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Preliminary Impressions of the Garrett ATX
- Thread starter steve herschbach
- Start date
bearkat4160
New member
n/t
[size=medium]BTW.... New competition for the ATX appears to be on the horizon, whereby Minelab is beginning to buy ads that tease a new Compact Mid-Range gold detector that's coming.....
Most likely they are doing what Garrett did, altering their ML version of the military IED metal detector - the F3. Taking that unit, tweaking it for our commercial use as a gold detector.
They are promoting "waterproof, compact (16"), rugged, no assembly, easy to use, finds small golf, and proven MPS technology"....
A video out of Brazil showed the unboxing of such a unit, and the testing of it on a beach....
It came in a hard case, and had a back-pack carrying case also. Specs listed 4 D cell batteries, with rechargeables optional.
Sounds like a challenge to me, and I love it when there's competition - better gear results from such.
Dave
_________________________________________
ML GPX 5000, ML CTX 3030, ML XTERRA 705, and more[/size]
Most likely they are doing what Garrett did, altering their ML version of the military IED metal detector - the F3. Taking that unit, tweaking it for our commercial use as a gold detector.
They are promoting "waterproof, compact (16"), rugged, no assembly, easy to use, finds small golf, and proven MPS technology"....
A video out of Brazil showed the unboxing of such a unit, and the testing of it on a beach....
It came in a hard case, and had a back-pack carrying case also. Specs listed 4 D cell batteries, with rechargeables optional.
Sounds like a challenge to me, and I love it when there's competition - better gear results from such.
Dave
_________________________________________
ML GPX 5000, ML CTX 3030, ML XTERRA 705, and more[/size]
I saw mention of a this new Minelab on another forum a few days ago and wondered why nobody brought this up. I'm guessing that not many folks are aware as of yet. It's obviously too early to tell, but it sounds like this could be the ATX's main competition in the very near future. You had to know that Minelab had to answer the early positive buzz the ATX was creating. Competition is good for us.
bearkat4160
New member
Yes I have heard this also...heck they copied almost exactly the Pro-Pointer, why not the ATX!
[size=medium]I totally agree with you ML, obviously. Certainly that the competition is good for everyone; the pushing of technology, the pricing, features, etc..
The model is apparently called the F3 Compact, or so it seems from the Minelab shirted sales reps in that Brazililian video.... The footage site is found on Minelab's own website under their Mine Detector category..... This unit differs a bit from the apparent military "brother" unit ( which is aimed at the anti-mine needs), and this F3 Compact is obviously aimed at our consumer market.
My Spanish isn't what it use to be, so I can't follow their pitch, but there are some equally interesting features when compared to the ATX.
I also agree that I would have expected ML to answer the Garrett ATX in this new mid-range PI market - I hope they can be more competitive on the pricing.
The military units are selling for around $600 on eBay, cost around $3,500 (to our government), but my guess is that ML will have tweaked this military model, much as Garrett did their military model.
May the best detector win!
Dave
__________________________________________________________________________
ML 5000; CTX 3030; ML EXTERRA 705 +++[/size]
The model is apparently called the F3 Compact, or so it seems from the Minelab shirted sales reps in that Brazililian video.... The footage site is found on Minelab's own website under their Mine Detector category..... This unit differs a bit from the apparent military "brother" unit ( which is aimed at the anti-mine needs), and this F3 Compact is obviously aimed at our consumer market.
My Spanish isn't what it use to be, so I can't follow their pitch, but there are some equally interesting features when compared to the ATX.
I also agree that I would have expected ML to answer the Garrett ATX in this new mid-range PI market - I hope they can be more competitive on the pricing.
The military units are selling for around $600 on eBay, cost around $3,500 (to our government), but my guess is that ML will have tweaked this military model, much as Garrett did their military model.
May the best detector win!
