My Gripe with Garrett

[Keppy]

My gripe with Garrett and the AT Pro and his other detectors.is........... NO DAM CAM LOCK and the lower shaft wobble........... Have it on my AT Pro now .... I have emailed them called them more than once over the years.............. They just don't care .......... They must be saveing a lot of money by not putting cam locks on the detectors.........It is like the battery set up with the Scorpion they just let it ride and that is what they are doing with the cam locks............ I know some will say just put black tape on it that will hold it.............But if i buy a new car i don't want to just put duck tape on the fender to keep it from rattling......... That is how much sence that tape idea is on a brand new detector..........I am mad as H..................about that wobble in my AT Pro..................

 

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[wildman4910]

I gotta dumb Q~~ what type of cam lock are you using?


~~Happy Hunting~~

 

[EZrider]

That's the difference between owning a Ford and owning a Mercedes

 

[Sandman]

Is Garrett going the way of the Minelab or Fisher of First Texas, no, but this cost cutting has to stop somewhere. My AT Pro doesn't wobble now, but maybe I am too short and don't have it extended as much. We are lucky that the AT Pro isn't hard wired for the coil and headphones.

My Tesoro's have camlocks and metal shafts because Tesoro makes a product that is meant to last. Years ago they all had metal shafts but now have gotten greedy and have went with cheaper materials or labor which is why Minelab can't seem to fix the Excal II's right the first time. Good labor costs more but they now out source everything.

 

[Keppy]

I gotta dumb Q~~ what type of cam lock are you using?


~~Happy Hunting~~

Garrett is the only detector maker that has stopped putting cam locks on the detectors.. So what kind of cam lock am i useing on my AT Pro now the same one you are useing on your 250...NONE there is none on Garrett detectors...........

 

[Keppy]

Is Garrett going the way of the Minelab or Fisher of First Texas, no, but this cost cutting has to stop somewhere. My AT Pro doesn't wobble now, but maybe I am too short and don't have it extended as much. We are lucky that the AT Pro isn't hard wired for the coil and headphones.

My Tesoro's have camlocks and metal shafts because Tesoro makes a product that is meant to last. Years ago they all had metal shafts but now have gotten greedy and have went with cheaper materials or labor which is why Minelab can't seem to fix the Excal II's right the first time. Good labor costs more but they now out source everything.

Sandman.............I know what you mean......If Tesoro would start makeing the Tiger shark again i would get one and a Tesoro inland detector and sell all my other detectors........

 

[Jerry-Wi]

I have not seen any specifics other than "the shaft wobbles", meaning it is pretty loose fit. My lower shaft is about .025" smaller than the mid shaft that it fits into. (Easy fix with some shim stock) The lower shaft is a composite material of some kind. I have no idea on what the physical tolerances are or how close they can be held with this kind of material and process. Remember when you are making thousands of parts that probably have some shrinkage during curing there are going to be some variances. The closer you make any tolerance, the more money it adds to the bottom line in the form of inspection and discarding out of tolerance parts. This applies to any manufacturing process. There is no free lunch. It may take a while to tweak the process but I am confidant that they will.

Jerry

 

[gallileo60]

Well, I can't speak about the AT, but I heard the same complaint on the 250...No wobble on mine at all..Also one reason to use a plastic rod, and even the connecting nut for the coil is to decrease interference from the metal rod, and nut near the coil..At least that is what I was told by a Garrett tech I spoke to....I practically weed eat with my Ace....Very rough on it, and still no wobble after a good number of years...Sure hope all the AT's don't have this problem, as I see one in my near future..Tom

 

[Jerry-Wi]

Well, I can't speak about the AT, but I heard the same complaint on the 250...No wobble on mine at all..Also one reason to use a plastic rod, and even the connecting nut for the coil is to decrease interference from the metal rod, and nut near the coil..At least that is what I was told by a Garrett tech I spoke to....I practically weed eat with my Ace....Very rough on it, and still no wobble after a good number of years...Sure hope all the AT's don't have this problem, as I see one in my near future..Tom

My wife uses a 250 and her's does not have a problem either. I suspect there are a lot of At Pro's that are OK as well. Mine was easy to correct so it is not an issue with me. Was just trying to point out a few things I learned when I used to work in Quality Control many years ago.

