Questions on AT Pro

signal

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Location
Royal Palm Beach, Fl
Detector(s) used
Minelab CTX-3030, Minelab Exalibur II, Garrett AT Pro
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
i just sent mine back to garrett for the same reason it would hit a patch of grass and give me a false reading i read up on it and every one says defect
 

:icon_scratch: Sounds like a trip back to Garrett. Good luck
P.S. That is why I switched to Minelab !
 

Last edited:
Garretts like to false when shaking them around or banging them on things while swinging ....they false in trashy parks too just from too much iron and junk in the ground ..so have fun
 

The coil coil be loose inside the housing.

Sent from my iPhone using TreasureNet
 

yes very similar to descriptions in that thread, although I have not tried that same test, as others have pointed out, floating the coil in the air in a house is not a good test. Basically for me, 1) when I hit things, even with sensitivity tuned down a bit (3 bars tuned down), it falses. 2) when i try to pinpoint I find it goes bananas some time, similar to what happens to this guy when he tries to pinpoint with the AT Pro:



Anyone have that issue with pinpointing?
 

yes very similar to descriptions in that thread, although I have not tried that same test, as others have pointed out, floating the coil in the air in a house is not a good test. Basically for me, 1) when I hit things, even with sensitivity tuned down a bit (3 bars tuned down), it falses. 2) when i try to pinpoint I find it goes bananas some time, similar to what happens to this guy when he tries to pinpoint with the AT Pro:



Anyone have that issue with pinpointing?



This video is correct. My At Pro does the exact same. Not a deep machine. The Id is only good on very shallow targets. Deep targets are chicken scratch. Not much better than an Ace 250 with a DD Coil.....JMO
 

Mine was acting up similar to the first video. One day I was hunting and everything was fine but the very next day it wouldn't keep quiet. I was at a small park that I'd never been to before so I thought maybe there was something in the ground there that was messing with the machine. I got it home and noticed the same problem. All I did was detach the coil from the shaft, take off the coil cover [thinking there may be something that slipped in between the cover and coil] and I wiped everything down real good before putting it back together and it fixed whatever was wrong. I still have no clue exactly what it was but that's what I did to fix it.
 

I would at least call Garrett. Their customer service is OUTSTANDING!
 

Though my AT Pro works fine for the most part and I'm getting some good finds, I am having similar issues. I figured all along that these issues were normal, but this thread now makes me wonder if perhaps I have a defective unit. Here are some observations:

1. When my at pro hits the ground or a fallen branch, etc. during swinging, it falses, giving a deceptive high tone. Similarly, 100% of the time, when I pick up my md after digging a target, it falses (high tone) as I bring the md near me.
2. Sometimes (30-40%) when I pinpoint a target, it either does nothing or, moreso, the high pitch remains when I remove the coil away from the target. The rest of the time it works just fine.
3. I'm getting a lot of jumpy signals. It will hit some targets with solid numbers, but many other signals bounce from under 10 all the way up to 80s. I know that this can indicate a trash signal (and they usually are), but it seems I get way too many jumpy signals. I think the videos above show this flaw exactly as I am experiencing it.

I will try re-attaching the coil plug to make sure it's tight and will re-wrap the wire to ensure it's snug, but I'm still wondering if I have a defective unit and should send it in to be checked. Do these things happen to you? Thanks.
 

Though my AT Pro works fine for the most part and I'm getting some good finds, I am having similar issues. I figured all along that these issues were normal, but this thread now makes me wonder if perhaps I have a defective unit. Here are some observations:

1. When my at pro hits the ground or a fallen branch, etc. during swinging, it falses, giving a deceptive high tone. Similarly, 100% of the time, when I pick up my md after digging a target, it falses (high tone) as I bring the md near me.
2. Sometimes (30-40%) when I pinpoint a target, it either does nothing or, moreso, the high pitch remains when I remove the coil away from the target. The rest of the time it works just fine.
3. I'm getting a lot of jumpy signals. It will hit some targets with solid numbers, but many other signals bounce from under 10 all the way up to 80s. I know that this can indicate a trash signal (and they usually are), but it seems I get way too many jumpy signals. I think the videos above show this flaw exactly as I am experiencing it.

I will try re-attaching the coil plug to make sure it's tight and will re-wrap the wire to ensure it's snug, but I'm still wondering if I have a defective unit and should send it in to be checked. Do these things happen to you? Thanks.


