Pulse Devil testing delayed again


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Hi All,

I just received information from Dave Emery regarding the Pulse Devil which I need to share with you. So, I am sharing the specifics with you now.

The Pulse Devil which Dave has been using for his initial tests in North Carolina is made with regular PC boards and without regard to any kind of security from reverse engineering. Such was not required for a test detector.

For production detectors, Dave has his own proprietary method to protect his trade secret circuitry. He pots critical circuitry in small modules which are about the size of an airmail stamp. The components inside are not soldered but are connected via a conductive chemical wiring method.

Any attempt to open these modules with solvents simply dissolves the chemical wiring leaving just the unconnected parts as well as a bunch of parts placed inside as dummies which were never wired to anything in the first place.

I understand that he also has a patent in the works to protect his method/s.

Well, Dave sent computer files for the final design via the Internet on Friday morning to have the small boards made which go inside the modules. The boards were due to arrive on Tuesday which would allow plenty of time to make the modules before leaving for Arizona.

Disaster struck when Dave got a call from the board manufacturer telling him that the files they had received were corrupt. Dave is still looking into what went wrong.

The delay will likely mean that Dave will not have a secure Pulse Devil ready for next Saturday's push. He absolutely refuses to risk taking a non-secure detector on the road. He has far too much invested in the Pulse Devil to risk it being stolen.

So, it looks like the Australians are going to get the first go with the Pulse Devil after all. Dave is planning on going to Australia himself as part of the testing team.

With luck, Dave will make a later push in Arizona. Dave tells me that he is also working to provide a series of demonstrations this year.

I have sent the dates of the last two pushes on the 24K club claims to Dave for review. If actual final working models are available, then arrangements will be made to try to make one of the remaining dates. Otherwise, major open testing in the west will be most likely done by his western distributor.

As for me, I have been assured that I will receive a Pulse Devil to test. Once I have it in my hands I will inform people of what I find and will try my best to make another trip to AZ so others can see it.

Once again, I am sorry about the delay.

Reg

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Casting no shadow on Reg, of course, but detector promoters coming out with the "latest and greatest" need to take a different tack on their market communication tactics...I'd suggest they just Hush, get units in the hands of reputable folks like Reg, have it tested, then come out with something to knock everyone's socks off that works and is not subject to questionable delays...Even a well established company like Garrett made the mistake of leaking info which came back and bit them on their PI...Little guys should really be quiet until it's really real....Then they won't get reactions like this....Cheers, Unc

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Hello Guys,

I don't want to cast any stones since Reg Sniff is a close friend. I don't know Dave, or what to expect with the Pulse Devil, I just have to be optimistic about it. Kind of glad the date got pushed back again, since I will be out of town that weekend down in Bisbee/Douglas.

Wishing Dave the best of luck with the new Pulse Devil Metal Detector.

Take care,

Rob Allison

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Hi guys,

Since it appeared that neither detector was going to make it, I decide to try to push a little project I have been working on. The idea was one of a very simple turn on and go PI that needed no ground balance or threshold adjustment. One could simply adjust the sensitivity and the pulse delay.

Well, I already had ideas in mind and had laid out a basic design some time back but that design was a little too complex to complete in the time alloted, so I designed a little different technique and tried it. Well, the first stab was an oops, and needed a quick change. The next try was a little better, so I had to try again.

Well, the third try was about as good as I could get it without going back to my initial design. Did it work? Yes, sort of. I ended up with an increase in sensitivity which was one of the major reasons for the design. I could also operate without any ground balance and have a nice silent detector even when I was sloppy in my coil sweep techniques, but I did end up with still having to use the threshold.

As I stopped to think about what I had done, I realized that this design was not one that I would want to put into the field. It appeared to work but I wasn't comfortable with it. Now, the nice thing about all of this is I thought of another way of accomplishing the same thing that was more complex than this one but simpler than the original idea. So, there was a plus to all of this. Unfortunately, I won't be able to finish that design before I leave in a few days and as such, there will be no truly simple design to show.

