LowDown On AT Pro

[CoilFisher]

I have to ask in all honesty since it's been out a while now.
What is the real story on the build and performance of the AT PRO?
Pros and Cons?

 

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[gleaner1]

I have to ask in all honesty since it's been out a while now.
What is the real story on the build and performance of the AT PRO?
Pros and Cons?

You haven't been reading the posts in the last six months. It's a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. Where the frik you been?
That's the real story. No, really. In all honesty. Really. Honestly.

 

[Dwight S]

As gleaner1 said go back and read the posts from about January up til now.

Readers Digest condensed version... some units have had falsing issues, some have had water leaking issues. Some have had both, some have had neither... I think most everyone who has used one will agree, that when it's working properly, it's hard to beat.

I've got one of the early production units that a lot of folks were having problems with, fortunately for me, mine has been flawless. It doesn't false, and I've detected with it in the ocean. With all that being said, I'm sending it back to be checked and for the coil rod upgrade/ extended warranty that Garrett is offering.

 

[CoilFisher]

I have read all the posts.

And, I also read they updated and fixed the product.

Which is why I would like to know now what everyone thinks of it.

Fair enough question I think.

 

[Monty]

Asked and answered. You are fishing for something and I am not sure just what. I have read all the reports both good and bad and I think a lot depends on personal preferences other than the how to reports of which there are many. Anything else you might get in response to your question is more apt to be personal opinions rather than factual information. Everyone has their opinion I'm sure. Monty

 

[Keppy]

Asked and answered. You are fishing for something and I am not sure just what. I have read all the reports both good and bad and I think a lot depends on personal preferences other than the how to reports of which there are many. Anything else you might get in response to your question is more apt to be personal opinions rather than factual information. Everyone has their opinion I'm sure. Monty

Monty's..... Right on....... He is right.....

 

[gleaner1]

I had a hiccup with mine, sent it in for a fix and I'm happy with it. At the end of the day, it's a 500 dollar machine, and can only be described as such. It is not magic, but it does not disappoint. Its a good "average" machine. The lists of the pros and cons are as long as the imagination is wide.

 

[dogpound]

individual results may vary

 

[Keppy]

Plain and simple? Its a Relic Machine... that can go underwater!


Chukers

Well i think it is a lot more than just a waterproof Relic Machine............

 

[Keppy]

individual results may vary

YEP YEP your so right...........

 

[The-Bone]

Asked and answered. You are fishing for something and I am not sure just what. I have read all the reports both good and bad and I think a lot depends on personal preferences other than the how to reports of which there are many. Anything else you might get in response to your question is more apt to be personal opinions rather than factual information. Everyone has their opinion I'm sure. Monty

sorry Monty but i must respectfully disagree with you on this one....this machine, when working properly, has gotten very good reviews from most of it's users...HOWEVER, getting one that is problem free seems to be like playing the lottery.. i almost pulled the trigger on one 4 months ago and am very happy that i did not....many new machines come out each year and people will always list their likes/dislikes but one thing that rings true with this model is it's inherent production flaws. I have owned and extremely disliked the Ace 250 and others have owned it and loved it...one thing we must all agree on though is that the Ace series was/is well built....this model from Garrett has great potential but has a well documented history of problems...i am very leary of spending $$$$ on this machine.

 

[Keppy]

Asked and answered. You are fishing for something and I am not sure just what. I have read all the reports both good and bad and I think a lot depends on personal preferences other than the how to reports of which there are many. Anything else you might get in response to your question is more apt to be personal opinions rather than factual information. Everyone has their opinion I'm sure. Monty

sorry Monty but i must respectfully disagree with you on this one....this machine, when working properly, has gotten very good reviews from most of it's users...HOWEVER, getting one that is problem free seems to be like playing the lottery.. i almost pulled the trigger on one 4 months ago and am very happy that i did not....many new machines come out each year and people will always list their likes/dislikes but one thing that rings true with this model is it's inherent production flaws. I have owned and extremely disliked the Ace 250 and others have owned it and loved it...one thing we must all agree on though is that the Ace series was/is well built....this model from Garrett has great potential but has a well documented history of problems...i am very leary of spending $$$$ on this machine.

The-Bone............. I have to agree with what you have to say ........... One problem after another ............... I just got my AT Pro back with the upgrade............. But i still wonder when i take it out .............. Will i get through this hunt with out it going crazy on me.........

