AT Pro battery Indicator

[dellwas]

Just got a new AT Pro. The battery indicator appears to be flakey. Sometimes shows all bars, sometimes none. I know a call to Garret is probably warrented, but has anyone run across this? New charged nicads do not eliminate the issue.

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[gleaner1]

Try new good batts, if it is still flaky, its a factory case. As common sense would dictate.

[signal_line]

I don't think nicad;s are the correct voltage. You want 1.5 volts not 1.2 volts. That's real close to the cut-off voltage.

I recall some batteries that did not fit right in a laser I had. I think they might have been "Ultra" (Duracell, I think) They were just a tiny bit too small and did not make good contact. I would try some new standard alkaline AA"s.

Also make sure battery is installed correctly in the detector (look at photo in the manual).

[Sandman]

"Also make sure battery is installed correctly in the detector (look at photo in the manual)." Excellent advice! Even with my experience I have been guilty of this. Once came home from a long drive to a beach because batteries were dead only to learn at home that two batteries were inserted wrong. Duh.

[Ace350]

I don't think nicad;s are the correct voltage. You want 1.5 volts not 1.2 volts. That's real close to the cut-off voltage.

I recall some batteries that did not fit right in a laser I had. I think they might have been "Ultra" (Duracell, I think) They were just a tiny bit too small and did not make good contact. I would try some new standard alkaline AA"s.

Also make sure battery is installed correctly in the detector (look at photo in the manual).

I use Energizer NIMH rechargables and a few other rechargable brands in my AT. Yes they are 1.2 volts and Yes they work fine. It even says you can use them in the manual. Speaking of the manual, read the manual on doing a factory reset if you have confirmed that the batteries you are using are properly inserted and fully charged.
If those two things don't fix the problem then call Garrett customer service they are great and very easy to deal with.

[signal_line]

Yes the manual says NIMH are okay but it doesn;t say anything about NICAD. The NIMH run at a higher voltage than NICAD's when under load. Whether that is enough to make a difference when fully charged, I don't know. But it's one variable to eliminate when searching for the problem. Another thing I would check for is a broken or cracked battery holder.

[gleaner1]

NiCads are a terrible choice for metal detectors. In my opinion, they are not a good drop-in alternative. Voltage is too low at 1.2. But they are useful if you want to design custom batteries. If you can design a NiCad pack, add cells as required to get to the working voltage. If the tecter uses four carbon or alkalyine cells, 1.5v in series, that is 6v. Use five NiCads 5 x 1.2 = 6v. The NiCad no-load voltage will measure about 1.4v x 5 = 7v, but under load it drops to 6v, just right. Good quality properly charged NiCads will read 1.4 volts no load. If I get cells that are 1.37 volts fully charged, they are suspect. NiCads hold a lot of juice, it's amazing. I have an eighteen volt machine. I made a battery using 16 aa NiCad cells in series. Fully charged it is bit above 22v. I have run this battery for about fifteen years and have saved a lot of money on nine volt batteries. It is just about stupid how much a 9 volt battery costs nowadays. It should be like fifty cent or so.

[gleaner1]

I am going to design and build a 5 cell, C size battery pack that is fully waterproof to ten feet for my atpro. Pics soon. No, really.

[Ace350]

I am going to design and build a 5 cell, C size battery pack that is fully waterproof to ten feet for my atpro. Pics soon. No, really.

I see you are serious. That's a good idea. I may have one to add to it.
Is there a way to use that empty battery slot to add another battery without upping the voltage? That way it will last all day without running outta juice. I forgot if its in series or parallel.

[gleaner1]

I see you are serious. That's a good idea. I may have one to add to it.
Is there a way to use that empty battery slot to add another battery without upping the voltage? That way it will last all day without running outta juice. I forgot if its in series or parallel.

A five pack C Nicad will power an atpro for 50 hours I am sure. But, if you want to use that slot up, put the fifth and sixth cells in parallel, and then go out series to the rest of the chain. Viola, you just added ten hours.

[gleaner1]

This is not good practice though, the cells are no longer loaded evenly. You would be better off taking five aa in series and put that battery in parallel with another battery of five more aa in series. Man, you would not use up all that juice in a whole season I bet.

[dellwas]

Thanks for the suggestions, all. Also, the batteries are Nimh, not nicads. Pulled the battery pack, ensured polarity with both types. Tested each side of the holder with a multimeter, 3.1v with the alkies, 2.45 with the Nimh. Tried each again in the detector, no battery indicator. Finally, tried new alkies (tested voltage), still no go. Guess it's time to call Garrett.

[Ace350]

Did you try to do a factory reset?
It's on page 11 of your owners manual.
It says to press and hold the power button for 5 to 10 seconds ( until the detector produces a fast double beep).

[dellwas]

Yes, several times. On a positive note went to the beach today and scored a $1.50 in coin

Did you try to do a factory reset?
It's on page 11 of your owners manual.
It says to press and hold the power button for 5 to 10 seconds ( until the detector produces a fast double beep).