Ive done my research--I have chosen the AT pro-- remaining questions

[borntohunt460]

Hello all. I have been metal detecting more often recently with my Tesoro silver umax and I think Im ready to upgrade as I know this is the hobby for me. First off, the reason Im not content with the Tesoro is I feel as though Im missing a lot of coins, jewelry, and artifacts. I think Im missing them because I have found the ocassional Wheatie but they were no more than 3 inches and that's as old and as precious metal as Ive got. The most important question I have is will there be a significant depth improvement with the AT pro? Id be very frustrated if the AT pro had issues hearing a quarter at 6 inches (Tesoro was barely audible after a garden test that sat a while, I would miss this if in a park). I saw an AT pro air test that didn't seem that better than my Tesoro but was wondering if anyone had experience with both machines.

Second question is are there models right above the AT pro that are worth the little extra cash? I cant see myself paying 1500 for an etrac and from some videos I don't see that much of an improved performance (if it does have much better performance, however, let me know).

I want my detector to be able to find old old coins at 8in with no problems--- I don't plan on doing any prospecting in the near future--- I will take my detector to the beach probably once a year on vacation so it wont be a dedicated salt water machine---and Id like to be able to find gold and silver rings

I like the idea that I could put on my waders and hunt some bodies of water in my area but I don't want the 600 price to be based on pretty much Tesoro silver performance with waterproof capability

final note: how often do companies come out with new models? If I buy an AT pro will Garrett come out with AT pro II in a year?

Thanks for all your help and advice

 

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[Sapper724]

Get ASN AT Pro and don't look back. Waterproof, durable, and if you leave the big coil on, 8 inches shouldn't be a problem. (Results will vary with soil conditions as with all detectors) you can even hit 8 inches with the smaller coil a lot of the time.

 

[bzbadger]

Fellow club member is a Tesoro fan, has custom made ones but still has an ATP as do I. I just dug a dime at a depth that my arm was in the hole up to my elbow so an easy 16 inches. You have to take the time to learn the machine and bow to set it up properly plus there are some little tricks you can do to increase the depth of a Garrett AT, ground balancing tricks that make targets scream in your ears. Good luck with your purchase and if any problems head back here there are plenty AT users that will help out.

Get your facts first, then distort them as you please-Mark Twain

 

[Digger2]

Most of the silver I have found (with my AT Pro) has been between 3 and 6 inches. Maybe some folks AT can go deeper than mine, but in garden tests 7 1/2 inches (a very faint signal at that) is all I could get from the my AT Pro. My GTI 2500 would go a tad deeper, and My Explorer II goes a bit deeper than the 2500.
The Deus is suppose to go somewhat deeper, but probably no deeper than the Explorer.
Garrett is slow to come out with a new machine. My GTI 2500 is 10 years old and the GTI 2500 is still their flagship.

I think most companies in the future will tend to follow in the newer technology which will result in lighter and faster machines. The 2 lb Deus when compared to 5 + lb minelab is something to behold.

Roy

 

[Sandman]

First off, the AT PRO will find 90% of the gold rings in the pull tab range so if you disc out pull tabs, kiss the gold rings good bye. Silver rings are more conductive and they will ring up into the coins range. The ATP is not a good detector for the wet saltwater sand, it being a single freq unit, but will work fine in the dry sand as would the Tesoro. As for what Tesoro is deeper than the ATP, look into the Tejon. It'll knock the socks off the ATP. As soon as Minelab gets the gasket problem solved on the CTX 3030 I will get one of those as I mainly hunt the water, but the CTX is $$$$ and I wonder if it is worth it. I won't use my ATP in the water. In fact it is hanging on the garage wall with no batteries drying out.

 

[bzbadger]

Sandman, are you willing to try something that was taught to me and made me even happier with my ATP? GB the ATP automatically then manually bring it down in increments of 5 till you hear ground chatter then back it up a little, ppl have gone as much as 20+. Even without doing this my ATP targeted a dime at 16" but with that GB trick it does it consistently. I'm not going to pretend to know how or why it does this but it really makes finding stuff that is hard to see.

Get your facts first, then distort them as you please-Mark Twain

 

[borntohunt460]

Thank you all so much for your replies.

bzbadger: I guess im looking more so to see if the At pro will be an improvement over my tesoro. Maybe I shouldve included Tesoro silver vs AT pro in the title (I couldnt find any existing threads with this title). I just want to know if its time to upgrade and depth is the reason I am missing silver, or if I just havent passed my coil over any yet. If the AT pro can go 2-3 inches deeper consistantly I think itd be worth it to me

sandman: wouldnt every detector discrim out the gold in the foil range? I thought that since they have very similar conductivities, this was just the way it is. Right now with my silver, if I push the discrim past foil, I will miss out on the gold rings. Im thinking that at least with the AT pro I have the option to discriminate foil out but the screen will still show me if Im hitting something in that range (or maybe it was that the audio would bleep the iron tone or something). If you have a detector in mind that would have significant better discrimination than the AT pro that isnt 1500 let me know.


