Garrett AT Pro upgrades

[Eazy D]

I'm new to detecting and this group. I find this place to be priceless with the amount of knowledge.

I started in late February with a Garrett Ace 400. It's served be well getting started. The problem is that it hates EMI. My brother got me into the hobby and uses an AT Pro. I seemed to be coming up short with depth using the 400 so I took the plunge and got one a couple of weeks ago. My finds have doubled. BUT... We have a couple old properties that have been backfilled. Again depth comes into play. While I'm a novice in Pro mode I'm learning it. But after doing some research I felt a larger coil than the stock POSSIBLY could help. I didn't want to go crazy big so I ordered a Nell Storm 13X14" coil. My next move will be a set of gray ghost headphones.

Any opinions on my choice and what has worked well for you? Again I know that I'm 100 of hours away from really learning Pro Mode but I just want to Up my odds I did manage my first silver this past week (1957 dime) and my first 2 wheat pennies (1945-48). Thanks for your input and I'm totally hooked on the hobby.

 

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[John-Edmonton]

You seem to be doing everything right! You purchased an ACE 400, learned it well, then moved up to the AT Pro. You then purchased the NEL 13 x 14 inch coil. So......you have great depth capabilities, great separation capabilities and a water machine giving you a good advantage to get both deep coins/relics, water hunts and nice sports field hunts. Just keep plugging away! (pun intended).....Remember, a large coil will lose depth in high mineralized soil, and be not very practical in areas littered with junk. However, the smaller coils will be a better choice for these areas. Use/Choose your coils wisely for your hunts, and you will do very well. Sometimes, due to EMO, metal detectors just can't function very well. This is normal and a problem encountered with all hunters.

You are well on your way for a great year! Good luck.

 

[Eazy D]

Thanks John. The encouragement is greatly appreciated. My next purchase will probably be the Gray Ghost Amphibian headphones. From what I've read and seen video they work great for hearing ghost tones that other headphones miss. If you or anyone has input on that subject I'm open to hearing it. While I'm not thrilled paying $150, I HEAR that you can hear tones 2-3"s deeper. It's going to be a real learning experience this summer but I'm committed learning my AT Pro and getting the most out of it. I may miss some targets until I learn it well but I absolutely love this hobby. Thanks again John for the positive words. They give a new guy like me even more motivation to keep swinging it.

 

[John-Edmonton]

I have been using the Grey Ghost headsets for many years. They work well. The new Garrett MS-2 headsets are real good too and cost a little less, but not water proof.

 

[Mo Diggins]

Eazy D, if you don't mind, drop back by this thread and let us know how you like the NEL Storm on the AT Pro. I read EMI can sometimes be a problem using larger coils.

I like the MS-2 headphones that came with the AT Pro and I bought Garrett's blue submersible headphones (on sale at Cabelas) for kayak trips. There's no volume control on the latter and they're a bit loud, but not annoyingly so.

 

[Patriot 1776]

I like the Nel Tornado or Storm
It does take a little time to get use to the weight, my first time using both of them, I notice I was only able to get a couple hrs of use.
After a few weeks I am able to hunt for a good 6 hrs.
You will find there is a greater dept penetration vs. the stock coil
Happy Treasure Hunting
dennis

 

[lairmo]

I was going to post almost this same question before I found this thread.
Can anyone chime in about which nel coil would be the best for mainly coin shooting with a small amount of relic hunting now and then?
thanks in advance. Lairmo

 

[Eazy D]

I will Mo. I'm hoping to test it out in the next week. I will be on vacation

 

[MackDog]

I strongly recommend both the Nel Storm and Grey Ghosts. The At Pro is made to be used in the Pro mode run max sensitivity and 32 iron. The Grey Ghost bring out the tones the way they are supposed to sound. The Storm goes deep and covers more area. I use my Storm in high trash areas also. You have to listen to the tones, it will read the center most target. If the weight bothers you get a detector buddy sling it's worth it for long hours of hunting. Good luck