AT PRO false signals

[terryin pa]

I got my At Pro this past Friday. I had watched the video's on Garrett's website 3-4 nights in a row while I was waiting for it to arrive so I'd be all set. From the start, with the settings in factory default, in standard coin mode , after doing the ground balance adjustment, this machine is all over the place. The target I'd goes as low as 3 and not moving the machine much changes to 40 then 75, and so quick 99 then back to 40 then 4.I have to back the sensitivity down to only 2 notches to get it to stabilize. The next problem is false high tone signals. I get readings 75-99 at 8 inches , dig , dig ,and dig some more and nothing is there. I've dug at least a dozen different times and nothing. The last false tonight was a 92 at 4 inches. Dug ,dug and dug to over a foot . Kept pinpointing as I dug and kept reading 4 inches the whole time thru. This unit is highly rated in the detector world , so what is it I'm not doing right?

 

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[NJcigarman]

Is your cable coil seated correctly into the control box and tight? I had an issue in the beginning I was wearing cargo pants. My cell phone was in the lower right pocket and it was causing interference. Cell towers caused me an issue too.

 

[terryin pa]

Yes, the cable is seated good and tight. Not wearing cargo pants and I make sure there is nothing interfering.

 

[Normsel]

It still sounds like your cable is not seated properly. Remember it has an o-ring and you may think it's tight but it's not. I had the same problem with mine the 1st week i had my ATP.

I have over 300 hours on my ATP and rarely get a false signal. I have a 5x8 coil now but when i had the std coil It would often pick up more than one object and give multiple signals during a swing.

You may want to slow your swinging down as well because if you swing to fast your machine can't process the conductivity fast enough and you will get tones and numbers all over the place.

 

[bzbadger]

Although you can swing the ATP faster than most because it has a fast reaction time it will give you multiple readings. As far as the deep dig you did with high ID# and it showing shallow depth meter that usually indicates can slaw or some kind of larger object. It can overload the machine,can cause it to pinpoint incorrectly etc etc. When you get a reading in the sweet numbers do two things..hit you iron audio button and listen for the grunt telling u its junk of it doesn't raise your coil a good 6" off the ground and if you are still getting a signal it's trash. You have to be in pro mode for this. Also that tone roll you may have heard of in the videos is a time saver too. You hear that low high low filing tone that's another giveaway on trash.

Get your facts first, then distort them as you please-Mark Twain

 

[RobSFRD]

The depth is really only accurate in the pinpointing mode. I was getting readings of 4-6 inches, then pinpoint would say 2" and it's at two.

 

[sandy shoes]

I use mine only in pro mode and ground balance often if you have high mineral soil and sen setting 3 notches down from max. and you can try a different freq i use freq 1 for field work and freq 4 for salt beaches good luck.

 

[BryanM362]

Mine does the same thing. Garrett sent me a new coil, that did not fix the problem. They said step was to send the whole unit in.

 

[SunriseBoy]

The start of this thread could have been written by me.

I got my AT Pro yesterday and was down at the beach today at Palm Cove just north of Cairns; an what happened to TP is exactly what happened to me. It drove me nuts!
And I'm sorry but I don't thing that comes anywhere near being a coincidence.
Yes, the cable is fixed securely.

I think Garrett have a fairly slack attitude. This kind of thing has been going on for some time and they appear to be no closer to fixing the issue. But having written to them a couple of times and not receiving a reply; this stuff is to be expected.
It's all about perceptions, advertising and profits.

 

[SunriseBoy]

Yes.

 

[SunriseBoy]

This was on another page on TN (so I hope the precious thought police here don't get a case of ****-on-the-liver)
My Garrett AT Pro would false when I bumped sticks or got to close and scrubbed the ground. I factory reset the machine many times just like in the Garrett videos on youtube. Well my detector was on when I reset it.
To truly factory reset the machine it should be done while the unit is off. Press and hold the power button for 5-8 seconds.
Resetting this way fixed my falsing problem and I hope it helps someone else good luck and happy hunting everyone! Jeremy

 

[SunriseBoy]

Found the email of one of the gurus at Garrett in Texas. bradk@garrett.com

 

[Iron Patch]

The start of this thread could have been written by me.

I got my AT Pro yesterday and was down at the beach today at Palm Cove just north of Cairns; an what happened to TP is exactly what happened to me. It drove me nuts!
And I'm sorry but I don't thing that comes anywhere near being a coincidence.
Yes, the cable is fixed securely.

I think Garrett have a fairly slack attitude. This kind of thing has been going on for some time and they appear to be no closer to fixing the issue. But having written to them a couple of times and not receiving a reply; this stuff is to be expected.
It's all about perceptions, advertising and profits.

Are you detecting the wet sand?

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

I had issues with mine at first where it was bouncy and going crazy..but then I set it in pro mode figured out the sensitivity and learned how to use it..now it's my best friend

 

[Normsel]

Make sure you ground balance correctly as well. You need at least 50 to 100 hours on your ATP before you think it is a problem. I wanted to throw mine in the junk the 1st week i had it. One you learn the ATP it really talks to you and once you learn what it says the ATP is coin hog.

 

[George (MN)]

If it was bought used & has no cam locks, those early units need to be sent in & for a price they make it better & add cam locks to indicate a newer or updated unit. Other than that, I haven't heard much else about problems. I could not get anything deep until I had the ground balance set properly, Then, deep & tilted coins loud without much trash & total quiet in between. I was using it the easy way, STD mode, coins program, sensitivity 7 of 8, iron totally rejected (40). Most use PRO mode & accept some iron. You could call Garrett & let them hear over the phone what it does or doesn't do as you make various adjustments. Best wishes.

 

[s.c.shooter]

The only time mine has ever done this is when I am close to a source of EMI!

 

[NWMP]

Make sure you ground balance correctly as well. You need at least 50 to 100 hours on your ATP before you think it is a problem. I wanted to throw mine in the junk the 1st week i had it. One you learn the ATP it really talks to you and once you learn what it says the ATP is coin hog.

It is amusing to see statements like this..........................

"I think Garrett have a fairly slack attitude. This kind of thing has been going on for some time and they appear to be no closer to fixing the issue. But having written to them a couple of times and not receiving a reply; this stuff is to be expected.
It's all about perceptions, advertising and profits."

Then once the machines features are understood and used, it's all love and sunshine in the next post...... As you said, perhaps folks should take a little time to learn the machine before going ballistic immediately. Do some searches, read some forums, put the time in with the machine. Any machine.........

 

[Metal Detecting Stuff]

It depends on where you are detecting. If it's a saltwater beach with black sand, you may get some interference. Ground balance between 0-20 in salt, redo the ground balance when changing for dry sand to wet sand to water. If this is happening in normal soil, try the factory reset, redo ground balance, turn sensitivity two notches below max and see if that helps. If these suggestions don't work, call or email Garrett and they will get you taken care of.

Wayne

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