At Pro help for rookie

[Hillbilly Prince]

So I get this MD and I know I need to use it,get to know it and all.
Of course,I want to try it out and I found a small tool socket over 6 incges deep in dry dirt and rocks and then a lead fish sinker.
Also found some melted lead in area of CW camp as well as bits of barbed wire.
I got permission to md at an abandoned school.
Around the building the AT is going off constantly but
nothing. Was getting too dark so no fiddling.
The thing is I need the quick and dirty settings for coins because I don't believe the ground is carpeted with metal every foot. Something has to be off for such behaviour,right?
I need to watch some vids and read of coursev,but I know one of you guys can boil it down meanwhile

 

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[Rustynailsandscrews]

So I get this MD and I know I need to use it,get to know it and all.
Of course,I want to try it out and I found a small tool socket over 6 incges deep in dry dirt and rocks and then a lead fish sinker.
Also found some melted lead in area of CW camp as well as bits of barbed wire.
I got permission to md at an abandoned school.
Around the building the AT is going off constantly but
nothing. Was getting too dark so no fiddling.
The thing is I need the quick and dirty settings for coins because I don't believe the ground is carpeted with metal every foot. Something has to be off for such behaviour,right?
I need to watch some vids and read of coursev,but I know one of you guys can boil it down meanwhile

What Mode and Settings were you running the Pro in ? Could be a ground balance problem. Electrical lines in the area ? What sensitivity were you running. Could be lots of small iron in the area and just a really trashy site. There is no magic setting for coins that make them jump out of the ground and settings are usually adjusted at the site to get best performance. For a quick start try Pro Coin mode sensitivity down 2 bars from max with a good ground balance. Listen for clear repeatable signals and bring sensitivity as high as the site will handle. Just because a site looks clean doesn't mean it's not a trash bin. I detected an old site where the roof was replaced 10 years before and it was littered with hundreds and hundreds of old roofing nails. You really need at least 40 hours on the Pro to start to get to know it's language. Be aware that coin mode will pick up large iron and steel bottle caps and rusty bottle caps can sound good but Pro coin mode will knock much of the trash out. There really are no short cuts learning the PRO. What did you run for a detector before you picked up the AT Pro ?

 

[Hillbilly Prince]

What Mode and Settings were you running the Pro in ? Could be a ground balance problem. Electrical lines in the area ? What sensitivity were you running. Could be lots of small iron in the area and just a really trashy site. There is no magic setting for coins that make them jump out of the ground and settings are usually adjusted at the site to get best performance. For a quick start try Pro Coin mode sensitivity down 2 bars from max with a good ground balance. Listen for clear repeatable signals and bring sensitivity as high as the site will handle. Just because a site looks clean doesn't mean it's not a trash bin. I detected an old site where the roof was replaced 10 years before and it was littered with hundreds and hundreds of old roofing nails. You really need at least 40 hours on the Pro to start to get to know it's language. Be aware that coin mode will pick up large iron and steel bottle caps and rusty bottle caps can sound good but Pro coin mode will knock much of the trash out. There really are no short cuts learning the PRO. What did you run for a detector before you picked up the AT Pro ?

This is my first MD. Got a lot to learn. Thanks for the information! The school was built early fifties, boarded up and may well be trashy. There were electric lines. I had it in coin mode and it did a good job out of the box in my yard. I really need to learn it I know. But I will be going back this week and to another area I am sure will be trashy.
Maybe with homework and setting up a couple of practice areas in the yard I can do better. I have a silver coin or two to use. Your post is what I needed to get me on the right track, I think.Thanks so much!
I know at least one of those kids had to lose a coin or two around there.

 

[Rustynailsandscrews]

This is my first MD. Got a lot to learn. Thanks for the information! The school was built early fifties, boarded up and may well be trashy. There were electric lines. I had it in coin mode and it did a good job out of the box in my yard. I really need to learn it I know. But I will be going back this week and to another area I am sure will be trashy.
Maybe with homework and setting up a couple of practice areas in the yard I can do better. I have a silver coin or two to use. Your post is what I needed to get me on the right track, I think.Thanks so much!
I know at least one of those kids had to lose a coin or two around there.

