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Infinium Question about suspect problem....

A

asanaman

Member
I just bought an Infinium LS about 2 weeks ago. So, here is the problem. The machine seemed to operate great at first and was getting quite used to the sound and very good at the tone changes for target ID's. In listening to the various targets I was impressed to say the least at how well and clear this was getting. Like I said I am impressed. Love the machine already. I had to send it back to Garrett due to an absolutely sudden change in the machine operation. It went absolutely wild on the threshold and would stop even in the 'mid-air'.. Held it up, and it would stop, shut it off tried to reset the frequency, tried everything I knew but it would not quit the erratic behavior...

I got it back home and changed to the stock 10x14 (was using " mono brand new BTW) and it ran fine. Put in the bath underwater overnight and it still operated fine the next day, and this time with both coils. Didn't make sense at all. There were no emi problems as I was in an isolated area where no power lines were around, etc..

I had been in the water for 3 hours before his started. The only thing I did right before the erratic behavior started was change the freq, just to change operating conditions for familiarity... Anyway, I sent it back after a call to Garrett, and without hesitation they responded exceptionally weal... Congratulations to them, really. Very pleasant and great to deal with.

Basically I would like to know if anyone has seen or heard of this, since I have read posts indicating earlier models "acting" up... Will I see a 'better' machine when I get mine back and what to expect if you care to share an opinion. This machine will be used in all categories you can think of, fresh water, Salt water, relic, and others... Watching the threads and the information made a single important buy for me and your knowledge would be gratefully appreciated.

Mr.Edmonton, Cupajo, and others really share good ideas and finds to say the least, so please accept this as an lesson understanding on my behalf.

OHHH and any tips will be appreciated also for when I get mine back. I own a Garrett 1350, Garrett Groundhog I was raised on, Tesoro Tejon, Vaquero, Lobo ST, DFX, V-3, Tigershark, Sand Shark and the Infinium.. All of which I may carry to various areas since I travel all over the US. At the moment from what I have seen of the Infinium, I want it with me in my arsenal ALL the time. I generally have 4 detectors with me anytime I am on the road, to enable a diverse hunting arrangement.

Asanaman....
 
HI Asanaman.
I have noticed on occasions when the Infinium has been used for a long period in saltwater or other very high mineralised areas and then when the detector is taken out of the water or to a low mineralised area and the ground track is in fast or slow track that the threshold can run a bit wild for a time while the machine is readjusting itself to the lower mineralised ground which in some cases may take quite a few minutes. I am not sure if that is the case with your machine but it is something to think about.
Adrian SS
 
Thank you Adrian... I also read your article and it was quite informative in my decisions as well. I would like to point out that this was no small case of random generated threshold noise. It was basically at the top of the scale in volume and would not readjust. This went on for about 30 minutes trying all I could think of to stop it. Just as a sidebar, I was in freshwater and it was performing very well. I could not believe the difference it was in the PI world after using a Sand Shark. It was actually quite enjoyable.

I do understand the point you make and can understand why this may happen as you describe it. That case of adjustment would not have caused me to take the action I did. But with all had read I was at best guessing that I had been sold an earlier model that may have had a small problem needing correcting.

Anyway, Garrett's customer service is on top of it now and we are looking forward to getting it back. With all that I have read, in your article and the Post's by others I feel I have a lot to look forward to. With the diversity of my detector line-up, and the preliminary use I had with the Infinium, I firmly believe that it will be with me in all my travels....

Thanks gain for your response...

Asanaman...
 
Asanaman,
I am curious to know what the problem with your Infinium turns out to be.
What did you think of the Sand Shark? It runs at a slightly lower PPS than the infinium.
Adrian
 
I have had very similar problems with my infinium. It has been sent in twice for repairs ,both times the DD coil was replaced and repairs to the circuit board were made. I have no complaints with the service I was given from Garrett they sent me an 8" mono coil for free couldn't ask form better service. I just want my Infinium to work. I am very seriously considering going back to a Whites PI machine. I had one for 20 plus years with no problems I gave it to my son a year ago and it is still running strong.
I hope yours works out.
 