 

[The-Bone]

Asked and answered. You are fishing for something and I am not sure just what. I have read all the reports both good and bad and I think a lot depends on personal preferences other than the how to reports of which there are many. Anything else you might get in response to your question is more apt to be personal opinions rather than factual information. Everyone has their opinion I'm sure. Monty

sorry Monty but i must respectfully disagree with you on this one....this machine, when working properly, has gotten very good reviews from most of it's users...HOWEVER, getting one that is problem free seems to be like playing the lottery.. i almost pulled the trigger on one 4 months ago and am very happy that i did not....many new machines come out each year and people will always list their likes/dislikes but one thing that rings true with this model is it's inherent production flaws. I have owned and extremely disliked the Ace 250 and others have owned it and loved it...one thing we must all agree on though is that the Ace series was/is well built....this model from Garrett has great potential but has a well documented history of problems...i am very leary of spending $$$$ on this machine.

The-Bone............. I have to agree with what you have to say ........... One problem after another ............... I just got my AT Pro back with the upgrade............. But i still wonder when i take it out .............. Will i get through this hunt with out it going crazy on me.........

Hi Keppy,
this machine really breaks my heart...it has just about everything going for it to replace 2 $600 machines in my arsenal but it simply has too many problems for me to buy it....hope they get it ironed out as i really want to like this offering from Garrett!

 

[gleaner1]

Asked and answered. You are fishing for something and I am not sure just what. I have read all the reports both good and bad and I think a lot depends on personal preferences other than the how to reports of which there are many. Anything else you might get in response to your question is more apt to be personal opinions rather than factual information. Everyone has their opinion I'm sure. Monty

sorry Monty but i must respectfully disagree with you on this one....this machine, when working properly, has gotten very good reviews from most of it's users...HOWEVER, getting one that is problem free seems to be like playing the lottery.. i almost pulled the trigger on one 4 months ago and am very happy that i did not....many new machines come out each year and people will always list their likes/dislikes but one thing that rings true with this model is it's inherent production flaws. I have owned and extremely disliked the Ace 250 and others have owned it and loved it...one thing we must all agree on though is that the Ace series was/is well built....this model from Garrett has great potential but has a well documented history of problems...i am very leary of spending $$$$ on this machine.

The-Bone............. I have to agree with what you have to say ........... One problem after another ............... I just got my AT Pro back with the upgrade............. But i still wonder when i take it out .............. Will i get through this hunt with out it going crazy on me.........

Keppy, it's a wonder machine that can and will work wonders, depending on the operator, of course. Your pro wont go crazy any more. Let 'er rip. Don't be skeered. It's Garrett. Let 'er go full bore. Hang on. Enjoy.

 

[Hosensack]

Pros: 1)Very good coin hunter, switching between pro and standard on a "good" target helps I.D very well once you figure out numbers.
2) Will find good stuff among iron trash once you get your sounds down.
3) New shaft is very sturdy and comfortable.
4) Versatile
5) Deep
6) When taking into account cost and what you get it is a great value(yes my wife is an accountant)

Cons: 1) Old shaft is not so sturdy, serviceable but kinda bothersome. So if you get new make sure it's a new model, if used figure on extra 40 to upgrade.
2)While it finds good stuff among trash, it has the same issue I had with all my Garrett's two or more haloed nails in a hole will register exactly the same as good target, so be prepared to dig(iron audio helps a lot for this, but you are going to miss some too, unless you use a sniper) I just designate dig only great signals and dig everything days.
3) It is above average at best. (not taking into account it's price range, as it stands very tall for it's price)

Summary : Like any other machine, you need to learn it, many do and will love it, many don't and probably won't. If you are on the fence with budget, and were wondering if you should spend the extra, I would say yes it is well worth it's price. If you have a higher budget, it might be worth spending more on some of the others out there...some not all...I love mine. But personally for trashy relic situations I work better with Fisher, for coin hunting and non trashy areas I use the ATP.

 

[ATPRoDon]

I have to ask in all honesty since it's been out a while now.
What is the real story on the build and performance of the AT PRO?
Pros and Cons?

I have been MDing since about 1981, and I have had a Fisher, Whites, Minelab and now a Garret the AT Pro. So far I have had no issues with this machine. I use it mainly in the Pro mode with little or no discrimination. If you train your ears to the sounds it makes when in a high trash area you will be able to pick out the good sound from the trash sounds, and that combined with the target ID works well enough. I think it goes very deep, and there have been a few cases I actually gave up digging because I didn't have a big enough shovel to dig, even tho I was still getting a sound.

I turned mine in for the $39 dollar upgrade and I had it back on my doorstep 6 working days after they received it. I like the new shaft much better.

All MD's have pro's and con's, and you're going to get so many opinions here that it wont really make much of a difference. I think for the money its as good or better then any machine out there in the $500 to $900 price area. Now I have yet to get the head of the unit wet, so thats something I still need to test, but I did have it on the beach and had the coil and shaft under water and it worked great.

