My new to me " used" ATPRO! Is it an okay deal?

[darktower007]

Hey folks I'm brand spanking new to the hobby but today I piked up a used atpro with box, Lesche digger, Garrett pinpointer, and pouch for $440 cash. Did I get took? It's a year old and took it out today and it worked great! I also picked up a shovel.


I also found some old Boy Scout pins I believe


What do y'all think?! Okay deal?



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[kingskid1611]

you have done very well if it works....and it looks like it does. Good Luck in your new endeavors....

 

[darktower007]

Works great! I need to get used to the signals. Been digging up a ton of cans so I need to research how to use the machine.


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[digging440yrs]

I think you did darn good, the pro pointer, digger, and pouch total about $120.00 used, so you got an at pro for $320.00

 

[darktower007]

Well good! I always feel like I'm getting "took" buying used. But new in his store it all would have been about $675 including tax.


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[Stretch Da Truth]

Looks like you got a decent deal. Everything works good?
Best thing to do is go download the manual, read it once, go watch some you tube vids on the detector, read the manual again, watch a few more vids and then go out and toss down some change (1, 5, 10 & 25) swing away and play with the settings and learn the sounds. I did this with my unit and my sons and it made it so easy to use the device.
Good luck to you and I hope this helps!

** Cool name. Are you a Stephen King fan? Great series! **

 

[against the wind]

Good machine, fair price, good deal
Congrats

 

[Geobound]

I think you got a pretty good deal.

The standard coin mode is really simple to use, and the display makes it easier.

I would suggest using the pro mode on zero, and learn that.

You will get to know the sounds of the items you find better that way, and it will help you decide what's a keeper and what's trash.

YouTube videos by Garrett are quite good, in fact you can go right to the Garrett website and watch the videos there.

School yards and parks will give you the most targets to hit, so I would start off with that.

Good luck.

 

[darktower007]

I think you got a pretty good deal.

The standard coin mode is really simple to use, and the display makes it easier.

I would suggest using the pro mode on zero, and learn that.

You will get to know the sounds of the items you find better that way, and it will help you decide what's a keeper and what's trash.

YouTube videos by Garrett are quite good, in fact you can go right to the Garrett website and watch the videos there.

School yards and parks will give you the most targets to hit, so I would start off with that.

Good luck.

Thanks for all the tips everyone! I've been watching a bunch of videos and I'm learning a lot.


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[SWFLA]

Good deal, have fun and take your time and Treasure will come.

 

[gunsil]

Works great! I need to get used to the signals. Been digging up a ton of cans so I need to research how to use the machine.


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Cans usually blow your ears off if they are not really deep. To get a better idea of your signal lift the coil six inches off the ground and swing again, if the sound is still really loud and the signal reads the same it is a large piece of junk such as a can 99.9% of the time. If you swing 8" off the ground and the signal is still there and loud it is a really large target and definitely not a coin. A coin in the ground will decrease in signal strength or even disappear when the coil is swung higher off the ground. You got a fantastic deal!! Please do not use your shovel in parks and school yards or other manicured lawn areas. Learning proper pin pointing is a paramount skill in our hobby so one needn't make big holes for small targets. Shovels are fine in the woods and fields.

 

[trichmond3256]

Darktower, I just bought a new one literally 10 minutes ago and paid a little over $500 so, you got a good deal. I also appreciate all the pointers and tips. It was one of the AT Pro videos on youtube that helped seal the deal . Good luck and good hunting!

 

[darktower007]

Cans usually blow your ears off if they are not really deep. To get a better idea of your signal lift the coil six inches off the ground and swing again, if the sound is still really loud and the signal reads the same it is a large piece of junk such as a can 99.9% of the time. If you swing 8" off the ground and the signal is still there and loud it is a really large target and definitely not a coin. A coin in the ground will decrease in signal strength or even disappear when the coil is swung higher off the ground. You got a fantastic deal!! Please do not use your shovel in parks and school yards or other manicured lawn areas. Learning proper pin pointing is a paramount skill in our hobby so one needn't make big holes for small targets. Shovels are fine in the woods and fields.

This is great info! I feel however ( pending on soil moisture) an almost perfect plug with the shovel. Almost like a bigger golf cup. And place it back in there neatly. With the Lesche I'm digging and pulling up chunks of soil that golfer mashed back in. Guess I need to practice. And pinpointers are a life saver!

 

[Geobound]

This is great info! I feel however ( pending on soil moisture) an almost perfect plug with the shovel. Almost like a bigger golf cup. And place it back in there neatly. With the Lesche I'm digging and pulling up chunks of soil that golfer mashed back in. Guess I need to practice. And pinpointers are a life saver!

There are lots of people that only dig using a screwdriver to "pop" their target out of the ground. I've tried it and on shallow targets it works, but on the deeper ones I find it impossible.

