Brand spanking new Infinium

[HawaiiMDer]

Well just got my brand spanking new Garrett Infinium on Monday and put it all together. I DO NOT like the build quality of the shafts. The completed shaft feels loose and rickity and Garrett opted to use plastic instead of fiberglass for the lower rod and the connecting rods. The connecting rod i can understand, but the lower rod, well.....in my opinion flexes tooooo much. The other thing i found out was that the rod is actually 1" x .058 wall aluminum, found out the hard way when i was making a straight rod for it and went to slide the lower rod in and it didn't fit. Stupid of me not to measure, but i assumed it was the same dimensions as the Excalibur and Surf PI rods........BIG mistake. Now i have to go out and buy another rod for it. Also the volume of a signal response is very loud and non-adjustable which is different and the low/high - high/low tones for target identification will need some getting used to. The one thing i absolutely love about this water detector that i believe all water detectors should do is have interchangeable coils and headphones. I can't, for the life of me, see why all manufactures of other water detectors can't or won't make theirs the same way!!!!!!!! I'll be testing this unit out next week Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I'm hoping this is going to be a great unit. I'm still waiting for my new Excalibur 2 to come in and heard they'll start shipping out by the end of this month. I really need to send in my original Excalibur to servicing soon. Oh one other thing about the Infinium i would recommend if anyone is going to buy one is replace all the nylon bolts and nuts on the shaft to stainless steal ones, i can see these things stripping very very soon. Anyways, i'll write back with a review in about two weeks. Oh btw i hope no one gets the idea i don't like the Infinium cause i'm not sure yet, after testing it i'll let you know. The only thing i don't like about it is the build quality of the shafts.

Ken

 

[Dig]

Hey Good luck and I am interested in your review!

 

[Cupajo]

Hi HMDr,

I have an LS and have done well with it in the water. It is very sensitive to interference from just about everywhere, but has the ability to tune out most of it most of the time so that you can hunt most areas.

If you have water phones a layer or two of 1/8" rubber gasket material trimmed to fit in the earpiece will quiet down the volume to a sane level for you.

Go to the Finds Garrett Infinium Class-Room Forum and you will find a wealth of information about your new machine.

GL&HH Friend,

CJ

 

[kak]

Hi Ken
I can relate to your growing pains with the infinium.

I got mine 3 months ago and had the same complaints about the shaft. It was wobbly in the middle and the arm cuff was always loose too. The plastic bolts fit very snugly holding the cuff but because it was so wobbly the wingnuts fell off. I secured a plastic cable tie over the wingnuts so they would not fall off. In the meantime I was waiting for my Anderson straight shaft from kellyco. It made a world of difference in balance and stability. I highly recommend a change in shafts. I read earlier posts about problems with the infinium and figured I should get a straight shaft. Most of the other bugs have been worked out as it's been fine since.

I started with the the stock phones but when I switched to the uw phones I found they were considerably louder and I could hunt with a lower audible threshold and hear quieter signals.
I admit to having a headache when using the infinium in the beginning because some signals were so loud. I alleviated this problem a little by backing off right away when I get a loud signal and raising the coil over the target or moving back so just the toe of the coil picks up the signal. It could be a good small shallow target or a can 20" deep. How much the signal takes to go back to threshold after a swing helps determine the size of the target.

I'm amazed at the depth and sensitivity of this machine. I was digging staples at 4" and have to drag my scoop behind me because it interferes with my reception. It's my main beach weapon of mass iron cleansing... (still learning)

Good luck with your testing Ken. Take lots of time to learn your infinium (as with any detector) and it will reward you nicely.
kak

 

[JOHNMARKHAM]

good luck with your new machine and keep us updated.
hh
john

 

[OldBeechnut]

Got one several months ago, this beast is going to take some time. Had it out a few times. Wish I could adjust the low-high high-low volume. Got some video of the tones, will put them up later. My worse problem is seperating the dual tones H-L L-H from the target signal to PP. This baby is going to take some work...I'm thinking I should have went with the ML SD and water proofed it.

http://www.dankowskidetectors.com/aboveallothers.htm

 

[helix-2000]

Best of luck with your new MD. Hope you find lots of loot.

