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Real Bad Interference

O

okara gold

Member
Lately when using my ATX in the water at different Florida beaches the machine is so unstable from some kind of interference that I have to turn the sensitivity down to 7 or 8 to make it usable. I run a frequency check before I start and it doesn't help. It seems that when sensitivity is set higher all of a sudden a low tone is suddenly heard and sets the sound off to the point of a constant high low rapid sound. So frustrating. Only thing that helps is running at 6, 7 or 8 on sensitivity. I don't want to hunt that way and loose so much depth. I used the machine out of the water at the same beach yesterday and I could run sens. at 11 to 12 with no problems. I also have an Infinium that has no interference problems at all. Any thoughts on this? Thanks!
 
7-8 is normal here in New England's salt water.
 
Only time I really had a problem was when the High Speed Acela train was passing the beach.
The interference started about 7 minutes before it passed and 5 minutes after. However, if I stayed out deep
with the ATX underwater...no problem. Same thing happened with the Infinium and Excalibur.
I have not been to that Connecticut beach since 2009.
 
Last year I was hunting down in the keys at Bahia Honda state park and was having issues getting my atx to settle down, it was terrible. When I got back home I sent it to Garrett. They replaced the coil and check the machine out. They treated me well. I would sent it in and see what they say about it.I knew I had a bad coil because I switch coils and it help settle it down. I had the stock coil and 8 inch mono. Happy Hunting
 
an khe said:
Last year I was hunting down in the keys at Bahia Honda state park and was having issues getting my atx to settle down, it was terrible. When I got back home I sent it to Garrett. They replaced the coil and check the machine out. They treated me well. I would sent it in and see what they say about it.I knew I had a bad coil because I switch coils and it help settle it down. I had the stock coil and 8 inch mono. Happy Hunting
Click to expand...

Now you've got my curiosity up... When I got to the beach I stood near the waters edge and started things up doing a freq. scan etc. All was fine. As soon as I got into the water about knee deep the machine got very erratic. Not the normal drifting associated with swells and salt water but constant hi/lo.
Perhaps the salt water contacting something that shouldn't get wet caused the problem. When I got home I thoroughly washed the machine in fresh water and let it dry. Later that night in my yard I did a test and all worked perfectly. 16 inches on an air tested gold ring, sensitivity 13 and no erratic sounds. I will go back to the same beach and hunt in the wet sand and if no problems will immerse the coil in water and see what happens.
 
doc holiday232 said:
The coil wire is probably cracked/frayed---a common problem that Garrett Refuses to fix.
Click to expand...
You had it called right. Found 2 cracks showing copper? in the wire. Machine worked fine on the beach but when I put it in salt water. Holy Cow! How things got bad!
On its way back to Garrett. Thanks to all who helped me out.
 
This is WHY I refuse to buy an ATX---Garrett KNOWS they have a problem, but instead of fixing it they hope the Dummies will be satisfied with the pap they feed them. IF Mr. Charles were still alive this would have been fixed long ago.
 
I had no idea the ATX was prone to this problem and it is only 11 months old. One more year left on the warranty. I wonder what it would cost to repair if out of warranty?
Too bad for Garrett and the negative publicity it will receive.
 
Can't understand it. They developed this awesome Pi. Made it heavy as a tank, rugged as a snow flake. And expensive as all heck.
You would think it's time for someone to take a knee and give this thing a make over. This is so unlike Garrett.
 
I have an Infinium that is over 10 years old. It has the original coil and wire. The wire has been exposed to the elements of salt and fresh water hunting and desert nugget hunting. I've
never had a problem with it wearing and cracking. Now the "bullet proof" ATX with completely enclosed coil wire is a mess. I don't understand. :stars:
 
I still maintain its a chemical interaction between the outer "jacket" of the coiled cable and the Polyester resin the fiberglass shaft is made out of. (Not a chafing issue)
The cable just sits enclosed in that shaft, in that environment basically 24/7-365. Take the coil off the machine and sniff down inside the shaft that the cable sits in and is attached to....
it will smell like polyester resin. Mine does.
Beav
 
okara gold said:
I have an Infinium that is over 10 years old. It has the original coil and wire. The wire has been exposed to the elements of salt and fresh water hunting and desert nugget hunting. I've
never had a problem with it wearing and cracking. Now the "bullet proof" ATX with completely enclosed coil wire is a mess. I don't understand. :stars:
Click to expand...

Okara, got my Infinium in 2014. Already there were some (warnings) about the Atx. Mostly weight. Had the chance to hold both the Inferno & Atx at a store. I was only 65 at the time and it was too heavy then. So got the 14" & 8" mono coils, and never looked back. Although the sites I hunt run from decent to crap the Infinium with its two tones done well for me. Along with the satisfaction of dependability. I wonder how many Atx's are being sold today?
I'm not trying to trash the Atx. Like many, just disappointed the advanced technology isn't sitting on a dependable , lighter shaft.
 
That sounds like a good summation of what is going on. I know the cable was not twisted again and again or constantly rubbing against the shaft as what someone might think would cause this. So perhaps a chemical interaction is the culprit.
 
Haven't said anything on this forum for a long, long time.

I purchased one of the first ATX machines. Have many threads on Find's about ALL the problems from day one with the ATX.

Sold my ATX a couple years ago after Garrett replaced my original coil that started falsing due to the cable wire.

With that said....The components IN the machine are the best by far.

If Garrett didn't cheap out by using the Recon Pro design and installed the components in an updated light weight design with the option of a fixed or collapsible shaft, they would have had a winner.

The MAIN problem I have with all that was said on this Forum is that Garrett Engineers never ever chimed in to explain themselves why they did what they did. Or interacted with forum users about all the problems.
And to this day have not corrected any design or defective design problems with the machine.

With all the critical feedback on this forum about the ATX from day one, Garrett Engineering missed an opportunity to interact with it's customers to help make a better machine.

The ATX may have permanently damaged Garrett reputation as a premier PI Machine manufacturer. This forum sure has died.
 
The coil wire screw comes loose and causes noise you need to check it every few outings/when the machine is not running as it should.
 
Same here as pictures all the way up and down the coil wire exposed.I separated the shaft to expose the coil apart from the narrow part of the shaft onto the head connection.I used insulation tape as far down as I could go stretching the coil wire as i taped it.The narrow part that connects to the head i pumped silicon sealant into this via a 8mm tube into the head shaft.Only down side to doing this is that the shaft wont fold down so small because the sealant hardened about 5 inches into the tube going to the coil plus the extra tape takes up space.I guess I could use shrink wrap tape on it might change it later.This reduced the false signals I was getting but still getting a false signal from the head when wet if it touch`s a blade of wet grass.On closer looking i see micro cracks in the coil resin so I m waiting for some epoxy clear glue to seal it as I think water is probably getting/got into the coil .If its not that there must be another split somewhere in the wire which will mean splitting the whole thing apart and buying a new coil which is £500 in the UK just now.The machine works fine with my 20" deepseeker on it(just now). C`mon Garrett fix needed for this great bit of kit.
 
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