So, what does all of this have to do with what has happened over the last couple of months? The answer is simple. I just imposed some time restrictions on a project and tried to push things forward while under pressure. No, there was no pressure from anyone else, but simply pressure I had placed on myself. The result was a design that wasn't what I would like to display and as such I decided to hold off and do it right.

As I sat back and thought of my attempt I realized even more the difficulty of making mods to a detector and the pitfalls involved. Designing is somewhat like writing, at times there are blocks that simply don't go away or are hard to overcome. Self imposed pressures only add to the problem.

I also realize that in my discussions with both Allan and Dave that I had imposed the deadline and was the one who came up with the "brilliant" idea to make the introduction of the detectors a public event, rather than leaving that decision to them. Had I done so and just waited to they were clearly ready, much of the hype and frustration would not have happened.

I really should have known better because I have done enough designing myself to know the pitfalls. Some time back when John Blennert sort of made a challenge that no PI could detect his "invisible" nuggets, I set out to prove it could be done using both mono and other style coils. Eric Foster set out to do the same and we passed information back and forth. Eric is the true genius so more info came my way than what went his way. Nevertheless, we both accomplished the goal and my little unit does what is necessary to detect those nuggets.

During that time, I had periods were I bumped up against a wall and had to overcome the obstacles. I also knew it took time. So, why was I dumb enough to think it would be easier for Dave and Allan? Maybe because I knew they had more knowledge than me, especially in their designs so they wouldn't be subject to the same problems I experienced. Well, we are all human after all. None of us are perfect and nothing is designed perfectly the first time.

So today, I realize that I am probably more to blame than either Dave or Allan for pressing to make this a public event. I appreciate people thinking that I was merely the one who tried to set this up and was not at fault. However, as one who knows the difficulties involved in designing and building a working PI, I know better and as such have to take the blame.

So, I apologize to Dave, Allan, and to all of you for the delays. I fully understand them and my experience over the last couple of days clearly pointed all this out.

In the meantime, I will continue to work on the ultimate in simplicity on the PI. Mine won't be as sophisticated as Dave's or Allan's, but will be able to use existing ML compatible coils. No, my simple PI will not be available this trip but it will be completed just like the one that detects the "invisible" nuggets.

Finally, yes, Dave's PD and Allan's Goldsweeper do exist and people will get the opportunity to see them. They will be ready when both feel they are ready and not when I say, which is what I should have let happen in the first place.

Reg

PS if there are any 24K club members reading this and are planning on making the next push, I told Elly I would be happy to discuss the basics of PI's and I am willing to have a little fun with a couple of "invisible nuggets" loaned to me by John Blennert. The rumor is the new GP still can't detect them. We will see. If you have "invisible" nuggets that your PI will not detect, please bring them and we will see if my PI will detect them.

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Reg. Those pitfalls you mentioned are surely a part of building any electronic device of this nature. I realize that and I'm sure most people do. Therein lies the source of my skeptiscism. With everything I read on the subject of the Pulse Devil , it seemed like Dave was confident that everything would go as he planned. Confidence is a great thing, but as I've said in the past, I just don't know how someone, no matter how brilliant, can possibly put something of this nature together without closely working with an EXPERT detectorist from the very beginning, and there has been no mention of this being done. When mention was made of 250 savable programs, I knew that he had been given some wacko advice about what we need in the feild. That whole concept could have been scrapped, and more usefull items worked on. I have 3 savable programs on my GPX4000 and only use one and see no need or use for more than 2 . 3 savable programs proved to be a huge point of confusion for many people , even though it is very simple. What on earth will they do with 250. This all makes me think that it may be over engineered to the point of un-usability. If it is so radicly different from what we are all used to, then it may scare a lot of people away. I just have to ask questions that make me sound skeptical even if I try not to be, and believe me I want nothing more than to see a whiz bang detector that I can take out to the goldfeilds and fill my pockets with "visible gold" as well as "invisible gold ", without digging any trash, and at depths my current detector can't reach. I hope you take this as constructive critiscism and not a bashing.---Bob

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Hi Bob,

I have confidence in Dave's ability as a detectorist. After all, he has been at it since the mid 70's or so. Now, he has used the PD in Alaska looking for gold, so that isn't alien to gold hunting. He has looked for Roman coins in England, and used it for coin hunting here in the US. So, using a detector isn't unknown to him.

