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Garrett AT Pro in fresh water
- Thread starter nmarsh
- Start date
Finderskeeper
Active member
Seeing how it is only waterproof to 10 feet, wading is the only option for the AT pro.
I read on another forum a post by NASA Tom who tested the Garrett AT pro in salt water and dry sand in Florida.
His comments on using the AT pro in salt water was that it loses depth as you have to adjust the sensitivity lower to keep from falsing in the wet sand. His comments were that a standard women's gold ring was only detectable in wet sand to 2 inches. Ground balancing the AT pro is tough in the Florida sand as it is mineral free and very hard to adjust the pro to the sand.
Here is his quote: "A small womans gold ring (a standardized test-ring) was detectable to 2" in the wet salt...... and the AT Pro would only 'crackle' on this ring."
He did go on to say that he would buy one as the one he was testing was from Garrett. He like the machine a lot but it is not for salt environments as it is a 15Khz machine.
I would guess that lake wading it would be a killer machine though. I plan on getting one soon as I do fresh water hunting and like the Garrett machines.
I read on another forum a post by NASA Tom who tested the Garrett AT pro in salt water and dry sand in Florida.
His comments on using the AT pro in salt water was that it loses depth as you have to adjust the sensitivity lower to keep from falsing in the wet sand. His comments were that a standard women's gold ring was only detectable in wet sand to 2 inches. Ground balancing the AT pro is tough in the Florida sand as it is mineral free and very hard to adjust the pro to the sand.
Here is his quote: "A small womans gold ring (a standardized test-ring) was detectable to 2" in the wet salt...... and the AT Pro would only 'crackle' on this ring."
He did go on to say that he would buy one as the one he was testing was from Garrett. He like the machine a lot but it is not for salt environments as it is a 15Khz machine.
I would guess that lake wading it would be a killer machine though. I plan on getting one soon as I do fresh water hunting and like the Garrett machines.
BEACH HUNTER
New member
I have found lots of deep nickles with the AT in salt wet sand...and a 10k band at 6-8" so his test of only 2" on a ring...sounds like he has a bad coil or has his settings way off???
Finderskeeper
Active member
He did mention that the paint used on the coil may inhibit the use of the coil in wet salt sand. I think his was a demo unit given to him to use by Garrett to test it out in the field. As I now read it further, that was the case. I am sure that Garrett changed the paint use on the coil and probably fixed that situation. I hope so as I plan on buying one soon!
TellYaWhut
Member
\Finderskeeper said:He did mention that the paint used on the coil may inhibit the use of the coil in wet salt sand. I think his was a demo unit given to him to use by Garrett to test it out in the field. As I now read it further, that was the case. I am sure that Garrett changed the paint use on the coil and probably fixed that situation. I hope so as I plan on buying one soon!
The result of Nasa Toms tests on the AT-Pro were mostly in favor of the machine, however the few negatives (including the coil falsing) became a big stink by Garrett brand loyalists. Other known problems include loose shaft connections, hard to read display, and short headphone cable. Some are rigging the headphone jack to be able to use their own headphones. Not sure if Garrett has addressed the problems, as the complaints and homemade mods still abound. If you do buy an AT-Pro I'd wait for a corrected 2nd version. Don't buy a used one as the warranty isn't transferable and you'd be stuck with the cost of bug removal. The At-Pro is more of a freshwater wading machine or all weather land detector. Overall a great product from Garrett. Another would be the Garrett Infinium PI (with a modified shaft). Whites underwater machines are also great.
Your not allowed to say that Tell (wait for a corrected version) !
There's several pages on THunting.Com re the AT and salt water use. (please delete forum name if against the rules).
Started off with a bloke up at Cape Cod who beach detects asking if he should buy a Pro OR a more expensive detector for surf use. He gets told off for being a cynic in not considering Garrett would tell the truth.
One reply is that as he doesn't need it for a few months until the water warms up, hang on and he might be able to buy one cheaper as some are already being sold on due to the size of the meter. (I'm not that old but I can't see it well on land never mind in rain or with salt spray around).
The moderator then starts a campaign of don't believe anything your told, anti Garrett etc.etc. I doubt if he's even seen one never mind used one. He says he prefers a P.I. for the wet salt. Its then pointed out that in many countries the Garrett Sea Hunter P.I. is far cheaper than the AT Pro. Hmmm....water proof detector that can only be used to 10 feet and designed for fresh water or pay less for a detector you can dive with, has had any problems sorted (its a Mk 2) and is pulse so salt no problem when you only want to detect in the salt water. What a difficult choice. No moderator on that site seems to be able to cope with the difference between being able to be "set to work" on the salt and "being able to work well". Looking for some fantastic finds posted early in the week by the "hang on a bit poster" they have gone. Only reason for this must be because they show up the moderators lack of finds.
