Steve Herschbach

The Axiom is a dual channel (dual ground balance points) PI and the numbers have nothing to do with the extended ground balance system hot rock notch method. It is showing you the two ground balance settings. See this thread below for an explanation of what is going on. I was only suggesting you try the "no ground balance" thing to isolate the issue you are having, not suggesting it is a general hunt mode.

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Chicken or egg problem. Garrett allowed the price for the Axiom to be way too high overseas leading to lower sales than hoped for, leading to lack of interest from aftermarket coil manufacturers. It’s been way out of whack, with Axiom priced well under the competition here, but about the same as the competition or even higher overseas. Hopefully moves to fix that problem will get more sales which in turn will get the aftermarket interested. For Detech at least they already have suitable molds so it’s just a matter of getting the windings right, no big development costs, no chip issues. Another problem ironically is that Garrett already has six coils for the Axiom, and so aftermarket demand may not be as high as what the bubble world of this forum thinks with the average users out there. Not holding my breath personally as what I have already is working fine.

I need to double check but any 00 reading may indicate a channel is NOT ground balanced but in an overload state, which would mean all bets are off as far as detecting. It might give the appearance of being ground balanced when it is just the opposite. That is why I suggested trying the same ground after a reset and not doing a ground balance. The machine will act more like a pure PI and will function just fine in most cases with slow and even coil control since the autotune will smooth the ground signal. It can even have better depth in milder ground though the worse the ground, the more unmanageable it will be. See this ATX video for reference to the method…

Thank Andy - all I did was repost it and the photo from that other thread. The video appeared late in the thread so I thought it might get missed unless it had its own thread.

On topic videos are fine as long as they are embedded (copy and use the YouTube "Share" link) so the videos appear here. My assumption is if people embed videos here they are doing it for the forum instead of just promoting a YouTube channel.

Photo of nuggets from this thread

Yeah, but it is crazy to wait until one breaks or more likely gets lost, then to have to call and try and get one while being without a bolt. Any smart nugget hunter will want to buy a spare in case it gets lost, and there are those of use who like having a spare lower rod mounted on spare coils for quick and easy swapping. No lower rods anywhere that I can see either, though they might be more than people want to spend. Anyway, forwarding all this to Garrett as if they want to sell Axioms to nugget hunters they need to make it easier to buy spare parts. Another one would be the arm cuff.

Condor and I met Andy out in the desert during a brief spell of good weather for a little detector testing and nugget hunting. Andy put together some good video footage during the trip of the Axiom in action.

Coil nut screw PN 9712300 Washers PN 9714300 Can’t find them anywhere online. Not good Garrett, not good, though in their defense it’s up to dealers to order and stock parts. I am the guy who pressured Garrett to sell the plastic vials from their panning kit as a separate item - you want it you have to ask. Presumably with the bolt coming with the detector nobody has been asking, but it’s a given they will be needed eventually. Two sets of AT bolts with washers can be had for $18.00 or less so an Axiom bolt better not be $30 or I’ll be looking hard for an alternative. I’ll go through my bolt kit today and see if anything else fits.

Yeah, I just love it when companies change websites and do not properly forward or replace links. That is the main reason I created the downloads area on this website, so I could link to stable resources like user manuals instead of creating an ever larger can of worms by linking direct to resources. I'd prefer direct links actually but this is a perfect example of why that does not work in the long run. I have linked to these articles numerous times over the years. Now Dave's are gone, only available on the Wayback Machine. I'll either link to the Internet Archive version, or put copies in the Downloads area to link to. When I get time and am in the mood I'll try and fix the various existing links in old threads. https://web.archive.org/web/20230719033501/http://www.fisherlab.com/hobby/davejohnson/searchcoilsessayrevised.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20230719033501/http://www.fisherlab.com/hobby/davejohnson/SearchcoilfieldshapeApril2012.pdf

I'm running a production machine with the latest update. The target in the video appears to be matching the ground balance point. Each mode ground balances differently as is made obvious by the different numbers when in different modes. Could be a problem with coils or machines or both - I am not saying it is not. Just that with multiple machines using multiple coils with hundreds of hours in Australia, California, and Nevada I have not encountered any odd issues with one exception. On small areas of nearly pure black sand up at Tahoe the mono coils will not work and the DD coils barely work. I've never seen a situation where the mono coils ran better on bad ground than the DD coil - just the opposite. In Knomads case I'd try not ground balancing the detector to see if the target is being rejected only at that specific ground balance setting and coil in Fine mode as is shown. Trying other coils is always a good idea also. Again I am not saying there is not a problem or making excuses to try and explain anything away. I'm just saying my experience with the DD coils is not the same as yours Jeff. And for all I know maybe there is a hole in the Fine Mode when running a DD I am unaware of because I can't know what I am missing. I know Andy has also come to favor the DD coil over the mono.

