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Knomad

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  1. Interestingly, Even with its dated technology, I find that with the TDI by using the Ground balance adjustment more for adjusting the ferrous non ferrous crossover point than for ground balance, with careful manual adjustment I can often ID iron more accurately than the newer machines, especially large iron that will overload most detectors and give a non ferrous response, and that includes the best simultaneous multi frequency VLF machines like the equinox 800. I am sure this is why relic hunters like the TDI as Steve mentioned.
  2. Interesting, Any info on Price and Availability in the U.S.A.? Nice to see someone thinking at least a little out of the box, if performance is competitive, and it can use legacy coils it could be a winner if at a good price, and it sounds like they are trying to keep price down, NOW THAT is Different.!
  3. NOTE - I did not pick that 00 00 ground balance, it is what the machine apparently defaults to if it cannot ground balance even in manual ground balance mode. I would like to see them add the ability to manually tweak the ground balance, at least a few numbers like some other machines.
  4. I may not be making my main points clear with these posts about the Axiom and REALLY Bad Ground, so let me recap. I understand about sensitivity level setting being low to be able to detect in bad ground, this is generic to ALL detectors, BUT what I am saying is By use of VERY low to No threshold with the Axiom you can often MAX OUT sensitivity in such ground and Regain the depth that is usually lost with a low sensitivity setting.! AND not have the target blend into what would be so much noise that no target can be heard with higher sensitivity AND anywhere near normal threshold. MAIN Point - in very bad ground, Try Zero Threshold and MAX sensitivity, There is something Unusual about the Threshold on the Axiom, It can literally act as a Noise Filter for targets, not just a threshold level, So much so that it can make UNDETECTABLE ground detectable, even when minimum sensitivity cannot.! That last video was to show that even with minimum sensitivity, Undetectable Ground can be detectable with Threshold off, THEN try to increase sensitivity to see at what point the ground noise comes back with NO threshold.
  5. Try THIS in Lake Tahoe STEVE.! Below is a link I hope works to a admittedly low quality phone video I took at the worst black sand area I have ever seen. NOTE - The Outrageous settings on the Axiom are - Salt Mode, Sensitivity at Minimum of 1, Threshold at -9 So NO Threshold, Auto ground balance off. Machine would not ground balance in ANY mode or sensitivity on this ground and gave a Zero Zero balance number for both balance readouts, and no target could be heard over the very loud ground noise, SO I turned threshold OFF completely, and that helped BUT now still the ground was being detected as targets.! SO I reduced the sensitivity until most of the ground was no longer detected, that turned out to be all the way down to 1, and still I had to lift the coil about two inches above the ground to eliminate most ground signalling, to test a target I put a dime down 3 inches and it Clearly and Repeatedly detected it, even buried. Note it does have a different target sound than normal. I did not try it deeper, but am sure it would work with the signal as strong as it was with the coil 2 inch above the ground, so actually a distance of 5 inches in this ridiculous ground. Salt Mode, Sensitivity of 1, and NO Threshold - Went From Undetectable Ground to working well, Who in their right mind would even try such settings.!! 🙃 https://photos.app.goo.gl/rVhX4avWLfiUBTrc9
  6. FYI, GPAA just put out detector bundles with good Axiom and very good 24K prices. https://gpaastore.com/collections/discounted-items/products/garrett-axiom-bundle
  7. I do believe they need to revise pricing outside the U.S, it is not really competitive.
  8. True Waterproofing ANY detector is really a complete new design, so unless they believe a big enough market exist that is not practical. Water resistance is not too involved, Underwater capability is.
  9. The Axiom is already a upper grade pulse detector, and obviously Garrett listened to experienced nugget hunters when designing it, and now that it has been in the field in far more hands and conditions we see the few weaknesses it has, and Ways To Improve it. Below I list what comes to mind up to this point, Please add to this list for Garrets consideration. 1. It really needs Bluetooth, for the simple reason everyone has their own headset they like best. 2. The present wireless is too weak and seems directional, so drops out easily. 3. The Lower end of the Sensitivity setting scale should be expanded so finer changes can be made, the change from setting 2 to 3 to 4 is too course. 4. Threshold setting has the same problem as the sensitivity setting, it tends be be too course at the lower end of the scale. 5. Offer Conventional Elliptical DD Coils with more sensitive pointy ends to deal with noisy black sand and be able to get into tight places better, 5 x 10 would be a good start. Longer Term Design Improvements -- 1. Change to a high contrast Anti Glare Color Screen, and add Sun Shade to the top. (not unreasonable for a high end machine). 2. Change to a more flexible type of coil cable to work better with the nice collapsible shafts, perhaps just changing to silicone mix plastic cover would be enough. Suggested Future Avenue of Improving Technology -- As is, The Axiom has the ability to apparently use the Threshold to filter out background noise, Not just reduce its volume at least at silent minimal setting of --9, So Much So that Sensitivity can be set to Max to keep depth on ground that would otherwise require a very low sensitivity setting. I Highly Suggest that be explored and refined as a separate Noise Filter optional setting. LISTENING GARRETT..?
