AT Pro or AT Gold

[dabskie]

Stuck between these two models, I have been doing gold prospecting in Pa. for years,,but not really interested in using it to find gold nuggets, finding gold nuggets in pa is pretty much out of the question,,not impossible, but not likely,,,,all fine flour gold. I want to use it to find coins, rings, ect,,,for those of you who are more experienced, which would be better picking up gold jewelry, I realize your picking up the alloy in the ring or whatever, Which one would has the better features for overall dectecting, Thanks,

 

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[John-Edmonton]

Both are fine detectors for finding a variety of targets. The AT Gold has an advantage over the AT Pro, as it has a true all metal mode so it can pick up those tiny nuggets. The AT Pro doesn't have that true all metal mode option, however, unlike the AT Gold, it can be programmed to work in salt water. The AT Pro has superior audio for discrimination toward targets. It also has notching abilities of which the AT Gold does not. Both detectors share the same coils. Either machine will serve you well for coin/jewelry /relic hunting.

Where I live, we only have flour gold also. I have used my AT Pro to help find locations where the concentrations of flour gold are higher. Please see the video below:

 

[dabskie]

Thanks for the repy John, enjoyed the video, never thought of using a metal detector to locate the most likely areas in a stream to get my material. Find out where the concentration of black sand settles , gold settles in the same areas,,,,Still don't know which one I want to get.

 

[Irishgoldhound]

If your ever going to be using it in salt water or wet salt sand, then I'd opt for the At Pro. If you are concentrating on more smaller targets then I'd opt for the At Gold. As John said, both are great, and are quite similar except for the gold being more sensitive to very small targets and a true all metal mode, but lacks the salt water capabilities of the AT Pro. Both will find the gold jewelry and coins pretty much the same.

 

[dabskie]

Will not be using it in salt water,,,If the AT Gold is more sensitive to smaller targets,,,would the higher kHz be able to pick up deeper targets than the Pro as well.

 

[Irishgoldhound]

AT gold is a tad deeper than The AT pro.

 

[cruiserkev]

Go for the gold! Glad I did. Love that 5x8 DD coil. ☺

 

[MercerDigger]

I just bought the AT Gold about 2 weeks ago and I wouldn't give it up for anything else. The True All Metal Mode is a beast at finding them deep targets. When I find a iffy target with AMM I can switch to disc 1 and 2 to ID it better + there is also Iron Audio in AMM. But I will also be picking up a AT Pro for the beach vacations that I often take. Either way you go you can't go wrong.

 

[Patriot 1776]

Stuck between these two models, I have been doing gold prospecting in Pa. for years,,but not really interested in using it to find gold nuggets, finding gold nuggets in pa is pretty much out of the question,,not impossible, but not likely,,,,all fine flour gold. I want to use it to find coins, rings, ect,,,for those of you who are more experienced, which would be better picking up gold jewelry, I realize your picking up the alloy in the ring or whatever, Which one would has the better features for overall dectecting, Thanks,

The Detecting your going to be doing I would go with the AT-Gold
any questions
dennis

 

[Kodiak43351]

I have both and I take the gold almost every time I go out. I don't have any salt water near me and the true all metal mode and threshold are great in farm fields. In the trash I switch to disc 1 and pick through the trash. Both are great detectors and have found plenty with the pro. I don't have any need to notch as I dig for relics. Good luck on your choice.

 

[DiggerinVA]

I really like both machines and use both....for Relic hunting and really old sites I use the Gold. For newer parks, yards and beach(dry sand) I use the pro. The true all-metal mode of the Gold is the game changer and makes it one of the deeper machines out there. It also handles bad ground as good as any machine I have used.