I use my 11x7 DD exclusively in Fine Mode and in the worst of ground with no problem.

Thanks Erik. I’ve never been very comfortable with praise so I’m squirming a bit at the moment. The fact is I learned a great deal from others and did well, and this website was designed as being a way to give back. I taught a lot of people how to nugget detect giving classes in Alaska and nothing gave me more pleasure than seeing those people find their first gold nugget. It’s great that you and your son are able to connect via gold prospecting. So while my first instinct is to blow this off with a self-deprecating joke, I think in this case I’ll just say thank you.

The truth is that for VLF all the top detectors are quite capable. The main difference will be the operator expertise and most importantly, the quality of the location being hunted. Since the machines are fairly close in performance it is things like weight, or tones, or control layout that make the difference. In other words, personal preference. People often think their personal preferences are superior to other people's personal preferences and that the machine they have picked is therefore somehow "better" than the other persons pick. It can get to be an ego thing so people can get pretty heated over something as inconsequential as a metal detector. But it is fodder for discussion sites like this forum as people endlessly compare the finer points of various detectors so I am not one to complain about it. Well, within limits of course.

Turn down your sensitivity. ”but then I won’t go as deep” Yes, but you will have stable target id. ”I want stable target id but I don’t want to lose depth by turning down the sensitivity” That’s nice but target id stability is directly related to mode choice and sensitivity setting. Going for max depth will in most cases cause target id instability. Nearly everything in detecting is a trade and if you push the absolute limit of depth target id accuracy will suffer. The worse the ground, the more true this is. It’s always been that way with metal detectors and always will be. ”yeah but if I lower the sensitivity of my new whiz bang detector now it goes no deeper than this old model” Metal detectors used to be less powerful and in general manufacturers put high priority on accurate target id. Back in the day you could almost always run sensitivity maxed out with little problem because older models were in effect throttle limited. Now, as we reach the limits of detector depth, manufacturers are making machines that can easily push past the stability red line. Sensitivity controls literally go higher than they used to - the throttle limiters are being pulled off in the name of “more depth.” Yet people in general, not saying you in particular, just users in general, have a fear of backing the sensitivity down. This leads to far more complaints these days about target id stability as people try to run new detectors at sensitivity levels set like they did with some older detector. With all detectors target id stability is a direct detector feedback to you, the user, about the status of your current settings. If the settings are too high, target id will become unstable and the numbers jump around. That is the machine screaming at users “turn down the sensitivity.” So either find the setting that gives you the stability you crave, or push higher and deal with jumpy target id. It’s a choice. If target id stability is the gauge, it is very possible that new machines set to be stable will go no deeper than older machines set to be stable.

Yup, if mine had sounded like that I would have kept it.

This thread is six years dead

Having met Dimitar I will say that I think he is a person who simply does this because he likes making machines that he likes, the way he likes. He is doing well in life so it’s more about doing what he enjoys than making money. Call it a passion project. In a nutshell if you don’t like what he is doing, go design and make your own detector or buy something else. Because I expect Dimitar will continue to march to his own drummer, not mine or anyone else's. I respect that.

It was great meeting with you out there Andy, good times and great weather…. and that nice nugget!

That sucks! I hate it when this site goes down and I'm sure the Friendly staff feel the same.

Yeah not my cup of tea. Not watching is the answer. Walk away. Some people brought themselves low in response to Calabash. Too often we become what we respond to. Find another path. And since this forum is not a place where I think we need to discuss people I’m going to bring this thread to a stop. The forum is about gold prospecting and metal detecting, it’s not about what we think of other people. I’ll just end by stating I have plenty of failings as a human being and that makes it pretty easy for me to forgive failings in other people. Life is hard and we never really know other people, the things they suffer that make them act like they act. A little humility and forgiveness goes a long way. You all have a great day.

Too bad he pulled it all down. Could have just left it be and would still pull in some revenue just coasting on the existing content. Just lock it and walk away. A lot of it genuinely good stuff (some was just the opposite) and a shame to lose. Those great nuggets to budding Tubers will never be seen now.

You need a thick skin to put yourself out there, especially if you like to stir the pot. I fully sympathize as this forum is largely set up the way it is to protect my own peace of mind. The open internet can be vicious and genuinely harmful if not managed properly. Sometimes it’s just not worth it and the best solution is to step away. He has my best wishes.