How to Use the Garrett Axiom in Heavily Mineralised African Soil

Buy the Axiom, switch it on, swing — and find nothing. Here’s why, and the 15-minute setup that fixes it.

Step 1: Pre-flight

• Charge both batteries (controller + headphones). Two hours.
• Mount the 13×11″ DD coil for general detecting. Switch to 11×7″ Mono only for confirmed targets you want to pinpoint.
• Pair the MS-3 Z-Lynk wireless headphones — long-press both power buttons until the indicator turns solid.

Step 2: Ground balance

This is where 90% of new owners go wrong. Don’t skip it.

1. Find a target-free 1m² patch (no metal, just soil).
2. Press Ground Balance → Auto.
3. Pump the coil slowly up and down from 30cm to ground level, 6-8 times.
4. The display will settle on a ground reading between 5 and 95. African mineralised soil typically reads 35-65.

Step 3: Threshold + sensitivity

Threshold should be a faint, even hum — not silence. Set it 2-3 ticks above silence.

Sensitivity: start at 18 (out of 25). Push higher only when the threshold stays smooth. If you hear constant chatter, drop to 15.

Step 4: Sweep technique

• Coil parallel to ground, 1-3 cm above the surface.
• Slow sweep: 1 meter per second.
• 50% overlap on each sweep.
• Listen for the “crisp” tone — gold rings cleaner than iron.

Reading the audio

What full field setup looks like

The Garrett Axiom package ships with two coils, MS-3 wireless headphones, and the hard case. Pre-tuned for either Vihiga (VLF preset) or Solwezi (PI preset) on request when you order.