At pro depth issues

[littlewheaty]

You are right...the AT pro will pick coins up right beside iron...he is talking about dong a test with two nails placed in exactly a certain way...I wont loose any sleep over his startling test...the AT pro is outstanding at fishing coins out of iron areas.

Thanks for the test! That is with a stock coil right? I just got mine back from garrett today and really impressed with the turn around. Mailed it Monday from Kansas City and its back Saturday. First thing i did was an air test. I am getting the same numbers as you but it don't matter if i have 6 or 8 bars sens.. Also i have to swing it just right to get it. Its diffidently better then it was when i sent it off but im still not happy. Maybe I am expecting to much from these detectors?? I have only had it six months and already thinking about upgrading. I am chasing that depth demon lol.

 

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[littlewheaty]

Wrong quote sorry.

 

[lookindown]

Thanks for the test! That is with a stock coil right? I just got mine back from garrett today and really impressed with the turn around. Mailed it Monday from Kansas City and its back Saturday. First thing i did was an air test. I am getting the same numbers as you but it don't matter if i have 6 or 8 bars sens.. Also i have to swing it just right to get it. Its diffidently better then it was when i sent it off but im still not happy. Maybe I am expecting to much from these detectors?? I have only had it six months and already thinking about upgrading. I am chasing that depth demon lol.

Yeah, stock coil...there are machines that are deeper...sounds like you wont be confident unless your getting the best depth possible...confidence goes a long way in detecting...I see an upgrade in your future.

 

[Opie]

Littlewheaty, Many factors as you know are at play here. I would suggest a test garden, and bear in mind these get better with age. You may be in a location that, that depth is as good as it gets. Many forget that ground can be mineralized layered horizontally, as well as in the vertical. You ground balance the machine to the top level, this does not mean that several more inches down it changed. This is the basis for the nail comments and test ideas. The total target area seen by a larger coil with four pounds of nails around it, is four pounds of nails. A smaller coil see's less ground and is less effected by close targets, hence the reason small sniper type coils exist in the first place. Smaller coils are less effected by mineralization again because they see less ground. Also remember to cross section a target area, as this will give a different value if you are in heavy clad/iron. I would recommend sending in the unit to be looked at, and asking a rep about using a smaller coil. Everything from mineralization and air temperature to the amount of juice your AA batteries are sending effects the depth of the machine, people tend to forget all these facts. Stay Gold! Good Luck!!

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Hello,

I agree with “bzbadger” about the procedure for ground balancing the AT Pro. I too, have always done it this way with great results. Perhaps, one of us could conduct an experiment with the AT Pro ground balancing - sensitivity in our test beds. I think it would be fun to find out. Also, this thread has brought up some interesting (possible) limitations of the AT Pro. Ah, more testing...

Regards,

 

[Eureka!]

Hello,

I agree with “bzbadger” about the procedure for ground balancing the AT Pro. I too, have always done it this way with great results. Perhaps, one of us could conduct an experiment with the AT Pro ground balancing - sensitivity in our test beds. I think it would be fun to find out. Also, this thread has brought up some interesting (possible) limitations of the AT Pro. Ah, more testing...

Regards,

NOT A LAUGHING MATTER-

With regard to AT PRO Limitations (Depth Issue), this video was made in 2011 link-

The person whom made the above Video has made a few others that span at least one year in time. He claims that he has sent his unit to Garrett at least three times and the issues were never resolved.

After watching this video I can honestly say that I am puzzled. The reason is because I've experienced the same issues as "Metal Detecting Oregon" (on Youtube) with the AT Pro -BUT- they are intermittent and therefore makes one think that they are crazy or stupid and it must be due to inexperience of the operator, soil conditions, wrapping the wire from the coil around the shaft improperly, not using fully charged batteries, improper ground balance, etc.; etc.; etc;

The issues are:
1. "Falsing" when the unit is shook side to side.
2. Depth issue (5x8 coil) (not being able to detect a silver half US Dollar at 6-7 inches while Garrett claims that the AT Pro can detect it at 10 inches deep)
3. Non responsive "IRON AUDIO Button" (IAB) - on mine, when the IAB is switched OFF I still can hear IRON in zero discrimination. The Iron sound will go away only after pressing the IAB ON and OFF a number of times.
4. Attaining the proper Ground Balance to Sensitivity.

I'm still sitting on the "middle of the fence" with these issues but after reading this thread (AT Pro Depth Issues) and others on TNET and then watching Metal Detecting Oregon's video's on YouTube - I'm concerned.