I tried one in water, not for long with snow coming down. I travel by plane a lot so something that would provide good depth on land and cope with the beach and be light in weight would be ideal. Results were better than two inches on an ring but lagged way behind my dedicated beach machines. As hammered silver came up I tried burying a few and to be honest the results were not that good. If there's a wreck throwing silver pennies out by the time you have balanced out the salt effect the coins are hardly detectable. Much the same happens with the Fisher CZ's. Best results on the wet are obtained by using the land mode. Drawback is if you can't get the coin out in one stroke of the spade then the hole sounds off more than the coin. May well be different results in Florida with huge non mineralised areas and little black sand where the old Mac 1 Turbo and newer Aquasound work well even though they are VLF/TR's, but if your like the rest of us do try before you buy if you can.
I would like to see a slightly longer shaft between control box and armrest. I said this with all the previous models of this design. Some have now cut the shaft and self modded it.
Don't do as I did which was put a twist of PVC tape round the shaft to take out the wobble. Works but could I free the shaft. Nearly killed me. No problem here for my wife as she used it short as she's small. Like the Infinium and CZ20, the problem gets worse the more you extend it. Detect round the feet and no problem.
Headphone cable is a worry. Hang up overnight and the weight of the phones will take some of the pull out. The connectors (headphone and coil) remind me of the old Garrett Groundhog coil connector with its loose ring so easy to cross-thread.
I still can't see why anyone pre-orders a detector. There's almost always teething problems at whatever price level.
One good thing to come out is you can see who to trust when there's reports copied from other sites which accidently ?? miss out that a test is an air test. Or only post the good points from a mixed review. With the Garrett and other detectors you can improve performance by offsetting the ground balance to extremes but which extreme ? Improve gold pickup at one end at the expense of silver/copper or improve silver/copper at the expense of gold. Not something I want to do when I'm after all three metals.
I never thought about the warranty situation if buying secondhand. You would think if you have a design fault it would be sorted for free but perhaps not.
There's several pages on THunting.Com re the AT and salt water use. (please delete forum name if against the rules).
Started off with a bloke up at Cape Cod who beach detects asking if he should buy a Pro OR a more expensive detector for surf use. He gets told off for being a cynic in not considering Garrett would tell the truth.
One reply is that as he doesn't need it for a few months until the water warms up, hang on and he might be able to buy one cheaper as some are already being sold on due to the size of the meter. (I'm not that old but I can't see it well on land never mind in rain or with salt spray around).
The moderator then starts a campaign of don't believe anything your told, anti Garrett etc.etc. I doubt if he's even seen one never mind used one. He says he prefers a P.I. for the wet salt. Its then pointed out that in many countries the Garrett Sea Hunter P.I. is far cheaper than the AT Pro. Hmmm....water proof detector that can only be used to 10 feet and designed for fresh water or pay less for a detector you can dive with, has had any problems sorted (its a Mk 2) and is pulse so salt no problem when you only want to detect in the salt water. What a difficult choice. No moderator on that site seems to be able to cope with the difference between being able to be "set to work" on the salt and "being able to work well". Looking for some fantastic finds posted early in the week by the "hang on a bit poster" they have gone. Only reason for this must be because they show up the moderators lack of finds.
I tried one in water, not for long with snow coming down. I travel by plane a lot so something that would provide good depth on land and cope with the beach and be light in weight would be ideal. Results were better than two inches on an ring but lagged way behind my dedicated beach machines. As hammered silver came up I tried burying a few and to be honest the results were not that good. If there's a wreck throwing silver pennies out by the time you have balanced out the salt effect the coins are hardly detectable. Much the same happens with the Fisher CZ's. Best results on the wet are obtained by using the land mode. Drawback is if you can't get the coin out in one stroke of the spade then the hole sounds off more than the coin. May well be different results in Florida with huge non mineralised areas and little black sand where the old Mac 1 Turbo and newer Aquasound work well even though they are VLF/TR's, but if your like the rest of us do try before you buy if you can.
I would like to see a slightly longer shaft between control box and armrest. I said this with all the previous models of this design. Some have now cut the shaft and self modded it.
Don't do as I did which was put a twist of PVC tape round the shaft to take out the wobble. Works but could I free the shaft. Nearly killed me. No problem here for my wife as she used it short as she's small. Like the Infinium and CZ20, the problem gets worse the more you extend it. Detect round the feet and no problem.
Headphone cable is a worry. Hang up overnight and the weight of the phones will take some of the pull out. The connectors (headphone and coil) remind me of the old Garrett Groundhog coil connector with its loose ring so easy to cross-thread.
I still can't see why anyone pre-orders a detector. There's almost always teething problems at whatever price level.
One good thing to come out is you can see who to trust when there's reports copied from other sites which accidently ?? miss out that a test is an air test. Or only post the good points from a mixed review. With the Garrett and other detectors you can improve performance by offsetting the ground balance to extremes but which extreme ? Improve gold pickup at one end at the expense of silver/copper or improve silver/copper at the expense of gold. Not something I want to do when I'm after all three metals.
I never thought about the warranty situation if buying secondhand. You would think if you have a design fault it would be sorted for free but perhaps not.
TellYaWhut
Member
willy said:AFAIK, all Garrett metal detector warranties are transferable. ..Willy.
Thanks Willy. I just assumed that the warranty wasn't transferable ......the Garrett Warranty doesn't specify. Garrett offers a two year warranty. Is it safe to say, two years from original owners date of purchase?? If anyone is considering One detector the At-Pro should be one to consider. Thanks