Monkworks
Jr. Member
The Garrett atpro manual recommends that you dig your first 100 targets to better understand the atp. I decided to dig everything for the first 100 hours so i could become proficient with the atp and provide a good review.So here are my thoughts at this point in my edcuation of the atp.
This is my second season Metal Detecting. I used a BountyHunter Discovery pro in my first season and found a lot of interesting finds. I have documented that experience on YOUTUBE. After the ground defrosted this season (Mid- March), I began using the ATP international. I used the atp for about 5 weeks (15 hunts) about 6 hours a hunt. Thats a lot of work. But if you enjoy Metal Detecting you know time clicks by extremely fast and six hours can feel like only a few hours.
What did I learn?
What did I find?
Is the ATP better than the BountyHunter?
Does the atp perform as well as all the fan-boys in US say it does? or have those Fanboys done a disservice to the Metal Detecting community by bumped the price for the ATP up? Lets find out...
You learn a lot in 100 hours.
Out here in Canada the ATP sells new for $750 before tax. You get a hat, a pointer/ headphones and the atp with the DD coil. I think that the atp is currently overpriced. Sure bundling it with other peripheral tools seems to make you think your getting a good deal but at the end of the day, the pointer is worth 120 bucks, hat is trivial and the ATP costs you 600 plus tax. I feel its about $200 dollars too expensive. If the same package was $500 I would feel like i didn’t get ripped off. How can I make that claim?? Keep reading... I started off my career in Metal Detecting with a $60 Metal Detector i purchased from Canadian tire called a BountyHunter. In my first season i collected over $120 in CLAD, 6 silver coins, 3 large cents 1800s, many trivial silver rings and a few gold rings, one of which is covered in diamonds. Now some pro detectorists may scoff at that, but its season one and its a $60 detector...its paid for itself and then some.
Transitioning from the BH to the atp was somewhat painful. Like any new thing, it can be frustrating to relearn anything. One step at a time.. well I thought because i had already spent an entire season Metal detecting that I could just jump into Pro mode and head out. That attitude ending up wrong and unfortunately that way of thinking was reinforced by my finding of three large cents from 1916 -1800s right off the start with the atp... I really thought i knew what I was doing...wrong!
After the great first finds it all went south from there. I started to dig twist-offs and pull-tabs at an alarming rate. So much more that I ever found with my BH. If fact in my next 20 hours I dug almost 100 twist-offs and pull-tabs and was just about to throw the atp off a cliff and return to my trusted BH. What was I doing wrong? Why did the atp suck so bad at finding coins? Well it wasn't the atp! I decided to just dig it all, so i began the daunting task of digging every signal the atp would show and even the signals it didn’t show very well... You don't get very far into your hunting location because you're overwhelmed by all the targets in the ground. It was exhausting, but very rewarding!
Lets get technical....
If you're in pro mode you had better know what you're doing or you will be missing a lot of good targets. You had better understand what makes a good signal and how it will appear to look and sound. So if you know all that you will not miss anything right? Your faster at seeing the correct TID than any processor on the motherboard right?. You can tell the funny levels that a nickel can give you right?. My point? Do not do what I did. I took this philosophy that I know better approach, and it ended up affecting my finds in a negative way. I did find coins in pro mode but i must have missed a lot more. Do not do this... when you first start off as the manual recommends put your atp right into coin mode. Not only will the atp itself teach you about target TID’s, you will discover a lot more coins and less garbage right off the start.
Pull-Tabs & Twist-offs
They sound so good. They are a bright target, their round in shape. They sound too good to be true, but like a moth to the flame, you will dig these till no end in pro mode, unless you know exactly what to look for. You will still dig a few in coin mode there is really no way around that. But in coin mode i found less twists & pulls and more coins than when i was using pro mode. Pull-tabs should be dug anyway if you want to find gold. Using the Iron audio feature can be helpful in determining a twist-off cap. Don’t run Iron audio all the time use it as a last test to see if the target is giving an iron grunt, then you know its likely a bottle-cap. In time pro mode could be more effective as i get more experience but for now even after 100 hours i will leave it up to the coin program to let me know untill i get way more experience.
atp pointer mode
The BH doesn't have a pointer mode. You just isolate and dig... this leads to spending a little more time on recovering your target. The atp’s pointer mode is a new feature for me. At first I wasn’t using it correctly. I didn’t realize there is a bar that will grow across the top of the screen once your coil is centered over the target. This feature is a must for any detector because its also useful to identify how big the object is...Coins are tiny targets and iron tends to be longer than a coin. So you're able to “feel” the shape of your target. No more pipes and flat metal...
