Mixed Feelings On My New To Me ATX (problems Solved)

[JCR]

Don’t get discouraged. We have all been in the same situation at different points in our detecting journey. Keep after it, there is no substitute for hard won experience. 

[Lead Detector]

Tested the 13 in dd coil on a .4 gram piece of lead. It has to be touching it for any signal at all.  Seems alot weaker then any info I have seen on this detector/coil combination.  If my 5×10 infinium coil ever shows up, I'll at least be able to start narrowing down the problem. Is it the coil, the detector,  or the operator?  I'm not counting out any of them.   My gold kruzer on the other hand is detecting a .1 gram gold flake at 3+ inches with a very inspectable signal. I'm very happy with that machine. 

[Lead Detector]

20 hours ago, Dutchman4 said:

I had an ATX a long time ago, for about 6 months.

Mine was knock sensitive also and after I sold it one possible cause came to mind.  The coil cable runs inside the shaft and maybe it moves around inside the hollow shaft when the coil hits an object.  On most detectors if the section of cable, that is close to the coil, moves through the magnetic field created by the coil then it will generate a false signal.  With hind sight I had wanted to do an experiment to secure the coil inside the shaft by inserting a length of solid foam core/tube (like a mini pool weeny, or foam water line insulation) inside the spiral coil winding to anchor it to the internal walls of the shaft so it could not move side to side.  I never got the chance to try this since I finally sold it.  I loved the electronics of the ATX but I grew to hate the package it was in and the awful ergonomics.

Dutchman4, did you have the newer style enclosed coil, or the older style open?

[Dutchman4]

7 minutes ago, Ndplumr said:

Dutchman4, did you have the newer style enclosed coil, or the older style open?

Older style open.

[Steve Herschbach]

A VLF is what you should be using unless mineralization is severe enough to cause it to lose a lot of depth and target id accuracy. Air tests mean nothing as regards VLF vs PI because you are removing the reason for using a PI. Pulse Induction was popularized for dealing with stuff a VLF can’t handle. This usually means goldfields and mineralized saltwater beaches but can be anywhere and on any kind of targets where the ground has a high mineral content. These videos illustrate the type of soil that makes people grab the PI.

 

[Lead Detector]

The seller is offering to pay for repairs on the atx. I'm happy about that. I will give updates when I find out what is causing the problem. 

[phrunt]

Great to see an honest nice helpful seller, it's sounding like it's going to work out very well in the end for you.

[EL NINO77]

This ATX test is done on a 25KG bag of pure magnetite... you don't have a material that is more mineralized..It's all about learning and practice.....

It's all about the correct setting of the PI ATX detector..for the given terrain....and the movement of the coil....and you have to learn that..

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The second test of my ATX is on buried targets .. in a highly mineralized gold forest / 6-7bar  Fe3O4...mineralization ...measured Tek.G2/
Note... the ATX response to the first buried target... a 1 gram gold bar at a depth of 20cm... it's really a reference target...!!!
No VLF detector can reach this target in this field yet, except the MXT pro with a 13" ultimate coil.. at optimal settings.../neither Deus 2 nor Manticore yet/

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Finally, let's see how the PI ATX detector copes ... with 0.1 grams of gold under highly mineralized iron stone ... no VLF detector is caught here ...

 

[Steve Herschbach]

8 hours ago, EL NINO77 said:

No VLF detector can reach this target in this field yet, except the MXT pro with a 13" ultimate coil.. at optimal settings.../neither Deus 2 nor Manticore yet/

That is a very interesting comment, thanks for sharing.

[Lead Detector]

On 12/16/2023 at 8:55 AM, JCR said:

Don’t get discouraged. We have all been in the same situation at different points in our detecting journey. Keep after it, there is no substitute for hard won experience. 

Discouraged is not my style. I'm the guy who looks at these things as a challenge. It keeps me even more interested... sometimes frustrated, but that also leads to determined. I'll be out finding the smallest pieces of lead known to man in no time!