Adrian, I am impressed with the Garrett Customer Service Team! They called today, had received my LS and told me it was headed to the "bench" for evaluation. As soon as that was out of the person's mouth was the question of where to send my NEW unit. They are sending me a BRAND NEW one with a replacement 8" mono coil. They felt that a unit that new and a customer was more important than sending it back and "possibly" another return, remote but not worth the risk of a customer. Truly admirable. It was quite new and unexplainable as of yet, but they will call me when they see what it was.

As far as the Tesoro Sand Shark... It is an excellent machine. I hunt with a friend that uses an explorer and excalibur.. I can say my target count is as good as his item for item, good or bad. With that said, and I have to admit, we were both floored with the performance of the LS. I had him checking my targets and more times than not he wasn't hearing them, but I was getting (as stated earlier) quickly adjusted to know a nail from a bobby pin. The Sand Shark is and has been a very effective tool but I think that the LS deeper and with more sensitive. I will pair them up and play in both fresh and salt water environments to try and give you a good analysis. I am heading to the Gulf beaches when my LS gets in, and then to a civil war campsite or two right after the weekend near Mobile, AL.

Now Scrooge... Bet you thought I had forgot your comments... haha... I can say that with my unit being less than 2 weeks old, Garrett did what they thought was right. I only requested repair and got a surprise. I hope that I don't have to send one back again. I really missed it this past weekend. My comfort level was quick with the LS, and I hope you will know that I did play with a White's PI, and didn't get that comfortable even once. As with all the posts we read, we are comfortable with the unit we trust no matter what brand. I have several Tesoro's, Garrett's and White's... All have their place in my travel's. I may have the Garrett 1350 in southern areas, where I may have the tesoro's in the eastern US. My travel's will soon have me going to the Western US areas, and after reading the review Adrian posted, and knowing what my Lobo ST will do (even on Relics) I want to have my LS with me everyday, every trip...

Wish you both well and THANKS for your input and curiosity...

Asanaman
 
Well, I got my NEW infinium in Thursday and I am pleased. This machine appears to run sooo much smother and more quiet than the other. I hunted today about 4-5 hours in a fresh water swimming area and got lucky... I found 2 rings ( 1-14k and 1-10K), the usual 12 bobby pins, gold hoop earing, 1 beaver tail tab, 1 piece of lead, washer and several new coins.

I went with a friend who uses an Australian machine and he told me this place was hunted to death. As we were agreeing it was about time to go and for a PI this Infinium showed both of us that this beach area was CLEAN... I could not believe it, but this area was absolutely the quietest area I have ever searched. He agreed and we really not hitting a lot of targets for the size, and it proved it. Well, in preparing to leave he approached me scanning the bottom, and I said let's pass and let me get a gold ring before we go and passed behind him... Lo and behold about 8 feet behiond him I hit a 10K with 3 topaz stones, surrounded by 4 diamonds... The I hit a 14k ornamental type ring 2 feet from the other one. He was as surpised as I was, but it was a good day then!..

Anyway, Adrian I lie this Infinium... The iron check was performing great. When I IRON checked a target and there was no return signal, I hit a good target. Checking those that did return a signal in iron check, was equally right. It was a poor target...

Believe me I am proud and really enjoyed this hunt with the Infinium... Unlike the other machine I returned, the ground balance went smmoth as silk and the frequency checks I performed were very smooth also..

Asanaman
 
I think I have the same problem. My brand new Infinium will not work in salt water with the slightest wave activity. i tried everything, ground balancing under the water, running in fast track, dialed the discrimination to max etc but nothing worked. it just howled HiLo at max volume like i was holding it over a school bus. I will call Garrett on Monday morning to get their take on it.

Have you resolved your problem? I hope it is correctable and not a design issue as my infinium is useless as is for my water hunting.
 
