Sand Sifter
Member
Greetings fellow beach hunters, I’ve never been a PI guy. Every detector I’ve owned since the late 60’s has been a VLF, except my first detector was a BFO. I’ve looked at PI’s over the years, mainly out of curiosity, but that was years ago. I commented on a post a week or so ago that now at 68, I wouldn’t have the time or patience to learn a PI these days. It took me quite a bit of time to learn the audio on my Minelab Sovereigns, with all the different tones they throw into my ears.
But today, for some reason, I stumbled upon a mention of the Garrett ATX PI. I never heard of that one so I headed to YouTube. Based on video’s, I learned that the ATX PI is big, bulky, and heavy. OK, it’s apparently not for everyone, lol. But damn, for some reason, it just seemed to resonate with me. I really like the design, features, and how the controls are laid out. For a PI, this one seems to offer a lot more control and functionality than the PI’s I was familiar with years ago, while still looking fairly simple to learn and operate. There’s no screens, just basic operating controls and audio only, just what I’ve been used to since the late 60’s, lol. That said, my new X-Terra Elite will have me breaking new ground with all its bells & whistles compared to my Sovereign.
Anyway, the Garrett ATX PI seems to offer a lot more functionality than the PI’s I was previously familiar with, and if I was going to take the plunge into the PI world, the ATX looks like a PI that I could wrap my head around. But although I’ve seen the detector on a couple of dealer’s websites, I didn’t see it listed on Garrett’s website, so I’m assuming it must have been discontinued?
I did see that they have an Axiom PI, that has a design similar to the Minelab X-Terra’s, NOX’, Manticore, and the Nokta’s, with a small control box & screen sitting atop the grip. But according to Garret, the Axiom is “rain resistant”, i.e., NOT waterproof, while the ATX PI is waterproof to 10 feet, while looking like something I would have used in the military and looks to be built like a tank. I don’t know if the Axiom was supposed to be a replacement/successor, update, or redesign of the ATX, but if it was, why on earth wouldn’t Garrett have made it waterproof? It’s obvious that Garrett designed the Axiom to look very similar to the current crop of Minelab & Nokta’s, and they’re all waterproof, so why not the Axiom? If they didn’t want to reinvent the wheel, they could have just designed and engineered it to fit inside an AT Pro type housing to make it waterproof. Sheesh. OK, Axiom rant over.
But ouch, the price of the ATX on the dealer’s websites I’ve seen almost gave me a coronary, lol. Looks like they ranged from $2,300 to $2,800 or so, depending on the package. That’s much less than Minelab PI’s, but still, I don’t want to take out a 2nd mortgage, lol.
Just thinking out loud, but it looks like if I did decide to pursue getting one, I’d have to scour the used market and hopefully find one that’s a bit more on the reasonable side of the financial scale. But before I get my hopes up, add the ATX to my dream/wish list, and continue researching, I’d like to hear what the real deal is with these PI’s, from some fellow detectorists who may own one of these, or who have used one, or knows somebody who either has or used one, etc.
I’m a simple guy, have used beep & go detectors with simple controls for the last 50+ years, even my Minelab Sovereign’s have simple controls, and it’s an absolute beast on the beach. From what I’ve seen, the ATX PI looks to be fairly simple for a PI, and could possibly be a PI that would fit me like a glove, based on the types of detectors I’ve owned and what I like in a detector.
I’m apparently very late to this party, so I can’t figure why Garrett would have discontinued what looks to be a perfect PI, at least to my eyes based on what I like. The only negative issue I came across so far was that many users reported having issues with the coil cable, mainly cracking, probably due to the cable being inside the shaft where it may rub up against metal edges of the shaft. But I didn’t see any reports of the detector’s electronics failing, or leaking when submerged, or anything that would be considered more serious. I guess they may have discontinued the ATX because it’s large, bulky, heavy, and uber expensive, probably similar to Minelab coming out with the Manticore to potentially replace the aging, bulky, and heavier CTX 3030.
But ya know, doesn’t it seem it’s always that way, you find something that looks like it’s right up your alley, designed and laid-out the way you like, having enough controls to give you a lot of flexibility, while not overwhelming, something that makes you feel that you’re simpatico with the detector and wonder where it’s been all your life, rainbows start forming in the sky, Unicorns start singing, life appears to be in perfect harmony, and then, you hear the pop of your bubble bursting when you find out it’s no longer available and/or discontinued. But life, as always, goes on…
Would appreciate comments from any beach hunters familiar with the Garrett ATX PI, especially hunting wet sand and shallow salt water.
