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Garrett ATX Strip Down & Rebuild


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1 hour ago, Steve Herschbach said:

People may wonder why I keep chasing the ATX over the TDI.

You are one of the most open-minded people here, so no wondering on my part.  Besides being lightweight, TDI-SL is also the least expensive dry land PI (by about a factor of 2 over the ATX, which is either 2nd or close to that for detectors sold in the US).  (The Garrett Infinium used to be cheaper, I think, but pretty sure it is discontinued.)  To some here cost doesn't matter, but as you have noted many times, to some it does.  I appreciate your explanation of the dead spot (never saw that before) and the TDI with stock battery pack is underpowered to begin with, compared to 'competition'.  But it still works well (obviously not telling you anything you don't know) and for some of us (specifically me), as well as I need right now.  Spent a week in Southern Arizona with ONLY the TDI-SPP (except for the day I forgot to bring it to the field and had to borrow a Teknetics Gamma and go coin hunting).  I didn't feel like I was "naked and afraid" :laugh: in the desert.  My goal was to learn as much as I could about that detector and I didn't want competition for it.  I had a great time not finding anything, but I'd be a fool to blame the latter on my detector choice.  I gotta lotta other learning to do that doesn't involve swinging the detector.  That's my weak link, not the TDI.

1 hour ago, Steve Herschbach said:

There is so much more Garrett can do here and it is frustrating they do not. I am surprised what with everyone else chasing the African markets that Garrett seems so disinterested. I get it, they have a fabulous consumer product lineup, innovative and successful. They are doing a great job with what they do. I just want more!

I agree, but I'm not they, and I'll just default to giving them benefit-of-the-doubt.  They have the largest advertising reach & budget in the US (that I've seen, anyway), and I suspect their Ace line outsells all other detector lines here (don't know about worldwide).  But most decent size, successful companies don't rest on their laurels and I don't think Garrett does, either.  They must think a light ATX won't sell enough to offset costs compared to other products they are developing.  I hope that's the case, because if they don't take up your idea then at least let's see something new and exciting from them, soon!

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I truly could care less who makes them - I just want detectors to be more powerful, have better ergonomics (both physically and in ease of use) and to cost less in terms of bang for the buck.

It all boils down to value for the money, and the TDI SL packs that aplenty. I love the ergonomics - heck, it even does not fall over when set down! The price is an easy step up for anybody that has a typical $700 VLF nugget detector who wants to get into a PI without breaking the bank or getting divorced. The other obvious option here is for White's to give the TDI a little bump in horsepower, although the detection hole is inherent in the technology. The QED seems to have focused on tightening that detection hole up and adding more power. White's could do the same, and part of that just involves a different battery pack! Slow as Garrett is White's has a better chance of getting there first.

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  • 1 month later...

Well, the fact is any detector that ground balances has "holes" someplace. The ground signal range and gold signal range have a lot of overlap. Therefore anytime you tune out something by way of ground response you lose some gold along with the ground (or salt) response you tuned out. Dual channel systems do not eliminate this problem, but they do reduce it. The fact these "holes" exist is the basis for the different timings on a GPX. Each set is designed to eliminate certain ground signals while perhaps detecting gold another set of timings will miss. The GPZ itself is simply exploiting "holes" in the SD/GP/GPX ground rejection methodology to reveal gold those detectors are weak on or miss entirely.

Ironically the ground balance hole is at once both the weakness and the strength of the TDI. The ground balance system really is just a type of discrimination system, and being able to easily and directly manipulate it is the one thing that makes the TDI truly fun to experiment with. People have grown very adept at manipulating the TDI ground balance system for various discrimination type purposes. It makes it especially useful for relic hunters.

I have for decades made use of the fact that all detectors reject the ground in different ways, some by only small amounts, some by huge degrees. In simplest form this means being a contrarian. If, for instance, everyone is hitting a particular area with one model of detector, using something else may reveal targets they all miss. If everyone has fallen into the bad habit of using a certain timing on a GPX, using a different timing on the same ground may provide some surprises. All detectors have weakness that can be exploited by knowledgeable operators with other detectors. Anyone that thinks they own the one magic machine that does not leave gold behind is kidding themselves.

The TDI and ATX are both detectors I have done my best to understand and use, and give a level of respect I think they deserve. I think competition is good, and these detectors serve many people well. At the same time both White's and Garrett have frustrated me in not appearing to have an interest in fully developing the possibilities of the respective models. It is quite ironic that TDI users literally begged for a waterproof TDI, but White's would never deliver it. Now I have that base covered with the ATX, but I obviously would love to see an ATX in a TDI box (with better coils), as I honestly believe it is the superior circuit design. Sigh. Maybe Nokta will show them both up!

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  • 1 month later...
On 2/23/2017 at 8:11 PM, Steve Herschbach said:

 

garrett-atx-rebuild-09.jpg

I think you should send this pic to Garrett Inc and ask them if the warranty is still good. :laugh:

Maybe they'll finally get the hint. (Helloooo, Garrett?  It weighs a freakin' ton.)

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The whole project was done to poke a stick in Garrett's eye about building a lighter weight ATX. Though they are well aware of my thoughts on the matter so far they have not shaved so much as an ounce off the ATX. It really is a shame as there is an excellent light weight and relatively inexpensive PI nugget detector screaming to get out of that heavy housing. 

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  • 1 year later...

Steve,

Your dedication is great! And, you surely push hard for Gold Metal Detecting Community.

I see your modification, Garrett L_ATX is truly Garrett InfiniumS.

Garrett L-ATX may be sold few 10,000s for North USA and Australia as a step up from Garrett Infinium. Selling Garrett ATX as it has been, few 100,000s in comparison and globally. 

Garrett ATX should be of its own category for market competition and had wisely chosen to be so!

My 2 cents!

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  • 1 month later...

A little late chiming in here but wanted to suggest that for powder coating you can pick up the powder cheap at harbor freight. Using an ordinary heat gun, simply warm the metal up and dump the powder over the piece and shake off the loose powder. The warmer it is the more powder will stick. Once that is done simply continue to heat the part up until the powder turns shiney and starts to level then let it cool down. I used this technique on a laser cutter control panel that I mounted a dsp controller, power switch and safety switch.

As far as needing plastic parts you can cast your own out of urethanes. You can use rtv silicone to make molds in ordinary plastic containers and do gravity pour for the urethanes. This is handy to duplicate parts so you don't destroy the original. I often use parts I print out on my 3d sla printer as masters to make molds from. Casting materials available from a few sources but I use Smooth-On for much of that stuff.

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I can’t believe I started that thread back in 2014 after talking about it for a couple years. From day one I all but begged Garrett for a dry land version of the ATX. Something like the new Fisher Impulse AQ but with the ATX touch pad, which I prefer over the Fisher knobs. Would have needed light coils on standard rods instead of what is currently offered for the ATX.

That machine at about 4 lbs well balanced, out the dealer door for under 2K and Garrett would have a winner. The LTX as I call it has been one of the major frustrations for me as a detectorist. It is clearly something that is possible, I can see it in my minds eye... but Garrett won’t budge. Who knows, maybe other companies will wake them up to the possibility at some point. I hope so, I would still love to have that machine.

garrett-ltx-lightweight-atx-modification

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