Garrett or not Garrett: AT Gold or Fisher F75?

[skydealer]

I've been trying to decide on which new detector to pull the pin on. My friend has the Garrett AT Pro, which I like except for the no threshold. The AT Gold supposedly has this as an option. I don't see myself doing much beach hunting - I've only done that a few times in the past 30 years anyway.

Back in the 90s I had a Freedom III and I really liked that machine. Well, a few years ago it finally bought the farm and I went out and bought a Garrett 2500 and an Ace 250 for a spare. I just never got completely comfortable with the 2500 so I ended up selling it and for the past year I've only been using the Ace 250. It's not a bad little machine but it's not giving the performance that a higher end machine delivers.

So, I'm leaning towards the AT Gold but I've also been eyeballing the Fisher F75 because of the performance I've seen with relics.

Has anyone here had experience with both the ATGold as well as the Fisher F75? I've always been a fan of Garrett but I like what I saw with both brands. Thanks for any info.

 

[John-Edmonton]

Well......both Garretts are good detectors, and have their own strengths. For coins and jewelry , the AT Pro is the one I would suggest as it can also be used in salt water. For gold prospecting, including tiny nuggetts, the AT Gold is a better choice. When tested over the same test garden, the AT Gold gets better depth because of its true all metal mode. However, it can't be ground balanced to salt water. Because this is a Garrett Forum, I won't comment on the Fisher 75, other then if you drop it in the water, it's toast. Also, it has knobs, which are old technology, and can loosen over time rendering them prone to changes when the detector is in motion or hitting a rock/tree. Both the Garrett's don't loose depth as you notch out targets for discrimination purposes. The adjustments stay locked because of the push button means of making adjustments such as ground balancing, discrimination, programs, threshold adjustments, iron audio settings etc.

 

[skydealer]

-- moved topic --

 

[skydealer]

Hmmm - maybe that's what is wrong with my old Freedom III. It chatters all to heck whenever it's moved like it has a broken wire in it, but I checked all the wiring and solder joints. I never thought about ohming out the pots to see if any of them were loose.

Thanks for the info. I think that I'll likely stick with the Garrett since this is a brand I'm comfortable with. I do like the true all metal mode feature you mentioned. If I'm relic hunting in an old civil war camp I want to dig any and all signals.

 

[jimmyk]

For relics I'd go with the F 75SE. For coins go with the Garrett.

I thought this was a forum for ANY metal detector. Doesn't Garrett have it's own forum?

keep on diggin'

jimmyk in Missouri

 

[WV62]

I have both the AT Pro and the F75Ltd. The AT seems to be a pretty good machine and I like it for rainy days, but so far it hasn't out performed the F75Ltd.

So based on my experience I think a good choice would be the F75 and in particular the LTD with the boost processor and a good selection of coils. The control box is not water proof, but other than that I am pretty sure it will keep up with the AT Pro or the AT Pro gold. Vary stable when hunting, the one control knob times out in a few seconds after adjustments are made so there is no chance of messing up the detector adjustments. The F75 can also be operated in all metal with a threshold tone. The F75 does not lose any depth with high disc settings or notching. One other big plus for the F75 is the toggle switch which is a lot easier and more natural to operate than using the thumb control buttons on the AT Pro.

Ron in WV

 

[Larry (IL)]

Jimmy, when comparing multi brand detectors, we prefer that it be done on a neutral forum. That is why this thread was moved here from the Garrett forum.

 

[mudpuppy]

I have a Fisher F70 and an ATPro...The fisher has Delta Pitch tones which I love for coins and relics, it has different tones for every integer on the scale, and of course the Thresh adjustment...no need to extol the virutues of the At Pro, its great!...its hard to settle on just one unit for ALL hunting situations..I can say they both get along quite nicely in the back of my truck and eat the same batterys. I have thousands of hours on the F70 and only a few hundred if that on the Pro..I can say they both paid for themselves this year. WV and I hunt the same it looks like...F70 most of the time, ATPro for the rain and water work. I use the F70 on the dry sand beach on account of it swings fast and light and I know it so well, but in the water its the Pro. The At Pro would be just perfect if it had the Delta Pitch tones and thresh, the F70 would be perfect if it was waterproof! Whats a feller to do? Tough to decide between the two alright.
Mud.

