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AT-PRO and similarities to some competition...

J

jbow

Active member
Frist let me say that I am not trying to diss the AT is any way... I do think that some have done is and Garrett a disservice with all the hype because expectations are so high that frankly I think some are going to be let down when the AT, though a really good machine, isn't really the best detector ever made> I realize this and I hope you do... have reasonable expectations. Expect it to be an awesome detector in its price range and then if it actually is better than a 1500 dollar machine... you will be plesantly surprised... if you believe all the hype and fully expect it to blow away a 15oo dollar machine and it doesn't, well/// you are going to be disappointed and there is just no reason for that. Think for yourself and when you buy it, expect it to be a better that average mid level detector... and when it is better... be happy. Thinking like this will head off a lot of complaining... Garrett deserves the benefit of the doubt on this, they are a good company and no one should expect them to come out and say, "wait a minute folks... this isn't the best detector ever made... however, if it isn't and they don't say so then they are setting themselves up for some complaining". FWIW, some people complain about every new detector that comes out... it is just the way it is... but this one is being set up for more complaining than usual. So, do yourself a favor and expect a very good mid level detector and then be happy if that is exactly what it is.. be amazed if it actually competes with a 1500 dollar machine... OK?

So... I just finished looking at the Garrett site. I noticed a marked similarity between the relationship of the Omega-8000 and the G2. The O8K runs at a lower, coin friendly frequency and has an elliptical coil. The G2 runs at a higher frequency... quite hig actually, 19khz (the AT runs at 15khx IIRC). One think I did notice that favors the O8k/G2 is that they share some coils. I don't think they share the concentric coils, just the DD coils but I am not sure. I didn't see where the AT-Pro and the ACE-350 share coils... but the relationship between the two is similar with one being more for coins and the other more for relics. Then again the AT is not yet released and maybe when it is released they will share coils. The weight certainly is similar and the price is about the same. The features are comparable, in particular the iron range.

Now I am certain the AT has been in develpoment for a while and is not simply in response to the O8K/G2. I am pretty sure that Garrett came up with a really good coil and, like Minelab did when they introduced the Pro coil, they added the design to an ACE and will soon release the detector that was built around the coil design. Great marketing... I hope they make a lot of money so they can do more R&D... we will profit from that.

So, I expect good things from the AT-PRO, I expect other companies to follw Garretts lead in the waterproofing... way to go Garrett!

Again, my intention is not to throw cold water on the AT... but to encourage people to have reasonable expectations and then be happy if their expectations are exceeded... it is only common sense, IMO. I just noticed what I think are similarities to another brand... maybe it is coincidence or maybe it is the normal progression of available technology... whatever it is, i am glad to see it and I hope it is well received by all. It looks GREAT and I imagine it will work great if people give it a fair chance and take the time to really learn it.

Watching with interest! I hope people will give an honest opinion when it is released with no "knee jerk" reactions before having time to really give it a chance... but that's just me.


Julien
 
:usaflag:Could'nt have said it better myself....thanks Julien.
 
And if the $1500 machine you are talking about is the Excal it's just a mid-range stripped down Sov. stuck in a waterproof box. You get the privilege of paying an extra $700 for the waterproof box :) I don't believe the AT Pro is going to give a multi-frequency machine much of a challenge on an Ocean Beach but I do believe it has an excellent chance of besting it in Freshwater. Time will tell. Only a couple more weeks to go. I just hope I get mine before the water gets too cold to take it lake hunting :) I think it will be nice having all the features of a land machine in a waterproof machine. One that I don't have to duck and cover every time it starts to drizzle while I am out detecting on land. In a few months of people detecting with the AT Pro we'll all have much better a picture of where it does and doesn't excel.

HH

Beachcomber
 
Now this is just me speaking. I have checked those units out you speak of. Good units but I don't see where they trump the ATpro? Being waterproof is #1 All the rest of the features are just gravy for me. Lot's of people are saying that being waterproof isn't important to them. But they will be the first to jump in the water after a hot dry sand hunt.
 
Yeah nobody said it is the best there is but one of the best to come along in a long time. And any machine that can clearly distinguish between junk and a coin is the best for me plus being 100% waterproof to a given depth.. And Garrett has been working on it for quite a spell. Months ago Vaughan told me the engineers were then testing a new coil ( obviuosly the DD ), since now it will be available for all their detectors currently available and for whatever they have in store for us.

