AT pro goes nuts in park grass..fine in tot lots.

[marco]

I bought a used ATpro after taking 2 years off of MD'ing....I had the Ace 250 before. I was comfortable with the Ace...pullled a good $50 in clad and a few silvers with it in a few months...then lost my job and had to sell stuff to make ends meet....dont we all love this economy? Anyway...new job...decent paycheck...and i was itchin to get out there again. I liked the idea of a very similar machine, but better. I know the ATPro its a better machine than the Ace....but.....it seems to be information overload. I cant swing that thing even once without a chirp or a bing or a bong....especialy on the grass. Is that normal? Single high tones that hit at the end of a nice level sweep....but dont repeat....thats the most common...as in...pretty much every single sweep in grass! (dry as a bone its 85 degrees out) I do understand the diff between normal and pro mode...but....Im still getting that chatter in normal mode...not just pro. More info for those of you who know your stuff....Im getting around 90 when I ground balance in my local park. Thats pretty high, right? The tot lot dropped down to 70's...(and the machine quiets waay down) could the prob be very hot soil in the actual park? The situation is making me want to just stick to the tot lots...but I didnt buy the machine to just pick up a pocketfull of clad!

 

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[Nuggetville]

Your going to love the AT Pro! It sounds like you hit the nail on the head with the hot soil in the park. 90 ground phase is high. Did you try bumping the sensitivity down a good deal? When the ground is that hot, you tend to have to lower the sens. It doesn't sound like a hardware issue because you said it is working well in the tot lot. Also are you running a program or open? Hope this helps a little. Happy hunting!

 

[Frank1960]

has it been sent in for the upgrades?

 

[marco]

Thanks for the replies so far. When "program" vs open was mentioned...i'm assuming coins vs all metal...right? In coins I still got a ton of chatter...in all metal...well....it sounded like I was walking across a buried chain link fence. Im going to go back out today and lower the sensitivity a bunch for starters, and try a different park if possible to see if I get a lower ground reading.
Also, I dont think this machine has been sent in. Its supposedly still under warranty, I should call Garrett with the serial # and see if they will give it all those upgrades I read about here in the forums...I doubt I have any of them. The machine does not false when I wiggle the coil in the air...I know it doesnt have that issue. It really might just be a super trashy parky with very hot soil and the need for adequate tuning.

 

[zincmaster]

could be because you are in a high trash area , maybe try a smaller coil. i know some areas of the parks i hit are overloaded with trash, and ive been contemplating a smaller coil , just cant afford it right now. i cant use the headphones in a high trash area, it absolutley drives me nuts with all that beeping lol. i use mine in pro mode and since ive got it back from garrett it doesnt seem to detect very deep, wish i could figure that out.

HH zinc

 

[marco]

I just went out and found a much smaller, quieter park and it made a big difference. The first place I went...there were literaly 300+ people there at 7pm enjoying the days cool-off. Very high traffic..so i guess very high trash. Not to mention I wasnt all that confortable swinging away with so many people around. Anyway...after finding a much smaller park...and switching to 9am...there wasnt a single person there....I was able to calm down the machine...and finally start listening for good targets. Im running standard mode in coins...and then when i get a good repeating mid to high number target..I listen to it in standard and pro mode..and turn on iron audio before deciding to dig. In about an hour i pulled half a dozen clads...one screw top..and a 1940 wheatie that wasnt even an inch down. Progress on the AtPro..and im lovin that park.

 

[lookindown]

I just went out and found a much smaller, quieter park and it made a big difference. The first place I went...there were literaly 300+ people there at 7pm enjoying the days cool-off. Very high traffic..so i guess very high trash. Not to mention I wasnt all that confortable swinging away with so many people around. Anyway...after finding a much smaller park...and switching to 9am...there wasnt a single person there....I was able to calm down the machine...and finally start listening for good targets. Im running standard mode in coins...and then when i get a good repeating mid to high number target..I listen to it in standard and pro mode..and turn on iron audio before deciding to dig. In about an hour i pulled half a dozen clads...one screw top..and a 1940 wheatie that wasnt even an inch down. Progress on the AtPro..and im lovin that park.

It takes time with a new machine, your getting there. Good find on the wheatie, your on your way.