 

[Mtnmn]

Not sure if you are mostly into coins or mostly into relics, but if the latter the F-75 not only has a great reputation for relic hunting, but also for having excellent depth.

 

[Mike Scott]

F75 advantages over AT series:
Faster and better in iron
Fewer controls and more intuitive
Deeper and more sensitive to small targets
AM mode with target ID in motion and static modes
Multiple processes and multiple tone choices instead of preset tones
5 year warranty for Fisher vs. only 2 years on Garrett
Much better balance and ergonomics ATs are nose heavy
Works better in mineralized soils and works well in salt water
FE304 meter measuring magnetite in real time for prospecting
AT series screen is far too small to easily read.
Fisher has 40-50 hours battery life

There are many more....

Consider this-Garrett AT series pretty much copied the F75/T2 designs and feature sets that Fisher and Tek pioneered, they were totally foreign to Garrett detectors until the FTP products revolutionized the industry with feature sets like; fast recovery speed, 1-99 target ID, fast grab and expanded iron range (Tek) along with a higher frequency whiche were the calling cards of F75/T2 and while Garrett did a good job trying to imitate this with their new offering they fell short in performance. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and the only advantage of the AT is waterproofing


Mike @ FTP

 

[pasttom]

From what was stated Skydealer is familiar with Garrett machines and has a support group of fellow users. They are solid units and have much going for them. I think that part of what he is looking for is a higher end unit and the F75SE is the clear winner. As Mr. Scott illustrates, imitation is the most sincere form of flattery and while Garrett made a fine unit, I don't think they surpassed the original at any point, save waterproofing. I don't think you'll be disappointed with the Gold, but I am a fan of the Gold Standard!

 

[nealcat]

If Garrett copied the F75, they sure didn't copy one of the most important features for me, and that is the price. The AtPro can be had for nearly half the price of the F75. The AtPro much surely be a capable detector because I see it compared to most of the high end machines costing 2 to 3 times as much! Maybe you don't get what you pay for.

 

[BJ in Okla.]

I own 2 AT pro's and one org F-75 !!
In iron,with rusty nails and rusty bottle caps,, I will use the AT pro with its great iron disc and iron audio....
Yes the AT pro has pre set tone's but 3 are enough for me....
That Pro mode and the Iron disc and iron audio and small coil shine in the places that I hunt...
The F-75 that I have also has a 5"dd coil,,, but the trashy place's that I have to hunt,,,I will pick the AT pro every time...
I have 2 AT pro's, with 4 coils,,,F-75 with 2 coils,,E-Trac with 7 or 8 coils,,V-3i with 2 coils,I D Edge with 2 coils,,A.H. Pro back packer and a BH 2000.
To me,,its been easier to deal with Garrett on warranty,,,,5yr on the Fisher to the org. owner only,,, Garrett, like Whites will take care of every owner until the end of the warranty...
Both unit's use 4 AA's and have to give the F-75 the win on battery life....
AT Pro is rain proof and water proof to 10 feet,,,the F-75 is not...
My A.H. Pro has a fast recovery and its like 50 khz and its from the late 70's.....
If you bought one of the first AT pro's,,,Garrett will up date it for like $35,,, try to get Fisher to up date the org F-75 to a F-75 LTD and they will tell you NO.. At no cost....
EMI seems to bother my F-75 more than my 2 AT pro's....
I thought my E-Trac had a lot of adjustments,,, but my V-3i has like 167.....
With all of my units,,the AT pro is just fun to use and I have made some good finds with it,, my best was a 14k gold ring,,,,from a super trashy place....
So,,for one F-75 LTD,, you could buy 2 AT pro's......Or one AT with several coils....
And I believe the 15khz freq. goes back to the Ground Hog days...
Just my 2 cents...
Bj