Garrett AT Pro vs Teknetics T2 vs Fisher F75? Which one is best

[s_gaitandjiev]

Hi group. I currently own a Garrett AT Pro that i bought 2 years ago second hand for around $430 and its in pretty good condition. Ive noticed that most of the stuff i find is quite shallow- around 4"-6" deep which sounds a bit off to men. If i can remember i only found around 10 deeper signals(8"+) which were hand grenades (empty training ones) and ive never found anything else at that depth. So Imho it doesn't go that deep. Because of that now im thinking of changing the machine. I figured out that the T2 and the F75 are the better and more affordable machines in the mid range. My budget is around $400-700 second hand. The thing is are the other two detectors noticeably better than the AT Pro? Is there a point to change the AT Pro for one of those or i wont see a big difference? Are there any better choices in that price range?

 

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[Coinboy]

Look for an Equinox 600 or 800

 

[ticndig]

I have the t-2 SE, used in all metal I'm confident It will pick up iron the size of your hand grenades at close to 2' I've dug coins over a foot deep. little lead buckshot at 8'' often.

 

[RustyGold]

When I had the AT Pro, it would find deep targets. One of my first deep targets was about 12-14” in the side of the hole.
I did move on from the ATP as it was too nose heavy for me and would wear me out. Until I changed to the smaller coil that is.
Needing a detector that would handle saltwater, I then went through my Excalibur phase, which I loved. Eventually deciding I needed a faster recovery speed after nulling on iron, I went with a few FBS Minelabs (Sovereign GT) which was a great beach detector but couldn’t get wet.
That led me to the Equinox, which I believe is a great machine for my purpose (beach and shallow water hunting).
If you need a good all around, waterproof detector then my vote would be for the Minelab Equinox.
Good luck and Stay Safe!

 

[xr7ator]

Are you manually ground balancing? To run the AT Pro hot, manual ground balance and then run the # down another 10 to 15 digits. If you go to 15, pinpoint will probably no longer work but who cares on that machine as easy to pinpoint if you have used it a long while without the pinpoint mode. I have also noticed that dong this will change mid tone objects to high tone if deep. It doesn't bother me as if it's deep and I'm trying to dig deep items, I dig it all anyway.
Small coins are tough over 6 inches but can be done. My best is a silver dime at 9" and clad dime at about a foot. Keep in mind I knew I was in an area with fill dirt and that the coins were super deep and I dug a iron chirp. A quarter is easy at 10 inches.
I run in pro mode but the deepies will "bong" the same as shallow coins if in standard mode. Many say you can find deeper in standard mode. I run in pro mode and really have a good ear and listen for the faint signals. Maybe try again with it...GOOD LUCK!

 

[cudamark]

Why buy old tech that isn't waterproof? If you can afford the Equinox, that's the way to go.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

If you are detecting beaches or in saltwater the Equinox 600 mentioned above.

I like my F-75 very much (13 years!), but have heard they don't shine on saltwater beaches. Doesn't bother me because I never get to those places.

 

[s_gaitandjiev]

Well i dont plan on using the new machine on the beach so i wont need a waterproof machine. Ill use the AT Pro as the beach machine. I just want something deeper for general use. The Equinox seems like a lower mid range detecor so thats why i wanted a powerful second hand machine like the f75

 

[Rawhide]

I own the AT Pro, F75, Etrac, and Equinox800. Your not going to like this, but would tell you to keep your money and just use the AT Pro. The T2 is deep and great for relics but not so for coins in my area. The F75 is still king in my opinion but overly complicated. Now the Nox and Etrac are even more complicated but all great machines. While the Nox is my goto detector I have seen no improvement over my F75 or Etrac. Etrac is heavy but love all it can do. F75 is capable of many hunts, very light, easy on batterys. I could make a long list of how it compares to the other detectors but will say if I had not bought the others and just kept the F75 my wallet would be much more happy. Since you own the AT Pro, you have a decent machine. Its good on a coin to 10 inches easily and not to offend but it may be the monkey. If relics is your game, find a gently used T2 but doubt any of those were used gently lol. Again, the AT Pro is decent but your area may have different soil so you need a detector that works best for you.