At Pro Advice

[Brit888]

Tried the At Pro on a couple of beaches with black sand and as expected the results were very bad so i purchased a Sea Hunter which is brilliant.

So early this morning i thought i would try another beach i have been detecting recently which has no black sand. The Sea Hunter is great but the all the beaches by me at present are very sanded in and this mornings venture was with the At Pro in the dry sand above high tide.

The results of the At Pro were very bad. It is very hard to ground balance if at all. False signals after false signals after false signals. Dryed out seaweed giving signals and if i moved a little lower down to damp sand then all hell breaks loose.

I know some people say turn the sensitivity right down and the At Pro will work on the beach but then if you do that and you get no depth then i dont see the point.

Am i missing something here? The machine works brilliant in soil but terrible on a beach.

 

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[Fletch88]

Try using standard mode instead of pro. The little time I owned one it ground balanced fine to wet sand and usually down around 15. While it ran ok in wet sand I never did find anything in the soft sanded in conditions I used it in.

 

[Brit888]

Yes i was in pro and was using it in the dry sand because of the trash which is the only problem with the sea hunter. All i found was 2 coins and bits of aluminium.

What difference is there between the pro settings and standard when it comes to ground balance?

 

[Sandman]

The AT Pro is an okay detector in the dry sand or in fresh water, but i think it is false advertising to call it All Terrain. Granted it's good to be able to detect in water less than 10 foot, but not salt water. What everyone forgets is not every beach is the same for salt content or black sand so all detectors behave differently at different locations. There is no difference between ground balance in pro or standard settings. It's just how you hear them.

Read my signature at the bottom.

 

[Brit888]

Thanks Sandman.

I purchased the Pro because I thought it would be a universal machine which i suppose it is to some extents but at times like this were i think i will be sanded in until the storms come in november my detecting is frustrating because if i go into the dry sand with the sea hunter i will be digging everything and DEEP! I can tell the difference in the different tones on signals but pull tabs and bottle tops are a pain.

What machine would you suggest to replace the pro for dry sand and the odd bit of soil/field work. I dont want to change the sea hunter.

Not really in to relics just want spendables and gold.........dont we all.

 

[Sandman]

There are many machines able to replace the AT Pro for the dry sand, but it should be fine in the dry sand. However if wanting to go in the wet sand, a two freq. detector is excellent and still have good discrimination. The Excel II, Sov GT, CZ-20 or 21, CZ-6a, Whites DFX, ANY DETECTOR USING MORE THAN ONE FREQ.

 

[PAScott]

I have been able to do well in the dry sand. As Sandman said it is tough in the wet sand. Try to ground balance then knock it down a few more notches (3-5) manually. This normally works for me. Will still hear some chatter but can still pick out the good signals for the most part. Maybe salt/mineralization is higher where you are. Good luck!

 

[John-Edmonton]

All beaches are not made equal. The AT Pro does perform well at some salt beaches and maybe not so well at other beaches. Even multi frequency machines can struggle at some heavy mineralized or salt water beaches. The best machine for heavy salt is a PI detector, but you lose the VLF type discrimination you would so much prefer.

Check out this video and see if it can be of any benefit to you.

[video]http://www.garrett.com/hobbysite/hbby_at_pro_saltwater_video_en.aspx[/video]

 

[Brit888]

Yeah thanks John, I went out early this morning and used the Sea Hunter which was absolutley brilliant but after a null of good sharp signals I started to dig the others out of curiosity and every one is a hot rock. I think the beaches around here are too mineralised to use the At Pro efficiently and the other beaches are sanded in at present.

 

[ivanll]

Switch detector on then do an auto GB at the area to be hunted, additional if in wet sand or near salt water switch off lowest (first) notch and also highest (top) notch, then adjust sensitivity and do a GB again.If still chatty remove another top notch, if still chatty remove second lowest notch, adjust sensitivity to match.Do Auto GB more often when wet sand hunting ....... also of benifit in combination with above is Iron Disc. This adjustments/settings allow me to run a 12x8.5" DD coil at one bar of full sensitivity in Pro Mode in wet sand and shallow water.