P.S. - MDO is not out to put down the AT PRO - He claims that he loves the unit but it does not perform as Garrett claims it would.

 

[Eureka!]

NOT A LAUGHING MATTER-



With regard to AT PRO Limitations (Depth Issue), this video was made in 2011 link-



The person whom made the above Video has made a few others that span at least one year in time. He claims that he has sent his unit to Garrett at least three times and the issues were never resolved.



After watching this video I can honestly say that I am puzzled. The reason is because I've experienced the same issues as "Metal Detecting Oregon" (on Youtube) with the AT Pro -BUT- they are intermittent and therefore makes one think that they are crazy or stupid and it must be due to inexperience of the operator, soil conditions, wrapping the wire from the coil around the shaft improperly, not using fully charged batteries, improper ground balance, etc.; etc.; etc;



The issues are:

1. Falsing when the unit is shook side to side.

2. Depth issue (5x8 coil) (not being able to detect a silver half US Dollar at 6-7 inches while Garrett claims that the AT Pro can detect it at 10 inches deep)

3. Non responsive "IRON AUDIO Button" (IAB) - on mine, when the IAB is switched OFF I still can hear IRON in zero discrimination. The Iron sound will go away only after pressing the IAB ON and OFF a number of times.

4. Attaining the proper Ground Balance to Sensitivity.



I'm still sitting on the "middle of the fence" with these issues but after reading this thread (AT Pro Depth Issues) and others on TNET and then watching Metal Detecting Oregon's video's on YouTube - I'm concerned.



P.S. - MDO is not out to put down the AT PRO - He claims that he loves the unit but it does not perform as Garrett claims it would.

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

Depth Issues??...lol..Why can I find Rivits at 10" with no problems?

from my experiance, Field testing is garbage...you wont get the same signal as you would from something naturally buried.

The Only issue I ever had was targets on top of the ground read funny

 

[cooper1841]

Depth Issues??...lol..Why can I find Rivits at 10" with no problems?

from my experiance, Field testing is garbage...you wont get the same signal as you would from something naturally buried.

The Only issue I ever had was targets on top of the ground read funny

I agree Diggin-N-Dumps..... Everytime I read one of these threads, I think my AT Pro is some kind of freak. I have no product loyalty.....this is my first detector..........I hunt trashy parks, and home sites, with the 5x8 coil and Grey Ghost headphones .I am 60 years old and and have no reason to lie about the proformance of my detector, and could care less if someone has a deeper, better machine. But I do know 8 -10 inch depth is common, and I have pulled plenty of silver coins, from some very trashy spots. I have about 600 hours over 2 Michigan seasons with it, and really get confused when I see guys that cant hit a quarter, or a silver dime at 6-7 inches!!! I dug a silver Rosie last week, that was 9-11 inches..........no numbers....no depth, but a repeatable high tone

 

[dunnellondave]

I agree Diggin-N-Dumps..... Everytime I read one of these threads, I think my AT Pro is some kind of freak. I have no product loyalty.....this is my first detector..........I hunt trashy parks, and home sites, with the 5x8 coil and Grey Ghost headphones .I am 60 years old and and have no reason to lie about the proformance of my detector, and could care less if someone has a deeper, better machine. But I do know 8 -10 inch depth is common, and I have pulled plenty of silver coins, from some very trashy spots. I have about 600 hours over 2 Michigan seasons with it, and really get confused when I see guys that cant hit a quarter, or a silver dime at 6-7 inches!!! I dug a silver Rosie last week, that was 9-11 inches..........no numbers....no depth, but a repeatable high tone

Ditto!!!

 

[RobRieman]

No problems with depth here either. My V3i doesn't get much deeper than my ATPro. Seems I have to back off the sensitivity at times just to stop it from picking up adjacent targets.

 

[cooper1841]

I auto ground balance, quite often, in a small area and usually leave sensitivity down two bars, both are very important to get the max performance and don't forget the 4 freq. options, to help with emi

 

[MackDog]

My at pro air tested a quarter and dime at 6-7 inches! That good or bad? Lol

Air tests don't tell what you will really find. I find deep coins all the time

 

[Eureka!]

Diggin -N- Dumps, cooper1841, dunnellondave, RobReiman and MackDog; have anyone of you recorded one of these all the time "deep finds" that you all mentioned using your AT Pros?

I as well as others have the opposite experiences with depth issue and I've watched more videos that show finds uncovered at 6" versus 10" and more.