You can't please everybody because there is an element that refuses to be pleased no matter what comes down the pike but I'm sure it will please a great many folks out there, more than enough to keep Garrett out of the poor house. It's like my post on the AT. Looks like it will get moved or a forum created for it as a certain number are complaining about its size - but then who made it that size. HAA.

Bill
 
Too bad they couldn't have come out with it earlier to beat the cold weather in many parts of the country. I'll never understand that reasoning - coming out with a new detector in the dead of winter in the heavily populated sections of the country. We don't all live in Florida or Southern California.

Bill.
 
I was thinking more of the E-TRAC, V3i, and F75 SE

J
 
First off I think your attempt to compare the AT- Pro is premature as you can't really make a good comparison until you have actually used a detector for a while. Furthermore the G2 has only been out a week or so, as a result few people can make comparisons using it.

Second I think your comparison with 2 different First Texas platforms which you treat as a single platform is flawed. The Omega is the lastest machine FT has released based on their midline coin shooting platform (first released as the BH Platinum, then after some modifications released as the Fisher F5 and finally after further development work released as the Omega) and the FT gold platform (First released as the Fisher Gold Bug 2 and then after further work the Teknetics G2). I find it difficult to believe that they will share coils as the frequency difference between to the 2 platforms would preclude them sharing coils. The T2 11" DD coil is a different part than the Greek series 11" DD coil and the frequency spread between the T2 and the Greek series is small than that of the G2 and the Greek series machines.

If you are going to compare a FT machine you should be comparing Garrett's new relic machine with FT's relic machine - the T2. After all the feature sets, the operating frequencies and the intent of the designs are the most similar between these machines. The price of the T2 got artificially inflated by the African gold rush craziness last year. The T2 was selling for $699 new before the African crazies started buying used T2s for $2000 on Ebay, FT raised the price after that, so the prices were in the same ballpark before a 3 year old detector design got its prices raised by $300 due to an unusual market pressure.

However one can't really make anything but the most shallow comparison without actually getting some real hours on both machines you are comparing.so it will be a while before a comprehensive comparison can be made.
 
I didn't say they trumped the AT... I said they were similar, but I think that development has been underway for so long that no one copied anyone else. They are not in the 1500 dollar range either, or even 1k range.

J
 
I like that... not that I am going to hunt in the pouring rain.

J
 
Yeah nobody said it is the best there is

You did...

J
 
I think you are right - its a poor time to release a new design but they probably thought that Christmas is a big selling season and the machine is ready to go so why not. Plus they will have the supply chain full of AT Pros by the spring and not have to worry about the initial shipment selling out then.

I wish Garrett would keep colder weather climates in mind when designing detectors too. We have to wear fairly heavy gloves for much of the detecting season up here in New Hampshire and Garrett's touchpads are hard to press while wearing gloves. I used to have a hard time pressing the pinpoint/imaging button and keeping it held down on my GTI-1500 when wearing gloves. A trigger is so much easier to use, or at least they could make the pinpoint button a toggle, press it once to put it in pinpoint mode, press it a second time to switch back to hunt mode instead of having to keep the button pressed down the entire time you want to pinpoint. In fact I hope the AT Pro pinpoint button works as a toggle and not a constant pressure button but I doubt they have changed their way of doing the pinpoint button. On well only a couple of more weeks and I should be able to see for myself.
 
Do you think there is any way Garrett would send one of the pre-production AT's over to to the DIV hunt next week with one of the Garrett users? That hot dirt would make for a good opportunity to show what it can do and an awesome test against many other makes and models .
 
My main point is that to set expectations too high is to invite disappointment by folks who read about "the most awesome detector ever built" and take it to heart. Plus, I see some comaparisions.... I did say I am not meaning to diss the AT, and reall... I am not. I think it looks like a good detector and I see other companies doing things similar. I think it is because they are listening to what people want. I expect the AT to be a good machine but I do not expect it to be the most awesome detector ever built... and I think lowering expectations is agood thing. People are still going to buy them and it is a lot better to be plesantly surprised by better than expected performance than disappointed because the machine isn't "the most awesome detector ever built".
IMO, the waterproof part rocks... as well as the obviously good coil design, and the iron range. I also like the simplicity, not too many options... just enough. I think it will be a hit but I also think setting expectations too high can set it up for problems.

I hope it is all that with mustard and a pickle... I think it is a step in the right direction, it looks good and I am impressed with Garretts marketing and their effort to give people wat they want.

I didn't mean anything bad...

J
 
Some folks do. I used to have a neighbor who mowed his yard in the rain. I've stopped tecting many times when a light rain started and I didn't have a cover for my tector or I would have continued on.

Bill
 
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