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10 Things I Like And 5 Things Don't Like About The Garrett Apex


abenson

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I had absolutely no issues with the headphones coming unpaired unless I was too far away from the unit. One time I walked back to my truck and left the Apex sitting about 50 yards away. Of course it lost the connection when I got too far out. But as soon I was back in range it paired right back up. 

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2 minutes ago, kac said:

I believe the early models had issues. Mine was fairly early and I experienced unstable numbers and eventually had emi and coil knock problems. Garrett promptly replaced the coil and the machine runs like a champ. I can run it flat out in just about every place I hunt no and may drop 1 click down from gain depending on ground conditions. I have no issues with id's now and the machine locks right on targets very well.

As for depth air test inside my house that is riddled with EMI I have the following:

Clad copper penny 11"

Nickel 12 1/2"

Clad Dime 9"

This is with the stock viper coil.

So with that being said what I had problems with the previous coil  is I had pretty good stability in 5 and 10khz modes but 15 and 20khz the vdi would just jump all over even with gain down 3-4 bars. Just touching the coil or light taps would make it sound off and MF was also unstable.

If your Apex is knock sensitive give Garrett a shout and they should fix without issue.

I really enjoy the machine now and use it quite a bit as it is light and comfortable. I never thought I would like the hybrid audio but understanding the simple beep and slight nuance it has on deeper objects I don't have any problems knowing what I dig. Simple clean and effective. Buddy of mine has one and his runs like a champ and his first time out to the beach he picked up a nice silver ring about a foot down in the damp sand along with tons of clad. I was impressed how stable his was in the wet. We will be hitting the beach probably this weekend and I'll take mine out as well.

Thanks Kac,

after your experience and that of others with coil knock, chatter and extremely jumpy target ID, the first thing I checked was for possible coil instability issues either in the coil, the strain relief at the coil/coil cable junction and of course at the coil connector/control box. My coil did not have any issues at all. I could hit it against anything, wiggle the connections and the cable and get absolute silence.........

Garrett has my APEX. I will let them figure it out.

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3 minutes ago, abenson said:

I had absolutely no issues with the headphones coming unpaired unless I was too far away from the unit. One time I walked back to my truck and left the Apex sitting about 50 yards away. Of course it lost the connection when I got too far out. But as soon I was back in range it paired right back up. 

I have had exactly the same experience with my other MS-3 Z-Lynk systems. They have always had good range even using the external transmitter versions.

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New coil is rock solid against EMI here. Knock sensitivity was a bigger concern for me as I want to use the machine in the woods. Last outing the machine ran like a champ. I do more woods hunting after the undergrowth is down and the Apex will certainly get a workout. The cable seemed fine on the old coil so maybe something died inside the coil, don't know.

Previous coil was also bit jittery and I couldn't run it past 2 bars down on sensitivity. Not the case now at all. I suspect EMI messes with ID#'s as machines struggle to have a consistent signal to process. This happens on all my machines if EMI is strong enough.

Sorry for likes, frowns and any other emotes, ran out here.

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I own and regularly use 3 Apex devices and have a 4th as a loaner-unit for friends and family.  My original Apex just after release, Ver. 1.23, nd shortly after got a 2nd Apex, Ver. 1.25.  The first one had some noisy behavior with the Viper coil and I tracked it down to an issue with the connector at the control box and something going on inside.  I called Garrett, sent it in, and it was quickly taken care of and returned.  Problems solved.

All four Apex units have the 1.28 Ver. update.   All four are 'saved' with my turn-on settings of 'Custom' program that accepts '20' on up.  Sensitivity at maximum, Volume '8', Iron Volume '2' and in MF.  Then once I get started, GB and begin hunting I will reduce the Sensitivity if needed for EMI, or I will opt for  a Single Frequency.  Usually it is the default 15 kHz and sometimes I use 10 kHz to help deal with EMI.

I hunt some wooded areas, in and around a lot of dense, thick brush in ghost towns or other old-use and out-of-the-way places, and hit renovation work, homesteads, and work around building rubble.  Quite a few sites also have some rocks to work around.  I pamper my equipment and do my best not to 'knock' the coil into solid objects, but we all now that happens from time-to-time.  Since the first unit was taken care of, I have not experienced any 'knock-noise' from normal hunting coil contacts.  Also, using the stock 'Viper' coil as well as the 'Ripper' and 'Raider' and NEL 5" Sharp DD coils I am not having any stability issues and the Apex runs a lot quieter and smoother than several other detectors I currently own or have in the past year.  And I get very impressive battery run-time with the Apex.

I also have  4 pair of MS-3 headphones, one for each Apex, and 3 AT Pro-Pointer AT's, one for each of my three personal units.  Each is assigned to and paired with the Apex,  and I haven't had any problems with the Apex / MS-3 / AT Pro-Pointer unpairing when I am out hunting.

