Can Someone with a DFX help diagnose mine?

[airscapes]

Cross posting this on multiple forums and groups to try and get an answer before Monday.
Can someone help me out? I am trying to figure out if my DFX is defective or if PA is just an EMI jungle.
I have EMI stability issues caused by the 3kHz channel that effect the MultiFrequency modes as well as the 15kHz mode to some extent. I can not get the machine to run without EMI type falsing when AC is over 60-62 in ANY location. Since I can get AC up to 70 in 15kHz and only 60 in 3kHz this reduces the mutifrequency modes to about 65 max on the AC.
This machine has been to Whites Factory to be checked over, they told me I needed 3 coils (paid for a 950, was given a used D2 and they repaired the 4x6) but it is not much better than before I sent it. The tech told me all he does is load the coin program and if it quite it is good.. I am getting into the engineering of the machine if I change things.. Really? This is the Factory Tech .. He told me he would have is boss call me later that day when he had time .. that was last Thrusday.

So, if you guys could take a look at these videos, then set your machine the same way and let me know if it act the same, it would save me a lot of time arguing with Whites if this is normal.

Load C/J,Set ToneID=on VCO=on PAG=3 AC=70 3kHz only, Hold the coil waist high after ground balnce.
Here is what mind does at multiple places some 100 miles between each other

State Park
https://youtu.be/JGSfh1FoQEY

Newtown Square
https://youtu.be/PVknommtLUo

DFX at Masonic Village
http://youtu.be/GyLjIoXqcao

DFX along 222
http://youtu.be/FmRguFJxL50

DFX along Turnpike
http://youtu.be/6AIhsNdOd5k

 

[ronhob]

The DFX is plagued by EMI in my opinion. It should not be in every place though. Rural areas should quite it down a lot. You may need to turn your PAG down a notch to be able to raise sensitivity. I could run mine pretty much wide open in areas just outside of the city here in SD. In town was hit and miss. It was completely unusable at times when I was hunting in town. 15 Khz was always more stable for me. Smaller coils also seem to be a little better with the EMI. Good luck with it. I only had mine for a couple yrs, so some other long time dfx users may be able to give you more tips. I own an MXT PRO now, and it does not suffer the half the EMI issue of the DFX.

 

[airscapes]

Yeah, I have heard that but this seems to be too much that same at every location. With every Coil and even dropping page to 1 does not eliminate it if the AC is not lowered. I actually do that on one of the videos. If you looked at all the videos you may have noticed that the majority of VIDs are all in the same range in all locations..

 

[vito]

Hello Doug.

Sorry for asking, but what's about your mobile. Could be a factor. Another thing what I'm thinking about is that vehicles can cause some trouble (voltage converters and so). So what I do for testing is going to a field where a few miles is nothing around, but had it happen the radio from a airport-tower caused a problem.

What I've seen in the vids is, the coil in the air and it is very noisy, but if you'll sweep a coin trough the coil, what will it do?

Best of Luck and hopefully some one else will chime in to help you, may be Monte has a solution...

 

[Ramiroe]

The one thing I noticed is you aren't ground/air balancing after changing your settings. Also try changing your filters. The DFX can be a little chatty at times but it is a solid performer for those that can tame it. I'm sorry I can't be any more help I haven't used my DFX in a while I mostly use my V3i now. You might also try posting on the "DFX Users Classroom Forum", a lot more current DFX users there.

Ramiroe

 

[kim]

Sounds like a ground balance issue to me. Try doing a good manual ground balance in a clear area. If you make any frequency or sensitivity changes do another good manual ground balance.

 

[airscapes]

You guys are not getting it. Ground Balance eliminates the ground VID .. I have ground balance with it chatting like it does, makes no difference as G.E.B. has nothing to do with it when the coil is in the air.
I do wish someone one on one of these boards would fire up their machine in the back yard and tell what it does with those settings.