If that wasn't enough, he has probably analyzed as many or more different designs than anybody since it has been his passion and hobby since he built his first detector in the late 70's. He just never tried to sell any before.

As for the excess programming capability, Dave decided to a large memory chip to allow for future expansion, so why not make it available it if it is there? Was he given advice on this? Nope, he simply had the memory available so he made some of it available for those who love that kind of stuff. Much of the chip is to be used for future expansions such as full target ID and possibly forms of graphic display. These are toys coin hunters will like.

As for complexity of use, well, one and only one knob can't be too confusing. Besides, we older guys should take a grandson along anyway. If a 5 year old can figure out how to use and program a VCR via a remote, they can surely explain to us how to set up the PD.

Dave has also had a working knowledge with other design engineers who have designed metal detectors. He and Eric Foster have even hunted Roman coins together in England. I was also surprised that Dave knew or knows Allan Westersten. Now I am impressed with Allan's designs also. His patents clearly show he knows what he is talking about when it comes to PI's.

I mentioned one of the delays involves the programming of the microprocessor that controls the display. That isn't being done by Dave, so it is out of his hands, so to speak. he has to rely on his programmer to program what is wanted. There lies part of the delay.

As for the PD's abilities. I am looking forward to testing the discrimination feature more than I am worried about the depth capabilities. To me, that will be the big asset. It will be a very big asset for Allan's Goldsweeper also. Allan has indicated his will distinguish hotrocks from gold and I suspect the PD will also. That in itself can be a real bonus, especially in areas containing volcanic rocks. So, it isn't just iron junk that can be distinguished. It won't hurt my feelings to be able to leave the rocks behind for other PI users. In some of the places I have hunted, there is no way one could move them out of the way or carry them out. The same goes for trash infested areas. I always carry out what I dig up, but I would prefer to just walk by it, rather than spend the time and frustration digging it up.

So, overall, I am looking forward to trying it. As I mentioned to Dave, I will write my honest opinion, good or bad. I just prefer start out optimistic.

Reg

PS just as a basic footnote to your opinion one has to have hundreds of hours of use to know how to design a detector, I would like to point out something interesting. The engineer who designed the first consumer VLF is the same engineer who designed the first VLF motion detector, is the same engineer who designed the first notch system, the first target and audio ID and even the first working auto ground balance as well as a push button ground balance in the earl 80's. This engineer who holds multiple patents in the field of detector design, does not actively use or hunt with a metal detector. Nor has he ever actively used them. At least, that is what George Payne told me personally.

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Reg. I hear what you are saying. Mr. Candy as far as I know rarely if ever uses a detector, but on the other hand, no gold detector design that Minelab comes up with hits the market without lots of feedback from a small group of professional nugget hunters. It just makes sense.

Having taught hundreds of people the basics of nugget hunting, I know what causes confusion and what doesn't. In many cases the hardest student to teach is the experienced coin hunter. It is 2 different worlds. Even though some people have been succesfull with the crossover do it all machines like the MXT , most people who are serious about nuggetshooting use a dedicated gold machine . So far the do it all detectors seem to fall short in some areas. None have excelled at either end of the spectrum. I own and use a coin machine which does an excellant job on coins and discrimination, but wouldn't waste my time with it in the goldfeilds. I also wouldn't waste my time detecting a park with my GPX4000. I find the coin machines to be extremely complicated and the dedicated gold machines incredibly simple. A hybrid seems to fall somewhere in between.

