Is the AT Pro Junk?

[Metal Monkey]

Last night, I buried 10 objects in my yard. Penny, dime, penny with nails, nickle with aluminum can, ect. Today, my buddy and I took our AT pro's out to try to learn the pro mode in my yard. Lets just say that the machines, did not hardly pick up anything, in both settings. We even used 2 different size coils. We had the hole open, to where you could see the dime, passed the coil over, and nothing. I'd say the coins were about 4-6" deep, so there should be no reason they were not detected. Even used all 4 frequencies. So does this mean these machines aren't as good as they claim to be?

 

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[relic nut]

You've got to be doing something wrong. Make sure you have tuned the machine. ( ground balance, sensitivity ) make sure all your connections are tight. I have had great luck with mine. Love it. Have found coins at 6 inches and bullets at 9+. Read your manual, you have a great machine.

 

[Metal Monkey]

That's the thing. We both did all of that, and we got almost the same results. I don't understand how 2 different machines can be doing this.

 

[relic nut]

Maybe it's because you just buried them. Someone with more knowledge will chime in. I have a test garden but it had been there over a year when I got my atp. I'll be glad to hear what others have to say

 

[HighPlainsHunter]

Most detectors don't work very well with freshly buried targets. Usually takes several years for a test garden to sound off like a natural drop would. You can be sure that that AT series instruments from Garrett will perform well, it just takes some time to learn their language as with any detector.

Good luck with your future hunting. I'm sure things will improve over time, usually around 100 hours, or so...

 

[John-Edmonton]

Now if you had buried your targets several years ago, your results would be much better. Is the AT Pro Junk? Of course not, nor are other detectors. With the newly targets buried, expect the laws of chemistry and physics working against you. You will get similar results using a lot of different brands/makes of metal detectors.

 

[swagman]

Time in the ground usually only changes the VDI reading and possibly tone, at 4 to 6 inches there is no reason why they would not hit on them. You did not say if they worked on the coins on the ground, the stock coil will go 6 to 10 with no trouble. Also make sure you ground balance and head phones help (I hate using the speaker)

Make sure the battery's are good because that will effect sensitivity and of cause connections. I use PRO mode and nothing else half the time, I don't notch out or discrim except when I get bored and try to cherry pick certain type of objects just for kicks.

Are they used detectors or new? are you getting tones but hardly nothing at 4 to 6 inches or deeper? more info on how you using them and what settings may help in getting more performance from your machines. The ATP is a good all round detector and if you are not getting tones at depth then something is wrong.

Good luck and keep us posted and hopefully we can get to the bottom of this little dilemma.

 

[Metal Monkey]

Our main goal was to learn the pro method. I'm afraid to learn pro on an actual site. I don't want to miss any targets, but if you think it's the freshly planted coins causing the issue, then I will go with that. It was just odd how a open hole would not pick up the coin, but it picked up the coin when we laid it on top of the ground.

 

[HighPlainsHunter]

You might try covering the coins, and tamping it down. Then try the test again. Depending on the amount of mineralization, that could affect the outcome with the open hole...

 

[John-Edmonton]

You might try covering the coins, and tamping it down. Then try the test again. Depending on the amount of mineralization, that could affect the outcome with the open hole...

And it doesn't help having a coin in an open hole, surrounded by mineralized dirt. Covering the hole allows the ground balancing feature to work properly, on the matrix, as it should. Excellent point!

 

[bigfoot1]

I hope you didnt get those atps from alibabba.kidding.pro mode should have no problem hitting thosa at 6"...likely there is crap in your coil covers or you ground balanced over metal.

 

[choppadude]

Please share your settings and start up routine. May help in trying to solve this issue.

 

[OWK]

You either have the sensitivity turned way down, or the disc turned way up.

 

[Sandman]

No the AT Pro is not junk. They suck at a saltwater beach in the wet sand, but all single freq detectors will do that. Listen to John-Edmonton and Bigfoot. Where did you buy the detectors? Are they Chinese knock offs?

 

[Metal Monkey]

We both purchased from reputable sources. He even bought his from a dealer in Gettysburg PA. We had holes both open and filled with dirt. Had sensitivity both high and low. Got more of the one way hits than the two hits from sweeping side to side. As for start up, I turn on, factory reset, ground balance, move to standard coin setting, iron discr to 40. Sensitivity to 2 bars below the highest point.

 

[Mr.T]

Could there be electrical interference- dog fence, cables etc?

Turn off one of the machines- were they too close? Interested to see how you get it sorted.

 

[Metal Monkey]

We were at least 20-40 feet apart sometimes. I even had mine off at one point, and we had different frequencies. I just measured that we were about 100ft from power lines also.

 

[CaballoDeOro]

None of this is really adding up for me. If you were making these complaints about just one AT Pro, I'd say "send it back to Garrett to be checked" but with two ATs acting the same way, it's harder to make that call. I suppose it is possible you have two defective units, but that seems unlikely. It seems that every suggestion someone comes up with, you have an answer ready that indicates there is something inherently wrong with all AT Pros. Put it this way: Do you think that if AT Pros were as bad as you seem to think, they would have sold as many as they have? This forum would be nothing but complaints about being ripped off by Garrett. My experience with the AT Pro is that it is a very capable machine, especially for the price, but it does take time to learn it fully.

Here's my only suggestion, which may or may not help: Watch some YouTube videos of people hunting trashy sites using the AT Pro in Pro Zero Mode. Listen to the AT being typically chatty in trashy ground. Then compare that to what you are experiencing. I'd say that if your experience is very different, send the detectors back to Garrett for a health check. If it's similar to what you see in the videos, it's most likely user error (in that you just haven't learned the machine well enough). If you want to use an AT in Pro Zero (which you should: it's where it shines) on trashy sites, you have to develop an ear for solid, repeatable signals.

 

[choppadude]

I have owned 5 AT Pros so far and all have worked very well. I have found my share of barber dimes at the 8" mark and even deeper with the NEL Tornado coil. I would try to start from scratch, new location, new holes, different targets. Fresh batteries, GB over verified clean ground. Try using no discrimination at first and max sensitivity and see if you get a response for the targets. If so, Slowly increase discrim while only lowering the sensitivity to stabilize the machine.

 

[dirtscratcher]

This is why I don't trust nail board or air test. You can't duplicate long buried targets. Go hunting and learn by digging old naturally buried targets for that is what you're after anyway. Best way to learn is to dig.