Getting a new detector.....?????

[telecaster]

Back in the late 70's I bought a new White's 6000 Di Pro. I used it and loved it for many years. Then life happened and I got away from detecting. I'm
retired now and wanting to start detecting again. I've been looking at buying a new detector....I have been leaning towards the Garrett AT Pro....I've been
reading many reviews on the AT Pro and the main problem I see people reporting is that it has very little depth detection as compared to other detectors.
Then I read other reviews where the AT Pro has excellent depth detecting ability. So, I'm wondering .....do those who think the depth of the AT Pro have a
problem maybe because they don't understand how to set and balance the machine or is there really a depth problem with the machine. I find it hard to
believe Garrett would put out a machine that has any problem...especially one that has to do with it's depth detecting ability. Would love to hear from those
who own an AT Pro and know how to operate their machine. Just what do you think of it's depth detecting ability. Tks Bill

 

[grumpysrb]

There a number of reasons an ATP user would get less depth. I have read posts from people saying they got less depth because of high mineralization, and with all there machines. If it is just the ATP then there is a problem, operator or machine. Not ground Balancing correctly. There may be a problem with the machine or coil. I had a problem that caused excessive and continuous chatter. Had it repaired, and all is good. Low moisture in the soil. We haven't had rain here for sometime. As the soil dries I have noticed a bit of depth loss. The soil my clubs test garden is in is even worse. All the machines are having trouble detecting coins at six inches, and some trouble at 4.

It may be the operator. I switched from the ACE 350, the 350 being a on and go, and spent a year of constant detecting and being confused. Having no one to teach me(and being the only one I knew with the ATP) I had to watch a ton of videos and experiment. I still haven't completely understood the Iron Audio. Now I help others to learn the ATP.

Faulty machine. ANY mass produced product is going to have bad ones come off the line. I had to send mine in after three months. I began to get increasingly worse chatter until it chattered ALL the time and I couldn't hear the target. They reloaded the software and fixed the problem.

I don't know what articles you have read. There are those who like to bash the ATP. Don't know why, but they do.. There's a guy on another forum who does, by comparing the ATP to an Excalibur II. A $565. machine compared to a $1400. multi-frequency machine? Then there is the ATP owner who exaggerates. I can detect a coin easily at 8 inches in good conditions, and have gotten a Penney at 10 in wet conditions. It was a faint signal in one direction and a 90 degree turn, nothing. No VDI. A Whites V3i ( a $2300. machine) got the exact same signal. I dug it, 1979, and the guy was somewhat surprised.

 

[telecaster]

Thanks much for your reply and I agree 100% with what you said....it just annoys me when people make a statement that a machine isn't any good,
when most times it isn't the machine it's the operator. I have known an seen Garretts operate for many years...and I knew they would not put out a
high end machine that could only detect to a depth of 2 to 4 inches. Thanks much...Bill

 

[Grilled Scallops]

Hi Bill,

Just the other night I was watching a series of videos an AT Pro user made regarding it's depth. He did pretty extensive testing and it all fell short of the depth claims Garrett made regarding the machine. He and Garrett argued back and forth and they went through the ropes, maybe it's a bad coil, maybe a bad machine, whatever. The guy was on his 3rd AT Pro from Garrett when he buried a walking liberty half dollar at 8 inches and let it sit in his backyard for 3 months. After 3 months, he went out and tried to detect it with the AT Pro. Sadly, the AT Pro could not detect the coin under any settings he tried (Garrett claims an AT pro can detect a walking half at over 10 inches). If you want, I can link you to the videos. To recover his silver half dollar, he moved on to a deeper machine (to remain nameless). The fact that the AT Pro could not detect such a large silver coin at that depth was a breaking point.

Now, there are factors we'll never know about, like the mineralization of the soil in those videos. While I still used VLFs, one of my biggest complaints was that depth did seem significantly affected by ground conditions. Every time I went out, I hated not knowing how deep I was gonna get that day. My take is this: if there is some way you can determine what kind of ground you're going to be up against, such as asking a detectorist in your area, and if you determine the soil is mild, get an AT pro, I think you will have lots of fun with it. Hey, even if you have bad soil, you'll still have fun with the AT Pro, just don't expect deep silver, maybe. After all is said and done, remember that some of the most notable land finds have been made with an AT Pro (Think Beau Ouimette). The AT Pro has quite an impressive resume.