Ive seen some mention that the Tesoro Tejon and Vaquero are DEEP finders but how does the AT pro match up to their depth? If the At pro is compareable, Id definitely want the AT pro with screen and water option. (Is the DD being deeper vs concentric coil a valid argument)

 

[John-Edmonton]

As far as answering your "is it deeper" questions, that is a tough one to answer . What size coil? What size target? What is the composition of the target? DD? Concentric? Orientation of the target to the coil? Mineralization of the soil?

On the other hand, once you learn the AT Pro in pro mode, especially the tones, and understand the limitations of the metal detector, you most certainly can dig deep targets. The AT Series can meet and beat other metal detectors costing 2 x as much. Plus it's water proof and will usually operate in salt water. Garrett detectors have always been my favorites for finding rings and coins.

Metal detector + grey matter = Deep Finds!

 

[Sandman]

The Umax has a set ground balance which is fine in some ground. Using the GB on the ATP is a definite advantage when your ground is bad.

As for the DD vs the concentric, the Concentric is deeper and the field goes down in a cone shape. You really have to over lap to find the deep coins. The DD coil is a little shallower but its field is more like a windshield wiper and is less affected by minerals.

Maybe the coins where your looking aren't all that deep too. A lot of our detecting areas were hunted by us old timers and silver was easy to find.

 

[borntohunt460]

John-Edmonton: Im wanting to compare here strictly on a stock basis so whatever coil they come with. As far as target size id like to be able to detect a Merc at deep distances. As far as material the deep coins Id be happy with will be silver (I wouldn't turn my nose up at gold). I paid around 250 I think for my Tesoro silver and id like there to be a noticeable improvement if I buy a 600 dollar at pro

Sandman: In reference to the coins being shallow in my area, that is true of the modern clad but that's about it. Im finding clad at a maximum depth of three inches so logic tells me that the silver is lower and I don't believe my Tesoro is reaching it.

I went out detecting today after work and found a 1980 nickel at 3 inches pretty early on. Later as I was getting frustrated I switched to all metal mode which is the only way I can go marginally deeper. I dug foil and since I had the hole dug I dug it deeper and put my nickel in at 7inches. I discriminated right below nickel and I didn't even get a blip. If I lowered the discrim then it sounded like trash. I had to go to all metal to hear it and in a park that wont fly....id be there for years digging everything

 

[Bart@Big Boys Hobbies]

Lots of great info here! The Garrett AT Pro adventure pack is THE best bang for the buck around!

 

[badpenny]

Some good stuff here. I own an AT Pro, I run it with the 5 x 8 coil on it and I have dug silver at 8 inches, which was next to junk, in clay soil. I have used it in water, in the rain, and I just find it a great stick to swing. My buddy has a White and it seems to work fine too. Whatever floats your boat I guess is what I am trying to say, and listen to John and Sandman these guys got lots of time on machines. I got a few hundred hours on the AT PRO and I really enjoy my machine, I am happy I have it. Finally, listen to Bart; he would know what constitutes a great deal.

 

[borntohunt460]

So after looking through the forum a lot more I know that what I want to do is find old coins. I really want to find gold jewelry as well. Can anyone speak on the At pros ability to find coins that are very deep because they are so old ? It's cool that the pro is waterproof but I don't want that to be the only reason I get it. Why for instance is the whites mxt more expensive. Not taking the waterproofing into account, what does the extra money get you in detectors like the mxt, f75, and minelabs hovering around $1000.

Can it be said that the performance is so close that people are making their decisions on weight, appearance, and tone of sounds?

I'm just hesitant to buy an at pro since people most often recommend it when someone mentions they spend a lot of time in the water. I don't but would like to try creeks and rivers in my area. If there is a detector that could beat the pants off the at pro in target id, depth ability, and ability to hunt trashy areas and also be in the same price range,,,,, I'd have to take a serious look at this mysterious detector. Completely ignoring the waterproof factor

 

[silversurfer1111]

I dug up a half dollar down 10"...I dug a 1838 large cent down 9 "..I dug up a 1787 colonial copper coin down 9" I have dug up 2 silver dimes down 8"..and lots of wheat penny's down 8".....3 silver Quarters 7&8" down ... the silver umax is a kid's toy compared to the at pro lol... i have found 21 silver coins and 2 of my oldest coins ever in the first month with the AT.. here is a video showing you everything I have found with it in one month ..... I have videos with me digging up the half dollar down 10"..

 

[rks1949]

I'm blowing the dust off the ATP for a hunt this evening. My friend just got a new one,so we are going to the city park,to help him get through the "learning" stage of the machine. I'm planning on covering a lot of ground,so I put the 8.5 X 11 coil back on!