Advice on Buying New Machines Please

[Mike(Iowa)]

Hi All. I have been out of the detector buying market for a while. I have owned an XLT, White's Quantum, 2 Minelab's, Bounty Hunters, Tesoro Conquistador, and a Fisher CZ5.

I am looking to upgrade my two boys' machines and was looking at the Garrett Ace 250. I know several people who have them, they seem to be an awesome machine in that price range. I have decided I want to try a Garrett myself, and am looking at the AT Pro.

Here's the advice part. I need to know that I will get the AT Pro, and am hearing/reading lots of horror stories about back orders, bait/switching, etc. Are the AT Pro's still on backorder? I saw one person who said they have to wait until May?? Please don't use this as an opportunity to post the good bad and ugly of the different distributors, I am really looking for a warm-fuzzy that I won't be waiting for my new machine until mid summer.

Thanks! And, Good Luck, Mike(Iowa)

 

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[Mzjavert]

I've also heard a few of those stories. I guess Garrett is getting some good business thanks to being on a couple of tv shows. I think I'd talk to the dealers and ask if they are in stock.

 

[Mike(Iowa)]

Yeah MZ, I suppose I could wait out the madness. When all those people realize real life detecting doesn't have the same production value, I'm guessing the used detector market will see an influx of barely used AT Pros ripe for the picking. I'm just too impatient to wait that out.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Caution: The following statement by Terry WILL upset some people..

Or better yet, you could save some money, get a lighter, easier to use machine, go just as deep, AND get a lifetime warranty. Tesoro Vaquero.

 

[lonewolfe]

Check your local dealer before ordering online -

most local dealers (around here anyway) have them in store/stock while the "big boys" usually are a gamble (maybe they do/maybe they don't).

You'll like the AT Pro if you're an old CZ user as they compliment each other very well (and even better) the ATP is submersible!

HH and don't forget the 5x8 DD coil for the AT for trashy site work - it's a must have for the toolbox and well worth the Xtra $$

 

[Mike(Iowa)]

Thanks Lonewolf. Actually going to talk to a local person I just found out about. I know he has one in stock. Good to hear positive on the At Pro as well, most of my experience was with the CZ out of all I have owned, loved that machine. Good Luck! Mike(Iowa).

 

[dirtscratcher]

Caution: The following statement by Terry WILL upset some people..

Or better yet, you could save some money, get a lighter, easier to use machine, go just as deep, AND get a lifetime warranty. Tesoro Vaquero.

Why would anybody get upset seems your just doing your job.

 

[badpenny]

Own an AT Pro bought it locally, works like a charm, and I don't dig junk, so long as you know what it is telling you.

 

[Native Floridian]

+ 1 on the Vaquero!! Fantastic machine that like many Tesoro products doesn't get the respect it deserves.

Still, the AT pro is also an excellent machine, and if that's what you've got your heart set on, well then, time to go for it!

As for finding one, if your local dealer can't help you, do what most of us did, hit the phones. Most of us call several dealers for availiblity, pricing, and special deals. You would be wise to do that anyway, even though you've located an AT Pro locally. Until you make the call you just never know.

 

[Metal Detecting Stuff]

It's a great machine! I have both the AT Pro and AT Pro Adventure Packs in stock, as well as a few 5X8 AT coils, and a good supply of Pro-Pointers. Call if I can help !

Wayne

(832) 928-9135

 

[dustytrails123]

A garrett that never digs junk....sounds like a fairy tale

 

[xr7ator]

A garrett that never digs junk....sounds like a fairy tale

Any machine that does the digging for you is a fairy tale. Maybe get tested again? lol

 

[CoinandRelicMan]

Hey Mike what minelabs have you had ? Was just wondering am thinking of getting a X-Terra.

 

[dustytrails123]

Any machine that does the digging for you is a fairy tale. Maybe get tested again? lol

Ohh har har har what a knee slapper...

 

[Terry Soloman]

Why would anybody get upset seems your just doing your job.

I don't work for Tesoro DS. THIS is my job.. Arizona gold prospecting, gold prospecting, gold panning

 

[Mike(Iowa)]

Hey CoinandRelicMan, I owned 2 sovereigns. Bought one from one of the guys over on the treasure depot in the mid 90's I guess. Didn't give it a fair shake before I sold it,so bought another one from Kellyco in late 90's early 2000's. I should accessorized with some Sun Ray products and invested in the shaft mounted meter. I don't think I gave the 2nd one a fair shake either. I think I was still stuck on my CZ5.

 

[CoinandRelicMan]

Hey CoinandRelicMan, I owned 2 sovereigns. Bought one from one of the guys over on the treasure depot in the mid 90's I guess. Didn't give it a fair shake before I sold it,so bought another one from Kellyco in late 90's early 2000's. I should accessorized with some Sun Ray products and invested in the shaft mounted meter. I don't think I gave the 2nd one a fair shake either. I think I was still stuck on my CZ5.

Kewl Mike. I still have the first Sovereign model and a SovereignXS but I am out of the bats only have one left and lost 6 of them and 3 chargers to the house fire. Still haven't gotten any replacement on the charger or batteries and probably cannot supposedly they no longer make them.

 

[George (MN)]

I set up AT Pro in STD mode, sensitivity 7 out of 8, manual ground balance carefully tuned, coins mode, iron completely rejected (40). And I rarely dig junk. Almost all junk I dig (not much) is coin-sized round objects, like a button.

For decades, I'd been so frustrated that I had to dig almost everything, or just dig shallow clad, as ID at depth on nearly all detectors had been so poor. I thought about giving up the hobby, & was so frustrated that the expert reviews in magazines got better ID accuracy than I did.

When I set the manual ground balance, shortly after that I got a very tilted quarter. Then another loud beep. It was reading 8" deep, & 10-20 passes over it before I dug said #s 80-85, which is the correct ID range for dime. It was a dime 7" deep, & it knew what it was on every pass! This in a school/park area I'd detected a few hundred times, plus I have much competition. Then, detecting in silence, I dug a shallow nickel. The ID bounced only 52-53. After I dug it, I turned on the iron ID to check the immediate area & found the nickel had been surrounded by 5 pieces of iron!

Quarters ID 85-86 usually. Copper pennies ID upper 70s to lower 80s, so it is possible to tell the difference between a dime (80-85) and a copper penny. Zinc cents give the high tone 1 way & middle tone on return sweep, so it is possible to ID them without even looking at the screen.

Most seem to prefer the PRO mode, which I found to have less consistent ID in an air test on dime at 10". But if one accepts iron to some degree in PRO mode, the detector can do tricks like get a coin under a nail. I experimented with some iron acceptance in STD & with iron disc 35, bottle cap beeps 1 way, but not on return sweep. Best wishes, George (MN)

 

[badpenny]

Good post George, once you know what your machine is telling you the chance of digging junk drops off greatly. I am not saying there isn't junk under my feet, but I check and check the beep and once in awhile I'll call the item before I dig just to check myself and 99% of the time I am correct. I hunt with a friend who will ask me to check the target and I'll call it, he will still dig, and then I can hear him yelling I was right again. So go ahead dig, them all if you like; I don't, and I am comfortable passing on digging when the machine tells me they are junk.

 

[CoinandRelicMan]

Back in the 90s I always stomped my hunting pal he used Whites. He would dig all kinds of junk. I would always call the silver with near 100% accuracy when I heard that sound, if it was not silver it was almost always something deep haloed and old, phenomenal it was, I used the Sovereign with Sunray DTI meter. So far nothing has surpassed that setup for me! Also so far I don't like the Safari or the Etrac as well. Yet but am using them and getting better with them.