AT Pro modes (std coin vs pro zero)

[maxxkatt]

I have been using the AT pro for about 1 1/2 years now. Love the machine. But having problems with locating deep coins and or locating silver coins.
Have been recently hunting a 1900 home site about 1 acre and found civil war bullet, 1912 small oval Georgia metal dashboard license tag.

Plus I hunt an old park that is not hunted that often that I know of. Still no silver coins or old coins other than one wheat. I feel there ought to be some older and silver coins but I am just not skilled at finding deeper coins. I find lots of clad in the park.

I mostly hunt in the pro zero mode with sensitivity 1-2 bars down and iron discrim at about 35 to 40 range.

question one: read an old 2012 post that a guy had a Garrett engineer tell him that you should hunt in the std ground balance setting of 80 if there are no mineralization problems since the machine was optimized or designed for a GB of 80. Anyone know if this is true or makes any sense?

Others say you should ground balance the AT Pro and hunt 2-3 numbers lower.

From reading forums and watching youtube videos I have learned that pro mode means proportional audio depending on depth of target and the std mode will give you the same volume for a coin no matter what the depth.

so will the std coin mode sound off with the bell chime on a deep coin like a deep faint coin in the pro mode? If that is the case I would probably hunt in the coin mode and then when I received a coin bell tone, switch to the pro mode to gain more info on the depth of the coin.Or does the pro zero mode give you more depth ability? So the next question is this a true assumption about the depth ability the same in the pro zero mode as the std coin mode?

I guess the last question is some specific advice about settings and techniques for finding deep coins, eg old and silver coins with the AT Pro. Also I know you cannot find old coins and silver if they are not there. But I have more than enough old home sites to hunt that I feel have not been hunted.

thanks for any help. Still have a lot to learn about this hobby which is part of the fun and challenge.

 

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[Beezly]

I would suggest getting your hands on some silver coins, buy some cheap nasty ones from a coin dealer if you have to, and bury them in a test garden. Then you can be sure what it should sound like in your local soil.

 

[maxxkatt]

good idea

I would suggest getting your hands on some silver coins, buy some cheap nasty ones from a coin dealer if you have to, and bury them in a test garden. Then you can be sure what it should sound like in your local soil.

That is a good idea. I wonder how long it takes for the halo effect to become active?

 

[68kaiser]

In have one day with the at pro. Dig deep signals the are small when pinpointing even if the numbers drift some. Just dig and let the shovel discriminate the rest. After that is all about location location location. A lot of silver is not deep. I use pro zero for the recovery around iron. So for its got me a silver quarter.

 

[BeenThere DugThat]

I found 5 silver coins so far since I bought my ATP in December. I don't think any of them were more than 4 inches deep but I've dug some trash targets at 6+ inches so far. I always use Pro Zero Mode, max sensitivity with NEL Sharpshooter coil. I think you're just having bad luck, you'll get silver eventually.

 

[Catanza]

I find when I take my time and swing slow in pro zero 0 dis and max sens works the best for me . Also I just auto gb but I'm new to the hobby

 

[gunsil]

If you are not finding silver coins it is simply because you aren't hunting where any are. Most coins in undisturbed ground (not landscaped, filled in, or river silted) will be found in the top six inches and your ATP will find them in any mode. You don't say where you're from but in many areas any public place like schools, churches, and parks have been hunted for over forty years and little silver will be left behind. There are virtually no schools or parks in my county that haven't been hit hard for years. Put your coil over a silver coin in the top eight inches of soil and your ATP will find it, your use of Pro Zero is the best way to utilize your machine, you just need patience and you need to find older sites that haven't been detected, you will find silver.

 

[maxxkatt]

Well I am not so sure about bad luck. I think you make your luck by picking good sites and hunting them. I have lots of old home sites from the 50's and 60's in north atlanta where the houses have been torn down and the lots are waiting to be sold for the modern town home construction. Lots of trash from the homes being torn down. I think it is just a matter of putting in more time. I admit I don't dig every target. If I get a coin signal in the pro zero mode, but if it is a large target I don't dig it. Yeah, maybe a coin hiding under the tin can but don't have time to dig every signal. Oh, I have to use headphones since most sites are near the new four lane road with constant traffic noises.

 

[maxxkatt]

well you never know, I saw a youtube video of a young guy who seemed very new to the hobby and found a jar of over 400 silver coins. It looked like the video was real.

 

[maxxkatt]

the old homes on the home sites are from 40's and 50's and have been recently demolished in last 5 years and lots are now empty. I can tell by the flowers especially the groups of daffodils that are a popular flower in the south planted around homes and trees that they have not moved any dirt around since these lots are just for sale and are not currently being redeveloped.