AT Pro and XLT

[triplehooked]

Well I've searched the forum a bit and cannot find this one on here, so here we go. I don't mean to beat a dead horse with AT Pro comparisons buuutttt... I recently acquired a XLT E-Tracker with the 950 coil and I really like it, but I will be getting into either a V3I or VX3 in the spring and would like to have a water machine, too. I've been eyeballing the CZ21 for our Michigan fresh water hunts, but I'm starting to get the evil eye from the wife about the expenses of my well loved hobby....
I have a potential offer to trade for a 1 month old AT Pro with the cam locks, etc.... So how do they compare in depth and target separation. I understand the price differences, frequency, features, etc. etc. I'm curious as to the field comparisons of someone who has used both in the same area. I'm looking to use which ever machine at old home sites and parks until next spring, then upgrade to a Spectra. I'm on the fence here...

Thanks

 

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[Sandman]

CZ-21 beats the AT Pro in depth.......Period. If you want a water detector, the CZ is for you. December issue of Western & Eastern Treasures has an 8 page field test of the AT Pro. I have the ATP and it is good, but it hangs on the wall.

 

[triplehooked]

Thanks Sandman, I think I'll stay with the XLT. The AT Pro has a malfunction already... Thank goodness for the honest fella who was wanting to trade.... I'll have another comparison query on water machines....

 

[George (MN)]

What was the malfunction on the AT Pro? Generally the newer ones made with camlocks or the older ones updated with camlocks have been trouble-free.

I have the Spring version of the AT Pro, with the land problems corrected, but could stil have water problems, plus factory will check that, update with camlocks, add to warranty & I think they may do something to the armrest(?) for a small fee.

I really love my AT Pro as it gave me a corect visual ID on a dime down 7" but deepest dime with XLT 4.5". About the closest separation with the XLT was a silver dime 4" from junk. I'm sure my AT Pro separates closer than that. People who use it in the Pro mode with partial iron disc even report finding coins under rusty nails!

So if you need something cheaper than the CZ21, it would probably be a good choice. The visual ID is accurate at depth but small & hard to read. Other than that, I love it. 3 tones & zincs high & mid tone. Super stable & quiet in STD mode. Best wishes, George (MN)

 

[Greybear]

I have an XLT and my friend has the AT Pro and AT Gold. I have used his AT Pro and we have been doing air tests between the 3 units. First off the XLT is not known as being a deep detector. My deepest find has been a 1915 Barber half dollar at 8.5 inches. Not bad but when we tested the XLT against the ATPro in a test bed the ATPro was the deeper machine. The XLT missed a quarter hurried at 8 inches. The advantage of the XLT is being able to customize programs for specific purposes. It is also the disadvantage of the XLT because you can spend a lot of time programming the machine and not detecting. Advantage of the ATPro is the DD coil and the waterproof to 10 feet. The DD coil will separate trash from treasure better then a concentric coil due to the narrow footprint signal. I am actually thinking of getting the ATGold for coin and relic hunting. The reasons for this is the Gold has a true all metal mode and the smaller coil. The smaller coil while not getting as deep will get in between the trash in areas where there is a lot of iron, pop tops or flip tabs. The AT Gold has shown to have excellent depth on coins and jewelry comparable to the AT PRO. The Gold is a Lao more sensitive to gold as you would expect but not as sensitive to gold as the Whites GMT which I also have. I think the AT Gold also showed a bit of an edge in gold jewelry over the ATPro and XLT.
One thing I have been considering is buying the DD coil for the XLT and retesting it to compare the results to what we have found so far.

 

[Davers]

Very informative .Thanks

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

as mentioned in almost every comparrison tests....Its all depends on if a person can use a detector properly, and if ia person can pick up what its telling you. I see so many people complaning about a machine they have and end up buying another....then another...Sometimes people do this there first year detecting....Seems like people have more money than patience (brains)

To answer your question.....Buy what you feel comfortable with...everything has a learning curve

 

[Greybear]

Very true. One thing I found out with the XLT is every book I have read has the tone ID turned off. I turn it on. It works like the tone roll on the AT series and will help determine if your target is iron( low grunts), gold, nickel or lead (mid tones), or coins and silver ( higher tones) this way you don't have to keep looking at the ID numbers and icons to see what is there. BTW the icons are not always accurate. Trash near the surface will fool the XLT as will deeper iron. A piece of deep iron will sometimes make the XLT think it is a coin sized target any tell you the depth is 2 inches when in fact it is 6 or more. Similar problem with small surface trash like a small piece of foil. That is where the tone ID really helps.