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Garrett Metal Detectors For Prospecting?


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Last time I found gold with a Garrett was with the ATX a few years ago. I like the ATX circuit, and would buy one again if packaged properly. I'm done with 7 pound metal detectors. :smile:

Garrett ATX Data & Reviews

My first year highlights with Garrett ATX. Large nugget in center is 3/4 ounce.

steve-herschbach-garrett-atx-year-one-2014.jpg

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Only Garrett I ever owned was the "Infinium"

Well named, as I found an infinite amount (nothing) with it  :) 

Head on comparisons with the late Jim Stewart's SD 2100 on undug gold pieces in situ convinced me to trade it immediately.

Jim's sympathetic comment at the time "Well, it's doing something different - " summed it up. Whatever it was doing, it certainly wasn't hearing gold under Aussie conditions!

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I forget the Aussie dealer at the time, but he made the Infinium out like it was going to put Minelab out of business. I actually helped a bit with the Infinium, as I was looking for anything that might compete with Minelab in some way. I found good gold with mine but it was no powerhouse for sure, and like the ATX turned into a beach detector. I was trying to counter that over the top portrayal at the time as I thought it was unfair to the Infinium to make such outrageous claims, which of course just generated a ton of blowback due to experiences like yours JR.

https://www.detectorprospector.com/magazine/steves-mining-journal/garrett-infinium-moore-creek-alaska-gold/

5 ounces of gold specimens found with Infinium

5-oz-gold-specimens-garrett-infinium-moore-cr-herschbach.jpg

Garrett Infinium Data & Reviews

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I bought an infinium, leave it on the back of the ute and no one bothers to rob you cause they know you got no gold 😂.

It wasn’t a bad little detector , but not in the same league as the 4500 I had at the time.

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I bought an Infinium on the proviso I could hand it back on an agreed value, found gold with it just to prove I could find gold with anything even a stick with a bit of poo on the end😜 ...... and just handed it back as per the agreement. The ATX on the other hand is a whole different thing but too heavy and too touch sensitive when the sensitivity is elevated (you need to to get any serious performance out of it).

JP

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36 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

I forget the Aussie dealer at the time, but he made the Infinium out like it was going to put Minelab out of business. I actually helped a bit with the Infinium, as I was looking for anything that might compete with Minelab in some way. I found good gold with mine but it was no powerhouse for sure, and like the ATX turned into a beach detector. I was trying to counter that over the top portrayal at the time as I thought it was unfair to the Infinium to make such outrageous claims, which of course just generated a ton of blowback due to experiences like yours JR.

Steve: I've deliberately forgotten his name as well. Over hyping always comes back to bite you in the end.

Same problem with early QED spruikers. Great lightweight, cheap PI prospecting machine, but not a world beater.

Taught me not to jump in on every new release. Pays to wait for field reports from experienced users, not salesmen.

The earlier Garretts seriously cleaned up in Aus. Certainly not knocking them all.

One of the Garrett Deepseekers better finds- with its discoverer:

be8eae366061ca7457cb352fd8327440.jpg

 

 

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garrett-at-gold-with-5-inch-super-sniper-coil.jpg

I did give the AT Gold a go when it came out, and again, a decent little detector. At the time being waterproof was real unique. But it was no more powerful than a half dozen alternatives already on the market. I'll take a Gold Bug 2 anytime over the AT Gold, and the Gold Bug 2 is a way older model. Garrett seems content to produce reasonably solid good value detectors, while leaving cutting edge stuff to others. They were an early leader in Oz, and it is odd that they never really seemed to take the gold market seriously after that. The lead machine for ages it seems was the Scorpion Gold Stinger, which I never fail to mention had the worst battery replacement scheme ever.

I am modestly hopeful things will change with the White's acquisition. They have the 24K now, and that is a top notch VLF. It would be a good place to start.

Garrett AT Gold Data & Reviews

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Didn't the Infinium have same or similar coil to the SeaHunter? I have the Seahunter and use it for beach combing and water hunting. It is good for rings and coins but not on small jewelry so would imagine it isn't sensitive enough for prospecting. It also isn't a super deep detector but at the beach holds its own on depth vs an IB as it is immune to the salt.

Wonder if they made a small coil for the infinium if it would be better?

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8 minutes ago, kac said:

Didn't the Infinium have same or similar coil to the SeaHunter? I have the Seahunter and use it for beach combing and water hunting. It is good for rings and coins but not on small jewelry so would imagine it isn't sensitive enough for prospecting. It also isn't a super deep detector but at the beach holds its own on depth vs an IB as it is immune to the salt.

Wonder if they made a small coil for the infinium if it would be better?

Same basic design but different coils. When you say better do you mean on smaller stuff? The Infinium like the TDI SL is a low power PI running off 8 AA batteries. The pulse delay is fairly long, so simply making the coil smaller adds almost nothing on small gold capability while losing depth on large stuff. Other than the fact it was waterproof and can ignore hot rocks, most VLF detectors will do better on gold nuggets than the Infinium. 24k versus Infinium - no contest.

I should also mention the Infinium had the highest failure rate of any detector I have experienced. It is so old now I would have to get one for almost nothing to consider one because the odds it will need service are fairly high. Having said all that... I had fun with it and it gave decent service at Moore Creek, which was essentially virgin ground. Just get over the nugget while ignoring hot rocks, and the Infinium did that for us well enough. But we replaced it with the TDI and never looked back. And guess who owns the TDI rights now?

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