Dave
__________________________________________________________________________
ML 5000; CTX 3030; ML EXTERRA 705 +++[/size]
Night Crawler
New member
ML playing catch up (if the F3 is real), pretty lame that they wait until Garrett announces the ATX to do anything about it.
I never really gave my opinions about ML, but I will now. I bought a ML years back, paid Top Dollar for that machine and it did have issues. I had nothing but "Arrogant" replies buy ML support when I did contact them for a warranty issue. They did "nothing" to help remedy the problem I had with the machine, I didn't like it anyways, so I ended up selling it.
The dealer I bought it from had enough and dropped the line all together (at the time this occurred ((no, to little support))). So I guess the moral of the "rant" is, I wasn't brand specific at first when I got into this hobby it just lead me that way. One thing I found just as important as a good metal detector, is good customer support and you can't beat Garrett or Whites for that.
After months of research for my next metal detector, I found Garrett had just what I was looking for (the AT Pro). It's lightweight, very responsive, deep seeking (for me anyways), and the price was right. I have never had some much "fun" metal detecting with it. So I guess the moral to this moral "rant" is, ML can keep their over Priced "Beached Whales" and any other Play Catch Up metal detector they come out with because (personally speaking here) I'm done with them, plain and simple.
I admire Garrett's lead with the ATX and I do think they have something good going here, they just need to slow down a bit and fine tune it so when the other Play Catch Up guys come around, they will have something serious to reckon with for a mid range PI detector. I also like Garrett's approach in being compact and easy to manage out in the field.
Rant Off.
I never really gave my opinions about ML, but I will now. I bought a ML years back, paid Top Dollar for that machine and it did have issues. I had nothing but "Arrogant" replies buy ML support when I did contact them for a warranty issue. They did "nothing" to help remedy the problem I had with the machine, I didn't like it anyways, so I ended up selling it.
The dealer I bought it from had enough and dropped the line all together (at the time this occurred ((no, to little support))). So I guess the moral of the "rant" is, I wasn't brand specific at first when I got into this hobby it just lead me that way. One thing I found just as important as a good metal detector, is good customer support and you can't beat Garrett or Whites for that.
After months of research for my next metal detector, I found Garrett had just what I was looking for (the AT Pro). It's lightweight, very responsive, deep seeking (for me anyways), and the price was right. I have never had some much "fun" metal detecting with it. So I guess the moral to this moral "rant" is, ML can keep their over Priced "Beached Whales" and any other Play Catch Up metal detector they come out with because (personally speaking here) I'm done with them, plain and simple.
I admire Garrett's lead with the ATX and I do think they have something good going here, they just need to slow down a bit and fine tune it so when the other Play Catch Up guys come around, they will have something serious to reckon with for a mid range PI detector. I also like Garrett's approach in being compact and easy to manage out in the field.
Rant Off.
It'a never nice to pay top dollar for something and then find that when problems arise you are not treated with the kind of professional competence you thought would go along with the premium price you had paid.
I have no first hand experience with ML customer service, but I notice that they never pop up in the forums with any customer interaction.
Whites has Carl Moreland who posts from time to time, and most people who have dealt with them more than once have talked to the charming and competent Mary Hudson. FT has Dave Johnson. Tesoro had someone who is no longer with them, but Rusty Henry is just a phone call away and the pleasant woman who answers the phone (no voice mail maze to negotiate) immediately makes you feel welcome.
Who do you call when your $5,000 GPX pukes? Your dealer? Great, some of them are terrific folks who run their own online Forums. Hopefully the dealer will know someone in Chicago who will fix it. But who can tell me the name of anyone in ML USA who they have talked to who has helped them?
I'm not a ML basher. They have some of the most innovative ideas in the metal detecting world. But considering the price, they seem to be a bit short on the warm and fuzzies when it comes to customer support. This is something that they need to improve on.. They have great products. Adding world class customer support ought to be what is called "low hanging fruit" for them. Minimal added cost and big year after returns in terms of word of mouth customer loyalty.
