Tip of the Hat to Bart of BigBoysHobbies

[DrJoeprime]

Got the itch for an ATX last Sunday. sent out two enquiries for price and delivery. I figured to hear something back Monday...but Bart sent me a quick response within the hour. Put a smile on my face but decided to sleep on it.

Ordered it next morning. Unfortunately Wells Fargo put a 24 hour hold on my payment and they wouldn't release it on my say so but Bart was happy to take them on...problem solved ..detector shipped..should be in my hands Thursday the 13th.

Thank you Bart for going the extra mile .. much appreciated! Two Thumps Up for BigBoysHobbies

Joe

 

[SoCalBeachScanner]

Hi Joe,

You weren't kidding when you ask me if I wanted to sell my ATX during our beach erosion hunt. Good choice Joe, you better get a bigger scoop those targets are deep!

Better yet, I'm about ready to hire someone to dig for me. It's a killer digging down in wet sand 18"+ and come up with a 3-oz lead sinker.

If you have any questions or need any help, let me know. I've learned it's language, so I'm more selective on what I dig now.

Bill

 

[DrJoeprime]

Hi Bill.. Yeah I really wanted to get just a little extra power and depth for the special clean spots that might be hiding a bit of deep gold...we shall see.

I've had my water scoop for over three years .. don't use it too often but probably will from now on.

I've watched quite a few YouTube videos and I think I have the basics pretty much set (and NO ground balance on the wet sand).

A bit concerned about the camlocks and am wondering about a mod to have a fixed length carbon fiber tube just large enough to take the cable sort of a semi-permanent situation. The detector folding up into a compact case is good maybe once or twice a year for travel.. but a fixed length would be my usual use.

The weight too concerns me. I'm hoping the helper strap will do it's job.

But then the ATX's reaction to a small 0.1 gram gold nugget (more like a flake) is just amazing...and the threshold seems so smooth and stable.. I think this just might make out to be a good purchase.

Bill: Do you have an easy time with the junk targets? Are they pretty easy to ID?

Regards, Joe

 

[SoCalBeachScanner]

Hi Again Joe,

To run the ATX super quiet at Long Beach in wet sand, you will have to ground balance some and at Seal Beach a little. What I have found, the farther down the coast you go, the less ground balance you need to run totally quiet in wet sand.

And your right, the threshold is totally smooth, stable, and not a peep unless you scan over something metal or bump something hard. Rubbing or bumping the sand has no affect and makes no sound, but if you bump a rock or hard object, you will hear a little twang and feel the vibration up through the shaft to the hand control.

The sling that comes with it works pretty good for me as far a taking the weight off while scanning. Carrying the ATX to and from a location to use it, is like carrying a lead pipe

I've been looking into modifying my shaft also. I found a carbon fiber tube on eBay that is 40" long X 1-1/4" diameter that would work perfect. But the way the coil is designed and mounted, I don't want to have to cut my existing shaft at this time.

I don't have any concern with the stem nuts, mine always seem to turn just fine.

I'm getting better and better with junk targets. You can measure longer items as rods, wire and stakes as you scan like with any machine. Aluminum can tops or bottoms scream at you at any depth. You can hear nails, bobby pins, and small wire with the double tone sound or use the Iron Check to about 4". Some nails that are deeper will not make a double tone. If I scoop a faint sounding target on the first scoop, I run the iron check over the pile of sand I just scooped, and about 50% of the time it will grunt on a small iron something, so I just move on.
You can hear shallow foil with a high tinny pitch sound. Those deep Taco Bell hot sauce packs drive me nuts because they make a decent high/low sound.
When I see and hear a faint small target and don't retrieve it on the first scoop, I get excited, but most of the time it's a lead sinker way down there, and sometime it's a iron bolt or object down 16"
The low/high and the high/low sound helps with the type of metal on most items, but it can be fooled on deep items, but at least you hear something.

...Bill