In September I will be in the Arizona Mountains and test out its nugget hunting abilities, and if it works as I hope it will do, then you can't beat it.

My 2 cents..

AtProDon

 

[zincmaster]

i consider my AT PRO a treasure, ill use it till my knee's give out . i had the usual problems,but garrett took care of it quick andd i love it, have'nt tried it out in the water yet, but ive found some cool stuff and loads of clad, in fact i think if i went out more it could pay its self off in the first year. its like a coin magnet, have'nt really got to hunt any farms or stuff like that just parks and totlots for the most part, i will keep it and use it as long as i can. my other detector just sits in storage now, but if i ever need it ill use it. AT PRO rocks.

 

[deepfoot]

Anyone in Western Canada with an AT Pro problem can get it fixed in Langley BC at SMI Electronics which is the Garrett warranty shop for this part of the world.

I just got mine back today, they got it on Thursday and phoned Friday to say it was ready to be shipped back and I got it today, Monday.

They put the Euro stuffings in it and it works great, better than it ever did so I'm going to go back to all the spots I've covered and recheck what I may have missed. It would appear from just playing around in the yard with it that it was defective right from the get go.

Garrett is taking care of all those miserable problems, mine was the ground balance problem.

Personally I really like my AT Pro and over the years I've had a few detectors, this one is the best.

 

[Bev]

The question I'm having is how much time would I spend as a middle of the road detectorist before I realized it was my machine and not me?

I have been borrowing an At Pro. I like it for the most part though it doesnt pinpoint very well at all to the point where I dont use it. It's a crap shoot when attempting to ground balance and it hates when the sand goes from dry to wet.

The serial number I'm hearing is something to consider when purchasing used. This one Im using starts with #50 which seems to be the earlier batch with the issues. I met up with another detectorist that has one that's in the #50 lot also and he was having difficulties too.

One friend has the new model and scores left and right with it. He fooled with mine and said it was having issues and told me about the serial number coinciding with the faulty ones.

Since I've been thinking of buying I said to him, "Hey, say I take your At Pro and throw it off a cliff. What would you buy to replace it?" Without a thought he said another At Pro. Not only for the machine, price and capabilities but for the Garrett customer service.

Any thoughts?

 

[Dwight S]

The question I'm having is how much time would I spend as a middle of the road detectorist before I realized it was my machine and not me?

I have been borrowing an At Pro. I like it for the most part though it doesnt pinpoint very well at all to the point where I dont use it. It's a crap shoot when attempting to ground balance and it hates when the sand goes from dry to wet.

The serial number I'm hearing is something to consider when purchasing used. This one Im using starts with #50 which seems to be the earlier batch with the issues. I met up with another detectorist that has one that's in the #50 lot also and he was having difficulties too.

One friend has the new model and scores left and right with it. He fooled with mine and said it was having issues and told me about the serial number coinciding with the faulty ones.

Since I've been thinking of buying I said to him, "Hey, say I take your At Pro and throw it off a cliff. What would you buy to replace it?" Without a thought he said another At Pro. Not only for the machine, price and capabilities but for the Garrett customer service.

Any thoughts?

Bev... I really don't know how to answer your original question other than to say if you are not confident with your detector, then you probably won't make the finds you desire. You've also got to get in the right spot, work slow... patience and persistance pays off...
The AT-Pro has a two year warranty, and has been out for less than a year. They were released around the end of October of 2010. If the one you are using is having some issues, it needs to be sent in for the warranty work. The serial number should be #505 or less. The upgrade that Garrett is offering is $40, you get a new shaft, a complete detector check and a new 2 year full warranty from the time of the upgrade. With the issues some have had, including complete failure in the water, I feel its a "no brainer" to get this done. I've got a #504 unit and fortunately for me, mine has worked fine, but I'll be sending it in within a week or so for the upgrade, check and warranty extension.

I honestly think a lot of folks think the same way as your friend, the AT-Pro when it works is hard to beat for the money, but the big thing it has going for it is Garrett's customer service. Example: I broke the coil mounting bolt on mine by being a bit heavy handed, twisted it into. I went home, called Garrett and expained that I broke it and that it was my fault. I offered to pay the $6 or so that they sell for, but was told no, they would send me a new mounting bolt kit. In three days I received a package from Garrett with 2 complete bolt kits. They could have easily charged me for the kit + shipping, but they didn't.

As I mentioned on another forum when somebody said they would wait for all the kinks to be worked out of any future Garrett detectors (refering to Garrett's new Fall detector introduction teaser), I said I wouldn't hesitate to buy whatever is in the bag, because if there is an issue with the detector, I know that Garrett will stand behind it and make it right.