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NASA-Tom Wrote:
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> Keep in mind............ most of today's top-end detectors ...use 'smart-coils'. (In simple terms:
> electronics INSIDE the coil).

Ignoring XP's wireless coils, there are 4 features that coil electronics deal with:

[*] Receiver preamp
[*] Coil ID
[*] Accelerometer processing
[*] Copy protection

For the purposes of a 3rd party coil mfr, the RX preamp is all-analog and easy to replicate. The coil ID can be used by the detector to e.g. adjust depth calculations. A manufacturer could publish specs on how that is formatted, lacking that info you may or may not be able to figure it out. Accelerometer processing is likely just passing the data up to the main CPU, easy to do but requires knowledge of the timing requirements. The copy protection is the show-stopper. It is added for the explicit purpose of stopping the 3rd party mfr, no other reason. Without this key piece of info it is pointless to figure out the rest. And, yes, once you get past the electronics it's just coils of wire which is not difficult.

Copy protection is a case of controlling the competition, if 3rd party coil mfrs are truly competition. I tend to view them more as partners, they make products that the detector mfr often won't make. I have no beef with copy protection if either the detector mfr has a wide variety of coils at reasonable prices, or will license the coil IP to 3rd parties. Get used to it, I think it's the way things are heading for all detector mfrs.

Carl,

Thanks for the amplifying/additional info! That rudimentary lump of wire at the end of a stick.... will (hopefully) morph into more advanced technology........ as the time-continuum progresses.
While we have you here Carl...... is there ANY additional updated data you can impart...... in regards to the AQ-Impulse status? Is that project D.O.A.?

Sorry, just saw your post. On the AQ I have no idea. We have just fixed a circuit failure mode but based on other problems I've seen in forums I would not recommend resuming production. It needs a mechanical redesign.