GTAx 550 questions { New user}

[Indian Steve]

Howdy All, I just traded for a GTAx 550 with a 12 1/2" Crossfire Supreme II Deepseeker coil and a Crossfire II Super Sniper. I've been using a Tesoro Compadre and this is a whole new beast to me. I'e got a manual and watched a few youtube videos. I went hunting at an old school yesterday and after about 30 minutes with each coil, went back to the Tesoro. I tried both a and b mode and found a zincoln and some trash. I found several coins with the Tesoro. I would get a tone and then swing back over and it would be silent for a few seconds and the ring again. I did like the pinpointing but could do as well with the Tesoro. Is this normal? I have another site that is an old homesite in a grassy field that is full of trash. LOTS of cast iron , nails and appairently most of a Model T buried there. I have removed at least 75 pounds of iron from a 75 ft square area. I have found several pieces of copper sheeting and some brass pieces but no coins. You can't swing the detector without getting a beep. The site hasn't had anyone living there since the 1930s. Any advice on hunting this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. Steve

 

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[GibH]

It's been a while since I had one, but it was a coin magnet with the 8.5" coil. Slow your sweep speed down a bit, it sounds like it might be a little slow with recovery if you are getting a delayed tone. Set a nail and a coin about 8 inches apart and sweep over them. You can get an idea how fast to sweep for best results. Sweep too fast and and the detector won't recover from disc'ing out the nail before going over the coin.

 

[Indian Steve]

Thanks for the advice. I did the recovery test with the nail and a quarter. It was recovering fine with the nail as close as 3 inches away. I'm sure most of the problems are probably operator error. By the way, i'm a great Bill the Cat fan. Bill for President!!!! steve

 

[aa battery]

It's been a while since I had one, but it was a coin magnet with the 8.5" coil. Slow your sweep speed down a bit, it sounds like it might be a little slow with recovery if you are getting a delayed tone. Set a nail and a coin about 8 inches apart and sweep over them. You can get an idea how fast to sweep for best results. Sweep too fast and and the detector won't recover from disc'ing out the nail before going over the coin.

very good advice. Garrett stopped makin um dont know why but i know it takes time to get the feel of it.

 

[Indian Steve]

Howdy All, I took the GTA out to a mowed field that was a civil war muster field today. It is about the cleanest field i have ever been in. I got a good signal with the 10 1/2 inch coil. It showed iron at 8 inches deep with the pinpointer. I dug and dug and finally gave up and got out my Tesoro Compadre. I got a good signal but it was 6 inches away from where the Garrett pinpointed and i got a square nail only one inch deep. I swept the whole area again with both machines and got no signal. I didn't try the sniper coil. I have found several pieces of farm equipment trash before on this site with the Tesoro and got 22 caliber bullet at almost 8 inches deep. I'm wondering if there is something wrong with me , the deepseeker coil, or the GTA? Any suggestions? Thanks Steve

 

[CWnut]

can't say enough good words about them Tesoros...Garretts seem to have a bit more of a learning curve, especially the older models, I currently have a Masterhunter cx plus and experienced the same thing you're going thru...I had a gtax 1000 which i became completely disgusted with that I traded in on a Tesoro Conquistador umax (that i still use) but i have at times regretted never giving the gtax 1000 a fair chance.. as for the pinpointing issue there are two possibilities 1. You didn't pinpoint correctly or 2. You have a coil with an off-center electronic center..giving the distance you say the nail was from where you pinpointed i would guess that you failed to get a good pinpoint as an off-center coil is extremely rare and usually not very far from the physical center of the coil...The distance a coil is from a target in pinpoint mode can be horizontal as well as vertical and large coils are difficult to pinpoint with at best..I too have encountered all these things you mention but am learning more each time i go out..To reassure yourself that you do not have a defective detector do a bench and compare it to the Tesoro...hang in there, it'll get better

 

[Indian Steve]

Howdy All, I took the Garrett to the local park and have finally managed to figure out the pinpointing. It was me that was the problem. I found 3 quarters and a half dozen zincolns and lots of trash. I was able to pinpoint but the depth reading was less than acurate. Could still be me. The day before i took the Compadre to a different section of the same park. I worked the swings and monkey bars and found 10 nickles, a quarter, a dime and a 10 k gold ring. My first gold! Love that Compadre!!! I have recently got permission to a revolutionary war camp site. It is a couple of hours away and am hoping to get better with the Garrett before going. I'm hoping the extra depth of the Garrett will pay off. Thanks Again for all the advice.

 

[aa battery]

Howdy All, I took the Garrett to the local park and have finally managed to figure out the pinpointing. It was me that was the problem. I found 3 quarters and a half dozen zincolns and lots of trash. I was able to pinpoint but the depth reading was less than acurate. Could still be me. The day before i took the Compadre to a different section of the same park. I worked the swings and monkey bars and found 10 nickles, a quarter, a dime and a 10 k gold ring. My first gold! Love that Compadre!!! I have recently got permission to a revolutionary war camp site. It is a couple of hours away and am hoping to get better with the Garrett before going. I'm hoping the extra depth of the Garrett will pay off. Thanks Again for all the advice.