AT Max , my take on reading experienced hunters posts

[Dancer]

Never had one in my hand. Seems at least 80% of posts negative. Here's my take. They didn't design the Max, it's coils& head phones to function this way. Now if you're machine is radiating all over the place, you're running around on 1-2 bars, pulling.your hair.out well something is Wrong. Look it ain't gonna get fixed at home. It's under warranty, pack it up & send back. Garrett will most probably make it right. If you got to listen to a bunch of falsing, vid all out of whack, hunting in all metal, may as well.have bought a Pulse Induction. One wise member posted he sent his back , told em......"Don't send it back till it's right."!
Just saying.

 

[JimmyCT]

Well, I have been dealing with a kitten (AT Pro) as it purrs like a dream. Now I thought I bought another kitten (Pro) as it looks like one on the outside. On the inside this one is a lion (Max). I believe a lot of us have been fooled (not intentionally) and were looking / expecting Pro performance and nuances that we are all so use to. Its not like that with the Max. I will definitely be the first to admit it. Now I have to learn how to tame the AT Max "lion" and learn all its quirks and inner workings and understand how to "control it" in the field. The sensitivity is definitely one part I need to throttle back on. I am so use to cranking the Pro near max sensitivity and with great stability. Unless I am on very clean ground, its not happening at or near full throttle with the Max. Dancer, You may be correct: there may be some bad stock coils out there. Now I need to strap on the stock coil and see if I notice the machine acting like a wackadoodle. Hopefully I can do that this weekend.

 

[John-Edmonton]

The MAX is a very powerful detector, with much more gain then the other 2 ATs. You have to learn how to manage that extra power. Run it wide open with the stock coil and you will finds many sites which require you to turn down the sensitivity. Sensitivity is not a depth control. It allows you to prevent the coil from reading only the heavy mineralization in the soil, which can over-ride targets in the same matrix.

 

[Dancer]

The MAX is a very powerful detector, with much more gain then the other 2 ATs. You have to learn how to manage that extra power. Run it wide open with the stock coil and you will finds many sites which require you to turn down the sensitivity. Sensitivity is not a depth control. It allows you to prevent the coil from reading only the heavy mineralization in the soil, which can over-ride targets in the same matrix.

I buy all that John, but where in North America is this plot of ground the Max can run wide open? It's like all of a sudden everyone has bad (hot) ground. Maybe it should have came with only 3 bars. Not being critical, but disappointed.

 

[John-Edmonton]

I can run it 7/8 bars with the 9 x 12 concentric coil. Put on a smaller coil and I can run it wide open no problem..

 

[Dancer]

I can run it 7/8 bars with the 9 x 12 concentric coil. Put on a smaller coil and I can run it wide open no problem..

Yeah by your posting's , seems you haven't had hardly any trouble. So you think you got a good machine and the learning curve might be a little steep? Or maybe there are some funny ones out there? I myself was hoping to get another inch or so than the Pro than, blast through some beach sand with the Max. I'm gonna hold my cards for a while.

 

[Buddy_TX]

I have both the Max and Pro..... They are not any way close to each other. But the Gold and Max are like (Gold) little brother (Max) Big Brother. more on the tune The max is a gold on steroids.
sounds are more like the Gold but the Max is still a beast on coins IF you learn it and its SOUNDS.

 

[GO VA]

I read a lot and post very little here unless I think I can help in some way. I currently own two detectors the AT Pro and F-75 and will defiantly be buying the MAX but decided to wait for a few months to give Garrett time to get the bugs worked out of it if there are any. Here are my thoughts and that is that a lot of people posting haven't had a very sensitive machine in there hands that has quick response and recovery time like the 75 and want the max to act more like the PRO but that is not how it has worked for me. The 75 will drive a sane man crazy when you try to max it out in areas with a lot of targets because it can give a reading on most if not all of them and will give you the correct reading, both in VID and sound that it sees which is pretty overwhelming to a lot of us so you will learn pretty quick that turning it wide open will not work in most areas. Now to the Pro, I use it in these same areas and can turn it up to one bar below being maxed out and get pretty much the same results I get with the 75 sensitivity set at 45 on a 100 scale and stable. It's sorta like horsepower in a car, you don't always need it but is great to have when you do, you just have to learn how to manage it. So before kicking the dog off the parch calm down the settings and see if the MAX equals or even betters the PRO in performance in a known area and then you will understand you have way more options in other places that allow you to turn it up. Just my thoughts here and will reply to this thread in December which is when I intend to be purchasing the AT MAX.

Gary O in Va.

 

[Buddy_TX]

You have hit the nail on the head. You just found a nice way of saying..Slow your A _ _ down and learn the machine. Totaly agree about the horsepower part, just like you car Just because it will run 120mph, does that mean you drive everywhere that way....That may not this is Texas after all LOL

 

[Coin Rescue Inc]

@ GO VA

I heard a similar tale on detector power

They compared Full Power on a high powered detector to driving your car in a snow storm with your High Beams on. The maze of bright snow flake flying around overwhelm the senses and you see very little from the cloud of confusion(Like too many ID signals and Noise).

In a clear area the high beams work fine.

On normal head lights - lower detector power- you get a more manageable vision of what is out there in the snow..there is still some vision interference but manageable.

So power needs to be adjusted to work reasonably in the amount of trash in an area. Ground balance correct to eliminate ground static.

How is that for an analogy?

 

[GO VA]

You have hit the nail on the head. You just found a nice way of saying..Slow your A _ _ down and learn the machine. Totaly agree about the horsepower part, just like you car Just because it will run 120mph, does that mean you drive everywhere that way....That may not this is Texas after all LOL

I always work from the bottom up and not he top down to learn a new detector. That is what I have learned from a lot of the older detectorist both in forums and in real life conversation and it has always worked for me.

 

[GO VA]

@ GO VA

I heard a similar tale on detector power

They compared Full Power on a high powered detector to driving your car in a snow storm with your High Beams on. The maze of bright snow flake flying around overwhelm the senses and you see very little from the cloud of confusion(Like too many ID signals and Noise).

In a clear area the high beams work fine.

On normal head lights - lower detector power- you get a more manageable vision of what is out there in the snow..there is still some vision interference but manageable.

So power needs to be adjusted to work reasonably in the amount of trash in an area. Ground balance correct to eliminate ground static.

How is that for an analogy?

Your analogy is way better than what I tried to say but we are trying to get the same message to everyone and that is more power equals more target responses in the area you are the detector in.