I just got back from a day at the State park and it freaked out in mid hunt after an hour.
At the state park working a recently cut field (sticker bushes so no trash), was in Mixed Mode with DC=50, AC=64 (highest it could go and be stable) 3kHz only PAG=4. After about an hour and a half after digging a target the machine freaked out. I turned PAG to1 AC down to 59 with no change. If you notice the Non-Motion mode is not freaking out.. just the motion mode.. and it continues after the coil wire is removed.. Switched to 15kHz only and was fine with a PAG=4 AC=70. 30 minutes later switched back and it was working as it did to start the day. BTW no matter what the PAG is set to I can never have AC above 65 in 3kHz only.. does not make logical sense.. if this was a new machine I would send it back for a refund.. being it was just fully checked by Sweet Home. not very happy.

Please someone test this on their machine..

VIDEO
https://youtu.be/TmAtsYjTT6M

 

[Mega]

Have had my DFX a very long time as it was one of the very first machines into the UK and is still one of my all time favourite machies.

A couple of possible causes or common issues,i very rarely crank mine upto PAG4 as it then starts to become erratic,never use the stock coil either as i feel it was not the best design for the machine,my favourite Whites coil is the 10x6 but the best coils that i find work well are the SEF8x6 and Hotshot coil.

It could either be a few things,after every change of settings even a minor change i 'always' GB it again,one thing i did notice about 5 years ago was the fact that mine was a little erratic but not in the same league as yourself but found that by doing a total factory reset sorted the problem out,but of course you will loose your saved settings,but it sorted the small glitch out and what i am thinking happened and Jimmy Sierra seem to also agree was the fact that it was possibly the saved setting being slightly corrupted,very much like clearing you memory cache out every so often in your computer,with so many saved alterations it only takes just a little problem to throw the whole detector out.

After i was aware of this and how to sort the problem out it has never happened since,i also noticed and this is a total long shot that in your signature you use 'DIY Wireless FM Transmitter and Etymotic Research ER-6i in-ear phones' what ever that is i dont have any idea,but just with the word transmitter being used could that be seen as a possible problem of the EMI at source on your detector,of course i dont have any idea what that item is that you are using but it could be a possible cause.

Why you dont keep the coil wire connected i am not sure,could that also be not helping the problem when doing a video,as the shielding on the cable was in my mind designed to help reduce EMI issues,so if its not connected during shooting the video it cannot help either.I will hold my hand up and admit i am not a electronics whizz kid by any means but when you have a DIY wireless transmitter in close contact with the DFX that must provide EMI of its own.

Rather than run it in 3Khz,try it in either best data or 15Khz just to try and use the old process of elimination,not sure how long you have owned the DFX but its been given a clean bill of health from Whites and it still has the same type of problem,it either still has the original internal problem and Whites have not addressed the problem or its some other problem and please dont take this the wrong way and its just possible user error.

I live in the UK,so can only try and give some ideas on what to do or what could be the problem,these are just my personal observation from what i have read on this thread,but of course as usal i could be totally wrong but it could be just a simple problem to sort out or a major one,what ever it is keep us updated on what you find out may be causing the problem.

 

[airscapes]

Thanks for the input Megan, you are touching on things that I guess one would when looking in at a 2 minutes snapshot of weeks of trouble shooting.. PAG=1 or Pag=4 does not matter, AC > 65 = what you see in the video (that does not make sense does it.)

Have to much invested in buying this used machine and paying whites to make sure it was working correctly. The machine came with a 950, D2 and 4x6 so to buy after market was not in the cards. Whites said they were all bad and sold me a new 950, gave me a used D2 and supposedly repaired the 4x6, and the machine still acts like it does. Personally I would have rather had a 8x10 but they don't make one...

I can ground balance it till the sun sets, and have, it changes nothing.

No, I'm wired, trouble shooting requires the elimination of all variables. I am a computer system admin, prior to that was was a computer programmer, prior to that was as a school trained auto technician specializing in electronics.. I know how to trouble shoot a problem and using a transmitter would not be to smart when trouble shooting something that could be EMI related.

