AT Pro out with the E-Trac

[Southwind]

I got my AT yesterday after work and after putting it together, which I found to be very simple, I headed out for a quick test in the test garden. The AT hit on all my targets and did very well on one target that most detectors have a problem with. It has junk next to it and the AT pulled it out better than most I've tested. I also did some testing on all my gold and found the AT was one of the best I've ever tested for small gold. It hit on my smallest gold at a greater depth than any other detector I've tested. Can't wait to take the AT to some tot lots.

I took the AT and my E-Trac to do some testing at our local city park. This park has extremely deep targets due to many years of flooding that deposited from 6" to 24" of mud. Needless to say there are coin here deeper than current detector technology can reach. It is a great place to test the depth ability of a detector, and so far the E-Trac has done the best at this site. I started with the E-Trac to find one of those extremely deep targets most detectors will miss to see if the AT would find them. I got a signal that even the E-Trac would only hit in one direction, but felt it could be a good target because of the depth. The AT hit on the target from all directions. A very faint hit, but it was a high tone that would have caught my attention. The AT said it was 8". I was impressed when I pulled out a nice silver and turquoise ring very deep. First impression is the AT is going to give the higher priced units a run for the money.

 

[Finder82]

If the AT pro can seriously compete against the E-trac, it will sure turn some heads.

 

[26cent]

If you don't mind me asking, what settings were you using on the AT Pro?

 

[RLOH]

Terry, great information coming from an experienced high end detector user. How did you set your disc. in your test garden and in the park? I am considering an AT Pro and since coins and jewelery are my primary targets, I was wondering how the Pro handled pull tabs, beaver tails, and aluminum caps? I have watched several of the newer videos and was impressed with it's separation abilities. I like to run my detectors with very little disc and listen to the tones and it appears the Pro will excel at this. Thanks R.L.

 

[Green Machine Fanatic]

I second that - please post your settings for comparison.

 

[oldranger]

Very nice ring find CONGRATS!

Hope you have many more like it

HH

Ron

Rangers Lead The Way

 

[Southwind]

For my gold testing I ran in ZERO mode. Very impressed with the AT's sensitivity to my small gold. I've got 1 14k earring and a small pendent that is tough for my other detectors to hit more than 3-4" away. The AT hit strong at a good 6-7".

For my coin testing in the park and my test garden, which is a 4 year old garden in my front yard, I used Custom mode which happened to be what it was already set on from the last owner. It's a used AT Pro. Iron Discrimination at 35, Sensitivity at MAX, and notched around the tab range which I plan to change. I prefer to run with no conductive discrimination at all, and very little ferrous discrimination. I like to hear everything in the ground so I know what to expect out of my detector.

I really haven't had the AT long enough to comment on much other than my first impression. Some of you know I like to test all kinds of detectors and have done so for many years. In the last year I've owned the E-Trac, Vision, V3i(factory not upgrade), Silver uMax, Compadre, X-Terra 70, MXT and of course my DFX and now the AT Pro. Each have had their own pros and cons and a few stick out in my mind as a bit above the rest. I feel the AT will be one of those.

 

[jbow]

n/t

 

[synthnut]

Congrats on your find .....I love the sound of Silver .... What were your settings on your E Trac ? ......I'm assuming that siince you have owned the E Trac that you have a setting specifically for parks .....Thanks, Jim

 

[Southwind]

I run the E-Trac with a wide open CO and FE at 26, Conductive sound, multi-tone, Deep ON, Fast ON, Ground NORMAL, Sensitivity AUTO +3.

 

[Jim Robertson]

n/t

 

[Macedonian]

Thank you for your post that is a nice back to back comparison with a known high end detector under real life conditions and as an owner of an AT Pro and Etrac who is unable to get out and do what you have just done because of the constraints of time and weather I appreciate your feedback.


This confused me as in that paragraph you seem to be talking about the AT which does not have the options of of conductivity and ferrous in disc or have I misunderstood that line and you were talking about the Etrac ?

