Need a little help with the AT Pro.

[Bamadad53]

Ok back in the late 1970's and early 1980's I owned a Garrett Deep Seeker. It had a few dials on it and a toggle switch to change between ferrous and non ferrous metal. To me it was a good machine. In tune it stayed quiet when not on a target and gave a constant tone when on a target. After I learned to use it I could usually identify a target by the tiny changes in the tone.
Now fast forward to 2016 and joyous retirement. Loved my original Garrett so I bought an AT Pro. The first 2 times I tried it out nothing but constant noise and false signals. After looking through a few forums found out a loose cable from the coil was the problem. The quys where I bought the thing put it together without tighting the cable. I took it out this morning and the falsing was way down but it was still there. Some times, not all when the coil hit a blade of grass, false signal. Some times, not all when I reached the end of my swing, false signal. Is this normal? I never had ths issue with my old machine. Also when I am on a target and hold it there the Pro goes quiet and I have to move it off target and bring it back on to reaquire a signal. So basiclly I am going on and off the target just to keep the sound and numbers going. On my old machine if I held it over the target the tone was constant.
My question is what do I need to do to get rid of the false signals. Every time I turn it on I do a factory reset so that is not an issue. Also is the Pro's tone suppose to stay constant or does it null its self out when setting on a target?
Thanks for your help
Bamadad

 

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[Molewacker]

I'll get some high tone falsing on grass bumps, generally in mineralized / iron infested soil . The AT pro is a movement machine, excepting the pinpoint mode.

I found watching some you tubes vids helps.

I think after some time to get used to the features and tones, you'll enjoy the AT - it sounds like you got the ear for it!

 

[perry2]

if YOU SET THE DESC. TO ABOUT 30 ,AND DROP THE SENS. BY 2 YOU SHOULD CLEAN UP THE SIGNILS// THE SINSATIVITY IS VERY INPORTANT TO STOPPING THE FALSING/// Perry
ATP is the best machine I have used////

 

[Cletus]

you might also try ground balancing several times throughout your hunt.

 

[BigWaveDave]

What they said.

 

[relic nut]

All good advice. You may also try slowing down your swing. Any time the coil bangs in to something it will false. With a bump, not so much. It's a very sensitive machine. You have to find the sweet spot so to speak. Good luck

HH RN

 

[John-Edmonton]

As per any new machine, you have a learning curve ahead of you. If you run the iron audio turned on, set at zero, with full sensitivity, you will definitely get a chatty detector. This will get even worse if you are in a trashy area and near any EMI producing lines. So.........here;s a few things you can do to help.

-Try turning down the sensitivity a notch or two
-Try changing the operating frequency (you have 4 different ones)
-If you are using the iron audio option, add a numerical value for the iron discrimination. I set mine to about 30, sometimes higher.
-If some of your falsing presents itself at a particular icon on the numerical ID spot, eliminate (notch) out that particular square.
-If the machine remains chatty, just to rule out EMI, go to another area where you are SURE that there is no EMI
-Try to set the detector back to default by holding the on-off button until the unit resets itself.
-Consider taping the coil wire near the lower rod to prevent the coil wire from moving.
-Make sure all of your connection points are tight and not cross threaded.

How To Get Maximum Depth

* With the AT Pro, learn and hunt in Pro mode. It is deeper then standard mode. With the AT Gold, the all metal mode is deeper then Disc 1 or Disc 2.

* Has a place been hunted out? Go back and try again after a good rain soaking. Moist wet soil gives better sensitivity and greater depth readings for targets.

* If you get a nice high tone audio and a VDI in the 70's or 80's, dig it.

* The larger the coil the deeper it goes. However, too many targets under a large coil can mask a good target. If you get a slight good audio using the large coil, lift it up 2-3 inches and center the coil where the good audio was. Often times the good target will be much clearer.

* Get a coil cover and scrub the ground. Some people scan the ground inches above it...."DON'T" You can gain a couple of inches scrubbing, which is significant.

* Don't swing too fast! Just because it has a very fast "recovery speed"......doesn't mean it can always pick out that one good silver coin amongst several pieces of junk. The electronics still need to process lots of information.

"SWING TOO FAST, YOU WILL COME IN LAST"

* Swinging too fast can make you a sloppy hunter. You also risk eventually cracking/breaking your coil and elephant ears from the constant banging on trees, playground equipment or concrete.

* If you are getting lots of EMI or increased mineralization which is causing erratic audio, try adjusting your discrimination first, before lowering the sensitivity. This sometimes lets the machine run smoother without losing any depth.

* If you get mixture of audio signals, scan the target from different directions. Sometimes a good target is beside or partially underneath a good target. The AT Series has a unique ability to pick out those good targets amongst the trash. Going at the target from different directions allows the AT Pro to perform even better!

* Ground balance your machine occasionally. Temperature can change, and directly affect the settings. Hunting in shade vs. sun can vary. "a 14 degree difference on a lawn area to a 35 degree difference on a parking lot." But, the mineralization can also change between areas....so again...ground balance periodically.

* To increase the depth/sensitivity to silver targets, lower the ground balanced numbersseveral points

* If you are hunting an area that is absolutely covered with nails, try ground balancing out a nail until it is nothing but a small amount of static. Now....all the copper & silver targets will give a loud audio response....BUT the target ID will be off.
*Bottle cap? Stomp hard on the target. Often times, an old bottles cap's halo will break, and the reading will change from a good coin sounding target to a bottle cap or junk.

Don't forget to use the iron audio feature if searching for coins or silver.

* Build a test garden...use good & bad targets at different depths. You will soon discover that deep silver targets beyond depths of 8 or more inches begin to not sound off as a high pitch or that the VDI numbers remain in the 80's. That is very good information to know. My rule of thumb states if it's deep....it's old. Dig it! It costs you nothing.

Good luck! Once you get comfortable with the tones, the quieter repeatable chirps, and the ID reading into the 70's-80's without any audio (a probable good target) you should be well on your way to make the AT Pro work well for you.

Below is an air test I did a while back. Depth will be different in a natural setting due to mineralization in your soil where you hunt, but the air test DOESshow it's maximal detection range.

 

[Bamadad53]

Thanks all for the advice, it is a lot to digest. After re-watching some of the Garrett videos and reading all these suggestions ya'll have provided I think my first chore will be making me a coin garden in a clear field and just listen to what the machine has to say. Stay tuned.

Bamadad