Very well worded and excellent description...... My At Pro functions exactly like yours. The only thing that i will add is that I started digging all the scratchy signals and some of them were older coins. I believe that the machines are functioning properly just very limited capabilities when it comes to depth 4-5" tops on a quarter then it becomes very jumpy scratchy etc. Also the depth ID always says it's 1/1.5" deeper than my friends whites XLT in side by side field tests.
 

Thanks a lot for the insight. Makes me feel like my machine is somewhat normal. Regarding the depth factor you cite, I test-buried a large copper (a copper I found ironically with my former beginner md) 8 inches down in my backyard and the AT Pro read it as 80-81 consistently, so that gave me hope that I hadn't missed any older coins and that the AT Pro can hit deeper targets. However, based on your feedback, I'll dig a lot more of those jumpy signals.
 

I have an AT Gold which is similar to the AT Pro. Working inside is definitely not a good test. I also have a Minelab Sovereign. In the two weeks I have owned it the AT Gold has found many targets and some deep silver that I missed with the Sov. The target seperation is excellent and the recovery speed is in a whole 'nother dimension. I recommend you ground balance in the All Metal mode because the iron discrimination can hide iron under the coil and the ground balance will be way off if you balance over iron. And ground balance very often. I am familiar with the scratchy signals in the Disc mode. Typically these are foil if you check the target ID. If not foil then switch to All Metal and whatever it is will give a clean signal.
 

Garretts like to false when shaking them around or banging them on things while swinging ....they false in trashy parks too just from too much iron and junk in the ground ..so have fun

That's why nobody shakes a tector around or bangs them while swinging. Any machine falses with too much iron and junk and most false from banging and shaking. The atpro the OP asks about is a bad unit. Its a warranty job. It happens. When he gets the fixed unit back, he will enjoy one of the most stable machines around, both in and out of the iron trash sites. He can even bang it and shake it, it wont make a sound. Unless he is banging it or shaking it over a metal target.
 

The video comparison proves that the atpro was not set up as well for nickels as the Etrac. But I would have dug that nickel with my pro, I have a few buffs and a v nickel with the pro, but I was not cherry pickin. The video does nothing to address the post, and proves that the guy shooting the vid does not know how to pinpoint with the atpro. It also proves that the atpro is less prone to be suckered by a rotten zincoln. The Etrac is a way better machine than the pro so a vid comparison of the two is borderline sillyness. So be it. By the way, keep your ears on the sounds and your eyes off the silly numbers if you want to kick your tectin mojo up about ten notches. The op's machine is faulty. He needs to get it fixed. End of story. No, really.
 

I have an AT Gold which is similar to the AT Pro. Working inside is definitely not a good test. I also have a Minelab Sovereign. In the two weeks I have owned it the AT Gold has found many targets and some deep silver that I missed with the Sov. The target seperation is excellent and the recovery speed is in a whole 'nother dimension. I recommend you ground balance in the All Metal mode because the iron discrimination can hide iron under the coil and the ground balance will be way off if you balance over iron. And ground balance very often. I am familiar with the scratchy signals in the Disc mode. Typically these are foil if you check the target ID. If not foil then switch to All Metal and whatever it is will give a clean signal.


Thanks for the tips with ground balance. Very useful info.
 

The video comparison proves that the atpro was not set up as well for nickels as the Etrac. But I would have dug that nickel with my pro, I have a few buffs and a v nickel with the pro, but I was not cherry pickin. The video does nothing to address the post, and proves that the guy shooting the vid does not know how to pinpoint with the atpro. It also proves that the atpro is less prone to be suckered by a rotten zincoln. The Etrac is a way better machine than the pro so a vid comparison of the two is borderline sillyness. So be it. By the way, keep your ears on the sounds and your eyes off the silly numbers if you want to kick your tectin mojo up about ten notches. The op's machine is faulty. He needs to get it fixed. End of story. No, really.

The Op's machine is definitely defective.
 

some of the earlier at pro's would false alot thats why they added the cam locks and updated the machine if yours is older then it might need to be updated if it is then something else is wrong and i would send it in dont be afraid to use that two year warranty garrets customer service is great
 

By cam locks do you mean on the detector head? I tighten mine as best I can but it won't stay put, I have to constantly adjust it. I don't think my adjustment/swivel has teeth/is locking. If they made that change that would be a huge improvement. I bought the unit less than a year ago from kellyco, I am surprised to hear I may have an older one, I guess there is no way to check with serial #?
 

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