 

[Unclebuck257]

I had the same choice to make a while back that you're looking at. I chose the AT Gold because I doubt I'll ever take it near salt water and barring that, the Gold is the better machine of the two to me. In fresh water, there is no difference and the Gold works just fine. That 5 X 8 DD coil that comes stock with the Gold is great too. Of course, you can buy it extra for the AT Pro if you go that route. I hunt coins and jewelry

 

[dabskie]

Thanks for all the replies and advice,,,made my choice,,,I got the AT Gold,,,,I only have it for a few days now,,been learning how it works,,,since I am new at this,,,I had it out in the yard today,,,In the house I passed different things under the coil to get the readings,,,ect ect,,,but out in the yard today the numbers where jumping around , I was only out for about 10 minutes trying the ground balance, and made a couple of passes,,,the numbers were jumping around a lot , is that normal,,,just in one area I was getting 20's and 80's back and forth with a few 40's in there. Was I doing something wrong. didn't dig anything,,,ground is frozen solid. I did pinpoint the 82,,and it held steady. ?

 

[Irishgoldhound]

Totally normal for the numbers to jump around. It's reading everything that's in the ground that you swing the coil over. It has to process and display back to the screen each target so swinging slower in multiple target areas is better and will make for easier ID'ing. Once you get better at isolating and recovering targets. You won't need to rely on the visual display. Listen for good crisp, repeatable targets that don't jump around all over. Once you get the feel of it then you can start digging more complex signals that could be good targets, like gold and silver chains and bracelets that tend to jump around. Basically once you have a couple hindered hrs on your AT pro, you'll know what could be treasure and what is likely trash. Good luck and all the best!

 

[cruiserkev]

Totally normal for the numbers to jump around. It's reading everything that's in the ground that you swing the coil over. It has to process and display back to the screen each target so swinging slower in multiple target areas is better and will make for easier ID'ing. Once you get better at isolating and recovering targets. You won't need to rely on the visual display. Listen for good crisp, repeatable targets that don't jump around all over. Once you get the feel of it then you can start digging more complex signals that could be good targets, like gold and silver chains and bracelets that tend to jump around. Basically once you have a couple hindered hrs on your AT pro, you'll know what could be treasure and what is likely trash. Good luck and all the best!

Good advice here! ☺

Only things I can add is to ground balance often as soil conditions change quickly and affect the signal. Dig those jumpy signals, they are not always junk and will surprise you. I have found quite a bit of jewelry with mine and many good pieces gave off jumpy signals initially. Coins and rings usually have solid signals and do not jump around much. Practice with a few different coins and jewelry pieces before your first real hunt to familiarize yourself with the tones different metals make.

I have had my best luck using setting 1, iron disc at 35 and sensitivity at one notch below max. I dig mostly everything that gives off a clear repeatable signal. For the faint or scratchy signals, I turn on iron audio for a little bit to determine if it's worth digging. This method has worked well for me in the year I have had the machine. Best of luck with the Gold! ☺

 

[Pull tab mcfoilson]

@dabskie

You might want to try lowering your sensitivity and ground balancing.

 

[dabskie]

Thanks Irish and Cruiser, one question, if you swing the coil over an area that has no targets in the ground and you are not getting any clear tones will numbers still show up and jump around or will you have a blank Target ID,,,hardly any mineralization here,know that from prospecting. New at this so bear with me.

 

[cruiserkev]

Usually when I find a spot where there are no targets I use that as an excuse to ground balance. When there is nothing in the ground under your coil there should be no signal and the VDI will remain blank. That said these machines are very sensitive and sometimes very small or rusty pieces of trash will give you a VDI number but won't make the machine beep. Also I have found the AT Gold is very sensitive to EMF interference. If you are detecting around power lines and getting erratic signals, turn down the sensitivity a couple of notches. You won't lose much depth and the signals will be clearer. Good luck!

 

[dabskie]

Thanks Cruiser and everyone else, I pick things up pretty quick,,just needed a little help getting started,,if I can't find what I need in the book or instruction video ,,I have to ask,,, Thanks again

 

[Irishgoldhound]

If you get a lot of EMI like Cruiser said, also try frequency change with ground balance. Also don't forget to factory reset every time you change coils.