phrunt Posted July 21, 2022 Share Posted July 21, 2022 The problem is the detector needs to be financially viable, you don't keep throwing money at something that isn't going to sell well. I'm certain they could fix all of the problems and bring a great detector to market, but First Texas must be concerned if they will sell enough to even cover costs. Do they keep throwing money at it hoping it will succeed or do they abandon the project and cut their losses? The Impulse Gold can still come out in the future as a side effect of the design and in many ways should have been the focus from the start. A much larger customer base and an easier detector to manufacture not needing any waterproofing at all. I think they did it the wrong way around, if the Impulse Gold came out and was successful it'd be easier to release the AQ later on and justify its higher price being waterproof. When the AQ beta came out and Rick was flogging it off it was said to be at a heavily discounted price as much as half price as it was a special version prior to the official release but with full functionality. You were privileged to be able to buy one and even then they struggled to sell, doesn't bode well for official final product sales figures, especially after the fiasco and the higher price the final product would be listed to sell for. I came so close to buying one but Rick and I decided that it'd end up too difficult to repair it if it failed and he wasn't confident I wouldn't have any issues so he did the right thing by me, it wasn't just about making a buck. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe D. Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 9 hours ago, phrunt said: The Impulse Gold can still come out in the future as a side effect of the design and in many ways should have been the focus from the start. A much larger customer base and an easier detector to manufacture not needing any waterproofing at all. Simon, I think you are right on the money with that statement! MineLab obviously figured out a long time ago, that gold detectors are where the money is! So who knows why FT went the way they did! At least we have Garrett?, who is well aware of where their money is to be made! So one US detector company ain't bad; i guess!!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carolina Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 I’m just not sure what you guys are complaining about. The AQ is a beach machine. Maybe I was just one of the lucky ones or I just took the time to learn the machine. I live in a pirate rich environment and normally don’t show my finds. Granted it is entering peak season here, but this is my finds so far this week with the AQ. I did dig a half dozen new bottle caps and two tent stakes that fooled me. I leave that stuff in the beach garbage cans. I hope my friend in Md. will not share this with my number one competitor. I would not change a thing since I have two of Joes batteries. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvr Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 It is a killer on the stud earrings to. As you show, it finds chains that the Excal would never see. My bane is how it lights up aluminum pop rivets that have separated from beach gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carolina Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 2 hours ago, tvr said: It is a killer on the stud earrings to. As you show, it finds chains that the Excal would never see. My bane is how it lights up aluminum pop rivets that have separated from beach gear. My D2 which is a deep machine will not however hit the top chain. Beach sens. Sens. 95, salt 9, silencer 1, reactivity 0, .5 or 1. 2 tone square. Disc. 6.0. I have not experienced those rivets but do have quite a few ear ring backs with the AQ. I am though, primarily a water hunter or wet sand and wash. Fresh drop season the AQ is my go to machine. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger-NH Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 On 7/21/2022 at 2:06 PM, phrunt said: The Impulse Gold can still come out in the future as a side effect of the design and in many ways should have been the focus from the start. A much larger customer base and an easier detector to manufacture not needing any waterproofing at all. That's kind of what was saying since the beginning, but it didn't need to be a gold detector. A simple non-waterproof beach machine would have lowered the cost dramatically, avoiding a lot of problems while selling more units. Aiming the first prototype at water hunters was a mistake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schoolofhardNox Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 On 7/21/2022 at 2:06 PM, phrunt said: The problem is the detector needs to be financially viable, you don't keep throwing money at something that isn't going to sell well. I'm certain they could fix all of the problems and bring a great detector to market, but First Texas must be concerned if they will sell enough to even cover costs. Do they keep throwing money at it hoping it will succeed or do they abandon the project and cut their losses? The Impulse Gold can still come out in the future as a side effect of the design and in many ways should have been the focus from the start. A much larger customer base and an easier detector to manufacture not needing any waterproofing at all. I think they did it the wrong way around, if the Impulse Gold came out and was successful it'd be easier to release the AQ later on and justify its higher price being waterproof. When the AQ beta came out and Rick was flogging it off it was said to be at a heavily discounted price as much as half price as it was a special version prior to the official release but with full functionality. You were privileged to be able to buy one and even then they struggled to sell, doesn't bode well for official final product sales figures, especially after the fiasco and the higher price the final product would be listed to sell for. I came so close to buying one but Rick and I decided that it'd end up too difficult to repair it if it failed and he wasn't confident I wouldn't have any issues so he did the right thing by me, it wasn't just about making a buck. I hope that if Fisher does dump out on the machine, that they release Alexandre from any contract that he has with them. I'm pretty sure he could make a better home made version and sell them directly. The machine has a lot of potential, and I believe if it had just been a bit more durable, it would have sold better. That and the fact that they limited it to the US, is what made it DOA from the start. I'm surprised that someone who is technically capable didn't just design their own case and transfer the electronics into it. I wish we had a stateside person that could do that. I would jump all over it..... first with the GPX though ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger-NH Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 If Alexandre is released from the contract, he should first take his design to the other companies and see if they are interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phrunt Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 Nokta would have smashed home a great version of it in short order. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now