Not A Post For Trashing Either! AT Pro vs eTrac

[ajaj]

I sincerely hope no-one will post, "Oh no, here we go...again".

I have hundreds and hundreds of hours on my AT Pro, and less on my eTrac. When I was researching detectors, I was blown away at the number of threads comparing the two...talk about comparing apples to oranges. Two different machines, different technologies, and vastly different prices; both excellent machines! Anyone who states that they have, say, an AT Pro, and follows someone who has an eTrac, and "beats" them, does not compare the machines...they are comparing the machines AND the users. The only way is to have someone with one machine find a target, and have the other person with the other machine also listen to the undug target...many, many times. I have seen many times an eTrac pick up a great sound with the AT Pro saying it's junk, and visa versa. So, if anyone asks which is the better machine, here are my thoughts (these are GENERAL in nature; there are many exceptions based on soil conditions, landscape, mood of the user, etc.)...

In GENERAL

eTrac "wins": relatively flat terrain, short grass or bare dirt, will pick out the deeper coins in low or high trashy areas

AT Pro "wins": uneven terrain, longer grass, woods with lots of irregular features and stubby plants, rocks, and underwater

By having both machines, I feel I can "clean up" the joint. If I know I can hit an area multiple times over multiple outings, I use both. I am always amazed how they both kick each others butt!

If one can afford $2000, GET BOTH!

aj

 

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[Pennypacker]

Anyone who states that they have, say, an AT Pro, and follows someone who has an eTrac, and "beats" them, does not compare the machines..

Anyone who says that is a rank amateur. I can follow my own tracks from a previous outing and find stuff I missed with the same machine on a previous occasion.

eTrac "wins": relatively flat terrain, short grass or bare dirt, will pick out the deeper coins in low or high trashy areas

AT Pro "wins": uneven terrain, longer grass, woods with lots of irregular features and stubby plants, rocks, and underwater

This makes very little sense, aside from the water part, how is the ATPro better in longer grass? Why do you think this is the case?

 

[CoinandRelicMan]

I've been using the ETrac for three years or so now have not had the opportunity to compare the machines any till now. Looks like I may get that opportunity soon, met a fellow who uses the ATPro , hopefully we will get to compare some signals we both like on our machines , this could be interesting. Hope to have some experience to post here later.

 

[ajaj]

Anyone who says that is a rank amateur. I can follow my own tracks from a previous outing and find stuff I missed with the same machine on a previous occasion.



This makes very little sense, aside from the water part, how is the ATPro better in longer grass? Why do you think this is the case?

I don't know. I believe the AT Pro is a little more forgiving when the terrain gets tougher (e.g., more irregular, longer grass). In my humble experience, I have found the eTrac to sniff out those deeper silvers when the grass is shorter and the terrain more even. Maybe both machines are similar in the longer grass, but I love the AT Pro and 5x8 coil in the messy woods; where one has to constantly duck below branches and bushes and leaves are everywhere. In those conditions, the eTrac should be swung very slowly to get that coil parallel to the ground and sniff out the good signals. Maybe it's the coil angle...the eTrac is a killer with perfect coil alignment; the AT Pro's coil can be more forgiving and off kilter to get those signals.

 

[Pennypacker]

Oh I see, you have a small coil on the ATPro, that would make sense.

My limited experience with the ATPro did horribly against a Minelab Xterra, so I was a little surprised to see it compared to an ETrac. The regular coil on the ATPro is quite cumbersome in trashy areas and "feels" slow for whatever reason.

Thank you for your contribution.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Throw away all bells & whistles....

If you listen to the whispers and sounds, and rely only on what the machine is saying....

The Etrac will tell you stories the ATP will never tell you.

That is where the two machines differ.

 

[Mike70]

May I ask what the difference is between the AT Pro and AT Gold ? I have not got, or used, either..

 

[Jason in Enid]

How in the world is one machine "better" in un-even terrain? that makes absolutely no sense. Honestly, you seem to double-speak in this entire thread and it makes no sense.

 

[ajaj]

How in the world is one machine "better" in un-even terrain? that makes absolutely no sense. Honestly, you seem to double-speak in this entire thread and it makes no sense.

Not sure about the "double speak", but thanks for sharing your video links. I love the way you take care of the silver finds. Man, your soil down there is tough! Keep on preserving history.

aj

 

[ajaj]

Oh I see, you have a small coil on the ATPro, that would make sense.

My limited experience with the ATPro did horribly against a Minelab Xterra, so I was a little surprised to see it compared to an ETrac. The regular coil on the ATPro is quite cumbersome in trashy areas and "feels" slow for whatever reason.

Thank you for your contribution.

I use both the 5x8 and 9x11 coils on the AT Pro. The larger one is a little more finicky, but does excellent work.

aj

 

[atomicscott]

May I ask what the difference is between the AT Pro and AT Gold ? I have not got, or used, either..

AT Gold is higher frequency (18 kHz?) & has a threshold hum. AT Pro is silent search & 15 kHz frequency. I think there are some other subtle differences, but not sure.

 

[DiggerinVA]

AT pro has selectable notching...Gold dos not. Gold has a true All-metal mode and a silent search mode.......Pro lacks a true-threshold all metal mode. Gold is a couple inches deeper in AM mode....also the Gold handles bad ground better.

I would take either of these over the etrac for relic hunting....i have personally seen th AT gold slam 3-ringers that the Etrac couldnt touch. But for coins i like the Etrac....

 

[choppadude]

"If one can afford $2000, GET BOTH!"

I have both and bought them brand new for under $1650

 

[marjam]

I have the etrac, but I don't have the at pro. That being said, I would like to have one for its water hunting capabilities. I have no need to hunt with the at pro on land, because I have confidence in the etrac and my ability to use it on land.