But today, for some reason, I stumbled upon a mention of the Garrett ATX PI. I never heard of that one so I headed to YouTube. Based on video’s, I learned that the ATX PI is big, bulky, and heavy. OK, it’s apparently not for everyone, lol. But damn, for some reason, it just seemed to resonate with me. I really like the design, features, and how the controls are laid out. For a PI, this one seems to offer a lot more control and functionality than the PI’s I was familiar with years ago, while still looking fairly simple to learn and operate. There’s no screens, just basic operating controls and audio only, just what I’ve been used to since the late 60’s, lol. That said, my new X-Terra Elite will have me breaking new ground with all its bells & whistles compared to my Sovereign.
Anyway, the Garrett ATX PI seems to offer a lot more functionality than the PI’s I was previously familiar with, and if I was going to take the plunge into the PI world, the ATX looks like a PI that I could wrap my head around. But although I’ve seen the detector on a couple of dealer’s websites, I didn’t see it listed on Garrett’s website, so I’m assuming it must have been discontinued?
I did see that they have an Axiom PI, that has a design similar to the Minelab X-Terra’s, NOX’, Manticore, and the Nokta’s, with a small control box & screen sitting atop the grip. But according to Garret, the Axiom is “rain resistant”, i.e., NOT waterproof, while the ATX PI is waterproof to 10 feet, while looking like something I would have used in the military and looks to be built like a tank. I don’t know if the Axiom was supposed to be a replacement/successor, update, or redesign of the ATX, but if it was, why on earth wouldn’t Garrett have made it waterproof? It’s obvious that Garrett designed the Axiom to look very similar to the current crop of Minelab & Nokta’s, and they’re all waterproof, so why not the Axiom? If they didn’t want to reinvent the wheel, they could have just designed and engineered it to fit inside an AT Pro type housing to make it waterproof. Sheesh. OK, Axiom rant over.
But ouch, the price of the ATX on the dealer’s websites I’ve seen almost gave me a coronary, lol. Looks like they ranged from $2,300 to $2,800 or so, depending on the package. That’s much less than Minelab PI’s, but still, I don’t want to take out a 2nd mortgage, lol.
Just thinking out loud, but it looks like if I did decide to pursue getting one, I’d have to scour the used market and hopefully find one that’s a bit more on the reasonable side of the financial scale. But before I get my hopes up, add the ATX to my dream/wish list, and continue researching, I’d like to hear what the real deal is with these PI’s, from some fellow detectorists who may own one of these, or who have used one, or knows somebody who either has or used one, etc.
I’m a simple guy, have used beep & go detectors with simple controls for the last 50+ years, even my Minelab Sovereign’s have simple controls, and it’s an absolute beast on the beach. From what I’ve seen, the ATX PI looks to be fairly simple for a PI, and could possibly be a PI that would fit me like a glove, based on the types of detectors I’ve owned and what I like in a detector.
I’m apparently very late to this party, so I can’t figure why Garrett would have discontinued what looks to be a perfect PI, at least to my eyes based on what I like. The only negative issue I came across so far was that many users reported having issues with the coil cable, mainly cracking, probably due to the cable being inside the shaft where it may rub up against metal edges of the shaft. But I didn’t see any reports of the detector’s electronics failing, or leaking when submerged, or anything that would be considered more serious. I guess they may have discontinued the ATX because it’s large, bulky, heavy, and uber expensive, probably similar to Minelab coming out with the Manticore to potentially replace the aging, bulky, and heavier CTX 3030.
But ya know, doesn’t it seem it’s always that way, you find something that looks like it’s right up your alley, designed and laid-out the way you like, having enough controls to give you a lot of flexibility, while not overwhelming, something that makes you feel that you’re simpatico with the detector and wonder where it’s been all your life, rainbows start forming in the sky, Unicorns start singing, life appears to be in perfect harmony, and then, you hear the pop of your bubble bursting when you find out it’s no longer available and/or discontinued. But life, as always, goes on…
Would appreciate comments from any beach hunters familiar with the Garrett ATX PI, especially hunting wet sand and shallow salt water.
