Myers Depot Metal Detectors

A strange thing happened while detecting

GabbityGabby

GabbityGabby

Elite Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2015
Messages
1,961
Location
central Wisconsin
So yesterday something really strange happened while I was detecting. I had been detecting for about a half hour and found a couple of things, the detector seemed to be working normally. Then I went to another site and started again. After walking through a tot lot I got no signals, not even trash. The AT Pro was silent. I checked to make sure it was on, it was. So I thought maybe the detector wasn't working properly. I dug a bottlecap out of my finds pouch that I had found earlier in the hunt and threw it on the ground and passed the coil RIGHT OVER IT, still no sound or signal. Puzzled, I switched the mode a couple of times to see if that helped. Nope. And keep in mind that this detector has only been out a few times, has new batteries and I have never dropped it or hit it against anything. Finally I turned the unit upside down to check on the coil, all of a sudden it starts going off when the coil is next to my finds pouch? Checked it on the ground, it was working fine. :?: What could have caused my AT Pro to quit working all of a sudden, and then start up again? Is there something wrong with it? Has something similar ever happened to you?
 
that's odd, especially that it wouldn't even register that bottle cap. :?:
mine seems to get a little bit "moody" at times, but not like that. in some places it'll get real chatty and chirpy and a couple of minutes later, it'll go back to it's normal self again, but that might be a battery issue, power lines or maybe microwave transmitters. as for yours' doing that, i don't know what to say. shut it off, maybe hold the power button down and reset it, check the coil and head phone connections.
when you tried that bottle cap, did anything show up on the screen at all, like a target reading and depth? if you got a visual signal on screen, but no audio from it, then i'd be checking the phones connector first. other than that, i dunno what to tell ya. :no:

Pete
 
Keep an eye on it...

I've bumped mine and had it shut off a few times.. If you bump the ATP just right (not even that hard) the battery pack can momentarily lose connection and it will shut off.. I'm thinking when you turned it upside down it came back on?

If it continues to do that, a little bit of foam under the battery pack will fix it.. All three of the ones I've ran have done just that at least once or twice. My one machine kept doing it until I put foam under the cap to hold the batteries down better...

<*)))>{
 
If it was on and stayed on during the whole episode, and started working after you tipped it, then that makes me think it's a cable/connector issue of some kind, maybe something in where the the pins connect causing some shorting on one pin, or something loose? I think I'd try undoing the cable and give it a good looking over for anything that might be moving around in there though, then try to recreate the problem. Very odd...
 
Intermittent electrical issues can be as hard to find as Bigfoot. If it continues to do this, send it in as soon as possible as we are getting into the hunting season nationwide and the detector companies can start getting flooded with warranty/non warranty repairs which can be an issue if you don't have a back-up machine. Just my $.02:yes:
 
My machine did that once when playing in the yard, and I found that the coil wire connector at the control box was flaky. Just a slight giggle and it worked until left took my hand off of it. Turned out the potting material connection has shelled out. I was able to fix mine.

You could likely take your same setup and turn it on, and slightly jostle the cable at the control box to see if it can be made to drop out again. That's how I troubleshot mine. My coil was an SEF, and I actually had a second failure on a different SEF, but it was under warranty. SEF coils seem cheaply made in their connector wiring. martin
 
Ive read a few stories very similar and it turned out there was an electrical problem of some type , one in particular that comes to mind was a problem at the headphone jack. Kinda hard to have confidence in the detector when the audio goes out now and then. Sorry you are having trouble with it , mine too had a problem right out of the box but Garrett fixed it quickly and got it back to me and its been rock solid ever since. If you end up having to send it in make sure you give them as much information possible on the problem so they can check it out quickly.
 
Last year I had mine at Lake Tahoe in the water and it kinda went nuts with two of the buttons. They werent working. But later it fixed itself.
These days the only thing is it wont remember two notches in custom mode when switched back on???
 
sorry.....

Giorgio_Tsoukalos.jpg


(yeah, I had to do it) :D
 
The suggestions about the coil connection sound right to me. Those two pins have to be completely in. So make sure to tighten the connector to keep them snug and in place. When you flipped it up, gravity probably reset the connection. The ATP is a pretty rugged machine but little things like that can drive you nuts when they happen.
 
Thanks for all your ideas guys. I am still not sure what went wrong but if it happens again I will definitely check the pin connections. I know it was not a battery issue since the power stayed on the whole time, and it could not have been the headphone connection since I wasn't using them at the time.
 
GabbityGabby said:
Thanks for all your ideas guys. I am still not sure what went wrong but if it happens again I will definitely check the pin connections. I know it was not a battery issue since the power stayed on the whole time, and it could not have been the headphone connection since I wasn't using them at the time.
Click to expand...

Could be a somewhat loose wire on the internal speaker then. Keep a set of headphones handy and plug it in the next time it happens. If you get sound there then unplug and see if you still get no sound. If still no sound on the speaker, you will have at least narrowed it down.
 
Did you factory reset it? I factory reset mine before every hunt and have never had any problems. While its off I hold power for 5 or 6 seconds and itll double beep. Then I turn it on hold for 5 or 6 seconds and it double beeps. I do it both ways cause the manual says one way folks at garrett said tge other way. I figured one way had to be right. Gl and hh Jeremy
 
GabbityGabby said:
So yesterday something really strange happened while I was detecting. I had been detecting for about a half hour and found a couple of things, the detector seemed to be working normally. Then I went to another site and started again. After walking through a tot lot I got no signals, not even trash. The AT Pro was silent. I checked to make sure it was on, it was. So I thought maybe the detector wasn't working properly. I dug a bottlecap out of my finds pouch that I had found earlier in the hunt and threw it on the ground and passed the coil RIGHT OVER IT, still no sound or signal. Puzzled, I switched the mode a couple of times to see if that helped. Nope. And keep in mind that this detector has only been out a few times, has new batteries and I have never dropped it or hit it against anything. Finally I turned the unit upside down to check on the coil, all of a sudden it starts going off when the coil is next to my finds pouch? Checked it on the ground, it was working fine. :?: What could have caused my AT Pro to quit working all of a sudden, and then start up again? Is there something wrong with it? Has something similar ever happened to you?
Click to expand...

If checking the connections doent fix it give me a ring. I will let you know who to talk to at Garrett to make sure you get fixed up!
 
Demonic Possession!

Say 3 Hail Mary's, and splash the ATP with some holy water!
 
Thanks all

Thanks for all your help you guys. I thought I'd revisit this thread to give you all an update. The same thing happened again, but turning it upside down fixed it, today it happened for the third time but turning it upside down didn't fix it, so I checked the connection. Sure enough, the coil cord had somehow loosened up, so I unscrewed it a little and re-put it on. The detector immediately started singing. :grin: So I guess a loose connection was the problem all along. Nice to know I won't have to send it to be repaired.

P.S. Found a ring (don't know if it's silver or steel?) right after fixing it. :grin:
 
GabbityGabby said:
Thanks for all your help you guys. I thought I'd revisit this thread to give you all an update. The same thing happened again, but turning it upside down fixed it, today it happened for the third time but turning it upside down didn't fix it, so I checked the connection. Sure enough, the coil cord had somehow loosened up, so I unscrewed it a little and re-put it on. The detector immediately started singing. :grin: So I guess a loose connection was the problem all along. Nice to know I won't have to send it to be repaired.

P.S. Found a ring (don't know if it's silver or steel?) right after fixing it. :grin:
Click to expand...

That's great, very glad it was a simple fix. Congrats on the ring too!
 
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