 

[batcap]

When I moved from the Ace 250 to the AT-Pro I found I could only stand Pro mode for a little while, I'd get "brain tired" trying to interpret all those sounds. One day I flipped it to standard and 5 minutes later went back to Pro. I think the only time I went to Standard after that was in a single trip to the ocean.
Try this:
Every time you go out, start in Pro mode with sensitivity down a bit. When you get fatigued by the input, flip it to Standard.
Little by little your Pro mode time will get longer, until eventually you realize you never did bother with Standard mode for a trip or two.

Sometime after that you'll wonder why 1/2 the programming is wasted on Standard mode. The reason is: You needed it in the beginning.

Another trick is to slow waaay down for a little while. Swing the coil twice every pass. Your brain will train itself to subconsciously remember all the little blips it hears on a single pass. When you sweep back your brain will detect a target hit that was consistent with the first pass and bring it to your conscious attention. Little by little your brain learns to filter out the static. Soon, as you make a sweep you'll say to yourself "there's a target" on the first pass and it will be confirmed on the back sweep. After that you'll be able to reasonably determine which signals are likely to be repeatable. By this point much of the static will be subconsciously disregarded.

And for all the effort in explaining that(and reading it) . . . . It's just my opinion, Your Mileage May Vary.

 

[marco]

Thanks for the advice! Its good to hear that it isnt just me and my machine...that pro mode really is a consistent chatter that you have to weed through. I really think with these parks...every sweep is going to subject you to bits of foil..poptops...you name it. Finding that real target in the middle of it all is the challenge. But what I hate to think...is that one of those bouncing...48 to 58 to 73 and back again "skipping" targets...could be the gold ring I really want to find. Can anyone ease my mind a bit on that? It really would be impossible to dig every chattering-skipping target...since I seem to come across one every 5 feet. I keep iron audio on and ignore the repeatables with a "grunt"....jewelry wont give you an iron "grunt"...right?
And one more thing ive discovered...I reeealy want a garrett pro pointer. So far I have labored over at least 3 half a foot holes where I just couldnt find the target. Repeatable bing nice 70-80 read...and i just couldnt find anything. I give up after about 15 min when my hole is 10 inches deep...I keep carving more off the sides making it wider...and the reading says 6 inches...and i just...cant...find it. Im doing this for fun....of course id like to find something reasonably valuable but im realistic about it...im excited to find a clad quarter even when i have $80 in my wallet LOL......but digging a hole and finding nothing isnt fun at all!

 

[Sandman]

I've been following this thread and have some suggestions. First call Garrett and see if it has the Upgrade. At some locations you just need to lower your sens because of the ground or you didn't GB properly. Auto GB doesn't always do the job. Change frequencies to see if that helps, but usually your sens is to high. Its also better to hunt with the Iron audio off or use it to check those low numbers. Some cell phones can bother detectors with electrical interference, as you learned at the busy park. A smaller coil can do wonders for getting only one target under the coil at once and slow down your sweeps and keep the coil level. Sometimes we forget.


http://detectorstuff.com/2009/08/05...ay-by-first-texas-lead-engineer-dave-johnson/

 

[Minrelica]

I've been following this thread and have some suggestions. First call Garrett and see if it has the Upgrade. At some locations you just need to lower your sens because of the ground or you didn't GB properly. Auto GB doesn't always do the job. Change frequencies to see if that helps, but usually your sens is to high. Its also better to hunt with the Iron audio off or use it to check those low numbers. Some cell phones can bother detectors with electrical interference, as you learned at the busy park. A smaller coil can do wonders for getting only one target under the coil at once and slow down your sweeps and keep the coil level. Sometimes we forget.


http://detectorstuff.com/2009/08/05...ay-by-first-texas-lead-engineer-dave-johnson/

The first day out with my ATP I was digging bottlecap after bottlecap, more than ever. I then switched over to Iron Audio and never looked back. I generally hunt in pro/coin mode/iron audio BUT since you have much more experience than me and I'm eager to learn, I will try hunting with iron audio off for a while and see how it goes. I've come a long way since my first outing with the ATP and I'm looking forward to progress even further.

 

[J-dude]

I live here in Washington State on my ATP GB's at 90-91 in most places due to the soil...in the tot lots it does balance lower. There are several parks in my area where I get the same 'chatter' you speak of and after lots of digging I realized there is LOTS of foil/gumwrappers...dohhh! I after time you will notice the slightly different tone in the foil...its not as crisp as say a nickel or gold ring. I have found 2 gold rings so far and it hits very well on them...one in the water and one at a tot lot. Both time it was a good clear repeatable tone. ATP is a great machine...just takes time to get to know