Are any of you on YouTube? I'd like to see a couple of "DEEP DIGS" before I make a call to Garrett before my warranty is up because I think that something is causing intermittent problems with my AT PRO.

For what it's worth, a little knowledge I gained with intermittent problems that I had with a Dishwasher was due to "cold soldering on" on a circuit board.

Some times the buttons would work and other times they wouldn't. If I slammed the door they would work. I took apart the darn thind and pulled out the circuit panel and examined it with a magnifier. I found that it wasn't soldered properly and determined that temperature changes caused the circuit to disconnect and connect at random.

Got out my trusty soldering iron and put a bead of solder on all the terminals - put it back together and never again had the problem.

Another issue I had due to cold soldering was on a window alarm sensor on the southeast side of my house. The alarm, when armed, would go off at certain times of the day (when the sun hit the window). I took the sensor apart and - you guessed it - cold solder!

I'm thinking that the same may be the case with some of the AT PROS that were manufactured. Garrett may know something that they are not releasing to AT PRO PURCHASERS.

You all must be a group of the lucky ones who's AT Pros were not made on a Monday morning. Count your blessings.

 

[barrywk]

just my two cents worth..I own an at pro...i love it....I have never had any issues with it it..But i understand the issue as I have a t2 that I was having issues with it goin nuts and having no depth,I sent it in for repairs but they couldnt replicate the problems i was having.They sealed the board or something and sent it back,a month later ...the same issue.I sent it back again and again they couldnt replicate the issue.Long story short they went ahead and replaced the board and to date i havent had any more issues...that was in july..So there can be problems that are just not showing up on their test equitment

 

[MackDog]

Diggin -N- Dumps, cooper1841, dunnellondave, RobReiman and MackDog; have anyone of you recorded one of these all the time "deep finds" that you all mentioned using your AT Pros?

I as well as others have the opposite experiences with depth issue and I've watched more videos that show finds uncovered at 6" versus 10" and more.

Are any of you on YouTube? I'd like to see a couple of "DEEP DIGS" before I make a call to Garrett before my warranty is up because I think that something is causing intermittent problems with my AT PRO.

For what it's worth, a little knowledge I gained with intermittent problems that I had with a Dishwasher was due to "cold soldering on" on a circuit board.

Some times the buttons would work and other times they wouldn't. If I slammed the door they would work. I took apart the darn thind and pulled out the circuit panel and examined it with a magnifier. I found that it wasn't soldered properly and determined that temperature changes caused the circuit to disconnect and connect at random.

Got out my trusty soldering iron and put a bead of solder on all the terminals - put it back together and never again had the problem.

Another issue I had due to cold soldering was on a window alarm sensor on the southeast side of my house. The alarm, when armed, would go off at certain times of the day (when the sun hit the window). I took the sensor apart and - you guessed it - cold solder!

I'm thinking that the same may be the case with some of the AT PROS that were manufactured. Garrett may know something that they are not releasing to AT PRO PURCHASERS.

You all must be a group of the lucky ones who's AT Pros were not made on a Monday morning. Count your blessings.

Eureka, here's whatI run the At Pro with the Nel Storm coil. I go Pro mode zero, max out iron audio to 40. I ground balance once in a while. Now I walk a straight line slowly swinging my coil over lapping the arcs. I also "SCRUB" the ground with my coil. Yes when it makes contact with the ground you will get deeper signals. I try to cover every inch of the area I'm searching. You "MUST" wear head phones, and I have the volume up a bit to here the really faint signals. finding a silver dime at 8" is a small target area. This last week I had 3 days I found double silvers in hunted out parks here in Spokane. I only found 4 silver roses this year, but 40 some Merc's and 24 Barber dimes. This is how you tell if your going deep by the coins you are finding. You don't have to go 10 inches for a silver dime overtime but as you slow down and dig all iffy signals to start then you will start to understands "YOUR AT PRO"S SOUNDS". I have traded machines with other people and the machines do not all act alike or sound alike. When I first got my At Pro I was frustrated with it didn't understand what it was telling me. I was only listening for that perfect signal and I wasn't finding anything deep, I thought that the machine must be broke or junk. But I didn't give up, reread your manual 2 or 3 times and then a couple of weeks from now read it again. Get on U Tube and watch the videos of others using the Pro. I've used my Pro so much that I can tell most o f the time what they are going to dig up. It takes almost 100 hours to really get to know the At Pro, but once you do it will spoil you. have found Canadian fish scales and a US Half dime at around 8 inches and I knew they were both silvers before I dug from experience. I detect with others from my club and they do not do as well but we are all using the Pro. They will not slow down or systomatically cover the area. plus they swing their detector not slide it the arc pulls the coil away from the ground loosing as much as 8 inches on the end of you swings. I will post a At Pro tip letter I made for my club hopefully it will help. But don't give up or get frustrated.

