Update: I did exchange this unit for another, and the new V540 works excellent right out of the box![/QUOTE]
Good to know you were able to exchange it for a working machine.
I have noticed a few people reporting issues with their Vanquish. One issue being a sudden power loss. I experienced the power drop out a few times and learned in this forum that the batteries can become disengaged from the contacts. Placing a small piece of foam to fill the extra space in the battery compartment (as suggested in the forum) solved the issue for me. There is also an aftermarket li-ion battery pack RNB-6000 which provides much more (up to 40 hours) run-time and apparently fits much tighter with the Vanquish contacts.
Yesterday I was detecting on a fairly steep and uneven slope and noticed that sometimes when I would set the machine down to dig it would roll over 90 degrees. When it rolled on its side the power would shut off. Fortunately, I could hear when the machine powered down by the disconnection tone in my head phones. It got me thinking about trying the RNB battery.
I wonder if anybody has experienced this and if it again is due to jostling the batteries off the contacts or if Minelab built in some kind of circuit board drop-protection if the machine feels a certain g-force. I have experience with remote controllers for heavy equipment and one manufacturer actually has this type of drop-protection sensor built in to the hand-held control transmitters. The remote controlled machinery will power off immediately if the transmitter senses a drop to prevent unintended movement.
DD