Air testing & Targets in the ground
Air testing is a good way of learning but the TID numbers you will get in an Air test in NO WAY represent the actuals you would get in the field, here’s why. The coin in the ground needs about a year to set up, Then it will signal in a different way as compared to an Air test... Even take a coin out and burying it will not produce the same signal that a coin that has many years to set up in the ground would. Here is what I have noticed about coin targets in the ground, They tend to jump occasionally up into the 90s TID. 81 being a penny and a coin buried for a few years will not give you an exact 81 constantly like an air test would, the TID will jump about and pop-into the 90s a few times. It will seem inconsistent and the main identifier is that 90 spike from time to time. You will not get that 90 spike on an air test... But again using the coin program will get it right for you...How did i do it with the BH? How could i always know when it was a coin? I honestly just only dug SOLID high tones, solid in the way it was shaped and the consistency of the tone from all directions. The BH was very good at locating coins and I never found more than 3 zinc pennies in an entire season. I have about 15 already with my new atp...not to sure why...
Depth...
One of the salient points of Metal detecting is the depth your detector can reach. Depth produces older targets, not always, but generally. Here's why. Coins tend to sink over time, but the rate at which they sink is dependant on specific variables. What is the soil type? How long has the coin been in the ground? Is there tree canopy? etcetera. All these variables will produce a sinking rate for a coin in those conditions. So you might find a 100 year old coin only 2 down, but it was likely restricted from sinking because it had tree cover, or a stone under it. Rain the force that pushes coins (thumps) targets into the ground can really push a coins down over time. The other day in very soft soil and no tree canopy i found a 1998 dime just under 2 feet down... How did that newer coin sink so fast? Its the earth condition and the open canopy. I knew at that point i wasn’t going to find the 100 year old coins i was looking for and left the location. The sinking rate was just too high. So depth is important but the location sinking rate and conditions are also very important. Back to your detectors depth: Its one of the most important powers your detector needs. How did the atp stack versus the BH? Not really much difference... The BH found deep silver and I have seen the atp find deep silver, shrug...
Target separation
What does that mean? Target separation... Its the ability of a detector to hit or ping more than one target in a single sweep. This is really where i noticed a difference from BH. Although the BH has a very small coil, even smaller than the sniper coin its not great at making those separations. It will tend to bleed one target into the next, effectively creating one target out of 2 or 3 close together. The atp has mastered this as it will sound off on all targets rapidly. Why is understanding the separation important? If your detector is bleeding targets together you're going to be digging a lot more garbage, because a rusty nail and a bottle cap together will create a new target that sounds like ONE good target. You will be less effective with a detector that is Slow at target separation. The atp will hit on each target and you can then check one...then the other to know their not great targets and to move on.
All Terrain
The atp is submersible. This in itself make the atp special. There aren't that many detectors out there that can boast land and sea...So if you don't have the $2500 for the CTX3030, the atp is really your only option for water. BUT the BH has a waterproof coil, just the unit is not submersible. so for $60 bucks you can stick the coil in the water... I haven’t tested the atp in the water as of yet but i plan too.
Finds after 100 hours.. $25 in clad, 3 silvers, 3 large cents 1800s, iron cap gun 1920s, 2 lead toy soldiers 1920s, various interesting Relics or bits of iron... yawn, really not that impressive.
Rap-up
What words of wisdom do i have after 100 hours on the atp? I need to make this statement: The atp is basically a Bountyhunter with TID target identification, Target targeting, and all terrain. but at its core its maybe a step up from the BH. Thats going to upset a few fan-boys out there. I am not saying its a bad detector no its a great middle of the road detector for a short layover before you drop the $1000 plus for an etrac or a ctx. The atp is not some magical detector that is godly at finding treasure, far from it, and its dependent on your ability to learn the skill of metal detecting. In the end the best detector is between your boots and the hand grip, its yourself. The detector is just a tool we use to find treasure. If you're someone who just wants to try out the hobby, or would not put more than 50 hours in a season get your self a Bounthunter pro, you will be happy. If you're far more dedicated and want to get serious about metal detecting get your self an etrac, its far more expensive but you will miss that middle step that isn't required. If you can’t afford the Etrac and need the ability to go in the water your only option is the atp. But if you're not going in the water, and you don't have enough to buy Etrac, its really hard for me to recommend the atp at its current price.
