At pro depth issues

[littlewheaty]

Wow. Glad I moved South somewhat. I do not miss shoveling so much snow.

Yeah its deep around here

 

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[littlewheaty]

The reason people have different results is because the machine performs different according to the soil...so, whats funny to me is that you don't realize why people get different depth using the same machine...maybe the coin is not falling from the side of their hole, maybe they have different soil...what depth did you get in an air test with a quarter and dime with your AT pro? Maybe the F75 isn't deeper than the AT pro, maybe it handles the soil better...if that's the case, then it would be deeper than the AT pro in your soil and be the better choice, but not for the reason you thought...in other parts of the country the AT may get the same depth as the F75...that's why its important to know how a detector performs in the area your going to use it.

Hey lookin, i know thats not address to me but i have to comment. I would have to agree with you on this. A higher vlf frequency machine will usually air test better than a lower vlf frequency machine but the lower frequency machine will not lose as much depth in mineralized soil as the higher machine will. Also on a higher vlf frequency machine is not going to get more depth in the ground than what it air test at. A lower vlf frequency and a PI machine most of the time will be the opposite. So with all said i think its safe to say that a at pro hits a quarter in the air at 10 inches with a stock coil. Lookin's and mine both tested at that, i talked to garrett and they said thats what they spec at. With a at pro being considered higher frequency machine its more than likely not going to go more deeper in the ground than it airtest at. And this is not directed towards you lookin but i still cant figure out if you and I can barely hit a quarter at 10 inches in the air how are these guys getting dimes at 10 inches in the ground. lol Its not the halo effect either. Coins dont lech out in the in the ground like rusty iron does. Just had to get that off my chest cause i was starting to believe those fish stories lol. I now think that 10 inch dime is more like 6 7 inches max

 

[lookindown]

Hey lookin, i know thats not address to me but i have to comment. I would have to agree with you on this. A higher vlf frequency machine will usually air test better than a lower vlf frequency machine but the lower frequency machine will not lose as much depth in mineralized soil as the higher machine will. Also on a higher vlf frequency machine is not going to get more depth in the ground than what it air test at. A lower vlf frequency and a PI machine most of the time will be the opposite. So with all said i think its safe to say that a at pro hits a quarter in the air at 10 inches with a stock coil. Lookin's and mine both tested at that, i talked to garrett and they said thats what they spec at. With a at pro being considered higher frequency machine its more than likely not going to go more deeper in the ground than it airtest at. And this is not directed towards you lookin but i still cant figure out if you and I can barely hit a quarter at 10 inches in the air how are these guys getting dimes at 10 inches in the ground. lol Its not the halo effect either. Coins dont lech out in the in the ground like rusty iron does. Just had to get that off my chest cause i was starting to believe those fish stories lol. I now think that 10 inch dime is more like 6 7 inches max

Yeah, air test is good to see if two machines are testing the same...all AT pros should air test pretty close to the same if working properly...there may be a slight variation between machines but it will be slight, not three or four inches...in the ground, all bets are off, there are so many variables in the soil and different parts of the country...you may get the same results as someone else but you may get vastly different results...never know when someone says they dug something at a certain depth, if it really was that depth, peoples estimates are way off sometimes.

 

[Kodiak43351]

I can tell you for sure that in my test garden that is over a year old now that when I buried various targets I measured and recorded them so I know about what depth they are. I'm willing to bet they have settled a bit in that time also because of soil conditions in my area. So with that being said I can hit a clad dime that is buried at about 9" which is the deepest I buried a dime with both my at pro and the at gold. I welcome you to come up here to NW Ohio and see for yourself and then dig it and measure. The at pro will hit a deep dime for sure. It's a very weak hit but with headphones on its a good sounding target. The gold nails it great in all metal and disc 1 but doesn't get it in disc 2. I also have a nickel buried at about 8" that the pro struggles on. In dry weather it doesn't sound good but when it's wet it barely gets it and the gold screams on it no matter the conditions. Makes sense since the gold hits lower conductors a bit better. It depends on where you are swinging for sure and how wet ground is. I've dug deep silver with the pro can't remember the exact depth but was impressed with it. The gold has found .22 shells at length of my digger I know this because after removing plug put pinpointer in and had to dig a bit more so it didn't fall out of plug and fall in hole. I'm sure some on here may stretch the truth a bit but I can tell you for sure if you set up the pro rite it will hit a dime deep in the rite conditions. Good luck guys

 

[Kodiak43351]

