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I took my ATX hunting at Lake Tahoe and found this 1899 Morgan silver dollar at 12" deep in highly mineralized ground( lots of black sand). Thanks for the invitation to your new forum Steve.

ATX, TDI, GPX. What is it with detector companies and three letter acronyms? I liked it more when they were called Coinmaster or Goldmaster. At least that gave you a clue about what the detector was supposed to do. The three detectors representing the state of the art in ground balancing pulse induction (GBPI) metal detectors. The Garrett ATX, White's TDI, and Minelab GPX 5000. You rarely see them all pictured together so I thought I would post one. Garrett ATX, White's TDI, Minelab GPX 5000 These three detectors are all very good at what they are basically made for, which is dealing with ground mineralization and hot rocks that make using VLF detectors very difficult. In particular VLF performance is severely impeded in extremely mineralized ground. In low mineral ground a good VLF prospecting detector running in all metal mode can deliver results rivaling PI detectors with the added benefit of having good discrimination options. Anybody doing much prospecting, however, will eventually run into locations where ground mineralization and hot rocks makes using a VLF such a challenge that a good ground balancing pulse induction detector is the only real option. The GPX 5000 represents the current state of the art, and is the easy option if money is no object. It is well designed for long hours of prospecting, has an incredible variety of optional coils, and can handle most any ground conditions with many tuning options. The Garrett ATX provides performance that comes close to the GPX at a much lower price, with the added benefit of being waterproof to ten feet. Actually, this is only a benefit if you need it. Otherwise it makes the detector heavier than need be and limits the available coil options. Still, if the GPX is not an option the ATX would be my next choice in a new detector with a warranty. For those needed waterproof it is the only real option along with its predecessor, the Garrett Infinium. The White's TDI is an older design but still very capable. It costs less than the other two options, and unlike the Garrett it has light weight versions and models that can be hip or chest mounted. It is a good option to explore for those on a budget or needing the most ergonomic solution. The TDI is also a very respected beach detector, like the ATX above, but it has no waterproof option.

The Garrett ATX and the Minelab CTX 3030. Are they an odd couple, or a perfect couple? Here is a side by side photo for your consideration. Minelab CTX 3030 and Garrett ATX The Garrett ATX and Minelab CTX 3030 share a certain similarity of design with coil cables hid inside the lower rod assembly and controls on the end of the handle. Both are waterproof to 10 feet. Yet they are also exact opposites in that the CTX is one of the best discriminating VLF detectors you can buy, whereas the ATX is a dig it all PI detector designed for maximum depth in very difficult ground. They actually do make a really good pairing as they complement each other very well. I am an avid prospector and also a very avid jewelry hunter who needs to be able to hunt in the water. It would be a very hard thing for me to do, but if I had to narrow it all the way down to only two metal detectors, you are probably looking at the two I would choose. I would be making quite a few compromises but the bottom line is I can do just about anything I need to do with these two detectors together, and do it quite well. As it is when looking at the two it really boils down to whether you need good discrimination or not. The CTX has it, the ATX does not.

G'day, Has anyone here used the new Garrett ATX in areas of thick vegetation? What I need to know is ... will the coil sound off when hitting rocks or trees, or grass. In particular, can it be used without the distraction of added blanking noise while being run through wet grass? Reading the specifications of the new ATX it seems as if it was designed as a dream machine specifically for New Zealand (where I am located). And, as such ... seems too good to be true. The only deal-killer might be if it can't be used in thick wet vegetation! Oh ... theres also the other possible deal-killer, the price in New Zealand. I noticed on one forum that an Australian poster stated that the price he was quoted for an ATX was over $1,000.00 dearer than the USA. I would not be at all surprised if the retail price in New Zealand was the most expensive in the world. The legit Garrett dealer in New Zealand has no mention of the ATX on its web site so far ... and something else for Kiwis to consider is that we will probably be the last country in the world to get a first shipment. Historical photo from about 10 years ago when detecting for gold started to get serious on NZs West Coast after some spectacular gold finds were made with a metal detector (Minelab PI MD) that haven't been surpassed since. Typical West Coast gold country! Regards, Rob (RKC)

Hi, I have a Garrett ATX and have done some nugget detecting with it. See Gold Nugget Detecting with the Garrett ATX. However, the weight and the stock coil had me wishing for options. I wanted a smaller coil with no openings to hang up that could get into tighter locations. As a past Infinium owner the 10" x 5" DD coil immediately came to mind. See Detecting with the Garrett Infinium in Hawaii and the first picture will tell you what was going through my mind as I hunted gold nuggets. So I have some Garrett Infinium coils I am trying on the ATX. The full story and photos are at my new Garrett ATX Accessory page. I will be updating it as I experiment more with the concept. An obvious alternative would be to make an adapter to mate a standard lower rod assembly to the ATX (it has already been done for the Recon) but I wanted to go hip mount for the least weight on my arm possible. I want to note here I am advocating nothing and recommending nothing. This is just something I am doing that may answer some questions for some people. If nothing else it will save somebody else making a duplicate effort or wasting the time and money on something that may or may not work out. Bottom line is I just have to know for myself so I will find out and report back as I go along. This thread will be the official question and answer thread for the experiment.