AT PRO and small Gold, A request for the air benders

[JG]

One of the things that has been addressed in the AT PRO is an expanded iron range. I won’t mention other brands but there is a break point in the iron range where very small gold will report. Sadly, in some machines this was often misinterpreted by the detectorist as an iron target and either discriminated out or ignored. This is not the case in the higher frequency gold machines to my knowledge. This is not a flaw but the way small gold chimes in on the below 20 Khz VLFs as a rule. The range gold can chime in on is from upper iron to about a quarter. Size, depth and shape all have influences on what you will hear and see on the machine.

I will be doing the test here with my machine but I was wondering if a few others would like to join in.

I will probably be in pro mode and Zero-Zero. Sensitivity should be as high as you can tolerate if you are indoors where there is metal and electrical currents/RF. What I will be looking for is the lowest ID of very small gold and what tone I get. This ID should be the above the maximum iron mask one would use hunting. I am not too interested in depth because at the threshold of detection, a larger picker that is deep could give the minimum ID and associated tone. We will discover the maximum AT PRO iron mask to be used for all gold targets. PGM’s should be tested too if someone has a grain of it to try out.
Rings and jewelry are too big for this test, this is more of a prospector thing for gold hunters to get a base-line.
Thanks

 

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[gravediggermax-vabeachva]

f y i only

http://www.akmining.com/forums/show...ting-GOLD-NUGGETS-also-depth-test-vs-GTI-2500.

 

[John-Edmonton]

Re: f y i only

http://www.akmining.com/forums/show...ting-GOLD-NUGGETS-also-depth-test-vs-GTI-2500.

Thanks Max....I was going to look up that link, and there it was! That grey matter must still be working for both of us.

 

[JG]

The test has to be done with smaller samples.

Don’t be surprised if you get an iron grunt.

That lowest ID is the baseline for prospecting, that is why you see expanded iron ranges on new designs FYI.

 

[JG]

Small gold starts at 35 on the ID.

Faint grunts (PRO MODE) in gold county should be investigated where no ID is seen on the screen at this setting. Expect a small shallow target. If the numbers improve, keep digging for a larger nugget. Pro Mode, Zero-Zero is good too if there is no trash.

The PRO mode factory preset is perfect. That includes a target (gold) that is at a distance and reads better as you get the coil closer.

This has been documented in a published article in a field test where the author found a small nugget that read 35-40 before recovery.

The expanded iron range helps separate the real iron from small nuggets that for some reason hit in the upper iron range.
This really is a turn on and go machine!

 

[gravediggermax-vabeachva]

JG

if i were looking for gold nuggets.......large or small, it would not be the the At Pro i can assure u of that.

but from the test that was posted, it seems the pro does do ok.

 

[JG]

I can agree with that but 15khz is perfect for pickers and better. Most find pickers and when looking for pickers you don’t want a machine to tell you about the flake in disturbed soil. If you are looking for flake and iron mineralization another machine I have is the ticket. It will find small gold pickers too but all the flake makes it difficult to nugget shoot unless you want to fiddle around with settings and up the discrimination.

Smallest of gold performance: The same holds true for the other machine on small gold; you need to see where the first ID comes in for a baseline. It is not waterproof with the exception of the coil. It could be easily adjusted to ignore the flake but it is not waterproof. Most flake gold work means water and one dip in the stream can shut you down.

If you want to high-grade the pickers where there is iron/trash the AT PRO is THE ticket because of the way it sounds and talks to you about the target. I am looking forward to how the hot/cold rocks performance is. Many targets have been passed up because they came in as iron. The larger nuggets will be child’s play if you can find and recover the littlest of pickers, and not iron.

Thanks for the link on the air test depth videos. When the small sniper coil for the AT PRO is out, the machine will be more sensitive to smaller gold that goes undetected or is at the threshold of a good ID. As it stands, it is deep and well suited for finding respectable pickers, large and small. The 19KHZ machine is good but needs a battery mod for long days and does not have the excellent target language of my AT PRO. Did I forget to mention, it is not waterproof? It is not even weatherproof! Go ahead, pull a knob off and see for yourself. Salt air will hammer it. Muddy thumbs and water will get it contaminated if you do not baby it. I find myself grabbing the AT PRO all the time but there will be a time when the other machine will be used, just not that often. I think it would be favored to look for gold earrings and studs in the sand, but the AT PRO can hit them too. Dry land hunts would be best. 19 KHZ gives me more sensitivity to smaller gold and a little more depth to small gold but after that only the larger targets will sound. 15 KHZ gives the same sensitivity to the larger size and has more depth. There definitely is a zone where one is better than the other on the small stuff, no question. Flake is not a picker.

I would not be surprised if someone figures out a way to detect mineralized sand streaks in streams with the AT PRO. It might be as simple as using the ground balance feature. It is a better all-around gold machine than most know in my opinion. We will have to wait for the season to open to see if I am right.

We have the same two machines Max, both are the best tools for the right job, but my AT PRO is not the back-up, it is the tip of the spear.