StevePcola
Forum Supporter
I've had this machine for about 4 months. It was reliable and usable when I got it...so much so that I bought a NEL Storm coil, then a NEL Snake coil. Recently (within the last month), the speaker works sometimes (I've resorted to using the headphones all of the time, although it's hotter than the hinges of Hades in the FL panhandle), and gets noticeably unstable while I'm retrieving targets (I set the unit on the ground, and it slowly starts making random noise until it gets so bad that I have to turn it off).
I ground balance frequently, I do factory resets every 15 minutes, I know for a fact that the coil connector to the head unit is as tight as it can be, and I'm hunting in places that have no potential for EMI. I'm at the end of my rope here. I want to call Garrett and get warranty repair, but I don't want to be without my detector forever (or even 2-3 weeks).
This happens even when I mount a NEL coil, do a factory reset (power button depressed for 5-6 seconds until two beeps and the screen resets to default settings). It happens when using the factory coil. I just recently got a permission to search 9 units of a small neighborhood of 1943-era cottages built for Naval aviators during WW II that have no electricity...the machine is unusable.
I have to hunt most of the time on one bar of sensitivity, which is absolutely absurd. Again, I ground balance on clear ground, have fresh batteries, factory reset before every hunt, make certain that the coil cable connector is very secure, and there is no EMI.
Any suggestions? I'm about to ditch this thing, buy an Equinox 800, and start over. With your collective experience, should I call Garrett? Or should I write it off as a loss, eat the >$1000 that I have in it, and find something that will let me actually metal detect?
I thank you in advance for your advice.
I ground balance frequently, I do factory resets every 15 minutes, I know for a fact that the coil connector to the head unit is as tight as it can be, and I'm hunting in places that have no potential for EMI. I'm at the end of my rope here. I want to call Garrett and get warranty repair, but I don't want to be without my detector forever (or even 2-3 weeks).
This happens even when I mount a NEL coil, do a factory reset (power button depressed for 5-6 seconds until two beeps and the screen resets to default settings). It happens when using the factory coil. I just recently got a permission to search 9 units of a small neighborhood of 1943-era cottages built for Naval aviators during WW II that have no electricity...the machine is unusable.
I have to hunt most of the time on one bar of sensitivity, which is absolutely absurd. Again, I ground balance on clear ground, have fresh batteries, factory reset before every hunt, make certain that the coil cable connector is very secure, and there is no EMI.
Any suggestions? I'm about to ditch this thing, buy an Equinox 800, and start over. With your collective experience, should I call Garrett? Or should I write it off as a loss, eat the >$1000 that I have in it, and find something that will let me actually metal detect?
I thank you in advance for your advice.