The Kob Uses The AQ !

[King-Of-Bling]

I met up with a local forum member at 1 of my secret spots he has never been to. Conditions were bad , heavily sanded in. We were down in the wet , no mineralization to speak of , hard sand the first 3" then gravel mixture. The hole filled in fast. Keep in mind , my EDC for 30 years has been a PI. Also I used this for only 15 MINUTES. Here is what I found :

I buried a small size 4 ladies 14k , 2 gram diamond ring about 12" in the hole and filled it. Myself being tall , the shaft was fully extended. Immediately I knew it was not long enough and it had a bit of a wobble. Did not feel steady because of that. Ergonomics seemed good and the coil felt light , so that was great. Now... the only settings I messed with were changing the modes. I didn't even look or ask what my buddy had those other settings on. I just wanted to get a feel for the machine and see if it had any discrimination. I tried 3 different modes when I swept over the hole : all metal , tone , mute. All 3 picked up the ring loud and clear. Then we threw a small piece of iron and a piece of lobster trap wire on top , which was probably about 4" above the ring. In all metal and tone mode , I could barely noticed the difference between all 3 targets. But I could seperate them from different directions. In the mute mode I couldn't. I thought I would only hear the ring , but I still heard all 3 targets. This really isn't any different than my DF. BUT , I do have a sense that this AQ can go a few more inches deeper. 6-8" ? I doubt it. Overall , it's not a bad machine , definitely needs a few tweaks. But I feel what needs more tweeks would be me...🤣 As accustomed as I am with a PI , I know this would take me MONTHS to get down. Let alone probably a good year or so to master. Kinda my short 15 minute hands on review of the AQ. Anyway...our hunt together was fun , even though we only found a few coins and trash. And I got to meet a great guy.

[schoolofhardNox]

It's tough to get a handle on a new machine even though a user may have a lot of experience. You did a great job not messing with his settings and just trying it out.  I think your observations are spot on about the machine as it was set. Also spot on are your observations on how long it really takes to completely feel comfortable learning a new machine. It's a never ending process. If you had that machine for 6-12 months and used it regularly, I bet you would get it to work for most of your hunting encounters.  Also, they make a tall man's shaft for it now too.

[King-Of-Bling]

14 minutes ago, schoolofhardNox said:

It's tough to get a handle on a new machine even though a user may have a lot of experience. You did a great job not messing with his settings and just trying it out.  I think your observations are spot on about the machine as it was set. Also spot on are your observations on how long it really takes to completely feel comfortable learning a new machine. It's a never ending process. If you had that machine for 6-12 months and used it regularly, I bet you would get it to work for most of your hunting encounters.  Also, they make a tall man's shaft for it now too.

Thanks ! For only 15 minutes , I got the idea of it. Yes , it felt a bit flimsy being fully extended. But then again , even if it was solid and sturdy , I think this machine is designed specifically to go slow. I can go super fast with my DF , but I will also miss the really deep faints in doing so...

[Jeff McClendon]

KOB, thanks for that report and thanks for not making a YouTube video..........

I have also been a longtime PI user and there just aren't any easy ones. They take tons of hours to get used to and especially to optimize for different conditions. Even the Minelab SDC 2300 is not that easy to get the hang of especially if you are like me and absolutely hated the unstable threshold. 

 

[dewcon4414]

But i think its what a lot of users asked for.  That being a machine NOT watered down for the NORMAL user.  It allows the skilled user to take advantage of the machines raw power and grow into the machine.  

[Joe Beechnut OBN]

Good to see you had a good time out with your friend and got to do a short test.

I fully agree with schoolofhardnoxs post.