steve herschbach
New member
Kind of singing to the choir here so I posted this in the main metal detecting forum http://www.findmall.com/read.php?18,2136951
Find's Treasure Forums
Welcome to Find's Treasure Forums, Guests!
You are viewing this forums as a guest which limits you to read only status.
Only registered members may post stories, questions, classifieds, reply to other posts, contact other members using built in messaging and use many other features found on these forums.
Why not register and join us today? It's free! (We don't share your email addresses with anyone.) We keep email addresses of our users to protect them and others from bad people posting things they shouldn't.
Click here to register!
Need Support Help?
Cannot log in?, click here to have new password emailed to you
Changed email? Forgot to update your account with new email address? Need assistance with something else?, click here to go to Find's Support Form and fill out the form.
First Year with Garrett ATX
- Thread starter steve herschbach
- Start date
Wow Steve.......you got some great finds
The fact that the ATX is a keeper says a lot about it's potential when used in a good pair of hands.All the best to you and your family for 2015......
The fact that the ATX is a keeper says a lot about it's potential when used in a good pair of hands.All the best to you and your family for 2015......steve herschbach
New member
Best wishes to you and yours also John!
WaterWalker
Well-known member
I have to agree with you, It IS A KEEPER for salt water - I have no experience on land with the ATX.
The only problematic area that I still struggle with is the camlocks.
After 400 hours in the water (salt and fresh) and after taking the cams apart with Garrett's spanner, I have them worn down so they are much smoother working than a year ago. From time to time I still have one lock up so bad I need to have help in loosening the cam. I also see moderate wear on the shafts under each cam. I do loosen the cams in the water, rinse well with fresh water at the car and again when I get home and then blow out with compressed air.
When I have the ATX on the wet sand because the surf is too rough to get wet I put the Minelab ProSwing 45 on and can swing the ATX all day.
I have not had the floppy coil syndrome but I do have a stabilizer in my tool kit, just in case.
Although the ATX folds and is made to travel, I did not have room for it in my bag while on two trips. I fell back on my Infinium as it comes apart easier and had less needed cleaning / maintenance for the time I was on vacation. Other than that the ATX is now my primary salt water detector. And it is a toss up between the ATX and the Excalibur for the fresh water, depending on how many other Excaliburs are in the water. Of course in the fresh water I'm looking for fresh drops and do not have to worry about the high mineralized environment.
The ATX's best attribute is the Garret customer support team.
The only problematic area that I still struggle with is the camlocks.
After 400 hours in the water (salt and fresh) and after taking the cams apart with Garrett's spanner, I have them worn down so they are much smoother working than a year ago. From time to time I still have one lock up so bad I need to have help in loosening the cam. I also see moderate wear on the shafts under each cam. I do loosen the cams in the water, rinse well with fresh water at the car and again when I get home and then blow out with compressed air.
When I have the ATX on the wet sand because the surf is too rough to get wet I put the Minelab ProSwing 45 on and can swing the ATX all day.
I have not had the floppy coil syndrome but I do have a stabilizer in my tool kit, just in case.
Although the ATX folds and is made to travel, I did not have room for it in my bag while on two trips. I fell back on my Infinium as it comes apart easier and had less needed cleaning / maintenance for the time I was on vacation. Other than that the ATX is now my primary salt water detector. And it is a toss up between the ATX and the Excalibur for the fresh water, depending on how many other Excaliburs are in the water. Of course in the fresh water I'm looking for fresh drops and do not have to worry about the high mineralized environment.
The ATX's best attribute is the Garret customer support team.
Big Boys Hobbies
Well-known member
Good post Steve!
Steve Hershbach, Thanks for your running commentary on the PI models and the ATX especially. If I were mostly prospecting like you, I'd jump on an ATX. However, I'm in an odd situation where I'm finding buried cans and a barrel on my farm and old foundations covered by adjacent highway levelling, etc.. So I'd like a machine that could help find deep structure and hollow areas. I'm an old guy and digging up these deeply buried objects takes me a long time. The gophers come and half fill back up the holes I'm trying to dig in stages, so I have not yet been able get much past the top of the 55 gallon barrel which is several feet below the surface. So far I've uncovered 6 one gallon, sealed cans (with bottoms rusted out), all of which were carefully placed upright and in line. If any contents survived, they must have sunk deeper. Mainly compost-like stuff inside.
So, I'm looking for a machine that can detect voids, tunnels, buried cans, boxes, etc.. Also one that can help uncover the old surface layers which have been covered. Not having heard much about the ATX and void detection, I'm guessing it does not detect them...
I've also found some Mammoth teeth and a Mammoth jaw while metal detecting... only because a piece of lead was near the jaw under the clay. Some dectectors have a "carbon" detection meter and I wonder if something like that would help me find the rest of the Mammoth skeleton. I have a palientologist friend who said that a significant skeleton in my area could be an important find in that it would show Mammoths living later in this area than previously thought. So, I would not be digging this skeleton up myself. Those Mammoth parts were about 14 feet under the surface in a deep creek cut and I'm wondering if a deep detector could find voids or rock layers in the sides of these cuts.
I've checked out the OKM geophysical units but they're expensive and mainly for professionals. Notka and Makro tout deep detection of voids and some mineral variance.
How deep do you think the ATX would find a buried one gallon paint can? 5 gallon can? 55 gallon drum? Could the ATX sense an underground void?
I'd appreciate any thoughts you have on this. Thanks, John
So, I'm looking for a machine that can detect voids, tunnels, buried cans, boxes, etc.. Also one that can help uncover the old surface layers which have been covered. Not having heard much about the ATX and void detection, I'm guessing it does not detect them...
I've also found some Mammoth teeth and a Mammoth jaw while metal detecting... only because a piece of lead was near the jaw under the clay. Some dectectors have a "carbon" detection meter and I wonder if something like that would help me find the rest of the Mammoth skeleton. I have a palientologist friend who said that a significant skeleton in my area could be an important find in that it would show Mammoths living later in this area than previously thought. So, I would not be digging this skeleton up myself. Those Mammoth parts were about 14 feet under the surface in a deep creek cut and I'm wondering if a deep detector could find voids or rock layers in the sides of these cuts.
I've checked out the OKM geophysical units but they're expensive and mainly for professionals. Notka and Makro tout deep detection of voids and some mineral variance.
How deep do you think the ATX would find a buried one gallon paint can? 5 gallon can? 55 gallon drum? Could the ATX sense an underground void?
I'd appreciate any thoughts you have on this. Thanks, John
steve herschbach
New member
I doubt the ATX is what you are looking for. Check out the White's TM808.