Perhaps the Pulse Devil would already be on the market if Daves time would have been spent designing either a gold machine or a coin machine. I can see a real use for a PI coin machine that has the discriminating capabilities of a VLF. Imagine what this could mean on the Florida beaches where it takes a special storm to bring the Spanish coins within reach of the VLF detectors. It will be quite a coup if Dave can pull off a machine that will do both. If most of his experience is coin and relic hunting the PD may be slanted more in that direction? I want to see this detector working in the feild yesterday. I was very excited about the prospect of seeing it on the 24th and was greatly disappointed at the delay. You did mention that you may still be coming to the 24K next Saturday to explain more. This will help a lot.----Bob

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Hi Bob,

I am planning on being at the 24K club this coming push regardless if a new detector is there or not. I had committed to being there and that is my plan. People will have the opportunity to express their opinions to me at that time.

Since there is going to be a pot luck and a time was designated to display the new unit, I informed Elly, I would be happy to discuss the technical aspects of PI's and answer questions. I can display what happens on a PI with no ground balance or with the ability to adjust the delay. One issue that is confusing about PI's is why they can't detect certain small gold. I would like to explain a little more about that and show with a simple adjustment just how easy it is to miss or ignore the small stuff and explain why. I may even have a coil or two that isn't sealed to people can see how I build them.

Getting back to the two detectors, just as soon as I was informed the detectors were not going to be there and testing would be delayed I felt it necessary to inform the people who might show up. This way, they would not show up needlessly. That is the best I can do. At least we had some advance notice for both.

The official position as of now is still that neither detector will be at the push and people need to realize that. Unofficially, there still is a very slight chance one of the detectors will be there. The plan is if either Dave or Allan gets their unit completed and can FedEx it to a designated location in time, they will do that. However, the chances are quite slim that will happen. So, I don't want people to get their hopes up.

I would rather have people upset because they were told in advance the detector wasn't going to be there than not be told and show up and the detector not be there. Now, if I receive information to the contrary and a unit does get completed in time and is shipped I will do my best to pass that on also, but I will have to rely on cell phone communications at least for a few days once I leave Colorado.

My plan is to leave Colorado sometime Thursday and be in the Rich Hill area some time Friday.

Reg

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Hi Rexb,

You are correct in your concept of the the use for the 250 different programs that can be saved. I call them programs because whatever you store and want to save will be saved.

So, if you find a location you want to keep track of, you will need to enter a name for that location or enter the GPS coordinates if you want to do that, but it has to be done manually since there is no GPS built in. The unit will also save all the settings you have entered and are presently using for sensitivity, ground adjust, etc, at the time the information is saved.

If you find two or three different series of settings you like to use even at one location, you can store them by making sure you use a different name. You could call them Rich Hill 1, Rich Hill 2, Rich Hill 3, or whatever. Then when you wanted those settings again, you simply switch to that program and enter it.

So, if you return to any physical location and want to go back to the settings you had the previous time you were there, all you have to do is to call up that stored information by name and click on it. A small program is run and all settings will be changed for you to the ones you originally saved.

Reg

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Hi Rexb,

If you find two or three different series of settings you like to use even at one location, you can store them by making sure you use a different name. You could call them Rich Hill 1, Rich Hill 2, Rich Hill 3, or whatever. Then when you wanted those settings again, you simply switch to that program and enter it.

So, if you return to any physical location and want to go back to the settings you had the previous time you were there, all you have to do is to call up that stored information by name and click on it.

Reg

Reg,

Ah, now that sounds more useful to me. Thanks for the reply and the clarification.

Rex

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Reg. Are you very familiar with what Minelab has done with the GPX4000? You may be surprised at the huge strides made over the GP3500 when it comes to hotrocks, interference, hard to detect gold, and tiny gold if you haven't spent some time with it. The game is changing fast.----Bob

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Bob,

No, I am not familiar with the changes incorporated in the new 4000. I am looking forward to seeing one in action.