Yep, I think so... my is performinf flawlessly... I went out again for about 6 hours today at new beach and it showed me what a trashy site is. With what I have learned in the last 3 weeks though, I must say I did not did a lot of it. Today I came out with 2 bracelets and a silver ear ring with a diamond in it. Right now I am ecstatic with the performance... It really is a good machine...

If I were you I would check with Garrett on the serial number for age and upgrade issues.

Asanaman
 
asanaman said:
Yep, I think so... my is performinf flawlessly... I went out again for about 6 hours today at new beach and it showed me what a trashy site is. With what I have learned in the last 3 weeks though, I must say I did not did a lot of it. Today I came out with 2 bracelets and a silver ear ring with a diamond in it. Right now I am ecstatic with the performance... It really is a good machine...

If I were you I would check with Garrett on the serial number for age and upgrade issues.

Asanaman
Click to expand...


Thats sounds promising. maybe there is hope. Did you get into salt water with the new unit?

I took mine to a different beach today for another test. This one has no waves , just very flat water like a lake. I took it off the hip mount belt and mounted the control box on the shaft with the 8 inch mono coil. Cable was tight, ground balanced in ankle deep water and headed out. When I got out to where the control box was submerged it went bonkers again and would not stop unless the entire unit was raised well above the water surface. I give on one this one and will talk with Garrett about an exchange. I don't want them to fix this one. I purchased a new machine , not A reworked one. My machine is one of the latest Serial numbers according to my dealer.

Thanks for info
 
Best thing you can do... And don't accept any less... Sounds like you hace a ground problem.. But I sure ain't no expert...

Asanaman
 
Ohh btw way Rockpile, I will be on the beach at Tybee island this week... Saltwater...
 
Well be sure to let us know how the machine performs. Are you using the 8 inch mono? Hip or shaft mounted control box.

I did talk to Garrett today. they will send me a new machine but have none on the shelf. said i will get first one off the line. promised to let me know tomorrow when that might happen. Not a great start. I purchased two of these things. i sent one to my son in CA and he has not had it in SW yet. Hope his is mobetta.

Have a good day in the SW.

Rockpile
 
Yes, I will be using the 8" and the stock 14 DD.. I wanna try both of them in the Salt Water. Also, I have it shaft mounted and only one velcro strap at the coil area 4" above the connector and one at the top.. I have extras in the event I need to tighten the cable, but so far I haven't needed it. Take my word for it, this machine is a whole lot different than what I had. Even my Australian machine using buddy saw the extreme difference in this unit.

It is sensitive and as ADRIAN has put it, SLOW is a real key factor. I did 'fast pace' it a few times and had no problems, but the difference in signal tones will be a noticible item. Hope I said that right. Anyway the reverse discrminator function has proved it's worth and though it isn't 'always' perfect, it sure gives a good indication of the quality of your next dig.. to my ears anyway...

Asanaman
 
I bought mine used, and it went out of control. I sent it to Garrett and they worked on it, sent it back and it seems to work fine. This was about 3 years ago. My buddy also bought an Infinium, and he had absolutely no problems with his.
 
John,
I am sure you will agree that it is an un-nerving feeling to get a great NEW machine and have it out working well, and all of a sudden you cannot get it to do anything. Adjust the threshold, ground balance, etc.. This was the case on mine. I can sympathize with Rockpile if his has done the same thing. Garrett has made it right for me and I hope his experience gets better. Maybe we just had a bad day. After seeing your post from the 'waters' I would say yours was working fine.

John is there anyway I could get an audio clip of your signals!!!!!! At the rate you POP those rings out, "inquiring minds wanna know"... :unsure:

Anyway, hope all is well with everyone and have yet to hit the beach.. I have really had a some hectic crap slowin' me down getting to the island, but I will hit it. Next week will be a Pensacola, Fl area search... And Gulf Shores area...