I posted something along these lines on the CTX Forum and got told that in spite of being a forum member for 6 years with more than 175 posts, I really wasn't a member of THEIR Club.
As Groucho Marks (or maybe it was W.C. Fields) once said - "I would never join a club which would allow me as a member",
I have no first hand experience with ML customer service, but I notice that they never pop up in the forums with any customer interaction.
Whites has Carl Moreland who posts from time to time, and most people who have dealt with them more than once have talked to the charming and competent Mary Hudson. FT has Dave Johnson. Tesoro had someone who is no longer with them, but Rusty Henry is just a phone call away and the pleasant woman who answers the phone (no voice mail maze to negotiate) immediately makes you feel welcome.
Who do you call when your $5,000 GPX pukes? Your dealer? Great, some of them are terrific folks who run their own online Forums. Hopefully the dealer will know someone in Chicago who will fix it. But who can tell me the name of anyone in ML USA who they have talked to who has helped them?
I'm not a ML basher. They have some of the most innovative ideas in the metal detecting world. But considering the price, they seem to be a bit short on the warm and fuzzies when it comes to customer support. This is something that they need to improve on.. They have great products. Adding world class customer support ought to be what is called "low hanging fruit" for them. Minimal added cost and big year after returns in terms of word of mouth customer loyalty.
I posted something along these lines on the CTX Forum and got told that in spite of being a forum member for 6 years with more than 175 posts, I really wasn't a member of THEIR Club.
As Groucho Marks (or maybe it was W.C. Fields) once said - "I would never join a club which would allow me as a member",
[size=medium]Phew, I guess I ignited a few fires there.... Not the intent at all, just passing along an observation about something new that seemed to be coming out.
Just for the record, I really have no reason in my posts to side with any mfg., "no horse in this race", other than my likes and dislikes in detectors that I've tested, surveyed, and sought advice on over the last twenty years, oh yeah - and owned.
No issues here at all with Garrett's fine hardware, and frankly I was lined up to buy the new ATX myself, bugging the heck outa my dealer wondering when his order was to filled. The ATX seems to have fantastic and promising specs, but along came an offer to "step up" to a GPX, at a price I just couldn't resist.
Understand that this is a machine you obviously dislike, but that it IS the machine of choice for serious detectorists around the globe, and I'm sure their interests are not brand specific, but only in finding their gold - lots of it. Just because it has a high list price is not the reason to bash the heck out of it. Even I have my issues with some characteristics of the unit, but I'll sort those out as I get a better understanding of it. Bottom line - I want to "shoot nuggets", and this GPX has been on my Bucket a List for a long-long time. The ATX choice was a compromise choice based on a cost rationale for what I'd hoped would be, and may still be, a really fine Mid-Grade PI detector. When I was offered a serious discount on the GPX, I jumped at it for the few extra bucks.
Now, for the record also.... At least two firms were contracted by our government to produce a new series of IED type mine detectors, Garrett was one, Minelab was another - both specs involved PI technology - and frankly, both were spec'd to be essentially the same. Who got there "first" in reaching out with a consumer rendition is immaterial, it'll be the end product that counts. When the dust settles, I'll probably be a buyer for one OR the other and replace two of my other VLF machines. Meanwhile I've found my first nugget on my first outing with a machine I have yet to master....... Sorry about your personal issues, and I couldn't agree more - the customer service should have been better when you were in need.
You asked for a ML name that IS RESPONSIVE - Jeff Otero! Customer Service Manager - someone who has jumped in to solve any issue I've had with my ML gear. No problems, no issues, just solutions. Perhaps he should respond on forums, or perhaps others from ML should, but I just want a solution when I have the need. ML filled that need - for me.
Can we just return to our discussions, our evaluations, our comraderie, our mutual goals of treasure, coin, gold detection and leave the gripes and trashing for some other forum? Night Crawler and Lytle78, I've followed and enjoyed both your posts for quite awhile. No advise here, just a plee to keep it together here.
