What is the Best Setting for Garrett AT Gold

[usinadi]

I just purchased a Garrett AT Gold and it should be delivered in a week but I need to know what is the best setting to use overall. I am going to be mostly hunting coins in Northeast Oklahoma and cannot wait to go back to old sites that I had used the Garrett Ace 350! I had found a chart with where everything should ring up for the AT Pro butI don't know if it would be the same on the AT Gold. Thanks for any information

 

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[Tejaas]

I like to set my AT Pro and Gold with the coil about 1" above the ground and swing it left and right, haha!

The VDI's are pretty spot on between the Pro & Gold.


~Tejaas~

 

[usinadi]

Lol... So the target IDs are the same

 

[digging440yrs]

Target id numbers the same as vdi numbers---

 

[usinadi]

Thanks! What is the best overall setting for coins

 

[Tejaas]

Thanks! What is the best overall setting for coins

Honestly man, no one can really answer that for you... And the AT Gold actually kinda helps you by limiting the choices down to 3 total modes as opposed to the Pro's 3 standard and 3 pro modes.

I run my AT Gold exactly like i run my Pro... I rarely even notch out anything on the AT Pro besides what the discrimination eliminates on the low end of the scale... And the Gold gives you 4 more VDI pegs for good measure.

I run my machine in All Metal with iron audio on ALWAYS.... Sensitivity set 1 notch below max... Allow the different operating freq that the AT Gold utilizes to work for you.

Iron discrimination is 100% personal taste to the specific site after ground balancing over a clean patch... I like to hear it ALL. If there's too much going on under the coil, momentarily flip off iron audio and swing back over it. Still to much going on? Adjust/increase/max out the discrimination and check it again.

"Aim Small, Miss Small" - running the AT Gold (or any other machine) as wide open as you can inevitably means less missed targets.

And lastly, i wouldn't sweat dialing it in with a machinists' precision too much at first because just upgrading from an ACE to an AT, you will be afforded so much more information right out of the box. Take that prepackaged advantage and figure out how that -particular- site needs the machine manipulated to meet your soil/iron/trash conditions and hunting style.

I hope this was some help, and happy hunting!



~Tejaas~

 

[usinadi]

Thanks so munch Tejaas! That will help me a lot! I just want to really learn this detector and i don't want notch out anything because i could miss good targets as well. I am really excited about using the 5 X 8 coil as well because I have a few old house places that were trashy that i want to go back to recheck. The ACE 350 had a hard time with the standard coil there. Thanks again!

 

[Tejaas]

Thanks so munch Tejaas! That will help me a lot! I just want to really learn this detector and i don't want notch out anything because i could miss good targets as well. I am really excited about using the 5 X 8 coil as well because I have a few old house places that were trashy that i want to go back to recheck. The ACE 350 had a hard time with the standard coil there. Thanks again!

Thats another huge improvement, good call.

I started with an ACE 350 with the DD coil as well... After 2 months or so, i upgraded to a PRO with the stock 11" coil, and immediately ordered a 5x8" to round out the package. You will not believe the balance improvement it makes - the 5x8" is awesome! When i added my AT GOLD a few months after that, it was a seamless transition.

I think I've put the 11" coil back on my PRO (maybe?) twice.... It's great too, and i wouldn't get rid of it - but your probably gonna get really attached to the 5x8".

If your GOLD didn't/doesn't come with it, spend a few extra bucks and grab yourself a 5x8" coil cover (~$10). If you have either girly hands or bear paws, maybe get on amazon or ebay and find yourself a snazzy set of rubber bicycle grips to upgrade the foam Garrett one the machine comes with (they run about 3-6 bucks a pair) You'll want 7/8" inner diameter, they are really easy to find!

If you detect early mornings/evenings/nights search here on TNET for some of the AT PRO/GOLD flashlight ideas... Another cheap mod that may be worth it to you and it helps tailor your machine to your particular hunting style and taste.

There is also a user here on TNET who makes a straight shaft for The Garrett AT PRO/GOLD as well, his reviews seem to be awesome and his price is about half of that other company that offers a similar product (their name rhymes with "Sanderson", haha.)

Lastly, headphones...
Can't help ya there... I don't know, i've never used headphones/earbuds before with any detector - i always hunt alone and rural so i never had to worry about being "THAT GUY" everyone talks about on here... Ticking everyone off with his machine chattering away when hunting with others. I was a helicopter crew chief for 10 years, so i think I was just kinda sick of headsets from the get go... I also have a bit of hearing loss from that line of work, so all that coupled with my absolute hatred of having my ambient perception limited has tripled the reason i haven't tinkered with trying out headphones.

I've been reading up on them for a while though, and from what i understand the Gray Ghost Amphibians are well worth the money.

HH!






~Tejaas~

 

[usinadi]

I definitely ordered the coil cover along with my AT Gold order...The coil cover are a godsend with all the rocks in my area! What area is the bicylce grips for? I bought me a good portable headlight for hunting in the dark and I wished that the AT's did come with a backlight so ill look up the light mods as well. I have some headphones that came with my ACE 350 but because I really mostly hunt in a very rural areas, I don't use mine much. I might get the amphibian ones later if I decide to hunt the creeks a little deeper that are by my house. My Dad used to hunt with a Whites in the 1980's and it was about $600 then and he found a lot of items. I had always went with him but never really metal detected with my own until March of last year and I instantly fell in love with it. I bought the ACE 350 with great expectations but am still kind of lukewarm to it. I am not trashing it and I know that it takes time to learn a detector but i kept feeling that i wanted a machine that had a little more to offer. I have had some exciting finds with it so it isn't a bad machine and now that i have it and got a free bounty hunter from keeleyco to go with my AT Gold, my son and daughter that are interested can hunt with me. I found my 2nd silver (1947 Rosie), my 1st Buffalo Nickel (1937), and my 1st Indian head penny (1906) last week so the ACE 350 does have a place in my heart...lol but cannot wait to get the AT Gold! I really got excited when you told me that you came up from an ACE 350 and said that there would so much more information using the AT! Thanks again!!!