Forgot to mention on a very trashy site depth doesn't help at all. Separation is what you want and the small coil works great in that situation. Ground balance often and dig all repeatable signals no matter how they sound because I've dug old large cents in rusty soil that barley gave a good signal but was a repeatable signal. I like trashy sites because a lot of guys swing over them and get frustrated. I dig those iffy signals most times it's junk but every now and then it's a good target. Silver and old copper in a trashy site isn't always going to give you that sweet sound your looking for but most of the time it's going to be a good repeatable signal. I can't remember how many Indian head cents I've dug that were repeatable but sounded mid to low grunt and square nails and rust were in same hole. This is mostly in plowed or worked farm fields. It's a bit diff in yards and old grass areas but still dig all repeatable signals. That's how your going to find the good relics and coins. I found an old 18k Masonic pin that gave a low grunt and mid tone can't remember VDI numbers but they were prob high 30s to mid 40s and jumping around. Dig dig and dig more that's how you learn your machine. Hope you all find a banner in 2015.

 

[MackDog]

If you new the actual area of response for a 9 inch dime you would believe we find them. You must almost be centered over the dime and it will be a faint signal but repeatable. I always scrub the ground with my coil and it seems to give me more target depth. Moist soil will increase my depth. There are times I dig a target that sounds good and have to go an inch deeper than it reads but it's a good target. You want deep coins with the Pro hit the center of the parks and fields where there aren't many other targets and the trash is minimal. In these open areas with few targets most detectorists will breeze through them or even skip them because their not productive. One park I detected was an old horse race track from the turn of the century. Lot's of lead, iron old trash but still pulled out 12 Indians, 10 Barber dimes, Barber half and many cool relics

 

[Kodiak43351]

If you new the actual area of response for a 9 inch dime you would believe we find them. You must almost be centered over the dime and it will be a faint signal but repeatable. I always scrub the ground with my coil and it seems to give me more target depth. Moist soil will increase my depth. There are times I dig a target that sounds good and have to go an inch deeper than it reads but it's a good target. You want deep coins with the Pro hit the center of the parks and fields where there aren't many other targets and the trash is minimal. In these open areas with few targets most detectorists will breeze through them or even skip them because their not productive. One park I detected was an old horse race track from the turn of the century. Lot's of lead, iron old trash but still pulled out 12 Indians, 10 Barber dimes, Barber half and many cool relics

Agree with you on the open areas I have a fairgrounds close and the most productive silver spot there has been where the old drives were and an inch or less down is hard packed stone. I guess guys didn't want to dig the hard packed stones to get the targets or just skipped those areas. I get at least one silver there so far every time I go. It has also been the best place for rings and jewelry. There is another guy on tnet that hunts there so I just gave him my secret lol.

 

[MackDog]

If you new the actual area of response for a 9 inch dime you would believe we find them. You must almost be centered over the dime and it will be a faint signal but repeatable. I always scrub the ground with my coil and it seems to give me more target depth. Moist soil will increase my depth. There are times I dig a target that sounds good and have to go an inch deeper than it reads but it's a good target. You want deep coins with the Pro hit the center of the parks and fields where there aren't many other targets and the trash is minimal. In these open areas with few targets most detectorists will breeze through them or even skip them because their not productive. One park I detected was an old horse race track from the turn of the century. Lot's of lead, iron old trash but still pulled out 12 Indians, 10 Barber dimes, Barber half and many cool relics

Remember you are trying to find what others have missed. If you find a new area where no ones been makes sure you hit it the same way because some one else will if you don't

 

[littlewheaty]

Hey guys thanks for all the advise! I have learned a lot about machines since this thread started. Now i think my machine should be with too par with the other at pros, now Ill just have to get out there and see what it can do in the soils i haunt. Which i do believe play the biggest role for depth. Just couldnt believe after all this time i finally find out the machine doesnt even need ground balance in neutral soil. Still baffles me though, everyone besides garrett says it does need to be balance. Oh well im just going to run it and accept it for what it is. Just wanna thank you guys for all the help you all offered and wish all of you a good 2015 hunting season.

 

[MackDog]

When I'm not finding anything I GB and sometimes reset the machine, does it work no but it makes me feel like I'm doing something. Another tip is I don't let the batteries go below the bottom 2 bars it will loose depth. Then you put in new batteries and it's like you just missed a lot

 

[Eureka!]