Dave[/size]
Just for the record, I really have no reason in my posts to side with any mfg., "no horse in this race", other than my likes and dislikes in detectors that I've tested, surveyed, and sought advice on over the last twenty years, oh yeah - and owned.
No issues here at all with Garrett's fine hardware, and frankly I was lined up to buy the new ATX myself, bugging the heck outa my dealer wondering when his order was to filled. The ATX seems to have fantastic and promising specs, but along came an offer to "step up" to a GPX, at a price I just couldn't resist.
Understand that this is a machine you obviously dislike, but that it IS the machine of choice for serious detectorists around the globe, and I'm sure their interests are not brand specific, but only in finding their gold - lots of it. Just because it has a high list price is not the reason to bash the heck out of it. Even I have my issues with some characteristics of the unit, but I'll sort those out as I get a better understanding of it. Bottom line - I want to "shoot nuggets", and this GPX has been on my Bucket a List for a long-long time. The ATX choice was a compromise choice based on a cost rationale for what I'd hoped would be, and may still be, a really fine Mid-Grade PI detector. When I was offered a serious discount on the GPX, I jumped at it for the few extra bucks.
Now, for the record also.... At least two firms were contracted by our government to produce a new series of IED type mine detectors, Garrett was one, Minelab was another - both specs involved PI technology - and frankly, both were spec'd to be essentially the same. Who got there "first" in reaching out with a consumer rendition is immaterial, it'll be the end product that counts. When the dust settles, I'll probably be a buyer for one OR the other and replace two of my other VLF machines. Meanwhile I've found my first nugget on my first outing with a machine I have yet to master....... Sorry about your personal issues, and I couldn't agree more - the customer service should have been better when you were in need.
You asked for a ML name that IS RESPONSIVE - Jeff Otero! Customer Service Manager - someone who has jumped in to solve any issue I've had with my ML gear. No problems, no issues, just solutions. Perhaps he should respond on forums, or perhaps others from ML should, but I just want a solution when I have the need. ML filled that need - for me.
Can we just return to our discussions, our evaluations, our comraderie, our mutual goals of treasure, coin, gold detection and leave the gripes and trashing for some other forum? Night Crawler and Lytle78, I've followed and enjoyed both your posts for quite awhile. No advise here, just a plee to keep it together here.
Dave[/size]
Night Crawler
New member
Hi lytle78
Their are some great people from different makers that do give a lot to customer support (on this side of the pond). I'm not bitter, I'm just done with them. Their "really" is a whole lot more than a good metal detector and that's good customer support when we live in a world that's not quite perfect (things do happen).
Hi dgatley
You posted,
I commented (nothing personal to you) and I agree, lets move on. I'll keep the stitches a bit tighter around the edges.
Their are some great people from different makers that do give a lot to customer support (on this side of the pond). I'm not bitter, I'm just done with them. Their "really" is a whole lot more than a good metal detector and that's good customer support when we live in a world that's not quite perfect (things do happen).
Oh yeh, the Club, they can have it, I'm not into the "club" scene personally, gave that up back in the Disco Days, hehe.lytle78 said:
Hi dgatley
You posted,
dgatley said:
I commented (nothing personal to you) and I agree, lets move on. I'll keep the stitches a bit tighter around the edges.
The GPX 5000 stands alone - at the top of the heap when it comes to PI Gold detectors. No question whatsoever.
My post was about customer service. I am glad to hear that Jeff Otero, their service manager is so diligent.
I happily lay down my cudgel to return to the focus of this forum!
Now, where do we find that leaked video? PM anybody?
Thanks everybody.
My post was about customer service. I am glad to hear that Jeff Otero, their service manager is so diligent.
I happily lay down my cudgel to return to the focus of this forum!
Now, where do we find that leaked video? PM anybody?
Thanks everybody.