This is my second season Metal Detecting. I used a BountyHunter Discovery pro in my first season and found a lot of interesting finds. I have documented that experience on YOUTUBE. After the ground defrosted this season (Mid- March), I began using the ATP international. I used the atp for about 5 weeks (15 hunts) about 6 hours a hunt. Thats a lot of work. But if you enjoy Metal Detecting you know time clicks by extremely fast and six hours can feel like only a few hours.
What did I learn?
What did I find?
Is the ATP better than the BountyHunter?
Does the atp perform as well as all the fan-boys in US say it does? or have those Fanboys done a disservice to the Metal Detecting community by bumped the price for the ATP up? Lets find out...
You learn a lot in 100 hours.
Out here in Canada the ATP sells new for $750 before tax. You get a hat, a pointer/ headphones and the atp with the DD coil. I think that the atp is currently overpriced. Sure bundling it with other peripheral tools seems to make you think your getting a good deal but at the end of the day, the pointer is worth 120 bucks, hat is trivial and the ATP costs you 600 plus tax. I feel its about $200 dollars too expensive. If the same package was $500 I would feel like i didn’t get ripped off. How can I make that claim?? Keep reading... I started off my career in Metal Detecting with a $60 Metal Detector i purchased from Canadian tire called a BountyHunter. In my first season i collected over $120 in CLAD, 6 silver coins, 3 large cents 1800s, many trivial silver rings and a few gold rings, one of which is covered in diamonds. Now some pro detectorists may scoff at that, but its season one and its a $60 detector...its paid for itself and then some.
Transitioning from the BH to the atp was somewhat painful. Like any new thing, it can be frustrating to relearn anything. One step at a time.. well I thought because i had already spent an entire season Metal detecting that I could just jump into Pro mode and head out. That attitude ending up wrong and unfortunately that way of thinking was reinforced by my finding of three large cents from 1916 -1800s right off the start with the atp... I really thought i knew what I was doing...wrong!
After the great first finds it all went south from there. I started to dig twist-offs and pull-tabs at an alarming rate. So much more that I ever found with my BH. If fact in my next 20 hours I dug almost 100 twist-offs and pull-tabs and was just about to throw the atp off a cliff and return to my trusted BH. What was I doing wrong? Why did the atp suck so bad at finding coins? Well it wasn't the atp! I decided to just dig it all, so i began the daunting task of digging every signal the atp would show and even the signals it didn’t show very well... You don't get very far into your hunting location because you're overwhelmed by all the targets in the ground. It was exhausting, but very rewarding!
Lets get technical....
If you're in pro mode you had better know what you're doing or you will be missing a lot of good targets. You had better understand what makes a good signal and how it will appear to look and sound. So if you know all that you will not miss anything right? Your faster at seeing the correct TID than any processor on the motherboard right?. You can tell the funny levels that a nickel can give you right?. My point? Do not do what I did. I took this philosophy that I know better approach, and it ended up affecting my finds in a negative way. I did find coins in pro mode but i must have missed a lot more. Do not do this... when you first start off as the manual recommends put your atp right into coin mode. Not only will the atp itself teach you about target TID’s, you will discover a lot more coins and less garbage right off the start.
Pull-Tabs & Twist-offs
They sound so good. They are a bright target, their round in shape. They sound too good to be true, but like a moth to the flame, you will dig these till no end in pro mode, unless you know exactly what to look for. You will still dig a few in coin mode there is really no way around that. But in coin mode i found less twists & pulls and more coins than when i was using pro mode. Pull-tabs should be dug anyway if you want to find gold. Using the Iron audio feature can be helpful in determining a twist-off cap. Don’t run Iron audio all the time use it as a last test to see if the target is giving an iron grunt, then you know its likely a bottle-cap. In time pro mode could be more effective as i get more experience but for now even after 100 hours i will leave it up to the coin program to let me know untill i get way more experience.
atp pointer mode
The BH doesn't have a pointer mode. You just isolate and dig... this leads to spending a little more time on recovering your target. The atp’s pointer mode is a new feature for me. At first I wasn’t using it correctly. I didn’t realize there is a bar that will grow across the top of the screen once your coil is centered over the target. This feature is a must for any detector because its also useful to identify how big the object is...Coins are tiny targets and iron tends to be longer than a coin. So you're able to “feel” the shape of your target. No more pipes and flat metal...
