Infinium vs Surfmaster PI for depth? And ease of use???

[makahaman]

Hi guys and gals I was wondering what kind of depth can I get with with the Infinium compared to the Surfmaster PI? I am looking at getting another detector for diving because I want something that can go deep to find the gold since it settles on the bottom of the sea floor with lead ect. Well, I was wondering what kind of depth can I get with this new machine compared to my Whites Surfmaster PI? I know the Infinium has a bigger coil but I had an old Sea Hunter from Garrett and I found lots of gold with it but when I put on the really big coil for that machine and I was only finding big metal objects!! Does this coil out perform my 8" Whites Surfmaster PI?? What about ease of use?? Is it that easy?? I read on one post from Steve that does nugget hunting in Alaska and he used it in Hawaii where I live and he said that the machine was very noisy because it was picking up the salt water?? Is that true?? How can I use this machine without too much static?? I mean I can handle some but if it gets too noisy then I wouldn't be able to hear the beeps!! Well, any suggestions to my problems would be much appreciated!! Aloha

 

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[Indasurf]

The article from Steve is back from 2003 when the Infinium was first released. The Infinium has gone through some software upgrades that allow it to run better and the mono-coils weren't even available at that time. Many new operating techniques have been learned and discovered since that time that allow the machine to run smoothly and without too many issues. What you need to do is go back to that sites forum (past posts) and read the many beach hunting settings that are now considered "the book" on using the machine. As for the Volcanic rock issues in Hawaii, can't say since I've never hunted there. In the article mentioned, Steve noted that he runs his machines "hot" for best depth and he nailed 6 nice gold rings on that one hunt! The Infinium is also designed to find very small gold that falls into the salt water range and the machine needs to be setup correctly (many good posts now available). The other PIs that are made just for the beach already have the sensitivity reduced to not react with the salt. The nice thing with the Infinium is you can adjust it right on the edge if wanted to allow much more sensitivity to the really small gold. You can also adjust it to react the same as other PI machines in the salt but you're lowering the sensitivity just a liitle. The Infinium was designed to disc "at depth" and so you can actually run it in silent mode (no threshold) and still bang hard on deep targets with little depth loss. If you take the time to really learn the machine, you'll realize just how good it is! Thanks!

 

[U.K. Brian]

The problem with the Infinium in Hawaii and where I live for that matter is an inability to deal with RF interference from military bases.

Interesting to see the opinion that other "beach" P.I.'s have had their sensitivity reduced to "not react" with the salt. Problem with this is that many other P.I.'s are much deeper than the Garrett as long as your prepared to pay for the performance. The Surfmaster, though a good machine in its price range isn't a high power P.I.

Same old misinformation re the machine being a discriminator...its not. Deep its not, light its not unless you want to hipmount and dump the stock coil.
Sales were so such in the U.K. that even after a large price cut, sales didn't take off and if you want to buy one now it would have to be by special order.
There was a big push to get sales going in Australia but if you go to a forum such as "ProspectinginOz" where Dave Emery posted on the 19th "Infinium has lousy depth,rotten discrimination and is prone to picking up all sorts of interference" who defended it....no one, in fact Detector posted "Drove me insane - glad to get the Infinium part of my life behind me".

There's a good machine in the Infinium somewhere and its cheap but as Steve said in one of his posts it was well overhyped which ended up leading to a lot of disappointment. I would try to borrow one before buying and if no one is using one in your area ask yourself why.

 

[Indasurf]

The Infinium (first generation) did have some stability issues when first released. However, there were upgrades that took care of that. I ran my Infinium on a beach near a Coast Guard base without any issues. To be honest, I've never had any interference detecting on many beaches with my machine as it really runs smooth.

It did take me around 50hrs before things really started making sense in the setup, sounds and operation. It's critical to follow known operation settings and tricks (good forums out there) to get it running at best performance. One tip is to not hip mount it in the water due to its sensitivity picking up coil wire movement (it does have a heavy learning curve)!

If you get an after market shaft the unit will be balanced much better. OK, the Infinium was never designed to go head to head with the big buck ML units for prospecting (prospecting-in-Oz forum). The Infinium was designed as an all around waterproof to 200', multifunction PI machine, and this it does well!

The detector is the deepest beach detector I've owned and I did have a Surf PI Pro too. I can also adjust it to run (detune it) like alot of other beach PI machines, this is no problem. I have 5 different size coils I can switch on the fly, and think more choices might be available soon. I did have trouble getting it to run correctly in the beginning, but like I said it just took some practice.

The disc does work but not in the sense you're used to. If you use the "reverse disc" AND the iron check along with the dual tones, you really will dig less junk (Iron type stuff). Sometimes I just dig the high to low signals using the above to go after gold only!

There's plenty of great posts out there with new hunters everyday finding targets all over the place.

I do think for the price, nothing comes close to the Infinium!!!

