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Things I Don't Like About The Garrett Axiom


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I'd be careful over extending the GPZ shaft like that by using the CTX shaft, the coils plug end is under terrible strain from the curly cord if you do that, and there are a number of instances of people having wires pop off their original coils inside the clear rubber cover up where it plugs into the detector.  It was first thought that was some sort of molded plug with everything secure inside, it turns out its not, it's just a rubber cover and the wires can lose their solder connection and if they pop off and touch a wire they shouldn't it blows your detector.  It's happened to two people in the past couple of months, one was lucky and it just made his detector noisy as the solder was failing but had not popped completely off.  Another guy it killed his GPZ.

67771519_blownGPZfromstockcoilcropped.jpg.96e7fb013624b6ebf615d045ae980f61.jpg

I'm not sure if this guys situation was from over extending his shaft, but it demonstrates what happens if the wires inside the coils come loose.

I was buying GPZ cables off faulty coils from a Minelab dealer in Australia, out of 5 cables from faulty coils he had in that batch 2 of the cables had their fault up inside that clear plug end of the coil so he threw them out rather than selling them to me as at the time everyone thought that rubber end was solid and not accessible to fix them.  Over extending the shaft runs the risk of this happening to you, I don't even like the idea of running it at full length for that reason.

I'm glad the Axiom has gone back to a traditional coil cable.

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6 hours ago, Gerry in Idaho said:

Me, as a guy who's 6' 2" or 6' 1" depending on who measures me at the VA = Call it 6" 1 & 1/2".  I have never had issues with the GPZ-7000 or the Axiom.  In fact when doing our Field Training I see many folks extending their detector shafts all the way out so they can get great big arching swings from Left to Right and covering most ground.  That's actually not how we like to train customers.  The farther out a coil, the more strain on one's back, neck shoulders and as we age, who wants to be adding more soreness from a hunt.  When standing straight up and proper posture, the coil on most detectors should be approx 12" to 18" in front of you.  I realize some coils that are large ellipticals (such as the 24" Ellip) are harder to work that way.

My Axiom and GPZ-7000 are almost exactly the same length when fully extended and each of them is way to long.  My preferred shaft setting has 4" to spare on both machines.  Heck the 7000 can easily hurt someone while trying to swing the stock coil for a day when all the way out.  You'll be so much more happy with the design and massive weight reduction of the Axiom, if that's how you prefer to swing.

I feel for those who are 6' 6" or less should not have any issues with either detector if adjusted properly.  Now I can't change the way old salty folks have been swinging their coils for all these years, but I can help the newer folks who don't know.  As for you Deep Beeps, if you feel the need to have extender on your 7, then I assume you'll be wanting to do the same with the Axiom as again, they are almost identical in length.

Realize the majority of metal detectors are built for the average person who would be using such device and to also keep the weight down, they don't want the majority of folks swinging the extra weight just to help a few.  It's totally understandable as well.

Luckily for those really tall folks and or those who insist to extended their reaches beyond the recommendations, most of you in this hobby have already learned to accept that you'll be getting a longer shaft.  Another good bit is the aftermarket companies are always trying to find a fix for those few.

Again, the manufactures are listening to what most of us ask for and so keeping the weight down is most important.  Also trying to build the correct length for the better part of the folks is most important.  I know this may not be the answer you want to hear, but at least it's accurate.  In no way would I disc the owning of an Axiom because of the length.  After all, when comparing the Ax to the Zed while swinging at full length, it's night and day difference in comfort, I promise.

Thank you for the fast and in depth answer Gerry.

I'll be honest I have never had a real length issue until I bought the Z. My other ML PI's were all fine with the exception of using a very small coil like the 8" commander or a Joey....Then the machine would get really heel heavy/ out of balance...So I would extend it beyond normal as I was usually poking here and there up and around and not working flat ground as you would with swinging a UFO mechanically/methodically in the flats.

A big factor is I'm addicted to the bungie. I love being able to just let go of the detector and swing a big pick with 2 hands and have my detector right there, following me around, waiting for me to handle it again. Also, not having it slide/roll down the hillside and the such. Hell, I even bungie my Deus 2. More for the convenience than a weight reduction and a little as you first mentioned to get bigger swing radius when on the beaches. But mostly as a speed rig kind of thing if you will. You just let it go, check your phone and it sits right there for you. 

As for the Z, it has a balance funkiness to it to me. When the stock OEM 14" coil is on it feels very nose heavy for me standing normal, no bungie. If I shorten the shaft then it bothers me mentally with my size 15w feet. So when I moved to the smaller 12" NF coil I extended it much like I did with the older GP's so I can work banks higher and lunge in and out of scrub with arm movement. The big difference was the connection point of my bungie in regards to whichever of the 3 coils I had on the Z at the time and the terrain I was working. I like the CTX3030 shaft on my Z as it offers more length versatility... I don't just always keep it fully extended.... I use it for more adjustment as a taller, Sasquatch footed person.

I was hoping there might be some extra, overabundant length built in the Axiom so I could do the same as I change coil sizes and what type of terrain Im covering that day. Recently I have been woking more steep terrains than traditional open flats like the Rye Patch type terrains. So when side-hilling it also helps with good coil control when reaching below my feet.

I am trying to sell my Z, but not really hard as I do love it and it is the best gold detector I've personally ever ran but the lore of less weight AND discrimination on a PI (I know the Whites TDI did this too) seems to make for a winner for long detecting days in trashy areas.

So the long short you said it is very similar to the OEM Z. Maybe just a touch shorter side by side with similar size coils on?

Thanks again for the info.

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5 hours ago, phrunt said:

I'd be careful over extending the GPZ shaft like that by using the CTX shaft, the coils plug end is under terrible strain from the curly cord if you do that, and there are a number of instances of people having wires pop off their original coils inside the clear rubber cover up where it plugs into the detector.  It was first thought that was some sort of molded plug with everything secure inside, it turns out its not, it's just a rubber cover and the wires can lose their solder connection and if they pop off and touch a wire they shouldn't it blows your detector.  It's happened to two people in the past couple of months, one was lucky and it just made his detector noisy as the solder was failing but had not popped completely off.  Another guy it killed his GPZ.

67771519_blownGPZfromstockcoilcropped.jpg.96e7fb013624b6ebf615d045ae980f61.jpg

I'm not sure if this guys situation was from over extending his shaft, but it demonstrates what happens if the wires inside the coils come loose.

I was buying GPZ cables off faulty coils from a Minelab dealer in Australia, out of 5 cables from faulty coils he had in that batch 2 of the cables had their fault up inside that clear plug end of the coil so he threw them out rather than selling them to me as at the time everyone thought that rubber end was solid and not accessible to fix them.  Over extending the shaft runs the risk of this happening to you, I don't even like the idea of running it at full length for that reason.

I'm glad the Axiom has gone back to a traditional coil cable.

No worries, mine seems rock solid Phrunt. It's such an improvement over that 2 screw, clamp connection that constantly failed on all the SD's/GP's. Those things really would let you down all the time out in the field. ( I'm sure that brought back a little PSD for everyone who has ever owned a SD or GP)

And Im 180* on you with the coil wire... The curly cord inside the shaft is the absolute bee's knee's. Nothing to get snagged on in the brush. I really wish Garret did something like that or as Gerry critiqued to go to a bluetooth system like XP.... Im not really going in the water sniping with this machine so that would have been great... But personally I'm more of a fan of the cord inside the shaft.

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