Ok, he's what I picked up on so far from the responses here when trying to get good DEPTH on my Detector (AT Pro):

◊ Read and re-read the Manuel for my detector;

◊ Obtain good quality headphones (grey ghost seems to be the preference here) -and- have my hearing checked to see if I am tone deaf;

◊ Reduce Discrimination to the bare minimum (30-35 on the AT-PRO);

◊ Ground Balance - to set it properly to deal with the "mineralization" of the site's soil - for Max. Depth: make sure that the Sensitivity is at half before GB'ing;

◊ After GB'ing - UP the sensitivity until I get annoying tones then back off accordingly - It may reduce Target ID but I should be more into "listening" for tones and not reading the VDI;

◊ Shut my cellphone to off (or Airplane mode) so as to reduce EMI (interference);

◊ Swing LOW and slightly slower when using a Large coil; swing LOW and faster when using a small coil - in each case I should experiment with detection speed;

◊ Make a test garden to learn the capabilities on the AT-Pro.

Am i missing anything? Thanks.

 

[lookindown]

Ok, he's what I picked up on so far from the responses here when trying to get good DEPTH on my Detector (AT Pro):

◊ Read and re-read the Manuel for my detector;

◊ Obtain good quality headphones (grey ghost seems to be the preference here) -and- have my hearing checked to see if I am tone deaf;

◊ Reduce Discrimination to the bare minimum (30-35 on the AT-PRO);

◊ Ground Balance - to set it properly to deal with the "mineralization" of the site's soil - for Max. Depth: make sure that the Sensitivity is at half before GB'ing;

◊ After GB'ing - UP the sensitivity until I get annoying tones then back off accordingly - It may reduce Target ID but I should be more into "listening" for tones and not reading the VDI;

◊ Shut my cellphone to off (or Airplane mode) so as to reduce EMI (interference);

◊ Swing LOW and slightly slower when using a Large coil; swing LOW and faster when using a small coil - in each case I should experiment with detection speed;

◊ Make a test garden to learn the capabilities on the AT-Pro.

Am i missing anything? Thanks.

If someone follows that list you made they will be successful with the AT pro...its not hard, they just have to stick with it.

 

[Kodiak43351]

Ok, he's what I picked up on so far from the responses here when trying to get good DEPTH on my Detector (AT Pro):

◊ Read and re-read the Manuel for my detector;

◊ Obtain good quality headphones (grey ghost seems to be the preference here) -and- have my hearing checked to see if I am tone deaf;

◊ Reduce Discrimination to the bare minimum (30-35 on the AT-PRO);

◊ Ground Balance - to set it properly to deal with the "mineralization" of the site's soil - for Max. Depth: make sure that the Sensitivity is at half before GB'ing;

◊ After GB'ing - UP the sensitivity until I get annoying tones then back off accordingly - It may reduce Target ID but I should be more into "listening" for tones and not reading the VDI;

◊ Shut my cellphone to off (or Airplane mode) so as to reduce EMI (interference);

◊ Swing LOW and slightly slower when using a Large coil; swing LOW and faster when using a small coil - in each case I should experiment with detection speed;

◊ Make a test garden to learn the capabilities on the AT-Pro.

Am i missing anything? Thanks.

Sounds about rite to me.

 

[NWMP]

I can tell you for sure that in my test garden that is over a year old now that when I buried various targets I measured and recorded them so I know about what depth they are. I'm willing to bet they have settled a bit in that time also because of soil conditions in my area. So with that being said I can hit a clad dime that is buried at about 9" which is the deepest I buried a dime with both my at pro and the at gold.

My experience also but this is pushing it for around here. I pulled a teens dime last fall that was deeper than 9 inches in moist soil but it was a sporadic scratchy signal. Something about it must have been right because I went for it. The ATP is a decent machine and I get tired of seeing a few dudes putting the hate on it. Not you bud., but you see them now and then foaming at the mouth. Who cares really. If dude doesn't like the machine, don't use it. The rest of us will enjoy the machine quietly, as most do. I have a Tejon if I want to go super deep for relics. I also pulled up two Barber dimes just at the end of the season which were deep and faint (a signal that gets me excited), and I'm up in western Canada. I find the AT Pro to be a very satisfying machine to use.

 

[Eureka!]

For those whom may be interested; here is a video that shows the results of an in depth AIR TEST on the AT PRO (Std. Mode and Pro. Mode / Sen. -one notch and full).

Very interesting....but I don't know why Gold wasn't included in the test

 

[gleaner1]

......

