Garrett ATX Acting Erratically

[Norse]

Good day to all,

I just secured a georgous authorization in a vine field, but as I started detecting this morning, my AXT began to act erratically although there are no overhead power lines or any approximate energy sources! I distanced myself to the adjacent field to see if the issue will dissipate but the problem persisted. I had no other choice than lowering the sensitivity to 0, which made me lose plenty of targets.

Did anyone encountered such issue and is there a fix besides pushing the reset bottom which by the way had not made any significant difference.

Thanks in advance 

[Lead Detector]

Mine has acted like that at times, but only when close to power lines.  You may have another source of emi in that area which isnt obvious.  Also make sure your batteries are good. It can act up a bit if your batteries are getting low. If you are talking about coil knock, it may be the coil itself. I just replaced my coil, and it is 10 times quieter as far as coil knock. 

[EL NINO77]

First of all, check the batteries,,, for example with a battery tester, are they all in order....and have the correct voltage...,,

this can be the cause of less stability of ATX...

[Sérgio Campos]

There as a topic very similar to this one a few weeks ago… did you checked the cable connection? Make sure it’s properly attached with the screw connector tightened.
Often my atx goes crazy because of changes in soil mineralization or emi but never to the point of having to bring sensitivity to zero. 

[Gerry in Idaho]

Sorry to hear you are hearing some extra chatter coming from the ATX.  Does it do it all the time or on occasion?  One thing I do that has helped is performing a Factory Reset.

Hopefully your issues go away but if not, certainly contact Garrett and they will get you taken care of.

[Valens Legacy]

In a field with grape vines while it is humid there is a chance that the wires for the vines can produce it's own electrical charge. The best way to make sure that is not the case is to place a volt meter to one of the wires and the ground. Make sure that you are looking for very low voltage as it is more likely to be under 1 volt ac.

Sometimes on my sub for whatever reason we get a static buildup on the sub.

[Norse]

Well, thank you all for the kind inputs. In regard to the batteries charge, this sophisticated device notifies me upon switching the power on that batteries are fully charged by the extra beeps and by the way I was detecting for hours and no low battery sign popped up. Back home, l removed the rod and discovered a tiny looseness of the coil’s connector (the coil is a 10X12 original without any damage, l love and take care of my baby) , so I did tighten it and cleaned all before setting it back together. I observed a transformer room on the side of the road along with couple power lines but I was more than 100 feet away from these and the loud interference noise was still persisting. Provided I had not been back to this particular field, I’m now gearing up for another site in a different town, so let’s hope and see if the problem was simply a passenger issue. Cordially 

[Lead Detector]

I have had times in my yard, where my atx was unusable even at 1 sensitivity.  Then 10 minutes later,  I can run smoothly in sensitivity level 10. I live in a very rural area, with one set of power lines running down the road. Emi is a mysterious thing. It seems to ramp up, then settle down again. Once I get a mile away from any power lines, the atx runs smooth as butter in max sensitivity.  Don't be discouraged, but from my experience, emi is my atx's worst enemy. You may need a vlf for some areas that your atx doesn't like. 

[Norse]

Well, thank you all for the kind inputs. In regard to the batteries charge, this sophisticated device notifies me upon switching the power on that batteries are fully charged by the extra beeps and by the way I was detecting for hours and no low battery sign popped up. Back home, l removed the rod and discovered a tiny looseness of the coil’s connector (the coil is a 10X12 original without any damage, l love and take care of my baby) , so I did tighten it and cleaned all before setting it back together. I observed a transformer room on the side of the road along with couple power lines but I was more than 100 feet away from these and the loud interference noise was still persisting. Provided I had not been back to this particular field, I’m now gearing up for another site in a different town, so let’s hope and see if the problem was simply a passenger issue. Cordially 

[Norse]

Sergio, you were right on the money, once I’ve tightened the connection, my ATX worked like a boss. Thanks