I only have one 'problem' when it comes to the Apex series, and that is I really would like to have Garrett make a smaller-size coil for it, especially something like their 4½" Concentric coil.  I'd get two of them right away, to mount one full-time, and a spare for back-up to keep in my Accessory Coil Tote.

Oh, I have one other problem nd have sisnce the Apex was firs mentioned and introduced, and that is they assigned it as an 'Ace' series model.  I NEVER state that it is because it absolutely is NOT an Ace.  Not in design or performance.  Totally different.  That, to me, was one bad marketing move.  Otherwise, I feel it is a fantastic mid-priced detector that works well for general-purpose use, and can do quite well in some bad iron contaminated places, too.

Monte

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A couple of times I did have the headphones unpair on me but I restarted the machine and changed the channel. Only a couple of times and hasn't happened since. Not sure what made my coil knock sensitive but it could have been an early model but the replacement is rock solid and incredibly stable. Probably the most emi resistant machine I have.

Think if we all keep bugging Garrett they will make a nice small concentric 🙂

Still out of likes :(

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Very good discussion here. I too look forward to Garrett's introduction of the AT Flagship version of Multiflex. I also hope they will introduce a small & mid size concentric coil for both series. As far as Garrett's Iron Audio, I have only found it useful in Motion All Metal mode on the AT Max. It works quite well down to about 50% of target response depth. In Disc mode I usually hunt in Zero or Custom 31. The Apex is a nice unit for the intended market. Garrett's Z Link systems are the best out there as far as I'm concerned. I have 2 external set ups running Killer B's & Garrett pinpointers.

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Yes but if we look at the figures they are not really good . Garrett has ( had ? ) definitely an issue with their Apex manufacturing quality  , as I said in an other thread. 

Now the figures . There are 5 active Apex users on this forum at this time : Monte  (4 Apex ), Jeff MC ( 1  ) , abenson ( 1  ), kac ( 1  ) and me ( 1  ). From what I read in the forum  , 2 detectors and 2 coils have been send back by these users to the garrett after service. 

Which means a failure ratio of 50% (  8 Apex , 4 issues ) which is really huge ...🥵

It is a pity because the Apex is really a good detector and I like it  🙂. Just I wonder why Garrett do not communicate a little more on this , at least we would know what is exactly going on ... And I hope that they will fix these issues .

Hopefully mine is working well now even if I have an EMI ? or other ? issue from time to time for which I have a turnaround...

 

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8 hours ago, palzynski said:

Yes but if we look at the figures they are not really good . Garrett has ( had ? ) definitely an issue with their Apex manufacturing quality  , as I said in an other thread. 

Now the figures . There are 5 active Apex users on this forum at this time : Monte  (4 Apex ), Jeff MC ( 1  ) , abenson ( 1  ), kac ( 1  ) and me ( 1  ). From what I read in the forum  , 2 detectors and 2 coils have been send back by these users to the garrett after service. 

Which means a failure ratio of 50% (  8 Apex , 4 issues ) which is really huge ...🥵

It is a pity because the Apex is really a good detector and I like it  🙂. Just I wonder why Garrett do not communicate a little more on this , at least we would know what is exactly going on ... And I hope that they will fix these issues .

Hopefully mine is working well now even if I have an EMI ? or other ? issue from time to time for which I have a turnaround...

 

Your percentages are troubling at least for the forum member owners. We are experienced detector users and are not likely to send a detector in for repair for no good reason.

One of my sons is a lead mechanic at a really big General Motors dealership here in Denver. He gets most of the really hard repairs and the ones that involve electric and hybrid GM vehicles. We were talking about buying new cars and he sad absolutely do not buy a new car that was manufactured and came off the assembly line between March of 2020 and July of 2021. There is no way to know who was on the assembly line during that time range due to Covid 19, how experienced they were and if there were compromises made on parts quality due to shortages. 

If this also applies to metal detectors, especially Garrett metal detectors.........I am guilty. I bought 2 Garretts and a Minelab that were produced during that time. So far, only one has been a problem (APEX) which may be due more to it being a new model and less due to Covid 19 issues.

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25 minutes ago, Jeff McClendon said:

Your percentages are troubling at least for the forum member owners. We are experienced detector users and are not likely to send a detector in for repair for no good reason.

....

If this also applies to metal detectors, especially Garrett metal detectors.........I am guilty. I bought 2 Garretts and a Minelab that were produced during that time. So far, only one has been a problem (APEX) which may be due more to it being a new model and less due to Covid 19 issues.

Interesting your sons feedbacks from GM Denver thx ...  It not easy at all when you have to deal with quality issues whatever the product .  I have been working in a software company during 20+ years and I know it is not funny when you provide a service which does not work properly  , too slow or(and) not reliable , I have experienced this ... But usually most of the issues can be solved with work , time and patience and I guess it will be the same for garrett and the apex ...

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