 

[HawaiiMDer]

Thanks Cupajo. I've been to that forum as well. Only thing is that it still didn't tell me about the bad quality of the shaft assembly and the 1" diameter tubing, small issue, but an issue nonetheless. I did already know about the loudness of the target response tone from reading about it in that forum as well as the rememdy, just thought people would like to know who might be considering buying an Infinium here in the water forum. Overall i'm excited about owning it and going out to use it next week, i just hope it works well here in Hawaii. But, my biggest excitement will be when my brand spanking new Excalibur 2 800 will get here to replace my 10 year old 1000. I swear by my excalibur but needed a PI for back up.

Ken

Hi HMDr,

I have an LS and have done well with it in the water. It is very sensitive to interference from just about everywhere, but has the ability to tune out most of it most of the time so that you can hunt most areas.

If you have water phones a layer or two of 1/8" rubber gasket material trimmed to fit in the earpiece will quiet down the volume to a sane level for you.

Go to the Finds Garrett Infinium Class-Room Forum and you will find a wealth of information about your new machine.

GL&HH Friend,

CJ

 

[OldBeechnut]

About a 12 inch deep penny on each of these frames shows the excal in Am/PP gives a better signal {sound waves} on a target then the Ls, The Ls signal on the target is less defined with the Hi-Low Low-Hi tone. Making it tuffer for the beginner to PP........ But the Ls is deeper by a few inchs when comparing the 10x14 mono to the stock 10inch xcal coil.............joe

 

[OldBeechnut]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNd3aqskH9c

HawaiiMDer interested in your adventures with the Ls and the trick scoop.....what coil did you go with?..............Joe

 

[HawaiiMDer]

Ok, just got back from a day with 4 rings and using the Infinium. I have to say it will take some getting used to with this new detector. It is however a very good detector!!! I have to let everyone know that i'm using Gray Ghost headsets with the Infinium which makes them quite a bit more quieter and tolerable. I like the tuning of this machine better than the Excalibur in that i don't have to mess with dials all the often like i do with my Excalibur. There is a very big difference in one area however.........that is weight!!!! OMG i'm tired as heck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm using the stock 15" x 10" coil and let me tell you it's heavy as heck. Not to mention the control box is heavy as well with the exception of when it is fully immersed, then its weightless since it is slightly buoyant. I would have to say this, if you are experienced with mding then the learning curve is not all that bad.....meaning i turned it on tuned it and went about my business with some good success. It is however a detector not recommended for the beginner in my humble opinion. After hip mounting the control box the weight was manageable and quite enjoyable. I have to say this one thing annoying for me about this detector is when you are searching parallel to the shore on a drop off, going from shallow to deep, it is pretty much impossible to tune the machine to have a steady threshold without it increasing. I did find out however if you turned up the discriminate it would calm it down a bit. I had mine on 2-3....didn't want to go any higher for fear of losing targets. Don't get me wrong, i just wanted to get the bad out of the way before i said this final statement about the detector. For me this detector is a keeper, i'm going to make a few changes but i'm going to keep it!!! I like it!!! Now, for my scoop!!!! The scoop i ordered from Stavr, 5GRANIK2, is absolutely the best scoop i have purchased to date. I currently have the Stealth 08 from gold-scoops and now the GRANIK scoop from Stavr, a member here in this forum. The Granik is MUCH more LIGHTER than the Stealth 08, the sand sifts much faster and is built like a tank. The Stealth in comparison is a bit more flimsy than i would have liked, but it's a overall good scoop especially in very find sand!!! But the Granik excels in hard compacted substrates like no other scoop i've used. If you can wait 2 weeks for delivery and can afford $145.00 for the scoop, I highly recommend you get this scoop. One small draw back however for me. I found it difficult here in Hawaii to find a handle that was 30mm in diameter to use with the scoop, so what i did was purchase a fiberglass post hole digger and sanded the heck out of it until it was the right diameter for the scoop!!!! Other than that a absolutely WONDERFULL scoop!!! I'll post pictures of my equipment and finds tomorrow after some rest. I got to hit the hay now for tomorrows session!!!!!