 

[synthnut]

Southwind,
I notice on my E Trac that if I have Deep ON and Fast On at the same tme that I loose depth ....Auto +3 is a good place to start , but if your ground is good , and I'm assuming it was since you have your Ground -Normal , you can go into manual Sensitivity and run it up as high as you can without it falsing much .....You'ld be surprised how much you can gain from going to manual and running your Sensitivity up .... If you are in a trashy area , run your Deep OFF and your Fast on for a quicker recovery between trashy targets ..... 8" is still nothing to sneeze at ......That's pretty impressive that the AT stayed with the E Trac even if it was only a faint signal .... and it's a nice ring too !!!....Congrats again !!....Jim

 

[Southwind]

This confused me as in that paragraph you seem to be talking about the AT which does not have the options of of conductivity and ferrous in disc or have I misunderstood that line and you were talking about the Etrac ?

I was making reference to the E-Trac when using the Conductive and Ferrous comments, but they work as well on most other detectors. On the AT you can still hear the Ferrous/Iron targets by using Iron Audio, just like the FE/Ferrous on the E-Trac or enabling -95 to 0 on the DFX. I like to hear whats in the ground be it good or bad. It helps me know what to expect and what I might need to adjust for.

I notice on my E Trac that if I have Deep ON and Fast On at the same tme that I loose depth ....Auto +3 is a good place to start , but if your ground is good , and I'm assuming it was since you have your Ground -Normal , you can go into manual Sensitivity and run it up as high as you can without it falsing much

I've tried using manual sensitivity and it worked fine in some areas but was a nightmare in others. Auto +3 is so much more stable and predictable for me. I do switch to manual 29 to check iffy signals.

 

[synthnut]

I agree ......Auto +3 is where I normally run my machine unless I can see that I can go manual in which case , I do ...... I start out in Auto +3 and in some cases , I will stay there if I am in an area where the soil /sand changes to any degree ...... I will ALWAYS switch to manual when I go to the beach !!....Jim

 

[Hombre]

Hey everybody

I hunted with Terry (Southwind) last fall at that old city park and it has some strange ground and is tough to hunt at. For the couple of hours I spent there I only found a deep Bufalo nickle and a gold plated pin. Terry knows how to hunt with an E-Trac as I witnessed him pull some deep wheat pennies out of the ground. My old analog White's 5900 Di Pro SL did fairly well when testing detected targets that Terry pointed out to me (deep wheats). Terry was a fine host and I enjoyed my time spent detecting with him at some historical places.

Randy

 

[Macedonian]

Yep, I am right with you on that score I like it warts and all, the more iron hits I am getting the better I like it, where there is iron, there was human activity and a better chance of an interesting non-ferrous target.

 

[garrettlover]

fantastic find. i hate to admit it but my ATPro is finding stuff my 2500 couldnt. it will give all the high end machines a run for their money when all the finds start coming in lol

 

[John LA]

But if you are only going to talk about the Etrac take it back to your board. I know the Etrac is a great machine but it'a too heavy and not balanced well.

 

[Southwind]

My last couple of hunts with the AT Pro AND the E-Trac were pretty good. I went back to Wright Park on Wednesday and pulled 2 keepers. A 1894 Indian Head and a 1917 wheat. The 1917 wheat was a bit odd because it had such a low TID of 73. The Indian Head had a TID of 75, and most wheats have a TID of 81. Even out of the ground it reads lower than the Indian Head. Both were a good 7-8" and sounded good and solid. The "Sweet Spot" does seem to be just above center in the middle of the next hole in the coil. More solid and accurate reading. I went back again tonight after work for a very short hunt. I pulled 2 more keepers. A 1926 merc and a 1951 wheat both deep(7-8") but the merc shared the hole with a nice sized rusted nail. I was very impressed because after I pulled the merc out the iron was still banging hard in the same hole.

Again, at least for me, the AT Pro has shown to be a very strong competitor and able to pull keepers from difficult hard hit sites.

So Far:
Wheats TID = 79-81
Indian Head TID = 75
Merc dime TID = 82
Silver Ring TID = 82-83