Ok, he's what I picked up on so far from the responses here when trying to get good DEPTH on my Detector (AT Pro):

◊ Read and re-read the Manuel for my detector; YES, BUT FOR MAX DEPTH, USE PRO MODE, MAX SENSE, AND BIG COILS.

◊ Obtain good quality headphones (grey ghost seems to be the preference here) -and- have my hearing checked to see if I am tone deaf; THIS HELPS

◊ Reduce Discrimination to the bare minimum (30-35 on the AT-PRO); NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT, BARE MINIMUM IS ZERO ON ATPRO, 40 IS MAX.

◊ Ground Balance - to set it properly to deal with the "mineralization" of the site's soil - for Max. Depth: make sure that the Sensitivity is at half before GB'ing; NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT, GB IS OBTAINED EASILY AND ACCURATELY REGARDLESS OF SENS SETTING, OR COIL SIZE, OR SOIL MOISTURE CONTENT, OR THE DAY OF THE WEEK, OR IF THERE IS A FULL MOON OUT, OR IF YOU LIVE IN ARKANSAS AND STUFF.

◊ After GB'ing - UP the sensitivity until I get annoying tones then back off accordingly - It may reduce Target ID but I should be more into "listening" for tones and not reading the VDI; ATPRO IS UNUSUALLY STABLE AND HAS NO ANNOYING TONES.

◊ Shut my cellphone to off (or Airplane mode) so as to reduce EMI (interference); ATPRO IS SUPER STABLE TO EMI FROM CELLPHONES, AND CAN TAKE HIGH POWER LINES VERY WELL.

◊ Swing LOW and slightly slower when using a Large coil; swing LOW and faster when using a small coil - in each case I should experiment with detection speed; OK, BUT ALWAYS SWING LOW NO MATTER WHAT, REGARDLESS OF MACHINE. ATPRO IS VERY FAST WITH LARGE AND SMALL COILS AND YOU CAN SWING ATPRO FASTER THAN MOST OTHER TECTERS REGARDLESS OF COIL SIZE. BELIEVE ME.

◊ Make a test garden to learn the capabilities on the AT-Pro. YES, BUT THE GARDEN HAS TO BE AT LEAST TEN YEARS OLD TO GET TRUE RESULTS WITH ATPRO

Am i missing anything? Thanks.

 

[MackDog]

Amen Gleaner

 

[Eureka!]

Thanks for your input gleaner1!

You say:
◊ "NOT to set the Discrimination to the bare minimum" and I assume that would be correct depending on what you are specifically hunting for while using the AT-Pro.

◊"GB is OBTAINED EASILY on the AT Pro."
Question: (According to Garrett; the AT-Pro has Automatic -AND- Manual GB) Why do I get totally different settings when GB'ing in the same spot?

When I GB in Manual I may get a reading of 87 and in Automatic I get a reading which is totally different?

◊"The AT Pro is STABLE to EMI and has NO ANNOYING TONES."
In some instances I have found that not to be true. The why is it that when I get instability and I run through ALL the Frequencies (F1, F2, F3, F4) I still get chatter like you wouldn't believe; even after a "factory reset"?

The only remedy for me was to leave the area and sometimes that doesn't work either. I noticed this to be the case on days when I hunt in an area near an Airport, under a flight path for Aircraft on high traffic days.

◊ "A test garden needs to be TEN YEARS OLD to be effective".
I hope I'll still be around to use it in TEN YEARS! Thanks for your valuable tip tho. Now I won't waste my time with this. Hahha

 

[RobRieman]

◊"GB is OBTAINED EASILY on the AT Pro."
Question: (According to Garrett; the AT-Pro has Automatic -AND- Manual GB) Why do I get totally different settings when GB'ing in the same spot?

When I GB in Manual I may get a reading of 87 and in Automatic I get a reading which is totally different?


When you auto ground balance you hold in the button and pump the coil and it "auto" ground balances by reading the soil.

When you manual ground balance you go into manual mode and you set the ground balance manually by going up or down with the buttons. "You" set the ground balance number in manual mode, the detector does not set it.

 

[Eureka!]

◊"GB is OBTAINED EASILY on the AT Pro."
Question: (According to Garrett; the AT-Pro has Automatic -AND- Manual GB) Why do I get totally different settings when GB'ing in the same spot?


When you manual ground balance you go into manual mode and you set the ground balance manually by going up or down with the buttons. "You" set the ground balance number in manual mode, the detector does not set it.

AHAH! all the whie I've been 'pumping' up and down while holding the button in the MANUAL GB MODE.

I think I better re-read the manual.... Thanks!