Any GTI 2500 experts here? I need some help

[74BRONC]

I’ve got a Garret GTI2500 that I bought new about 4 or 5 years ago. I recently saw a show on the history channel about searching for the treasure of Jesse James on the show they appeared to be using the GTI 2500 and this got me thinking about treasure hunting again. On the show they heard the bell tone they pinpointed it and they dug it and the treasure was at the same depth that the machine said it was.

I however have not had this same experience. When I have been detecting and came across something and I hit the pinpoint button the flashing depth and size icon seem to move all over the screen. I have dug a few targets just to have the signal go completely away and the detector goes completely quiet when passed over the hole or the freshly dug soil. This is very annoying and is embarrassing in front of family and friends.

I would say the areas that I have hunted are very trashy so that might have something to do with it but even so I turned the surface elimination on down to 4 inches and still got erratic behavior. i.e. I can pass the machine over an area once and hear a bunch of bells and whistles push the pinpoint button and locate it pretty good then dig and get nothing or pass the machine over the same area again and not hear anything.

Can you guys give me any recommendations on the settings to set the detector to find caches only and nothing else i.e. no baling wire, tires, foil, or other trash?

A couple of other questions for you guys a few years ago when I got the detector I also got a few accessories for it as well. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the 12inch coil and the DD coil? I’ve tried all three and haven’t had any better luck with any of them.

 

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[John-Edmonton]

It sound to me like you might have to turn down that sensitivity down a bit. Even more if you are hunting in high mineralization. The ability to get the most accurate depth, size and conductivity readings is directly related to the operater having the center of the coil dead center over the target. If you are off center slighly, your readings will not be accurate.

Good luck. Let me know how you make out.

 

[outdoors]

(74BRONC) first thing to do is push and hold the power button down until you hear
two beeps then let go of the button this is factory settings, turn down sensitivity to 6-7.5,
go lower if needed
run threshold at the point you can just hear the machine hum in your headphones
and make sure that your coil swing is 1-2 feet per second or slower. in pinpoint
move coil just as slow until you get the shallowest and smallest reading,coil should be
just touching the ground. this works the best for me on my 2500. if you are in real trashy
areas its going to jump erratically....
sometimes pinpoint will go silent if the button is not held just right just release it and start again

 

[Bearkat]

You must be dead center over target to get accurate sizing. Keep moving coil around slowly and see of it locks in on target.

 

[trulyers]

Hi Bronc,

I'm not an expert, but we did use my GTI 2500 for almost a year. I've owned my share of top of line detectors in the 48 years I've been detecting. My first detector had 6 transistors, it was one of my own design, which I built in my high school electronics class, in 1962. It won the Blue Ribbon in the California State Fair that year.

I'm assuming you know enough to pass the coil over the exhumed dirt from the hole, trying to find the target, if it doesn't appear to be in the hole any more. If you can't find it anywhere, and if the depth and size indicator are bouncing all over the screen, then your detector may very well be faulty, and you need to have the factory check it out.

There have been cases of Garrett detectors coming from the factory with defects like that. Mine didn't, but it has conked out on us three times! Also, about 15 years ago, I was offered a new Garrett detector by a Garrett dealer (he was a friend of mine), which was defective from the factory like that, with the ID and the depth bouncing all over the readout, all afternoon while I was trying it out. He wanted to trade it to me for my Whites 6000 DI PRO series 3. I only found one penny all afternoon with that Garrett detector. With my Whites, I would have probably found more than two dozen coins in that same time, in that schoolyard, that afternoon. l Needless to say, I did not make the trade with him! That Garrett detector was faulty, from the factory.

On other posts, there has been talk of Garrett not having very good Quality Control, having shipped out detectors with obvious defects, that didn't act right during use. One was even reportedly DOA from the factory, and had to be replaced.

[/b]I'm not knocking Garrett, because when my GTI 2500 detector was working right, it was by far the best detector I've ever owned, and I've owned my share of many top-of-line detectors, in the 48 years I've been detecting! The 2500's ability to show you the size of the target in the ground is alone worth the price of the detector! It almost eliminates the digging of any trash at all, contributing to digging many MORE coins or good targets, in the same time you have for using any detector.

But my own Garrett GTI 2500 conked out under warranty, and it has conked out two more times since then. The first time, when it was about 4 or 5 months old, it suddenly started yelping and screaming very loudly at top volume, the second I turned it on. Nothing would stop the noise. So I called the factory, they listened to it over the phone, and told me to send it in for repair, since it was still under warranty. It took two months to get it back.

I have read in another post here that Garrett has more recently eliminated the "Treasure Talk" feature of the GTI 2500, because it had caused problems. Thinking back, the noise mine made could very well have come from the Treasure Talk "voice" going crazy.

The second time it conked out, it was my own fault, as I got it wet on a beach. We sent it in and had it repaired again, paying for it this time, as it was out of warranty. When we got it back, it lasted 3 or 4 hours, and conked out again, and its still not working. We never got even one years' use of it, in 8 years of owning it.

But most people do not have that experience with Garrett detectors - just go to Kellyco's website and look up any Garrett detector, like the GTI 2500 or the Ace 250, and read the many reviews of many detectorists who are very happy with their Garretts!

So yours could very well need to be sent back to the factory for a checkup to see if its working right. That's my recommendation, because if its working right, you've got the best metal detector available, at any price, IMHO!

 

[Sandman]

John is very right on what you should do to operate your 2500. If in doubt you can send it in for a check up.

Never believe all the reviews of detectors or anything actually from the mail order sites or big box stores. What makes you think these reviewers aren't shills to increase sales for detectors that generate the most profit. A good review states facts about how the features operate and leaves emotions out of it. If you write someone here on TNet and ask I believe you will get an honest answer from a fellow forum member. If you don't, you know one less that you can trust.