When it was mentioned to me this unit is very quiet until it goes over a target, one of the things that popped into my mind was did Minelab mine the miner? I wonder.

For those of you who might have missed my point, Ray Seidel is, apparently, one or possibly the main person who designed the Superfix. In one of his descriptions of the Superfix, he mentioned this unit sort of mines the ML for signals and processes them. Then using various algorithims the Superfix separates target signals from junk. Now, did ML pick up on what he was doing and decide to incorporate it in their design?

Personally, I fully expected ML to do something very similar in the future. It could be the future is here now. We will see.

BTW, Ray's discussions on the Finders forum about the Superfix and how it works are pure works of art. He does have a way with words, and obviously knows what he is doing. The more he writes, the more confidence I have in his design.

Reg

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Reg. Are you very familiar with what Minelab has done with the GPX4000? You may be surprised at the huge strides made over the GP3500 when it comes to hotrocks, interference, hard to detect gold, and tiny gold if you haven't spent some time with it. The game is changing fast.----Bob

Can the 4000 reliably discriminate ferrous/non ferrous objects to full Pi depth?

Does the 4000 have a self contained battery pack and high efficiency waterproof speaker with a 1 watt output all incorporated into of the control box?

Can the 4000 sample down to delays of 1-2u secs?

Can the 4000 use variable transmit pulse lengths from 250-1000 usecs with the frequency adjustable at each Tx pulse length by about +or - 10%?

Can you operate the 4000 inside your house with the TV and radio running, lights on and near a large fridge or under HV power lines without it suffering from any form of EM noise interference?

Can you operate the 4000 by just using one knob?

Can someone use your 4000 if they steal it?

Does the 4000 have a backlit, transflective LCD screen?

Is the 4000 up gradable by mere changes to the software or at worst replacement of the board?

Does the digital menu on the 4000 allow you to program in extra menu option's as the programming software t becomes available?

Does the 4000 come with a variety of different capacity Li-ion batteries that ALL fit into the control box via a standard fitting?

Is the control box of the 4000 weatherproof?

Does the 4000 come with smart chargers that will enable you to recharge the Li-ion batteries anywhere in the world regardless of the line frequency?

Can the 4000 separate the reactive and resistive signal components which are necessary for correct GB and discrimination?

Does the 4000 come as a coin or relic version or a combined coin/relic/gold machine?

Does the 4000 come in right and left handed versions?

Can the user save more than 3 of his own presets in the 4000?

Can you edit any of own presets in the 4000 for example give them a location name like BG1 =bob's gully 1 so that next time at this place you can instantly set the 4000 with exactly the same settings?

Does the 4000 retail in OZ for about $A2500-3000?

Does the 4000 allow you to adjust the retuning speed from 1-25secs and/or the Rx gain over a huge range?

Does the 4000 give a low tone on ferrous targets and a high tone on non ferrous targets and do this on the fly?

Can the 4000 discriminate a ferrous/non ferrous object when they occur within one coil diameter?

Why has it taken ML 12 years to incorporate a sensitivity control in their Pi gold detectors as in the 4000?

Why has it taken ML 12 years to seriously address the problem of EM noise interference which has been a major problem in the platform for years?

Is the answer to above 2 questions due to?

A.The circuit topology is very inflexible and not easily amenable to re-mediating these problems or:

B.It is more to do with ML’s marketing and upgrade policy.

C.Both of the above

Why does the 4000 appear to be such a hotch potch of knobs switches and digital?

Does the 4000 come with coils that are completely shielded including at the coil edges?

Does the 4000 continuously show the battery Voltage on the LCD display?

Can the 4000 use discrimination that is fully variable in case you wish to use the detector for coin or relic hunting?

Does the 4000 warn to user by audible beeps that the battery is getting low and if the warning is ignored shut down the detector to prevent irreversible damage to the Li-ion battery?

Doug

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The 4000 is out and proving itself as very well, how about the PD???????

