John-Edmonton
Silver Member
- Mar 21, 2005
- 4,399
- 3,950
- Detector(s) used
- Garrett- Master Hunter CX,Infinium, 1350, 2500, ACE 150-water converted 250, GTA 500,1500 Scorpion, AT Pro
Met up with my buddy today. It poured rain for a while, then stopped. We managed to get a couple of hours hunting. He used his AT Pro, I used the AT Max. We both ran our detectors at full sensitivity, zero discriminate mode. We compared signals on three different coins. Before it was dug, I got him to raise his 81/2" x 11 DD coil above the coin to where the audio stopped. After measuring the height, I used the AT Max, used the same configuration, and twice I gained an extra 3" and once 21/2 inches above the ground beyond where is coil lost the signal. This again suggests that the new AT Max has a depth advantage over the other AT Series detectors. I pulled a few pennies beyond 6 inches. I am used to using the 9" x 12" concentric coil, as it ID's bottle caps as junk. Not so with the DD coil. It reads rusted bottle caps as coins. However, a quick check with iron audio distinguishes a bottle cap from a coin. It's so easy.
I still need lots of hours to really get used to this detector. It chatters a bit more, not because it is unstable, but it's extra depth seems to add extra signals while swinging the coil. There were lots or signals in the ground we hunted, so running in true all meta mode was not a good option, nor was hunting with iron audio turned on. But.....I like what I am seeing. And....the new AT Max feels lighter? I asked my buddy to exchange detectors, and he also agreed it was lighter. Not sure if the weight is different, or if the new rubber handle grip somehow distributes the weight a little different.
Here are the results of my water hunt. Again, I hunted for a couple of hours, it started raining again so I called it a day. There weren't very many signals here. It's been hit hard....probably every weekend this year. So I was surprised to get a ring. It had a VDI of 70. Thought it was gold, but no such luck. The Canadian fresh dropped nickels and dimes read as iron on a DD coil. On a concentric coil, the are easy to ID as coins, based on their audio bouncing between 50's to 80's with a distinguished growl. Using the DD coil, I listened for a sudden strong iron hit. Bobby pins also hit hard, but they tend to bounce around a VDI of 22-24. Pull tabs hit around 53, and my one penny hit in the 80's.
I played around using the true all metal mode. It also utilizes modulated Audio, just like discrimination whereas the deeper targets are a little quieter. Just for fun, I cranked up the threshold up to 15, got a constant, monstrous audio, yet, when I passed the coil over a target, it went silent momentarily. Great for those hearing impaired folks who want to dig it all!
More hunts come.
