John-Edmonton
Silver Member
- Mar 21, 2005
- 4,404
- 3,969
- Detector(s) used
- Garrett- Master Hunter CX,Infinium, 1350, 2500, ACE 150-water converted 250, GTA 500,1500 Scorpion, AT Pro
I have been doing some of fieldwork recently testing the new Garrett ATX metal detector. It was used both on land and freshwater. My initial thoughts on the new Garrett ATX PI (Pulse Induction) metal detector were quite remarkable. Now I have been using the Infinium (also a PI) since 2007 and also used the Garrett Sea Hunter Mark II for some time. They have each rewarded me with lots of gold/silver rings, jewelry and lots of coins. The new ATX is a much improvement over the Infinium. I was amazed at how well it responded to tiny conductors. Many a 22 shell/bullets and small buckshot slipped through my water scoop holes, located from decent depths. Using the 12" coil, it also responded well to various chains which I also dug from the fresh water lakes. I did manage one thin gold chain, the one shown below beside the gold ring.
That smaller coil based inside the larger coil 12" coils are both DD coils. I've been told that they both work together to respond to tiny conductive targets.
I also noticed an improvement in depth using the 12" coil on the ATX compared to the Infinium using the 10" x 14" mono coil. As my initial experience several years ago, going from a VLF water machine to a PI, I discovered a whole new crop of rings, coins, jewelry and also junk that were now available to me that other people using VLF detectors just could not reach. I had a record year that year using both my Infinium and other VLF water machines. Now with the ATX, I also ran into a similar scenario. I again found a new crop of coins, rings and junk at even deeper depths then the areas I hunted using my Infinium. Now in all honesty, the new crop was not as fruitful as when I internally used the Infinium, but the improvement was definitely there. I had to wait until the swimming was over for the summer to hunt most of my water locations, as the holes I had to dig with my scoop were very deep, and no matter how hard I try, I never seem to be able to get those deep holes filled in completely, so I opted to wait.
Now the ATX utilizes an iron check completely different from the Infinium. With a push of a button, running the coil over an unknown iron target will give a low audio similar to the iron audio featured on the AT Series. The ATX gave that iron response on bottle caps, large nails, rusty cans, metal washers and some recent Canadian clad. It is limited to depth, and seemed to work quite well on bottle caps to about 4 inches, more on tin cans and variable results with nails. It's up to the user to learn the limitations of this feature. I didn't use the discrimination mode at all, as it is one typical of PI's, in that it can be used to stabilize the detector in certain environments. It should not to be used to knock out certain targets, as you begin to loose depth as you increase the discrimination.
Above is my initial depth test done in my backyard in motion mode. The results are partially flawed, in that I had to deal with a lot of unexpected EMI and could not operate the ATX above a sensitivity of 6, (max @13) otherwise the target audio got lost in the EMI audio. Out in the field however, I could easily run the sensitivity near or at max with the detector well ground balanced and running with auto track turned on. And similar to the Infinium, the higher the threshold is set, the deeper the target can be picked up.
The audio is unique. One set of low-high audio tones is usually copper , silver, bronze and sometimes iron. The other set of tones high-low is typical of gold, iron and other possibilities. Bobby pins and straight nails give off a series of 8 soft bleeps. If the 8 bleeps are strong, check it. I found one silver ring with loud strong 8 bleeps, probably due to it's orientation to the coil. Not sure of the signal? Utilize the iron check.
I did take the ATX to two different locations looking for relics in the woods. The first location was just littered with iron nails, cans, buried tinfoil etc. and although I found nothing of any significance, I accidentally did find a Coke bottle from 1949, digging a low-high target, which turned out to be a rusted piece of wire, and it also gave a nice low iron grunt on it like the AT Series.
I am still learning this new detector, and will soon post a decent depth graph to show it's potential on various targets. So far, for the greatest results using this metal detector, I have observed that you need to use your ears, as the audio on a target, although often times faint, will give clues to whether it might be a coin or a rusty ball of tinfoil. You also have to selectively pick your sites for best results. Busy parks are a lesson in frustration, as are certain locations in a body of water. PI's tend to be a niche detector, and not always popular with the general metal detector users. However, a decent PI, in the right hands can be a killer. I look forward to some more ATX water hunts this year until freeze-up.
For more Information on the ATX....Click below:
Garrett ATX Metal Detector | Manufacturer
That smaller coil based inside the larger coil 12" coils are both DD coils. I've been told that they both work together to respond to tiny conductive targets.
I also noticed an improvement in depth using the 12" coil on the ATX compared to the Infinium using the 10" x 14" mono coil. As my initial experience several years ago, going from a VLF water machine to a PI, I discovered a whole new crop of rings, coins, jewelry and also junk that were now available to me that other people using VLF detectors just could not reach. I had a record year that year using both my Infinium and other VLF water machines. Now with the ATX, I also ran into a similar scenario. I again found a new crop of coins, rings and junk at even deeper depths then the areas I hunted using my Infinium. Now in all honesty, the new crop was not as fruitful as when I internally used the Infinium, but the improvement was definitely there. I had to wait until the swimming was over for the summer to hunt most of my water locations, as the holes I had to dig with my scoop were very deep, and no matter how hard I try, I never seem to be able to get those deep holes filled in completely, so I opted to wait.
Now the ATX utilizes an iron check completely different from the Infinium. With a push of a button, running the coil over an unknown iron target will give a low audio similar to the iron audio featured on the AT Series. The ATX gave that iron response on bottle caps, large nails, rusty cans, metal washers and some recent Canadian clad. It is limited to depth, and seemed to work quite well on bottle caps to about 4 inches, more on tin cans and variable results with nails. It's up to the user to learn the limitations of this feature. I didn't use the discrimination mode at all, as it is one typical of PI's, in that it can be used to stabilize the detector in certain environments. It should not to be used to knock out certain targets, as you begin to loose depth as you increase the discrimination.
Above is my initial depth test done in my backyard in motion mode. The results are partially flawed, in that I had to deal with a lot of unexpected EMI and could not operate the ATX above a sensitivity of 6, (max @13) otherwise the target audio got lost in the EMI audio. Out in the field however, I could easily run the sensitivity near or at max with the detector well ground balanced and running with auto track turned on. And similar to the Infinium, the higher the threshold is set, the deeper the target can be picked up.
The audio is unique. One set of low-high audio tones is usually copper , silver, bronze and sometimes iron. The other set of tones high-low is typical of gold, iron and other possibilities. Bobby pins and straight nails give off a series of 8 soft bleeps. If the 8 bleeps are strong, check it. I found one silver ring with loud strong 8 bleeps, probably due to it's orientation to the coil. Not sure of the signal? Utilize the iron check.
I did take the ATX to two different locations looking for relics in the woods. The first location was just littered with iron nails, cans, buried tinfoil etc. and although I found nothing of any significance, I accidentally did find a Coke bottle from 1949, digging a low-high target, which turned out to be a rusted piece of wire, and it also gave a nice low iron grunt on it like the AT Series.
I am still learning this new detector, and will soon post a decent depth graph to show it's potential on various targets. So far, for the greatest results using this metal detector, I have observed that you need to use your ears, as the audio on a target, although often times faint, will give clues to whether it might be a coin or a rusty ball of tinfoil. You also have to selectively pick your sites for best results. Busy parks are a lesson in frustration, as are certain locations in a body of water. PI's tend to be a niche detector, and not always popular with the general metal detector users. However, a decent PI, in the right hands can be a killer. I look forward to some more ATX water hunts this year until freeze-up.
For more Information on the ATX....Click below:
Garrett ATX Metal Detector | Manufacturer