 

[U.K. Brian]

True its a cheap machine but the reason for that is not to put in contention with the more expensive P.I.'s. Compared to a Whites P.I. it does seem deep but not compared to the high power machines on the market.
It did need the mono coil but it was Garrett that dragged its feet producing one and increases the price of the detector. As for the software and hardware modifications they were needed but we ended up with two machines. Do you go for the U.S. version or the Australian version ? One deeper, the other offering slightly better discrimination. Unfortunately most of the world is not in either country, which model do they pick and from Britain right across to China wanted finds that can be more valuable than gold come in at both sides of the Infinium's rejection system.
Re the reverse discrimination "system" the Garrett doesn't have one. Reverse discrim. can only apply to a non motion machine that has a push button retune system. The Garretts method is the old dropped gold system that many, many pulse machines have had for years and still has all the drawbacks. Likeways the claim of 96/97? frequencies is misleading because all P.I.'s have that many.
If the Infinium works well in your area then thats great but many find its dropped the ball by being a jack of all trades rather than the master of one.

 

[Steve Herschbach]

Hi Guys,

I think the Infinium can be summed up pretty easily. It works great in some places, and sucks in others!

There are a number of people who are getting good results and who are very happy with the Infinium. I did fine with mine. But I have become quite cautious in recommending the units due to the noise issues. Yes, later units were detuned to make for better use in salt water with a mono coil. The cable has finally been upgraded. But the interference issues remain. I used a unit I Hawaii last November and it was as noisy as the earlier unit. I did not use it much, but it did get me another gold ring.

Now, what was interesting is that I was using the 8" mono coil. One day the unit seemed smoother than normal. But the next time out it was noisy again. There is a missile tracking station on the same side of Kauai as where I was hunting and I think it may be the source of some of the noise.

There are also Infinium units that actually are defective and so generate noise on their own all the time. So a person may get one and think they are experiencing interference when the unit itself is the issue. I found this out at our mine in remote Alaska. Units normally run dead quiet there, but we saw some Infiniums flake out. They had to be sent back to Garrett and were promptly repaired under warranty. I have no idea what caused the problem other that it was internal.

Our ground at Moore Creek is bad stuff. Most people use the Minelabs but we kept a few Infiniums there as loaners. The Minelabs easily outperform the Infiniums and so by comparison the Infinium comes off looking bad. But somewhere between three and four pounds of gold nuggets and specimens have been found at our mine with Infiniums, proving once again that many items can be found with about any detector. You just have to be first over the target.

I've used both the Surf PI and Infinium in Hawaii and can't clearly say I'm super happy with either. They both have worked for me but neither jumps out as having the clear edge. The Surf PI Pro is easier to use but I know I'm missing targets in the basalt areas. The Infinium handles the lava rock better but is noisy.

All in all I have to agree with Brian. Garrett should have produced to Infiniums, one for dry land use and tuned for such, and one for water use, and tuned for such. I would like to have seen a dry land version in the Stinger box and the 10"x5" DD elliptical as stock coil. It would be very light, could be hip and chest mounted, and getting it out of that expensive underwater housing would probably get the price under $1000 list. Could have been a great little nugget hunter. I was thinking of making one myself but it looks like better alternatives will be along soon.

Terry in Hawaii has pretty much used them all, and says the Foster Aquastar is the best unit he has used in Hawaii. As Brian notes, the Aquastar is a high power pulse unit, and so I'm not doubting it. Unfortunately it is no longer in production.

However, 2008 is shaping up to be the year of the PI. Two new units coming for sure and maybe three. I'm very hopeful that by the time I visit Hawaii again next winter I'll finally have a unit I'm really happy with.

Steve Herschbach

 

[Indasurf]

Hi Steve,

Nice post!!! Which Minelab Pulse machines are you using in Alaska for nugget hunting (most popular model) ? Also for water hunting, what machines are you using at the beaches in your area now?

Thanks!!!

 

[Steve Herschbach]

Hi Indasurf,

I have a Minelab SD2200v2 which is my backup unit. I was using a GPX-4000 last year but have sold it and am waiting on a GPX-4500 right now. I'm also first in line for a new White's PI and maybe if miracles happen a Dave Emery Nemesis.

Beach use in Hawaii as I've noted is me bouncing back and forth between an Infinium and a Surf PI Pro. But I'm wanting something more powerful. For local use I have freshwater lakes and so if I have time I'm going to use a Tesoro Tiger Shark to hunt mico gold - earrings and necklaces. Out of the water on the beach itself I'll be using the GPX-4500 or White's PI. I plan on doing a lot of experimentation with PI units this summer.

Happy Hunting!

Steve Herschbach

 

[Indasurf]

Hi all,
just a quick note about the Infinium. I've been recently informed that Garrett has upgraded the latest release of their Infinium coils. Many users that had older machines with any issues sent the units in for service and received these newer coils. The feedback from this suggests that changes have been made eliminating most or all of the problems they might have had with their machines! Now for one, my Infinium is not old (2007 model) and I've NEVER had any noise related issues or interference hunting in thick black sanded areas. I just thought this should be known for owners with older Infinium machines. Also make sure to contact Garrett and see if your detector (serial number) requires any of the upgrades that have been done since its release! If you go to the P2P forum you can read alot of good posts about this and pickup super tips on using this detector!
Anyway, thanks and HH to all

 

[Steve Herschbach]

Hi Indasurf,

Well, as a dealer I get new units all the time. But can't say I've used one of the newer units. Monday I'll break a brand new unit out of the box and give it a spin. And report back here.

Steve Herschbach

 

[Detector Wars]

Question to Steve,
I would really like to know how the GPX handles the beach especially wet sand, and how it compares to the Infinium on wet sand?