Very soon, but only when Dave is 150% certain that he has got it right FIRST time.He cannot afford to put it into the field unless he feels he has covered all bases. If he does not get it right first time then that could be potentially fatal for marketing and he does not have to rush it to satisfy investors or shareholders. It has been very extensively bench tested and Dave has a very high degree of confidence that it will at least match a ML in every aspect as well as having features that a 4000 does not, like highly accurate on the fly discrimination.

As I said before time will tell but I believe that ML are taking a keen interest in it, they have not dismissed it out of hand and indeed one poster on my forum claims that they are well advanced on the 4500 and claims that it might be on the market later this year!

Doug

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Can the 4000 reliably discriminate ferrous/non ferrous objects to full Pi depth?

Does the 4000 have a self contained battery pack and high efficiency waterproof speaker with a 1 watt output all incorporated into of the control box?

Can the 4000 sample down to delays of 1-2u secs?

Can the 4000 use variable transmit pulse lengths from 250-1000 usecs with the frequency adjustable at each Tx pulse length by about +or - 10%?

Can you operate the 4000 inside your house with the TV and radio running, lights on and near a large fridge or under HV power lines without it suffering from any form of EM noise interference?

Can you operate the 4000 by just using one knob?

Can someone use your 4000 if they steal it?

Does the 4000 have a backlit, transflective LCD screen?

Is the 4000 up gradable by mere changes to the software or at worst replacement of the board?

Does the digital menu on the 4000 allow you to program in extra menu option's as the programming software t becomes available?

Does the 4000 come with a variety of different capacity Li-ion batteries that ALL fit into the control box via a standard fitting?

Is the control box of the 4000 weatherproof?

Does the 4000 come with smart chargers that will enable you to recharge the Li-ion batteries anywhere in the world regardless of the line frequency?

Can the 4000 separate the reactive and resistive signal components which are necessary for correct GB and discrimination?

Does the 4000 come as a coin or relic version or a combined coin/relic/gold machine?

Does the 4000 come in right and left handed versions?

Can the user save more than 3 of his own presets in the 4000?

Can you edit any of own presets in the 4000 for example give them a location name like BG1 =bob's gully 1 so that next time at this place you can instantly set the 4000 with exactly the same settings?

Does the 4000 retail in OZ for about $A2500-3000?

Does the 4000 allow you to adjust the retuning speed from 1-25secs and/or the Rx gain over a huge range?

Does the 4000 give a low tone on ferrous targets and a high tone on non ferrous targets and do this on the fly?

Can the 4000 discriminate a ferrous/non ferrous object when they occur within one coil diameter?

Why has it taken ML 12 years to incorporate a sensitivity control in their Pi gold detectors as in the 4000?

Why has it taken ML 12 years to seriously address the problem of EM noise interference which has been a major problem in the platform for years?

Is the answer to above 2 questions due to?

A.The circuit topology is very inflexible and not easily amenable to re-mediating these problems or:

B.It is more to do with ML’s marketing and upgrade policy.

C.Both of the above

Why does the 4000 appear to be such a hotch potch of knobs switches and digital?

Does the 4000 come with coils that are completely shielded including at the coil edges?

Does the 4000 continuously show the battery Voltage on the LCD display?

Can the 4000 use discrimination that is fully variable in case you wish to use the detector for coin or relic hunting?

Does the 4000 warn to user by audible beeps that the battery is getting low and if the warning is ignored shut down the detector to prevent irreversible damage to the Li-ion battery?

Doug

There is only one answer to this Doug?, The 4000 Exists, I have one in my hands RIGHT NOW and so far have found enough gold to pay for one outright (since returning home I have done a total of 20 hours detecting time for a little over 7 oz on well worked areas)!!!

Show me the detector you are describing, show me it finding gold!! or at the very least get it in the hands of a REAL prospector (not and armchair bandit) who can take it out into a REAL gold field and try to find REAL gold with it!! Maybe then we can start to take you seriously!! :o

JP

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