Garrett killed my Master Hunter CX

[solaryellow]

I was slammed into a hard spot recently. My Master Hunter CX, 1991 or 1992 I forgot, I bought this new from K.C, with a 12" hothead coil, I had thousands of hours on this machine and have found lots of Revolutionary war items in CT. Of which I donated to a local historical society, coins, silver, and other relics I kept, but this detector was my pride and joy. The battery pack was not making contact with batteries so I figured I would send it back to Garrett for a checkup...
My only concern besides the battery pack was erratic tones in all metal mode, especially when trying to ground balance. Raise/lower coil and it makes the sounds, bump it, swing it, wave it in the air, sometimes it made erractic sounds, dig a hole and pass it over, it would make erratic sounds as if something is in the hole, but there wasn't,,,always dealt with it and it still worked fine in all metal...
So in went the MHCX. I asked about upgrades as well,,, New processor since mine came out well before the CX PLUS and it had some new circuits, asked if I could go from Analog meter to Digital, apparently it would be $220 to do a full circuit board CX PLUS upgrade, so I said forget that and a week later and $58 I got my detector back, charged up some batteries and went to a local site. All metal mode was working, but those erratic ground balance signals still were happening,,,I'm thinking maybe it was the norm, and after 20 years with this unit, I was thinking maybe its me...so I decide to just switch to Disc mode, and after a few minutes of nothing I was starting to wonder what was up.. I threw a clad quarter down and passed it over,,,NOTHING, a penny next, NOTHING, Dime Nickle, NOTHING! WTF, I threw my keys down, BEEPED,, DISC knobs set to lowest setting, and it wouldn't detect anything except copper or junk metal,,, gold ring, NOTHING,, I looked at the paper work, and saw they soldered something on the PC board,,,,,I called and said something terribly bad went wrong in service, the detector is working in OPPOSITE MODE,, thats what I called it....back it went, for free, and after 1 week I got the bad news phone call... Everytime they soldered a circuit on, another would fry, they said it was a domino effect,,,and since the machine is so old they don't have parts for it,,,, I should have just bought the battery pack, I'm kind of mad. THey are giving me the 40 percent trade up option, but on LIST PRICE, so I can get an ATPRO sent for $420 to my door. NOt entirely thrilled, but I am forced to do something... I don't want to settle for something less, and I can't afford more,,,,the ACE350 looked decent, but I spend time in the water as well, so the ATPRO seems logical,,, I have seen all those funky air tests, and man my MHCX would still outdo them, but with all the new notch disc and better ground balance I hope the ATPRO doesn't disappoint me.. I just wish I had more options, the 40 percent off list is still a good amount less than the lowest trusted price I have seen... I just hope this ATPRO wows me and I forget the loss of my lifelong machine..

 

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[wvwildman]

i love my at pro

 

[NJcigarman]

I have a Whites Classic SL 90 I purchased in 1992/93. Great machine that I loved. However in May I purchased an AT Pro because it was time. Been using it daily on the beach and land and I am very happy. I don't think you will be disappointed especially after using a Garrett for so long.

 

[solaryellow]

Thanks, I hope to get this soon before I change my mind and pawn stuff for a GT2500

 

[dirtwizard]

that is a good price for a new AT I would cut your losses and go that route. Also, it might not be a bad idea to get a second opinion on the old detector. while getting into a nice new detector is always fun, nothing beats using a detector you know very well.

 

[Zodiacdiverdave]

I think they did you a big favor and I am sure you wont be disappointed
ZDD

 

[solaryellow]

Yeah, the 40 percent was offered to me before they broke it, I think it was some deal Garrett had for trading up. But you have to pay list price.. I would have thought they would feel even more sorry after the second repair and up the ante a little,,,I'm going for the ATpro.

 

[Frankn]

Quit sniveling, The old thing died but is giving you 40 off. Consider yourself lucky. Take the deal and run. Frank...

 

[Ace350]

It's a great machine for the price.
You just got to read the manual, watch the videos on Garrett's website and put in some hours on it.
Here's the website:
http://www.garrett.com/hobbysite/hbby_at_pro_videos.aspx

I had an Ace350 and after 2 months I was bored with it and bought the ATPro. I am very happy with it and have no regrets.

 

[Newfiehunter]

I know your pain Solar! When you have used a metal detector for so looooong, know it so well, and have to switch to another machine, it can be a difficult choice to make. I have owned a Fisher CZ5 since 1995 and when it goes to detector heaven, I dread the thought of switching to another machine. When you have used a machine for a long period of time (20 years) it almost becomes your best friend!

 

[Joe(TX)]

....I don't know you but if that happened to me ....I would try to find another MHCX.....place a WTB ad in the classified section.....look on the big auction site.....jt

 

[solaryellow]

The MHCX i had was not like anything available online,,, I saw a few on ebay, that were later versions, red touchpad vs yellow as mine for $180. pricewise I could have spent $220 and did a CX PLUS conversion.
Really my detector was working fine minus the battery pack, it got poked and prodded and well, that started the problem. If it aint broke don't fix it! LOL,, the MHCX replaced my Techna XR8. so you can understand that's like going from a Kia to a Maserati, so I wasn't really planning on something new, but i'm excited again, I placed my order for the AT Pro, $429.97 shipped. I can now go and rehunt all my special places and feel like I have a chance of discovering new things.,,SO that is a PLUS!!! and I have plenty of waterline to search now that I can...

 

[luvsdux]

Good luck with whatever you decide. I have to say that your story does not do anything to encourage my purchase of a Garrett.
luvsdux

 

[solaryellow]

Good luck with whatever you decide. I have to say that your story does not do anything to encourage my purchase of a Garrett.
luvsdux

If i could have afforded it, I would have considered something different. Having used the MHCX forever, I never doubted its capabilities.
I hunted places that I knew others were in with more modern tech and still found old coins. review after review nothing intrigued me enough to plunk down another $800 or $1,000 on another unit,,,There was only 3 different detectors I was looking at back in the early 90's 1280X the Minelab Soveriegn and this MHCX. I was actually worried when I wanted to send my unit for repair after hearing from others that Garrett wouldn't touch something that old. THey did say no problem, but I got the call a week later saying, they had no parts to upgrade or swap out. A CX PLUS circuit board is $220 , just wasnt worth it. I also inquired about the new "Master Circuitry" in the newer MH's they couldn't do it.. I don't think I would have learned of the 40 percent trade up if I didn't send it in,,,,so for $430 there really wasn't anything else I could do but get the ATPro.
I got used to seeing a meter or a screen, so that was a necessity for me, and waterproof since I do go in the water knee deep.
I wouldn't mind a T2 or Etrac, I was actually hoping 20 years of detecting would have some stellar breakthroughs but it still seems the same to me, depth mostly, it still seems about the same, with the new units,,,im sure im missing a lot,,,,we shall see in a couple days.