 

[John-Edmonton]

First of all, it's very difficult to answer that question, if not impossible. The answer really is "it depends"

The following all play a significant role, and in combination will always give varying results:

-size of a target-> the larger the target, the deeper a target can be recognized.
-conductivity-> aluminum vs. copper vs. gold. vs. iron vs. silver. Some rings, with size & mass being equal can be detected deeper then others.
-size of coil-> general rule says "larger coil = deeper depth however, add a lot of conductive particles, metal junk and high mineralization to the matrix, and the large coil becomes redundant.
-type of coil-> DD vs.concentric vs. mono. Each coil has a definite advantage over the other under different conditions
-frequency of signal from coil-> higher frequency usually (but not always) is more sensitive to tinier objects.
-VLF vs. Pulse Induction-> Pulse induction can easily pick up a dropped mini or gold ring with a medium sized coil 15-20" whereas a VLF might get about half that all other things being equal.
-Humidity, moisture in soil, orientation of target to the coil
--ability of the to perceive the receiving frequency from a coil and distinguish it's conductivity, depth, size etc.
-operator - properly setting up the electonic components based on knowledge and experiences

There are many more variables in involved affecting depth.....the above are just some of the more obvious ones. So really, YOU need to figure out what you are looking for ie. relics vs. jewelery vs. common coins vs. deep copper/silver coins. You also need to know the soil conditions and other factors in YOUR area where you are going to hunt. Lots of electronic interference from above ground or below will make some of the most expensive machines useless, unless you turn the sensitivity way down, which often times reduces your depth considerably. Same goes with extremely high mineralization like in Australia or red clay oxidized clays in North America areas. VLF may really struggle under these conditions, yet a PI (pulse induction) will punch down deep with no trouble.

So.....how deep is the Pro? It is as deep in some instances and deeper in other instances and perhaps not as good as machines costing sometimes more then twice the cost of the . Throw on the 9 x 12 concentric coil in good ground and you have a very deep detector with great ID capabilities. Use the DD 8.5" x 12" coil in heavier mineralized soil, and it outperforms even the larger coil I just mentioned. Put on the 5" x 8" coil and you can easily pick out the good targets beside and often time underneath junk targets, while still getting great depth.


You want a simple, cost effective yet very productive coin/jewelry hunter Garrett has it - http://www.garrett.com/hobbysite/hbby_euro_ace_main.aspx

You want a machine for caches buried in feet, not inches - Garrett has it - http://www.garrett.com/hobbysite/hbby_searchcoil_tech_sheet.aspx


You want extreme depth for water or land, check out the Garrett Infinium or ATX - http://www.garrett.com/hobbysite/hbby_infinium_main.aspx
http://www.garrett.com/hobbysite/hbby_atx_main_en.aspx


You want a great all around machine for good depth + Salt or freshwater hunting (waterproof) Check out the At Pro - http://www.garrett.com/hobbysite/hbby_at_pro_international_main.aspx

You want to hunt common coins with sizing ability, check out the GTI Series- http://www.garrett.com/hobbysite/hbby_gti2500_main_international.aspx


Why should depth not be the most important factor for purchasing a metal detector? Because depth is only relative to certain conditions. Most targets are in the top 6 inches anyway, so why do you need to go down to 15-20"? In places like salt water or areas with a lot of deep junk rusty targets, the large coil on your $1,500.00 machine is practically useless, and when set up to it's maximum potential in these areas, will only give you say 4-5 inches. If somebody is trying to sell you an expensive detector, that they say is the deepest machine, you had better turn around and run fast....as that equates with someone trying to sell you a a parcel of land in a swamp. There is no 'DEEPEST" machine....it simply doesn't exist. But there are BEST configurations of a metal detector type for any given matrix of soil.

Choose wisely!

 

[Grilled Scallops]

What John said. I think anyone would have a lot of fun with the AT pro, especially someone like Bill who is looking to get back into the hobby. If deep silver is your target, Bill, consider getting a bigger coil if you decide to go with the pro. The coil the other user had when he couldn't get the half dollar at 8 inches was the smaller DD. Good luck to you!