Matt1344
Jr. Member
- Dec 10, 2012
- 44
- 39
- Detector(s) used
- White's Classic ID
- Primary Interest:
- Metal Detecting
[I know that this is generally considered the most beloved detector which is why I couldn’t wait to use it.]
So I’ve put about 10 hours on the AT Pro (I know that’s not a lot), but so far I’m not impressed with anything it does that the cheaper detectors don’t (if that makes sense).
Maybe I just need a little more time on it or need to adjust some of the settings.
The search coil being larger than the one on my White’s which I had previously used, makes digging a nightmare. Each object rings in, in an area that is about a square foot. The pin pointer (on the detector) is useless when there are multiple objects in one area. With the AT Pro I’m digging holes three times the size and spending 5 to 10 x more time searching for the object.
The thing is all over the place with the sensitivity set higher, but the sensitivity seems to directly affect the search depth. You can’t take advantage of the deeper search depth (over 6 inches) if you don’t have the sensitivity up, but if you keep it up there seems to be too many false positives. I get coin range signals that go away. I get coin range signals when the detector is sitting still. There seems to be so many random signals that go away with this thing as well.
Speaking of depth, I laid a quarter on the surface of the ground and took the detector directly over it. It rang in at 2 inches (which is what it should do)…but then at 4 and 6 inches with the exact same motion going over the same spot. So basically the depth indicator means nothing.
Now on to the numeric metal values. The same coin could ring in (and does) at 7 different values or more. So what’s the point? Is a specific number from 70-99 really going to keep you from digging? The numeric values seem useless when there is so much inconsistency and such a wide range of values the exact same coin can ring.
WIT reminded me below, I've also found more bottle caps than EVER! Which has translated to probably 5 x more trash digs.
To me, every bell and every whistle on this thing isn’t worth the hassle…at least so far.
What are your thoughts, feel free to put me in my place/tell me what I’m doing wrong. So far using it, for me, has been very frustrating.
So I’ve put about 10 hours on the AT Pro (I know that’s not a lot), but so far I’m not impressed with anything it does that the cheaper detectors don’t (if that makes sense).
Maybe I just need a little more time on it or need to adjust some of the settings.
The search coil being larger than the one on my White’s which I had previously used, makes digging a nightmare. Each object rings in, in an area that is about a square foot. The pin pointer (on the detector) is useless when there are multiple objects in one area. With the AT Pro I’m digging holes three times the size and spending 5 to 10 x more time searching for the object.
The thing is all over the place with the sensitivity set higher, but the sensitivity seems to directly affect the search depth. You can’t take advantage of the deeper search depth (over 6 inches) if you don’t have the sensitivity up, but if you keep it up there seems to be too many false positives. I get coin range signals that go away. I get coin range signals when the detector is sitting still. There seems to be so many random signals that go away with this thing as well.
Speaking of depth, I laid a quarter on the surface of the ground and took the detector directly over it. It rang in at 2 inches (which is what it should do)…but then at 4 and 6 inches with the exact same motion going over the same spot. So basically the depth indicator means nothing.
Now on to the numeric metal values. The same coin could ring in (and does) at 7 different values or more. So what’s the point? Is a specific number from 70-99 really going to keep you from digging? The numeric values seem useless when there is so much inconsistency and such a wide range of values the exact same coin can ring.
WIT reminded me below, I've also found more bottle caps than EVER! Which has translated to probably 5 x more trash digs.
To me, every bell and every whistle on this thing isn’t worth the hassle…at least so far.
What are your thoughts, feel free to put me in my place/tell me what I’m doing wrong. So far using it, for me, has been very frustrating.
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? I can't imagine how long it would take you to learn to use a V3i !!!!!! It shouldn't take that long to learn to use any detector IMHO. I have had a bunch of different machines and really enjoyed and was pretty proficient with all of them and can usually figure one out in 20 hours or less. I had a borrowed AT Pro for a couple of weeks between detectors. He gave me the setting that he used and I went with them. I had no problems with it and really found it a pretty easy detector to use. I loved the iron audio and thought it was a very beneficial feature. I didn't have problems pinpointing it because I would just wiggle the coil backwards after pinpointing until the signal faded and it was usually in the center of the top of the coil. I dug an IH on my first outing with it and those are not very prominent in the areas that I hunt. The only negative things that I didn't like were the balance of the machine and thought it felt toe heavy causing the whole detector to feel heavier than it really was and the lack of correct ID on deeper targets. I pretty much just use tones anyway so it was no big deal but I don't think it gives very good ID's on coins past 6-7 inches. That is one thing I love about the CZ 5. The analog meter is much more reliable than the digital ones that I have used other than the Etrac which was pretty good at depth.
