Hello everyone. I recently purchased my ATX for the beach only. I hunt the Daytona Fl area that is heavily hit and sanded in so I wanted something that would go deeper than all the Excals and stuff I see every time I go. I currently hunt with a Tesoro Sand Shark and love it. Out of my 8 machines its my favorite although it also is only a beach machine I have a couple of ATP I hunt land and fresh water with. Here is my problem. After taking the ATX to the beach twice I am not sure its not to sensitive. I have had zero luck in getting it to quiet down. I have tried everything from ground balancing to dropping sensitivity and raising the disc. With the Sand Shark even if there is some background chatter, the response to any target is highly audible where as with the ATX there seems to be so much noise and the LEDS bars are constantly moving and if you were to find a target its the same as the background noise I am already hearing. I am assuming its the black sand that is causing this......maybe electronic interference from all the hotels I am hunting in front of? I don't know.....has anyone else had these problems? I waiting long and did my homework before dishing out that kind of $$ for a machine. I was under the impression from all the videos I watched that it was THE machine for highly mineralized areas....and I'm not a dummy when it comes to setting on machines although I do wonder at times what exactly is the difference between the sensitivity and discrimination on a machine like this. Anyways after 2 trips I went back to my Sand Shark and boxed the ATX up for resale but when I take it out in the woods where there are very few targets I just love how it works so maybe it will just sit until I figure out what to do. Any and all thoughts are appreciated!
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ATX at beach
- Thread starter Dimendave
- Start date
SoCalBeachScanner
Member
It's hard to believe your sand is more mineralized than some of the beaches here in Southern CA.
How many LED's were flashing while scanning the beach? I did have a problem with my ATX going nuts constantly flashing between 3-7 LED's as I swung, and it got louder during the outward end of my swing, and nothing would stop it. I checked the coil connection, lowered the sensitivity and increased the discrimination, nothing changed. I called Garrett and told them about the problem, and since I did not have another coil to try, they sent me a replacement coil to try before sending the ATX back. I replaced the coil when it arrived, problem solved, and sent the old coil back.
Another thing that I have found is the ground balance can get hung up at a certain point in a high mineralized area and it will not continue until the ground balance is silent, no matter how many times I re-ground balance. But! When I perform a factory reset, the ground balance will continue all the way to quiet. So you may want to try that. Now! I always perform a factory reset prior to a new hunt. I hope that helps.
How many LED's were flashing while scanning the beach? I did have a problem with my ATX going nuts constantly flashing between 3-7 LED's as I swung, and it got louder during the outward end of my swing, and nothing would stop it. I checked the coil connection, lowered the sensitivity and increased the discrimination, nothing changed. I called Garrett and told them about the problem, and since I did not have another coil to try, they sent me a replacement coil to try before sending the ATX back. I replaced the coil when it arrived, problem solved, and sent the old coil back.
Another thing that I have found is the ground balance can get hung up at a certain point in a high mineralized area and it will not continue until the ground balance is silent, no matter how many times I re-ground balance. But! When I perform a factory reset, the ground balance will continue all the way to quiet. So you may want to try that. Now! I always perform a factory reset prior to a new hunt. I hope that helps.
Give Garrett a call. The fact that all the usual ways of trying to run a stable detector have not worked. I am suspicious that it might be the coil. 1 800 527 4011
Good Luck!
Good Luck!
Thanks guys for the replys. . The LEDS jump all over like you say Socal....its so noisy a threshold is completely useless. I think I will take it to the beach one more time and video tape what its doing and send it to Garrett. Just seems if the coil was bad it would do it anywhere and anytime. Like I said I took it out in the woods and it was quiet as a mouse but I am far from being an engineer. Will keep you posted!
WaterWalker
Well-known member
I had a a big problem around one house...turned out to be the perimeter dog zapper. The owner turned it off and the detector went back to its perfect running condition. The hotels might have some alarm system also.
Might try a frequency search, at turn on. It cut out the radio station's signal...I could almost spit on the tower from where I was detecting...interference was cured.
I want to take the ATX back to a Connecticut beach (that renders my Exclaibur useless as the Acela train comes rumbling by) to see if is effected as some other detectors are.
I start with dmz's settings and tweak them as needed in response to choppy seas, changing sand depth, etc.
I have not noticed the interference that is caused by power line insulators that get "leaky" caused by salt air conditions. Bad news in Spain even for car radios, let alone very sensitive military radios.
Might try a frequency search, at turn on. It cut out the radio station's signal...I could almost spit on the tower from where I was detecting...interference was cured.
I want to take the ATX back to a Connecticut beach (that renders my Exclaibur useless as the Acela train comes rumbling by) to see if is effected as some other detectors are.
I start with dmz's settings and tweak them as needed in response to choppy seas, changing sand depth, etc.
I have not noticed the interference that is caused by power line insulators that get "leaky" caused by salt air conditions. Bad news in Spain even for car radios, let alone very sensitive military radios.
I hunt Daytona beaches also and finally got my new ATX on one of the beaches a few days ago. I had to play with mine to get it to settle down also. Finally raised discrim a few lights and it settled down but it would many times still sound off at the end of the swings. Maybe we'll see each other out there some time.
I haven't had a chance to get back over there with it yet. My concerns are by the time you know the sensitivity down and the discrim up, how much more depth are you getting over a machine that cost half that much? Would love to meet you over there and do some test with them and my Sandshark.
foggynotion
New member
I purchased an ATX in December and it ran as smooth as butter in the Florida gulf until February when it started acting up like yours is. Garrett sent me a new coil, but that did not resolve it. I sent it in and they repaired it. It worked great until a couple of weeks ago when it started doing the same thing. My detector is now back at Garrett for repair. They say that I am the first person to have these issues. I asked them to just give me a new detector because it must be a lemon. The customer service from Garrett has been great and I am sure they will resolve the issue one way or another. I would recommend you give them a call about the issues you are having. Your ATX should be running very smoothly after you do a frequency scan and ground balance. The ATX is awesome when it is working correctly.
foggynotion
New member
You did not mention if you are using the coil cover. Even though the cover appears to fit very tightly, sand works it's way in there and depending on the type of sand and what's mixed with it, can cause the ATX to act erratically.
dunnellondave
New member
No coil cover. I do not believe the detector is bad as its quiet as a mouse in the woods. I need to try it away from the hotels and see if that helps.
SoCalBeachScanner
Member
Yeah, electrical interference would be my guess. Not only the power lines above, some of my beaches have electrical transformers on the sand at the back of the beach running underground wires to restrooms and some lifeguard towers.
So I like your thinking ... try a deserted beach for a test.
In the photo below, you can see the gray transformer to the front right of the restroom.
Any machine goes nuts within 200 feet of that thing, plus the underground wires.
So I like your thinking ... try a deserted beach for a test.
In the photo below, you can see the gray transformer to the front right of the restroom.
Any machine goes nuts within 200 feet of that thing, plus the underground wires.
DGL said:
No unfortunately I live in the middle of the state and this is our busy season at work so time has been limited. I am staying the weekend in St Pete this upcoming week and a week up by the handle in July so that should give me a little more time to work it out if possible. I'm hoping to take it to a desolated area and see f it calms down then I will be pretty sure its EMI. Its amazing how sensitive this machine is!