Asnaman
 
Asanaman, Hi, I was considering the LS previously but was reluctant in the purchase for the reasons you and Rockpile had/having. Also, in this consideration were the Sand Shark and the Dual Field. Preferred the Sand Shark for the warranty though. Since you are acquainted with them can you fill me in on why I may want one over the other. I will be hunting Texas gulf coast and I currently use the Excal.
Thanks, Kevin

Rockpile, Hi, will you keep me up to date on your LS and how its does in the salt water.
Thanks, Kevin
 
S.TexasKevin... I posted what happened today on another post near or above this one. The Sand Shark is a really good machine right at 1/2 the price and a life time warranty, and I am familiar with the DUAL FIELD and SURF PI but wasn't comfortable with either.. Adrian had ask me about the difference in my opinion between it and the Infinium and I find the Infinium is more sensitive. After I got the new one in I am seeing deeper targets also, with a tongue in cheek statement early on that is. Today I hit the SALT WATER and I was ecstatic with the performance. I GB'd, locked it in and ran in about 30 seconds. Never once had to change anything except practicing the iron check. The Infinium really did shine for me today and into the night.

I am familiar with the Excal and what you are asking. Personally, now and I am recommending it also to my friend who is a DIE-HARD Excal person, to look seriously at this machine. He has seen my early problems, Garrett's response, and the performance after the replacement. He has seen me go behind him and pick up stuff he hadn't heard or just didn't pass the coil over (whatever). We have checked signals and he has heard the signals I was getting while learning in this short span. His impression is at the top for what he has seen already.

I am trying to get John-Edmonton to give me lessons, (even pay for them), but he hasn't bitten yet... hahaha.. There are some good hunters on here and look at their post for proof.

Garrett has been great during this and I applaud their efforts to make sure I had a good machine. I have been in production work, consulting and I am a Boilermaker by trade, and I can see where there may be a lime light thrown on the LS from my experience and a few others. It is touted as a great PI machine and now I believe it. Sometimes there will be quality control issues from parts suppliers that we may never hear about, while even the best manufacturers try to satisfy customers, while tracking down what is really causing a problem.. We may never know it could have been a small part from another supplier who lost control and just pst it on hoping it wouldn't show up.. Also it could be that you have a dealer that has had on on a shelf for a year, waiting to sell it, and then it might need an upgrade because of something.. Guess what? You become the guinee pig to open up that can of worms and it's your turn in the barrell... I believe Garrett has dealt effectively across the board with all of it's customers, and IF YOU CALL them they are making more cause they are selling them off the production line now. Ole ROCKPILE is waiting on his now to get made.. hahaha

When something like this happens there is a tendency for people to try and gather as much information FAST and get their investment working for them. Speaking for myself and what I have experienced, I am pleased, and will show this machine off, and often too. If I had to recomend a machine in the PI range, this is my choice. My Sand Shark will be backing this one up.

Everyone has a limit to what they will endure with a situation like this, even Scrooge... Read his post and see what he has found out just in the last day or so. He has had one for a year and a White's for 20 yrs, I believe he said.. Now I think I read where a fellow named PHIL put him on some good advice, used it and has a quiet running machine that looks like he seeing the fruits of his research. I am NOT SPEAKING for Scrooge but he has had his share of looking for answers, and as I read his last postings, I think he has gotten his going in the right direction.

I would highly recommend the Infinium LS to you or anyone else, but YOU have to be comfortable with the decision.. Take a look at the posted messages index and look at the posts and responses in the Garrett forum, next the Minelabs, White's, Tesoro's... There is a good indication that a lot of people are using tried and true machines from Garrett, and I have another one, and A good one I might add...

Asanaman
 
Asanaman,
thanks ever so much, I have been away from the computer for a while. Took the Sea Hunter out for some PI practice. I do believe I will get me what I have been wanting for a year now, and that is the Infinium. There have been so many great things stated about this machine. Again many thanks and happy hunting.
 
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