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Garrett AT Pinpointer Fix


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Does anyone know specifically what goes wrong with the Garrett AT pin pointers? Both of mine were sent in previously, and both of them developed the same issue again. They turn on but do not detect any metal. Is it the electrolytic capacitor, the flat pack The IC or is it in the coil itself that is the problem? Is that long rod a radio frequency coil? I'm kinda getting tired of pin pointers dying like that. Any ideas would be helpful.

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I sent mine in for warranty repair over a year ago.  I don't remember the exact symptoms but I seem to recall it was acting very erratically, sounding off when no metal present and not giving any indication when metal was present.  They replaced quite a bit (I could tell from the included repair invoice list) including the housing.  Mine went bad after I used it in water and I think it had a cracked housing which leaked (they never told me that, though).  Their service was very good, although maybe not lightning fast.

I don't know how many hours I have on it since the warranty repair (in the hundreds) but now the LED is erratic, sometimes on after the unit is turned off and sometimes off when the unit is turned on.  The only reason I ever paid attention to the LED was to see if the unit was turned on (obviously can't do that anymore) and my biggest concern is that it will run the battery down while turned off.  A few times I've taken the battery cap off and then back on to get the LED to go out, but I don't always and most of the time it's in the back of my vehicle so I wouldn't know if the LED is on or off.

I have two White's TRX's; one is on-the-fritz (out of warranty) and I've been procrastinating sending it in for repair.  After the holiday rush...  I wore out the switch -- that was easy to diagnose as it doesn't always do what I want (come on or go off with a push) and even when I get it on it will unexpectedly turn itself off.

Maybe I'm hard on pinpointers.  I like both models when they are working properly and I use both when coin hunting -- Carrot for initial response and TRX for the fine tuning when recovery is imminent and I want to make sure I don't hit the coin with my digging tools.  Small items that are out of the hole but still difficult to locate can also lead to me using one or the other in that situation.

There are lots of reports on standard detectors and how well they work under different conditions, etc.  Unfortunately there seem to be a paucity of info on pinpointers.  I'll be glad to read Simon's upcoming report.

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"They turn on but do not detect any metal. Is it the electrolytic capacitor, the flat pack The IC or is it in the coil itself that is the problem? Is that long rod a radio frequency coil?"

I only have experience of the standard ProPointer, so can't comment specifically about the AT. But ... It's not the big electrolytic, it's not the microprocessor, it's not the coil.

Most problems are related to the environmental factors.

It's got water ingress. It's got condensation inside. It's got dirt inside.

The physical beating it takes has caused a fault, such as a broken wire to the coil.

I presume you've opened it up ? Look for corrosion, dirt, water staining. I would expect it to have conformal coating ( a varnish like laquer) on most of the PCB, but it's not applied everywhere. Clean it with a brush, a wet Q-tip etc, put it somewhere warm for a day to dry out. Inspect it under a lens/loupe/magnifying glass.

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I have sent in a number of the Garrett Pro- pointers. Upon taking one of them apart thinking I could fix it---which turned out not to be the case---a capacitor was bulging when opened up. The rest of them were having the same issue as that one, so I assume that is what goes bad with them. Each of the Carrots I have had seem to last about 3 years before displaying the issue. In all fairness, Garrett did me a solid by replacing the units for a very reasonable amount. See post from last year.

 

 

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Thanks everyone for the responses.  One pinpointer after being repaired, lasted a good amount of time, Probably 1-2 years. The second pinpointer repaired (both were sent in at the same time) was to be my spare unit. It worked when I got it back and then sat on the shelf for the year or so. Turned it on and it was broken again. I never got to use it at all. So no water or dirt damage to that one. Garrett's prices were great, just like White's repair prices were too. I'm just a bit disappointment that my back up unit was dead when I needed it. I would pay $200 for a pinpointer if it  had the depth of the Pistol Probe, the waterproofing of the Garrett Carrot, the reliability of a Lexus, and the volume of my Marshall😄 Is that too much to ask??

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  • 2 weeks later...

 

Not all electronic devices are created equally these days....

Some are built in a better part of China ???

Plus QC seems to have become the consumer sending something back or into the circular file.

That's all I got on that. 

.

Hey School , did you try bringing the Marshall and plug it in ?  I'd suggest a half stack for portability...

But seriously there are the little battery mini stacks...... just need a speaker jack on the pointer.

 

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7 hours ago, rvpopeye said:

 

Not all electronic devices are created equally these days....

Some are built in a better part of China ???

Plus QC seems to have become the consumer sending something back or into the circular file.

That's all I got on that. 

.

Hey School , did you try bringing the Marshall and plug it in ?  I'd suggest a half stack for portability...

But seriously there are the little battery mini stacks...... just need a speaker jack on the pointer.

 

I need a kid to lug that stack for me 😄 We don't do half stacks 😲 Funny about the little battery mini stacks too. Looks like Marshall will lend it's name if the price is right for just about anything. Here's a gift I received. It's a Marshall head that is a key port. You get mini 1/4" jacks that are key chains. When you get home you just plug your keys into the head.  Love it.  As for QC, I think these days, they think it means "Quit Crying" over our poor quality control!

PC270218.JPG

PC270219.JPG

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SOHK

Did you ever think the reason you can't hear those pinpointers so well might be threshold shift from standing in front of those 8 (16?)  12" speakers on 11 did you ?? LOL  The ringing drowns it out.

For some reason I can say it's possible. I SAID FOR SOME REASON I CAN SAY IT'S POSSIBLE .

skuh kuh kuh kuh kuh and it only took me 40 years to find out.

 

Good luck on a quick fix whatever you decide to do.

Looks like even the repairs need a QC dept. 

Probably micro components on the pcb too ....it IS hard to test/repair things you can barely see !.

(I don't remember seeing a schematic in an owners manual since the 80s...)

 

 

 

 

 

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8 minutes ago, rvpopeye said:

SOHK

Did you ever think the reason you can't hear those pinpointers so well might be threshold shift from standing in front of those 8 (16?)  12" speakers on 11 did you ?? LOL  The ringing drowns it out.

For some reason I can say it's possible. I SAID FOR SOME REASON I CAN SAY IT'S POSSIBLE .

skuh kuh kuh kuh kuh and it only took me 40 years to find out.

 

Good luck on a quick fix whatever you decide to do.

Looks like even the repairs need a QC dept. 

Probably micro components on the pcb too ....it IS hard to test/repair things you can barely see !.

(I don't remember seeing a schematic in an owners manual since the 80s...)

 

 

 

 

 

LOL Yep the ears take a beating, but how come I can hear the waves so well just not the pinpointer over them. Seriously I wish they would have a more robust volume control, like metal detectors or some headphones have.  I abandoned the option of trying to repair it because of the micro components. Not much you can do unless someone has already found the cause of the problem. I'm sure it's a reoccurring issue that pin pointers have. I have read of the same issue a while back, so I don't think I am alone. I'll just switch brands and take what is available, hoping someone will make a better pin pointer for the beach. 

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The pinpointer is the same note as your fave feed back ?  the waves are just white noise but of course include pinpointer note too. 

Fortunately a scoop is much easier to hear.

I have audio on 25 for all tones except ferrous on my Nox ! such is life.........

 

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