Air testing & Targets in the ground
Air testing is a good way of learning but the TID numbers you will get in an Air test in NO WAY represent the actuals you would get in the field, here’s why. The coin in the ground needs about a year to set up, Then it will signal in a different way as compared to an Air test... Even take a coin out and burying it will not produce the same signal that a coin that has many years to set up in the ground would. Here is what I have noticed about coin targets in the ground, They tend to jump occasionally up into the 90s TID. 81 being a penny and a coin buried for a few years will not give you an exact 81 constantly like an air test would, the TID will jump about and pop-into the 90s a few times. It will seem inconsistent and the main identifier is that 90 spike from time to time. You will not get that 90 spike on an air test... But again using the coin program will get it right for you...How did i do it with the BH? How could i always know when it was a coin? I honestly just only dug SOLID high tones, solid in the way it was shaped and the consistency of the tone from all directions. The BH was very good at locating coins and I never found more than 3 zinc pennies in an entire season. I have about 15 already with my new atp...not to sure why...
Depth...
One of the salient points of Metal detecting is the depth your detector can reach. Depth produces older targets, not always, but generally. Here's why. Coins tend to sink over time, but the rate at which they sink is dependant on specific variables. What is the soil type? How long has the coin been in the ground? Is there tree canopy? etcetera. All these variables will produce a sinking rate for a coin in those conditions. So you might find a 100 year old coin only 2 down, but it was likely restricted from sinking because it had tree cover, or a stone under it. Rain the force that pushes coins (thumps) targets into the ground can really push a coins down over time. The other day in very soft soil and no tree canopy i found a 1998 dime just under 2 feet down... How did that newer coin sink so fast? Its the earth condition and the open canopy. I knew at that point i wasn’t going to find the 100 year old coins i was looking for and left the location. The sinking rate was just too high. So depth is important but the location sinking rate and conditions are also very important. Back to your detectors depth: Its one of the most important powers your detector needs. How did the atp stack versus the BH? Not really much difference... The BH found deep silver and I have seen the atp find deep silver, shrug...
Target separation
What does that mean? Target separation... Its the ability of a detector to hit or ping more than one target in a single sweep. This is really where i noticed a difference from BH. Although the BH has a very small coil, even smaller than the sniper coin its not great at making those separations. It will tend to bleed one target into the next, effectively creating one target out of 2 or 3 close together. The atp has mastered this as it will sound off on all targets rapidly. Why is understanding the separation important? If your detector is bleeding targets together you're going to be digging a lot more garbage, because a rusty nail and a bottle cap together will create a new target that sounds like ONE good target. You will be less effective with a detector that is Slow at target separation. The atp will hit on each target and you can then check one...then the other to know their not great targets and to move on.
All Terrain
The atp is submersible. This in itself make the atp special. There aren't that many detectors out there that can boast land and sea...So if you don't have the $2500 for the CTX3030, the atp is really your only option for water. BUT the BH has a waterproof coil, just the unit is not submersible. so for $60 bucks you can stick the coil in the water... I haven’t tested the atp in the water as of yet but i plan too.
Finds after 100 hours.. $25 in clad, 3 silvers, 3 large cents 1800s, iron cap gun 1920s, 2 lead toy soldiers 1920s, various interesting Relics or bits of iron... yawn, really not that impressive.
Rap-up
What words of wisdom do i have after 100 hours on the atp? I need to make this statement: The atp is basically a Bountyhunter with TID target identification, Target targeting, and all terrain. but at its core its maybe a step up from the BH. Thats going to upset a few fan-boys out there. I am not saying its a bad detector no its a great middle of the road detector for a short layover before you drop the $1000 plus for an etrac or a ctx. The atp is not some magical detector that is godly at finding treasure, far from it, and its dependent on your ability to learn the skill of metal detecting. In the end the best detector is between your boots and the hand grip, its yourself. The detector is just a tool we use to find treasure. If you're someone who just wants to try out the hobby, or would not put more than 50 hours in a season get your self a Bounthunter pro, you will be happy. If you're far more dedicated and want to get serious about metal detecting get your self an etrac, its far more expensive but you will miss that middle step that isn't required. If you can’t afford the Etrac and need the ability to go in the water your only option is the atp. But if you're not going in the water, and you don't have enough to buy Etrac, its really hard for me to recommend the atp at its current price.