 

[MackDog]

Garrett At Pro

SETTINGS

PRO MODE- ZERO

IRON DISC- 40

SENSITIVITY- MAX

PINPOINT IS ALSO USED TO CHANGE THE FREQUENCY OF THE MACHINE. IF YOU ARE HUNTING AROUND OTHER AT PRO’S AND HAVE STATIC HOLD THE PINPOINT BUTTON DOWN AND USE THE SENSITIVITY BUTTONS TO CHANGE THE CHANNEL. THERE IS FOUR DIFFERENT CHANNELS.

GROUND BALANCE MANUALLY


TARGET IDENTIFICATION

SOUND MUST BE HIGH AND CONSISTANT TONE AND REPEATABLE FROM DIFFERENT ANGLES/ SHOULD ALSO STAY IN THE SAME PLACE NOT MOVER AROUND

TARGET ID NUMBER SHOULD STAY SYEADY WITH IN 1 TO 3 NUMBERS ALSO FROM DIFFERENT ANGLES

IF TARGET TONES OR ID NUMBERS SHIFT OR THE SOUND MOVES TO A DIFFERENT SPOT YOU SHOULD USE THE IRON AUDIBLE TO CHECK TO SEE IF IT’S IRON. IT WILL BE A DULL OR THUDDING HEAVY TONE.

*NOTE 1 BIG IRON OBJECTS CAN CAUSE AN ECHO EFFECT THAT REGISTERS AS A GOOD SIGNAL INN CERTAIN SPOTS. WHEN YOU CHECK THE IRON AUDIBLE IT WILL SOUND AS IRON AND WHEN YOU PINPOINT THE TARGET WILL SHIFT IT’S LOCATION. ALSO IF YOU CHANGE ANGLES THE TARGET WILL SHIFT ALSO.

*NOTE 2 COINS AT 6 OR HIGHER DEPTHS TEND TO FLUCUATE A LITTLE MORE. THE DEEPER YOU GO THER MORE FLUCTUATION IN SOUND ANDTARGET ID. SILVER TEND STO STAY RELATIVELY SOLID THOUGH. DIMES WILL REMAIN WITH IN 84-86 ALL THE WAY DOWN TO 8 OR 9 INCHES.

TIPS

1. ALWAYS USE HEAD PHONES THE AT PRO USES TONES TO IDENTIFY THE DIFFERENT METALS AND SOUND VOLUME TO INDICATE DEPTH. WITH OUT HEAADPHONES YOU CAN’T TELL THE DEEPER COINS OR SWEETER SIGNALS.
2. TRY TO MAINTAIN COIL CONTACT WITH THE GROUND AT AQLL TIMES. I ALMOST SCRUB THE GROUND USING THE COIL. FOR SOME REASON YOU WILL PICK UP CLEARER AND DEEPER SIGNALS WHEN YOU ARE IN CONTACT WITH THE GROUND.
3. GO SLOW, THE SLOWER THE BETTER. DEEPER SIGNALS HAVE A SMALLER FOOTPRINT AND WILL NOT REGISTER LONG ON YOUR SWEEP. ESPECIALLY IN HIGH TRASH AND CONGESTED AREAS. THE AT PRO WILL DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN TARGETS THAT ARE CLOSE. GO SLOW ENOUGH TO HEAR EACH TARGET.
4. USE THE BIGGER COIL FOR DEPTH AND GREATER COVERAGE. IN THE HIGH TRASH AREAS GO SLOWER. REMEMBER YOU ARE TRYING TO GET THE DEEP SIGNALS BECAUSE THEY USUALLY ARE OLDER AND BETTER COINS.
5. TRY TO COVER EVERY INCH USING A PATTERN OR GRID SYSTEM. SO MANY PEOPLE GO BACK AND FORTH EITHER MISSING AREAS OR RECOVERING AREAS MULTIPLE TIMES.
6. WHEN YOU ARE GETTING USED TO THE MACHINE START OUT DIGING ALL DEEP SIGNALS AND THEN YOU WILL SLOWLY START TO ELIMINATE TRASHIER ONES. IF YOU DON’T WANT TO DIG ANY TRASH THEN YOU PROBABLY WON’T FIND AS MUCH GOOD TREASURE. THERE ARE TIMES WHEN YOU HAVE TO DIG A PIECE OF TRASH IN ORDER TO PINPOINT A GOOD TARGET.
7. THE RULE OF THUMB IS THAT YOU HAVE TO PUT IN AT LEAST 100 HOURS WITH YOUR DETECTOR TO REALLY UNDERSTAND IT. I HAVE HAD THE AT PRO FOR A YEAR AND A HALF AND KEEP FINDING NEW AND USEFUL WAYS TO DETECT.
8. REREAD THE OWNERS MANUAL AFTER YOU USE YOUR DETECTOR FOR A FEW TIMES OUT. DO THIS SEVERAL TIMES TO BETER UNDERSTAND THE FEATURES.
9. WATCH THE UTUBE VIDEOS ON HOW TO USE THE DETECTOR AND PEOPLE ACTUALLY HUNTING WITH IT.
10. DON’T GET FRUSTRATED REMEMBER YOUR DETECTOR IT WORKS BUT YOU MAY NOT HAVE ANY GOOD TARGETS UNDER IT. REMEMBER WE DO THIS FOR FUN NOT PROFIT.