Jerry

 

[Bearkat]

If your going from a cam lock to a pin lock you might see a "slight" play compared to a stiff as he]] cam lock and some people might be shocked....As a Garrett user for years I dont mind it and it is so slight who cares....Garrett doesnt see it as a problem and I dont either. The shock will wear off from the cam effect. I hate cam locks myself. I've never had a Garrett that had one.

You will find you can move your lower rod all the time up and down with Garretts. With a cam lock they can get dirty and wont move sometimes without a tool or some massive effort while this dirt has set up like glue.

 

[EZrider]

No cam locks, as a beach and water hunter. You find out real quick that a little wobble turns into alot with use.

I don't see the tabs on the coil lasting while water hunting. They could have been more robust.

The connections to the control housing are a crude joke and poor design.

So is shaft, not counting the "no cam locks" the arm cuff is way to short and no adjustment.

People should not have to settle or modify a new machine out of the box.

 

[sgratrider]

Hi, wondering if you have ever seen Bill Babb's shaft lock, might fit your AT, not sure, worth checking into. Says they have them for Garretts. Here's a link where they can be found. http://www.indiannationsdetectors.com/shaftlock.html

 

[Keppy]

Yes that is pluggers shaft lock i sent for one........

 

[synthnut]

I'm beginning to see a trend here with long time Garrett users .....They make excuses for every shortcoming that the machine has , to make things OK in their heads .....The arm cuff was too short on other machines , and now the AT Pro, but we can make it longer with a broom handle .....The coil falses , and everybody claims that it's just sensitive .....but hey, it still hits targets really deep !!..... The lower shaft is loose as a goose ......but it still works fine and it's easy to adjust and doesn't get stiff like some lower shafts ...... if it still bothers you , wrap some electrical tape around it ....and then the clincher is ......You won't find another waterproof machine around that goes as deep in this price range !!...... If I was close to a showroom where I would have been able to see and try this machine out , I would have never bought it ....Jim

 

[dogpound]

synthut your in luck and there is a classified section on this site for you to sell it, i'm in the market for one but yours has a wobbley shaft and falses alot...sorry

 

[John-Edmonton]

I'm beginning to see a trend here with long time Garrett users .....They make excuses for every shortcoming that the machine has , to make things OK in their heads

Please Jim....that quote was not called for, it's unreasonable and you are trying to group a bunch of totally different personalities which simply can not be done. A lot of Garrett users like their machines for many different reasons, and probably uniquely different from each other. We look at a detector and look at all the possibilities there are in and around where we live, based on it's features and affordability. Every metal detector has it's warts.......that's just the way it is. Some people see a metal detector, compare it to there own arsenal, and can write pages on what's wrong with it...... it should be doing this, could have been doing that, doesn't do those things as good whatever. There is no true base line data out there for comparison. Whites, Tesoro, Minelab, Fisher, and many others are uniquely different, using their own brand of technology. They all work and all find coins and relics. People who constantly strive for absolute perfection tend to live very frustrating lives, as nothing is ever good enough. No matter what you own, you are always going to find something better, and that frustrates. This whole issue of shaking the coil has been around the block 3 times.

Jim....do the right thing, send it in to Garrett for their evaluation. After all, they designed it and know what technology has been spent on it. Garrett has always backed up there products. It's your turn for a move Jim.

I hope you get your issues resolved.

 

[Fleeker]

Hey Jim, I agree with John, you have about beaten this horse to death. Send it back to Garrett and let us know how it comes out!

 

[synthnut]

Hi John,
I will no longer speak on this issue ...I'm sorry if I have offended anyone .....Seriously , I am ... I just want a coil that does not false ...I'll deal with everything else .....Again, I'm sorry ....Jim

 

[kwdstalker]

Hi John,
I will no longer speak on this issue ...I'm sorry if I have offended anyone .....Seriously , I am ... I just want a coil that does not false ...I'll deal with everything else .....Again, I'm sorry ....Jim

well its not going to pop out of thin air. SEND IT IN. you are one of them that buys a killer Toyota and will not use recall because they might steal the change out of it.