Taming the Savage Armadillo - I mean ATX

[lytle78]

I posted already that the sling provided wasn't much help for me. Today I received my ML Pro Swing 45 harness.

Oh bliss! It works very well to take the dead weight of the great Armadillo off my arm and shoulder. There is a nice shoulder strap and hip belt arrangement and a very clever adjustable bungee to hold the detector. Another feature that really works is the plastic J-strut which transfers weight from the shoulder strap,down to the back of the hip belt.

Garrett should immediately rip off this idea, thereby returning the favor for ML's rip off of the Garrett Pro Pointer. IMHO.

Meanwhile, I await the $2000 Garret LTX - a lean, mean 3 pound version of the Armadillo for skinny terrestrial bipeds like myself - we can call it the Roadrunner. If they do that I will become a dealer and sell them door-to-door!

 

[WaterWalker]

If they do make a roadrunner, I sure hope you will take the armadillo back in trade when you come to my door. Maybe not. I am in love with the hard shell baby. Let me get 200-300 hours of swinging time in the water and I will know just how it does as a water detector. So far with only about 30 hours in the water, I am loving the little beastly armadillo, even with its idiosyncrasies. I take it you are a dirt digger, I am a waterwalker and interested if you think the PS45 would withstand being used in salt water. It looks like it is all plastic, no metal and the material might be fast drying. What is your take? Thanks and I will root for your LTX.

 

[stumpr]

Just curious Water Walker.......I bought the ATX for relic hunting bad ground but plan to use the ATX at the Ocean this summer. What little quirks should I be ready for?

 

[SoCalBeachScanner]

Hi stumpr ... while you waiting for WaterWalker to respond to you post, I can give you my input on saltwater beach hunting.

I have used the ATX at the most mineralized beach in Southern California (Long Beach). The Ground Balance will cancel out all mineralized sound and still find targets much deeper then 12", especially lead, brass, and aluminum (which includes gold).

In a beach environment, the ATX is very stable, smooth, and quiet. If it wasn't for a very faint Threshold sound, you wouldn't know the ATX was on.
Bobby pins, wire, thin diameter nails are very easy to hear with that very quick double tone sound. I rarely use the Iron Check anymore because the same depth the Iron Check goes (4"-5"), I can hear the quick double tone of the small wire size iron targets.

Just today, I ordered a better scoop to dig deeper faster. Anything over about 12" deep is very hard to retrieve in the water/surf as the sand caves in faster then you can dig. I have had to give up digging on several items, which drives me crazy, that I suspected to be ring size items. The Signal Strength Indicator, which I believe, is the best feature of the ATX. With experience, along with what you are hearing with the low/high & high/low tones, the Signal Strength Indicator is packed with visual information on the size and depth of an item.

Most items in dry or wet sand are less then 8", it's those deeper items that will drive you nuts if you don't have proper digging tools.

You'll have fun with the ATX this summer at the beach. Just stay out of trashy areas in the dry sand, that will drive you crazy digging trash. Spend most of your time with the ATX in the wet sand on the slope between the high and low tide area, and wade out in the water at low tide if your ready for that.

 

[stumpr]

Thanks for the great input SoCalBeachScanner.................Looking for a good scoop. What would you recommend?

 

[SoCalBeachScanner]

Thanks for the great input SoCalBeachScanner.................Looking for a good scoop. What would you recommend?

Hi stumpr,

Without knowing how much beach hunting that you will be doing, for a first scoop, you can't go wrong with the "005 - Medium Beach Scoop" from "The Gold Digger" (link below). I used the exact same scoop and I love it. It stainless steel, weighs just under two pounds, works great in dry and wet sand, and it's only $59.95 plus shipping.

http://golddiggermetaldetectors.com/sandscoops.php

I just ordered this Step-on Scoop from this outfit on eBay (link below). If you plan on doing water hunting or in the surf, a Step-on Scoop is a must. This scoop is also great for wet sand, but they are more expensive, so whatever your budget will bear.

Please, no links to Ebay. The Gold Digger is a sponsor of Findmall

 

[WaterWalker]

Just got back home from 4 hours in the water. What a beautiful day, blue sky, 49F temp. and a smooth running ATX. Story to be posted later.

I do all my detecting in the water except for requested sand / land searches. I GB at the water's edge, make small adjustments to the sensitivity and maybe the discrimination (never above 3) to get a nice solid threshold tone. I may be giving up a small bit of depth, but I would not want to dig any deeper than I did today.

I have not found any quirks per se. Cleaning of the cam locks are mandatory if you want to collapse the detector when you head home. Loosen them as soon as you get out of the water, rinse them with fresh water when you get back to the car and work them free at home. When they dry out, I use compressed air to help get the silt out. Be careful of the headphone connector, DO NOT stand the detector on the connector. Personally if a signal goes through my scoop 3 time...I leave it and move on looking for a bigger object. Exception: if I think the signal might be from a chain, I'll scoop a few more times.

For a scoop: Aluminum is light and is suitable for dry and wet sand. If you plan to do shallow water digging, I would recommend a stainless steel scoop. Either way, I would buy a scoop you can step on, that way you do not have to drop to your knees to dig each target. Put a strong magnet on the back wall of the scoop to catch hairpins and other small iron objects. They can drive you crazy chasing them around.

Just ask if you have any other questions.

 

[stumpr]

n/t

 

[stumpr]

n/t