The coil was disconnected because if EMI is entering through the coil (antenna) and the antenna is removed, there should be less chance of EMI entering the unit and the symptoms should change.. THEY DID NOT change, which point to the noise being generated from within the unit itself. At least that is the conclusion I would draw with my limited knowledge of things

Running a Best Data or Correlated are both effected by this issue, correlated the most. You would expect if it was EMI, correlated would be quiet since 3kHz noise and silence on 15Khz would not correlate and be ignored.. it chatter just like it does on 3kHz only when you turn up the AC much past 65.

When searching a field with mild minerization (ground VID -91, strength 6" , 3kHz would be the preferred frequency for finding Deep Silver in trash and iron free fields. I bought the DFX for it's flexibility, ignoring the mode best for the job would not make sense.

 

[wasp]

Have you tried a reset by pulling out the battery while the DFX is on?

 

[Mega]

Well not alot else i can suggest then,you seem to have all the qualifications and full understanding on how its working but it still has a problem,if Whires have had a look at it and suggested that it ws fine when on the test bench i cannot suggest anything else.I dont have all these technical skill that you have alas but my DFX which works fine.

It seems from your posts that although you do have all the knowledge of electronic and software etc when folks offer suggetions you seem to go on the slight defense if that is the right word,anyway i have tried to put some suggestions forward as other have and you seem to have addressed all the problems.

So i am afraid i cannot help with this problem any further,hope you find out what is causing it and sort the problem out real soon.

 

[Chadd]

Sorry if you have already answered this but have you tried to turn off your cell phone and any other electronics you may have with you while this is going on? I know my GSM phone will sometimes play hell with my DFX, I also used to use Bluetooth head phones that cause it to go wonky sometimes. With this happening at multiple locations you need to find what is the same at each location.

If it isn't an electronics interference issue your best bet is to just send it in to have it looked at imo.

Also thought I would mention that underground dog fences will also drive the DFX crazy, I know you are having this issue in multiple locations so I am sure that's not the issue just throwing it out there.

 

[airscapes]

Thanks Chad, yes I have eliminated all the variables within my power other than the machine itself which I may be able to do tomorrow as I have found a member who lives about 100 miles from me and is willing to meet with me.
In the mean time if you could be so kind as to load the stock C/J program and switch to 3kHz only, ground balance and see if it is stable with the loop in the air it would be much appreciated. If it is, see how high you can go on the AC before it acts like mine. Also if you could say if you are in a heavily populated area or rural it would be of help.

One thing I have not done is remove that alien transponder they injected under my skin, could that be a problem?
All kidding aside, I have turned off the Cell when testing and use airplane mode for some of the videos.

 

[Chadd]

I tried the C/J at 3khz and took the AC up to 70 before it started acting wonky, that said it still doesn't act anywhere near as bad as yours does in the video. I always have some EMI at my house here because I am a wireless internet provider and I have a tower full of RF spewing radios in the backyard.

I think there is an issue with your DFX that is causing you grief.

Thanks Chad, yes I have eliminated all the variables within my power other than the machine itself which I may be able to do tomorrow as I have found a member who lives about 100 miles from me and is willing to meet with me.
In the mean time if you could be so kind as to load the stock C/J program and switch to 3kHz only, ground balance and see if it is stable with the loop in the air it would be much appreciated. If it is, see how high you can go on the AC before it acts like mine. Also if you could say if you are in a heavily populated area or rural it would be of help.

One thing I have not done is remove that alien transponder they injected under my skin, could that be a problem?
All kidding aside, I have turned off the Cell when testing and use airplane mode for some of the videos.

 

[airscapes]

Thanks Chadd! I really appreciate the help!
I am heading down to meet Spero tomorrow to compare mine to his. Whites called today and has emailed me a shipping label and I told Connie I had videos so she had me send an email with explanation and video links so the Techs can see what is going on. I just hope it acts the same at the beach tomorrow.