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Too late for my Pro, long been froze up. I haven't had a ATX in my hand, but it looks like a few wraps of duck tape over the cams would protect them. Certainly wouldn't detract from the machines looks any. No disrespect intended. Or maybe a bead of silicon around the ends?
All that including CAMO duck tape would help from what could get in from the outside of the shaft, but with the coil wire on the inside of the shaft, it would be very hard to "plug" that end up. I have not had any problem with any of my other detector shafts / locks / spring pins as long as I have rinsed after use and taken apart and cleaned at each battery recharge, at least once a week. I did have one spring pin shaft lock break on my travel scoop while in Curacao, glad I had a spare in the car so I could keep on detecting. Spares are a necessary item when vacationing.
Garrett has repeatedly said not to apply anything to the cam locks. NO grease, oil, silicon, wax, sealer NOTHING. The engineers are working on a solution for those of us that have experienced the near impossible task of loosening of the cam after use in water. They will let us know when and what will "fix" the problem.
The ATX's cam locks are a bit different from the round metal shaft cam locks. Instead of clamping all around the smaller round metal shaft the ATX's "push" on the round section of the shaft so friction is applied onto the two flat sections of the shaft. The flats are at 90 degrees from one another.
I am thinking a V block might be the answer to holding the shaft while working the cams free.
Hey WaterWalker ... The Green Machine got me 10.21 grams of storm erosion gold this morning. I posted on TNet and would post here, but you need to reduce the pictures way, way down to post them.
I actually did use duct tape on my ATX for that very reason. Worked well, looked tacky (no pun intended). There was a lot less fine particles to seize up the rod. But I still had to rinse the rods well and tighten/loosen those cams to get them clean.
I saw the pic. A really nice BIGGIE. Two tone are always pretty
I see you can now take up fishing also. A rod, two reels, tackle and a knife to fillet the fish.
It looks like the ATX got the better of the anaconda.
What a day and a new car to drive home!
I'm praying for the crab and her eggs, but what is the Mickey's blue head? Did the ring come from his nose?
Nice going and don't we know the ATX makes you dig deeper and enjoy it more?
Another day below freezing tomorrow. At least I cleared the driveway of snow, had the car's computer re-programed, got new glasses and saw the doctor today. I should be good for the next hint of spring. At least you made my day a bit warmer, Thanks
I just got back from the beach and successfully kept the cam locks on my ATX protected with Saran Wrap and Gorilla Tape. I have attached two pics showing how I secured them. It's much easier doing this than rinsing and rinsing. I did bring a couple of gallons of fresh water though and rinsed the unit before removing the tape and wrap. Worked great!
All this talk about Cam Locks / Stem Nuts further justifies that Garrett should have made available two different shafts. A conventional light weight two piece adjustable shaft and the telescopic travel / pack shaft.
The benefits are many with having two completely different shafts by only needing to purchase different coil types and sizes without the need to purchase a new expensive heavy telescopic shaft. And more sizes and types of coils could be offered in different configurations, i.e. current coil end mount to shaft which functions better in it's case then for beach hunting and a more center coil mounted attachment to shaft.
If the ATX becomes popular enough, I'm sure an aftermarket company will jump at the opportunity to make aftermarket shafts and coils while Garrett stays silent spinning it's wheels.
Actually they are extremely popular and very hard to get. I love my atx. It's a blast detecting with it, but I have to agree that I hope they come up with a solution to the cam locks seizing up when sand etc is introduced. It would be nice just pull out the detector and go, when at the beach.
And for what it's worth, everyone I have spoken to at Garrett has been extremely friendly and has listened to my input.
Looks good! I assume you did the third cam lock also.
I hope you rinse out the shaft also as silt gets into the top of the nylon pressure pads from inside the shaft and make it hard to push the rods together, scuffing up the rod flats, if you do not.
Thanks for the pics.
I did also cover the third cam lock. And agreed that the water can still get in through the inside but the Saran Wrap kept it from getting around the outside shaft and cam lock portion. I still rinsed it really well and dried it off with a towel. Finally I left the cam locks loose before I drove home.