HH everyone!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNd3aqskH9c

HawaiiMDer interested in your adventures with the Ls and the trick scoop.....what coil did you go with?..............Joe

 

[Ron Lord]

n/t

 

[HawaiiMDer]

Hey Joe,

Have you used the 8" concentric coil for the infinium? I think the 10" x 14" coil is tooooo heavy, and i'm thinking about changing it to the 8" concentric. Any thoughts?

Ken

 

[OldBeechnut]

I have the 10x14 mono, lite but a bear to PP with, but I have only had it out 2 times ...so I have to read a little bit on the infinium forum, and do a little time with it on the beach. Did you get the DD 10x14, heard it is very heavy. I was thinking the 8 inch down the road, but I have got 2 8 inch's now on a excal, and a future CZ 20, Sooooo....I do think the 8 inch would be easy to PP with not sure about the depth, I know the guy {john on the LS forum} used the 8 inch and just went to the 10x14 mono, I love the way I can change the coils on the Infinium. Did you have a problem with centering the signal {PP} with the big coil? Love that scoop of yours, hoping my scoop man can match or out do the starv scoop, it's going to be tuff....One of the best I have seen is Starv's....thanks for the up dates.......................joe

 

[HawaiiMDer]

I have the 10" x 14" DD coil and YES IT IS HEAVY!!!!!!!!!! I have to say, i like the infinium but you made two very valid points about it. Firstly is the not so strong signal on deep targets and lastly the hard time PPing. First point, soft and less distinct signal response compared to the Excalibur. But i have to say it did signal on items that my Excalibur couldn't pick up whether they were deeper or small. So a plus there. Second point, pin pointing will take some serious time learning. I don't know if you are supposed to pin point on the second or first tone!!! I actually lost 4 excellent targets on a slope because i couldn't pin point it well. High/low tone, good possibility of gold!!!! Darn!!!!! So i think i'm going with the 8" concentric. I have to tell you, the scoop i got from Stavr is extremely light in comparison to my Stealth 08 and sifts wet sand in the water much much faster, to fast as i forgot to put my magnets in the basket and lost so junk continuosly. I have a beach here that i was even having a hard time for the Stealth penetrating into, well the 5Graniks2 better what it was supposed to do. I did manage to bend it very very slightly. But with all the punishment this 280 lbs man did to it, it stood up very very well!!!!! Now if only my Excalibur 2 800 would come in, i've been waiting for that since Feb!!!!!!!! I see Steve is making a prototype scoop for you, if its a penetrating type scoop, as i call them, then ask him if i could test one out for him and i'll pay for the shipping and return shipping.

Thanks,

Ken

 

[diggindirt]

I use the 8" mono and have done very well it!!! It cuts through the water real nice and
is fast and easy to pp with once you get used to it!

I just purchased the 10x14 mono and can't wait to try it out (many swear by this coil).

Once you learn the sounds of this machine, and it does take time, it will pay back with deeper finds......

I suggest doing plenty of reading at the Infinium forum classroom site......great help is available to ease the learning curve!

The Infinium is a real ring magnet.............

 

[3qtr]

The Infinium will go very deep, but if a target is shallow it's bit hard on the ears.

Try this when you get near a good target and the sound is too loud to handle.

Reach over and adjust the threshold down a bit, you can re-set it after you get your target in your scoop. Keeps the ears from ringing the rest of the day.LOL

Works for me.

I'll be at the beach!

 

[Cupajo]

Muting the volume with several layers of rubber gasket material trimmed to fit in the ear cups will tone down the blast of sound and yet not interfere with the quality of sound enough to notice.

I had to put three layers in each cup of 1/16th inch material, but it is best to experiment to find the best combo for your ears.

I've tried several different earphones and the Garrett water phones quieted down this way has worked the best for me.

I don't have to worry about dunking them as with some of the others I tried.

Blocking the vent holes if you aren't diving will help quiet outside noises such as wind and surf sounds.

GL&HH Fellow Hunters,

CJ

PS You will find a lot of very helpful information at the Infinium Classroom Site for sure, from those of us who have been there and made about all the mistakes there are to make!.