 

[MackDog]

Another tip I do is tape the coil wire in to the lower rod and then run it straight up the lower rod tape it at the top and then run coils the rest of the way up. This is supposed to cut down on sensitivity problems, which makes sense because coils of wire could cause a magnetic field. DOn't know if this is true but I always run full sensitivity and don't have any problems even with the Nel Storm 13 x 14" coil. Also I've never had EMI issues unless with other detectors, I always have my cell phone on and on my belt

 

[Eureka!]

MackDog, thanks for the tips. One thing I'd like Garrett to address of which was briefly mentioned in the above video that I posted is the issue with the Iron Audio Button (IAB).

When I click the IAB ON, i hear the low tone mentioned. When I click it OFF it doesn't turn off. If I click it on off on off on off it finally shuts off. Something is up with that.

After watching the video I finally found out that I'm not the only one whom noticed this problem. I kept reading the manual over and over and its clear that all you need to do is to press the button ONCE to turn it on or off.

Sometimes the Screen will indicate that the Iron Audio is ON but I don't get any low tones so really its NOT ON. Then when I press the IAB so the the IA indication disappears from the Screen -then- the Iron Audio sound comes back ON (but the indicator shows that it's off). The guy in the above Video had the same problem.

It's possible that the both of us are missing something here and I'm trying to find out if it's us that's crazy or is this an issue that Garrett needs to address.

Again, thanks MackDog for sharing all your valuable tips and I look forward to trying them out. BarryWK, your "two cents" is appreciated too!

 

[cooper1841]

Diggin -N- Dumps, cooper1841, dunnellondave, RobReiman and MackDog; have anyone of you recorded one of these all the time "deep finds" that you all mentioned using your AT Pros?

I as well as others have the opposite experiences with depth issue and I've watched more videos that show finds uncovered at 6" versus 10" and more.

Are any of you on YouTube? I'd like to see a couple of "DEEP DIGS" before I make a call to Garrett before my warranty is up because I think that something is causing intermittent problems with my AT PRO.

For what it's worth, a little knowledge I gained with intermittent problems that I had with a Dishwasher was due to "cold soldering on" on a circuit board.

Some times the buttons would work and other times they wouldn't. If I slammed the door they would work. I took apart the darn thind and pulled out the circuit panel and examined it with a magnifier. I found that it wasn't soldered properly and determined that temperature changes caused the circuit to disconnect and connect at random.

Got out my trusty soldering iron and put a bead of solder on all the terminals - put it back together and never again had the problem.

Another issue I had due to cold soldering was on a window alarm sensor on the southeast side of my house. The alarm, when armed, would go off at certain times of the day (when the sun hit the window). I took the sensor apart and - you guessed it - cold solder!

I'm thinking that the same may be the case with some of the AT PROS that were manufactured. Garrett may know something that they are not releasing to AT PRO PURCHASERS.

You all must be a group of the lucky ones who's AT Pros were not made on a Monday morning. Count your blessings.

If your having problems with buttons, and other issues, and it is still under warrenty send it in!!! Their customer service is second to none! I dont have any vidios, or such..............just a great working detector, that I enjoy using, and does what it advertised it would......best wishes, and Happy New Year. HH......P.S. My go to digging tool is a 18" Mini Samson.............half way up the handle is 9" been that deep with regurlarity!!