I would agree that in some cases a digger (shovel) gets a cleaner plug, but the problem isn't so much the tool to dig with, but the tool watching you dig.

If a city worker or a nosey neighbour sees you out digging with a shovel they are more apt to call the authorities, and that shines a bad light on metal detectorists in general.

As mentioned save your shovel for beaches, forests, fields or your permission sites.

Also don't forget to remove any bits of trash you find.

I was approached once by a city worker about what I was doing, and when I showed them my trash bag they quickly changed their attitude.

Good luck out there.

 

[Dr. Witty]

Great deal DarkTower.
Make sure you check your battery, headphone and coil seals for waterproofyness before submersing the housing if you plan on doing that. Last year i saw an Ace 300 on Craigslist for $100.00. It was there for over a month. Like most hobbies there's a learning curve and I think some people have a certain expectation of finding nothing but coins and Jewelry right away. Stick with it, and you will be obsessed.

 

[gunsil]

This is great info! I feel however ( pending on soil moisture) an almost perfect plug with the shovel. Almost like a bigger golf cup. And place it back in there neatly. With the Lesche I'm digging and pulling up chunks of soil that golfer mashed back in. Guess I need to practice. And pinpointers are a life saver!

Pin pointers only work on targets close to the surface, they are really meant for finding targets down in the hole you dug or in the dirt you have removed. The learning curve part of pinpointing is with your machine. You should get good enough with your machine's pinpointing features to never need more than a three inch diameter hole for a coin down to 6-8", and most coins and jewelry are in the top 6" if the ground hasn't been disturbed by landscaping or flooding. As Geobound says, shovels have caused a lot of places to be closed to us because there are a lot of newbies who make a mess with shovels and parks people really don't like to see them. I pinpoint so closely with my machine that I can cut a perfect 3" diameter plug with my digger, use a sheet of plastic to put it and any more dirt I dig out on, then replace the dirt, then the plug, and nobody will ever notice I was there. It takes PRACTICE, which is often best done in your own yard. You have a very capable machine, but nobody ever learns using one and neat clean digging right away. I do not even try to dig public or private lawns in drought season because no matter what one uses to dig with during very dry periods one will kill the grass. Good luck and may great finds come your way!! PS, luck is also important in this game, but he who digs the most holes usually finds the best stuff. Remember also that gold rings are seen by ALL detectors the same as aluminum pull tabs, so if you look for rings you will dig a lot off pull tabs, no way around it.

 

[darktower007]

Pin pointers only work on targets close to the surface, they are really meant for finding targets down in the hole you dug or in the dirt you have removed. The learning curve part of pinpointing is with your machine. You should get good enough with your machine's pinpointing features to never need more than a three inch diameter hole for a coin down to 6-8", and most coins and jewelry are in the top 6" if the ground hasn't been disturbed by landscaping or flooding. As Geobound says, shovels have caused a lot of places to be closed to us because there are a lot of newbies who make a mess with shovels and parks people really don't like to see them. I pinpoint so closely with my machine that I can cut a perfect 3" diameter plug with my digger, use a sheet of plastic to put it and any more dirt I dig out on, then replace the dirt, then the plug, and nobody will ever notice I was there. It takes PRACTICE, which is often best done in your own yard. You have a very capable machine, but nobody ever learns using one and neat clean digging right away. I do not even try to dig public or private lawns in drought season because no matter what one uses to dig with during very dry periods one will kill the grass. Good luck and may great finds come your way!! PS, luck is also important in this game, but he who digs the most holes usually finds the best stuff. Remember also that gold rings are seen by ALL detectors the same as aluminum pull tabs, so if you look for rings you will dig a lot off pull tabs, no way around it.

More great tips! This makes perfect sense. Keep a low profile, use a pillow case or something to keep it clean, small plugs. I'll try soon using Lesche instead of shovel in public places.[emoji106]


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[sprailroad]

You found a really great deal, very good in fact. The boy scout badges? the one on the left in your picture is a "Webelos" slide, used to hold the "scarf" in place around the neck. One on the right is for Cub Scouts. The Webelos are "In between" Cub & boy Scouts, but are still considered part of the Cub Scouts, difference being they have the option of wearing the uniform of a Boy Scout. Also gunsil's post # 12 & Geobound's post # 15 are really good advice.

 

[Mifarmer]

Run your machine on pro zero iron disc around 20-25 ground balance and go, 76-77 are Indians but also have had them ring in at 77-82 clad quarters are an 85 and you will know when you swing over one, pennies are learned first 77-81 mostly 80-81 do your self a favor and hit a local small park and look around the sandy areas, you will learn a lot and have fun doing it, then after a year when You learn the machine well, go back to all your sites and dig everything you missed.
Welcome to the hobby,
Kyle-

 

[nolanation]

Decent enough deal. Did you try to negotiate some first before paying?