ATX or GTI 2500 Opinions on Best to Buy?

Truffles_EOD · Sep 11, 2016

Is anyone in the know as to which of these would be the best detector to purchase for seeking items at depth? I am interesting in the usual coin and relic detecting but am also starting to search out areas for Caches, I will add a word doc soon on a proven military method of Cache finding, I did mention this a while back in the forum and have been fairly busy over the past few years with my job (demolition Range Supervisor) but now very keen to get out and about and put what we used in Northern Ireland Weapons Caches into practice to hunt for Coin Hoards and other Caches, but first I would like to see if anyone has experience with the detectors mentioned?

I understand the Minelab GPX 5000 is probably the better of the 3 but I don't quite have the cash to spill out on one at the moment.

I'll start working on the Search Document this week and will Upload to any who would like a copy when it is ready...

Many Thanks in Advance!

John-Edmonton · Sep 11, 2016

Good question. I will try to answer it. First of all, the GTI 2500 and the ATX are totally different detectors. The GTI has discrimination abilities, the ATX does not. All PI detectors will beep on all targets. The GTI can be set up to not beep on any selected targets of your choice. The true all metal mode is extremely deep, yet will still id the target with a cursor below the probable target. The ATX is a much deeper detector, with limited discrimination. (it does have an iron check giving low grunt on iron targets down to about 6 inches) The GTI struggles with higher mineralization soils, like all VLF detectors, losing depth as the mineralizations increases. The ATX punches through most extremely high mineralization situations, with little or no loss of depth. The ATX is water proof and does well in water, including salt water. The GTI 2500 is not water proof and struggles with salt water.

The GTI 2500 gets excellent results in lower mineralized soils, in trashy areas, looking for coin sized targets such as coins and jewelry.

The ATX gets excellent results in less trashy areas, finding match sized targets (gold) and larger. It works good in all soil and water locations. It's a dig every target type of machine, which water hunters and a lot of relic hunters do anyways regardless of signal. The ATX also works well in hunted out areas, especially in higher mineralized soil/water, where other detectors struggle.

PI detectors are not for everyone. However, used in the proper locations by a motivated user, will add much treasure to your collection. I do own both detectors and have hundreds of hours on each of them.

Truffles_EOD · Sep 11, 2016

Wow! Many Thanks John! which of the two do you prefer to search with? reading this I'm pointed more to the ATX for it's weather ability and especially salt water, however I like the look of the GTI's interface and ability to show instantly a coin size, although here in the Balkans that would probably be a Beer Bottle top!