Garrett Axiom Vs ATX On Magnetite Beaches

[UKR]

Hello, comrades!

My opinion on the Garrett Axiom and why I don't recommend it for those searching on beaches with black magnetite sand and volcanic hot rocks.

Let me tell you a little about myself.
I've been detecting for the last 11 years.
My first detector was a Garrett AT Pro.
Then, a Minelab Equinox 600.
For the last two years, I've been using a Garrett ATX.

I bought the Garrett ATX for use on black magnetite beaches, and it has fully met and even exceeded my expectations – I consider it one of the best pulse induction detectors in the world for beach detecting in the most challenging conditions, such as completely black magnetite sand.

The only downside to the ATX is its weight. It won't leave you indifferent, no matter how strong you are, trust me.

But I repeat, it was the best detector I've ever used, finding hundreds of gold rings among a multitude of hot volcanic rocks and jet-black sand.

Of course, you can balance the detector based on a specific hot rock, but it's not particularly useful because each rock has its own mineral composition and is detected by the detector one way or another. I learned to simply recognize signals among the rocks; to do this, you have to move the rocks to determine whether there's a target underneath them. This is the only true method.

The crux of the matter is different: a few months ago, I bought a Garrett Axiom. After more than ten trips averaging five hours each, I can confidently state the following conclusions:

In short: Don't buy a Garrett Axiom for black sand beaches.

The problem is this. With an 11x7 DD coil, the maximum stable sensitivity in Salt mode is 3 out of 8.
With an 11x7 mono coil, it's 2 out of 8.
In both cases, increasing sensitivity by 1 notch causes the detector to become very unstable.
The threshold tone in both cases is only -9; otherwise, the detector is impossible to use. You'll simply go crazy from the constant noise.

Other modes: Fine, Normal, and Large are completely unusable in these conditions!

Naturally, interference and ground balance were properly balanced, cell phones were turned off, and tests were conducted in different locations—the results were the same. The detector is usable, but you'll be reaching targets with approximately a 30% performance loss compared to the Garrett ATX.

The reason is the lack of a discrimination function (not Iron Check), specifically the discrimination function found in the Garrett ATX and missing from the Garrett Axiom. This particular feature on the ATX, with a minimum setting of 2 to 4 out of 13, allows you to ignore false signals from ground and very small targets. And this feature plays a crucial role.

The Axiom doesn't have this feature! And that's a huge problem, friends.

Believe me, I have a lot of experience and know what I'm talking about.
Until Garrett adds this feature with firmware, don't buy this device for volcanic magnetite sands under any circumstances – you'll be sorely disappointed.

Don't repeat my mistake.

I really hope Garrett reads this and takes appropriate action to fix this problem.

It's a shame, the device is indeed very lightweight, and wireless headphones are very convenient, but they're unfortunately impossible to use in meme situations...

And yes, it might not be the worst option for gold nugget prospecting in the deserts of Australia and other regions, but never buy the AXIOM for black magnetite sand!

All the best to everyone.

[Knomad]

FYI,

I have found the small DD coil to be over sensitive and over noisy in all but mild ground.

Try the 11 x 13 DD, with Threshold all the way down to -9 and set the sensitivity as high as possible until ground noise starts to occasionally come through the No Threshold Setting.

Using this coil and these settings I was able to detect in solid black sand and detect 22 bullets at 6+ inches, that no other detector could even see level with the ground..!

[UKR]

Thanks for the advice, but I can't afford to spend the extra money on another 11 x 13 DD coil.

I'm sure if you're right, the sensitivity can be increased to a maximum of 4, or at best, 5.
But even with these settings on the Axiom, the Garrett ATX will detect gold rings much deeper in a black sand while maintaining perfect stability compared to the Axiom.

That's the crux of the matter:
I bought the Axiom hoping to replace the ATX, but the ATX turned out to be much more productive and stable.

[HardPack]

12 hours ago, UKR said:

My opinion on the Garrett Axiom and why I don't recommend it for those searching on beaches with black magnetite sand and volcanic hot rocks.

I recall only one person I know of on DP with experience with magnetite sand, ATX and the Axiom but he seldom posts these days. It appears you have covered all the options. I assume you are using Salt mode for wet salty beach sand. Perhaps we can draw him out. 

[Jeff McClendon]

UKR, sorry you made a mistake purchasing the Garrett Axiom, but it simply was not meant to be a beach detector much less a black magnetite/volcanic rock sand beach detector in the first place.

Axiom is a gold prospecting detector first and foremost, a relic detector for some and a deep coin/jewelry detector for a few on land in more mineralized conditions.

Like Knomad was saying and from a slightly different standpoint, I wish Garrett made a traditional DD coil for the Axiom.

I don't wish that the Axiom had the ATX small to large target discrimination pulse delay feature that works well on black sand beaches. Axiom needs as much unfettered sensitivity to small targets as possible for gold prospecting. 

I like many others, wish that Garrett had put the guts of the ATX in a different waterproof housing to begin with and I still wish they would consider doing that now and making it much lighter. But, I think that ship has sailed........

[JCR]

 Very interesting and informative Posts.  This thread should be a real flashing attention getter to not only Garrett, but other makers. Sounds like an obvious opportunity for someone.  

[Chase Goldman]

25 minutes ago, JCR said:

 Very interesting and informative Posts.  This thread should be a real flashing attention getter to not only Garrett, but other makers. Sounds like an obvious opportunity for someone.  

Problem is that black sand beach detecting is a very niche application.  New ATX's, though discontinued, are still available out there and it was apparent that Garrett had no real interest in accommodating PI beach detecting with Axiom, unfortunately.

It will be interesting to see if Nokta addresses beach detecting with their forthcoming PI's (but only an explicit nod to gold and relic, so far, though the waterproof rating is being touted by Nokta).  But honestly, as Steve mentioned above, VLF multifrequency has all but the most extreme beach conditions covered, so the  PI-beach-dedicated detector market niche has shrunk considerably.

[JCR]

There may be technical reasons I do not understand, but seems like Garrett could add a Black Sand mode/timing to the Axiom or a way to reduce Tx power. May be the difficulty is the combination of Black Sand magnetism and Salt conductivity responses.   Tarsacci MDT has this type of Black Sand mode/filter and is suppose to do well in this type of beach environment. It also has it's unique Salt Balance capability.  May be the 2 separate functions are needed to be effective.  Of course it is not a true PI so it may be apples & oranges to compare.   There is market opportunity here for someone.

[phrunt]

I think this gives them another reason to make an Axiom 2 at some point, they know they can do it and make it work in these tough grounds, and they'll have to do some stuff to compete with the competitors with new models over time.  Waterproofing, more ground timings, another wireless audio method, the list goes on.   The Axiom was designed as a gold detector, not a beach detector, but nothings stopping them making an all-rounder for the next model.

All these extras they can add and are more than capable of doing justify a new model. 

They're got the sensitivity to small targets right and some more modifications and improvements would make for a brilliant all-purpose PI which is the key, if you're not at the top the more you can make your detector versatile to open it up to more buyers the better.