You'll get it, just takes some time. You picked up a really good first detector. It's an awesome detector once learned! It can be confusing in the beginning but stick with it. Learn the Pro modes and just pretend the standard modes don't exist because Pro modes give better information in the audio signals your hear. Practice pinpointing with your coil a lot because it will save you a lot of excessive digging and time off the knees. Good luck

 

[Hillbilly Prince]

Thanks! Definitely not fond being on my knees. Going to work the Pro mode as you suggested.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Hillbilly_Prince,

That school probably has EMI and trash issues, but may yield some cool finds. With that said, Pro-mode zero, Properly ground balance the machine, drop the sensitivity one/two bars and set iron discrimination on 16 - 21. You could try switching frequencies to eliminate some noise...it may help. I would dig all solid repeatable signals...you really do not know until you dig! The AT Pro is a good machine and does need some in-field-time to become proficient. In time you will learn the how the machine locks (I call it snap & lock and have demonstrated how it works to many people) on a target, but only through hours of practice. Also learn the tone, VID's and depth gauges "lie" so listen to the sound. You can use the VID for a target check; depth gauge for an idea, but do not rely on them.

Good Luck with your new machine,

Doc

 

[Hillbilly Prince]

Thanks! You guys are really helping me out here. I have some good places to hunt and I think I can find some cool stuff once I learn the machine. And there is always the chance of arrow heads in these parts.

 

[Rick Dangerous]

I am new to metal detecting and purchased this machine recently. Thanks for the very helpful thread.

It seems like the AT Pro is a good "mid grade" machine that you can start out with but also grow with for a few years. Will definitely reference this thread again once i get out there a few times.

Anything else people new to the AT Pro should know about the machine to save us from learning the hard way? What are some of it's strengths and weaknesses?

 

[bologna321]

You guys might consider a 5x8 coil if you are hunting in a lot of trashy areas.

 

[holepuncher]

You guys might consider a 5x8 coil if you are hunting in a lot of trashy areas.

Or the nel snake.

 

[Hillbilly Prince]

You guys might consider a 5x8 coil if you are hunting in a lot of trashy areas.

I'll look into that but I believe I was at fault first time at school. Factory reset helped settle it down. The school is overgrown, does not show signs of a party spot. Hope to do better next trip.

 

[bologna321]

Trashy areas are tough.

Hey we could be neighbors, where you at in SW MO?

I live just north of Springfield.

 

[Hillbilly Prince]

Trashy areas are tough.

Hey we could be neighbors, where you at in SW MO?

I live just north of Springfield.

I missed this post. Thanks for pm

 

[pulltabfelix]

could be worse. You could have bought an Equinox 800 for your first machine. Hah!. Love my Nox 800. (Nox 800 users will know what I mean). It replaced the AT Pro I had for three years. Darn good machine the AT Pro. You will learn how to use the AT Pro. You bought a very good machine and not too hard to learn. But you have to learn about ground balance, sensitivity, site selection, coil swing and a bunch of other stuff that is generic to all metal detectors. The AT Pro will do you good if you take the time to learn all the other good stuff about metal detecting. That is part of the fun of this hobby, is the learning and of course the thrill of the hunt. Wait until you dig a really good find. So watch a lot of instructional videos on basic metal detecting and those on the AT Pro.



good luck with the AT Pro, it will all come to you.

 

[Rookster]

So I get this MD and I know I need to use it,get to know it and all.
Of course,I want to try it out and I found a small tool socket over 6 incges deep in dry dirt and rocks and then a lead fish sinker.
Also found some melted lead in area of CW camp as well as bits of barbed wire.
I got permission to md at an abandoned school.
Around the building the AT is going off constantly but
nothing. Was getting too dark so no fiddling.
The thing is I need the quick and dirty settings for coins because I don't believe the ground is carpeted with metal every foot. Something has to be off for such behaviour,right?
I need to watch some vids and read of coursev,but I know one of you guys can boil it down meanwhile

You've gotten so very good advice and this may have been mentioned but I don't use iron audio till I need to to ID a target. It gets a little chatty for me. It's a great feature to ID iron. I just run PRO, 0 disc., no iron audio till I need it. Side note: Some people run 40 disc. and swear by it. I do at times run 27 to 29 disc. It depends on the amount of nails and trash in the site. It's a great machine. Good luck.