a discrimination control. It therefore has no adjustable ground balance, unlike both the ATX and TDI. They had to toss in Volcanic Mode on the AQ to help compensate for this missing capability. The main defining factor on the upcoming Impulse Gold is that it will have the adjustable ground balance the AQ lacks. And also therefore probably lose the discrimination settings. The reasoning for this is that gold prospectors will encounter bad ground and hot rocks the AQ cannot handle well, and so a separate detector is required. We are being to,d specifically the AQ will not be good for gold prospecting due to this lack of capability.

So that tells you where the weakness is with AQ vs TDI and ATX, both of which are used by gold prospectors. There are hot rocks and ground the AQ has problems with. If I wanted to show the TDI or ATX in their best light, I would seek out hot rocks and beach conditions the AQ cannot eliminate. Whatever it is the AQ lacks that the Impulse Gold is going to fix. Then highlight the TDI and ATX adjustable ground balance systems and the benefit they offer.

So my favorite battleground, Hawaii. How does the AQ handle those nasty basalt hot rocks buried in tan beach sands? Hawaii is reason why I liked the Infinium and ATX and I am sure TDI Beachhunter if Whites had ever made one before I gave up on them. My TDI prototype was a dream unit in Hawaii and I advocated for a waterproof version before the TDI even hit the streets as a new detector model. But I digress. It’s those kinds of situations where I would question the AQ. It may be that the Volcanic Mode does the trick, but if so, at what depth loss compared to the ATX and TDI?

Personally, I am sold on the AQ. But as my posts above indicate I also know the technology well enough to know what it can and can’t do versus the competition, so for me the questions that trouble others are of little or no concern. But I’m more than happy to lift a pointy finger for those who want to delve into and attempt to illustrate those issues for others. My strength is telling people about stuff. Whether they want to listen or not, well, I can’t do anything about that. 

[barryny]

I'm posting the below video links  in case some new watchers have missed it.

This video of the technology in an earlier assembled version in France...this shows off some pretty good target disc abilities versus the CTX

https://youtu.be/ubQ8sMSADSE

Some comments that were made:

3 months ago

 

no, the TDI pro does not work on the volcanic sand / try you will see ... AQ gets there and that gives you an idea of the gold / iron separation very far from the TDI PRO

[Steve Herschbach]

I have used the TDI Pro on volcanic sand and the statement "does not work" is not accurate. Its performance is severely impeded, as you have to engage the ground balance, lower the sensitivity, and increase the pulse delay to compensate. There is a difference between "does not work" and being tuned appropriate for the conditions and attendant performance loss. So is AQ performance also impeded - try it and see. The video... well, as I say get rid of the nice nails nobody finds on beaches and replace with actual found heavily corroded nails, steel wire, and bottle caps. Sounds like you've bought the hype already Barry  - good luck!