  10. The Goldbug 2 was always the go to for small shallow gold on moderate ground, but the Monster is newer tech that is a better bet, and as easy to use as it gets. The XP is more of a general purpose detector. A Minelab Equinox 800 would be a better general purpose detector, and is as good as any VLF on gold.
  11. When I first went to this location a few years ago it was Virtually Undetectable, a Nox 800 in any mode with any settings, a Whites GMT, a Fisher Goldbug Pro, and a Whites TDI SL, could not even detect a Brass Shotgun Shell even level with the surface. This time I think the Black Sand has sunk, But is near pure iron and in both concentrated areas as well as small spots everywhere, so any coil movement detects another glob it seems. If I did not know where the test target was, it is highly unlikely I would find it with sensitivity high enough to detect it, even moving slow, the threshold was way too noisy even at minimal setting, like it was Mixing Threshold with target sound. BUT with threshold Completely OFF somehow it filtered the background noise sound but still allowed the Target Sound, in ALL except fine mode that was unusable. What was heard was an occasional clipping of target sound, but basically silent other than that. NOTE- This ONLY worked well at FULL sensitivity of 8.! Anything below 6 and the target was lost, So Silent Searching AT MAXIMUM sensitivity..! When otherwise a sensitivity of 3 was REQUIRED to detect the target BUT was Unbearably Noisy.
  12. This test was on the worst Black Sand Ground I have seen, although it is not as bad as it was a few years ago, I suspect the Black Sand has sunk deeper. Years ago NO detector could even see a Brass Shotgun Shell deeper than even with ground level.! I tested 3 detectors, My Equinox 800, My Whites Goldmaster GMT, and the new Garrett Axiom. The first two are very good VLF detectors, the Axiom is the latest technology Pulse Detector. Pulse Detectors are almost always better in really bad ground conditions. ALL 3 detectors would not ground balance fully on this ground, at least at anywhere near normal sensitivity, the GMT did at reduced sensitivity. Interesting Axiom testing -- I tested with 3 coils, The 11 x 13 DD, The 7 x 11 DD and The 7 x 11 Mono. NONE of the coils would fully ground balance at even a sensitivity setting of 3, and was noisy at 2. The exception was in Salt Mode, it at least came close to balancing, so was the quietest with a low threshold setting. Fine Mode, was basically non usable with ALL coils and a sensitivity above 2. Normal was usable but noisy at 3, But really hard on the ears. Large, about the same as Normal, just not as clear on the target. Salt, was by far the quietest but with depth loss of 1 to 2 inches. Target - a piece of lead, likely a banged up 22 bullet, just 6 inches deep, NO coil would detect this target in this ground at less than a sensitivity setting of 3, and was Very Noisy at 3. INTERESTINGLY -- ALL modes, except Fine, could be run at FULL Sensitivity, but with the Threshold OFF at -9..! AND detect the target.! The ONLY other way to run it was with sensitivity below 3 (and miss the target) or go insane from ground noise. ( NOTE - I usually run my detectors slightly hot, with minimal threshold, so am used to background noise, But that is NOT possible here.) The 11 x 13 DD had the clearest and strongest target response. The 7 x 11 DD was OK, But Surprisingly More Noisy. I had expected it to be less noisy looking at less ground, but maybe it is more sensitive, so reacts more to the ground that is not fully balanced out. The 7 x 11 Mono was as expected, slightly more sensitive than the same size DD, But substantially noisier. Strange, But with no threshold it has to break past a zero point to signal anything, But it will in this extreme ground. Normally there is a substantial sensitivity loss with no low threshold, but with ground this noisy it seems to filter the noise, with a smaller sensitivity loss. Unfortunately the Dual Balance did not seem to work, even holding the button until it goes into dual balance, I suspect because it was not hot Rocks, Just Black Sands, so couldn't tell the difference, and balance numbers were inconsistent and all over the place. BTW, neither VLF could see the target deeper than 2 inches.
  13. I would think Our Fearless Leader would know something was up with Garrett. No comment Steve.?
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