Had an interesting remote encounter with an AT Pro International.

[Mick in Dubbo]

I rang up the Aussie Garrett importer yesterday to get more info on the International over the AT Pro ( I much prefer where the high tone comes in on the AT Pro). Anyway, to cut to the chase; he put an Aussie 10c piece over the coil, which hits in pull tab range (and gives a high tone on the International) Then he put a $1 coin over the coil, which hits in the same notch as a zinc penny. He had it in pro mode. What really struck the both of us, was that despite the fact that these coins are almost exactly the same diameter and both were giving the high tone, their tones were noticeably different. The 10c piece gave a fairly sharp hard tone while the $1 coin gave a smoother tone with the edges of the tones more rounded. Cool. I'd be interested to know of your experiences with hearing the variations with the tones on different targets that hit on the same or similar notches.
Thanks.
Mick Evans.

 

[lasergod]

M, I will say this. I really like mine. It never stops suprising me. Try watching the videos on utube. Check the 5th video (gld).
M

 

[lazyaussie]

hay Mick havent talked in ages, i picked up an at pro off ebay a few months back i like the tones on our silver coins they come in nice & sharp just like gold but i'm finding the $1-$2 coins a bit harder to lock on to the number id jumps around a bit & i'm digging way more of the old fizzy tops also it just loves crown caps. it's quite different to the ACE i think it will do very well finding gold rings which is why i bought it, it will be an average new coin hunter & so far i havent done to well on the pre Ds only found one silver a sixpence & a handfull of pennys from 4 hunts maybe it the DD coil.
look forward to hearing from ya soon lazyaussie

 

[Mick in Dubbo]

G'day Lazy.
yeah; It's been a while since we've talked. I did pass through Melbourne last Christmas, but made a B line for The Spirit of Tasmania so I didn't have enough time to get together with you. I am hoping to get down that way in 12 months though, so it might be possible to hook up, but I'll have to play it by ear though.
I am thinking about getting the AT Pro. I just sold my Omega back to the local dealer a couple of days ago and I'll decide over the next few weeks if I'll keep my X-terra or replace it with the AT. I've had an X-terra in one form or another since they came out, so it would be a change of pace. i like the idea that the AT is different to the Ace. I loved the general idea of the Ace, but the tones got me in the end. Not so with the AT. I've had a couple of conversations with the local importer about getting the AT in especially (as I prefer to buy local) but he will only stock the International version. I like the idea of the AT giving the high tones on the goldies where as the international version will give the high tone all the way down to the ten cent piece. I would most definitely get the 6x9 coil as it is my favourite coil. That's what I really liked about the Ace. Crown caps will give you a low tone as it goes off the tip of any coil, so they shouldn't cause you too much trouble. New years day last year, I hunted with the 5x10 DD coil on the GTI in a park that was totally and utterly infested with steel crown caps. Although they were often hitting in goldie range, I found that I hardly recovered any of them. they seem to sound less consistent than a coin. It was a record hunt that day, with $118 recovered and a mild case of heat stress.
Good luck with the AT. I'm enjoying reading all about them, but it will be a few weeks before I choose which way I'll jump as yet.
Mick Evans.

 

[lazyaussie]

it would be great to get out for a hunt with ya Mick & yeah the high tone on the at international sucks, usualy when i hunt for pre Ds i run in all metal mode & listen for high tones but now i have to dic all the low tones i think this is why i'm not doing very well on the oldies at the moment.
lazy

 

[lazyaussie]

it would be great to get out for a hunt with ya Mick & yeah the high tone on the at international sucks, usualy when i hunt for pre Ds i run in all metal mode & listen for high tones but now i have to disc all the low tones i think this is why i'm not doing very well on the oldies at the moment.
lazy

 

[Mick in Dubbo]

I've heard that the goldies can bounce around a bit. I suppose that if you looked at the notches instead, it might be more helpful.
It looks like the X-terra may have made the choice for me as it went on the fritz yesterday. Not terribly reliable. If it costs much too much to repair, then binning it might be the way to go. It would have been preferable to be able to sell it as I'd need the funds to buy the AT. Oh well, I'll see how things pan out. That's one of the key reasons I like buying here. I know that the Garrett importer will look after me if things go south. Actually. Garrett's are the only brand of detector that I've owned, that haven't broken down on me. Had 3 of them to date.
Mick Evans.

 

[lazyaussie]

sorry to hear about your other detector Mick yeah Garrett make tough detectors I've flogged my ace real hard & it's never missed a beat I'm up to no Garrett 4 & am saving my finds for maybe no 5 .
DON'T bin the "other" detector allot of hunters would love to have a spare detector for parts, list it on feebay as a non goer you'll be surprised at how much it gets.
lazy

 

[Mick in Dubbo]

I guess I've been a bit frustrated by it. It happened right on the back of the Omega problems, and the Terra has had to been sent back more than once for repairs already. Now that it's just out of warranty, the detector won't recognise the coils, so I'm thinking not again. the other catch is, that Minelab have dropped the prices on these detectors, so the resale is going to be fairly poor before I even think about further repairs and yet more freight costs. Finally got a day off tomorrow, so I'll be able to get to a phone in office hours, so I'll give them a buzz before I do anything drastic. I'd only ditch the control box, as I could recycle the other components myself a bit later.
Mick Evans.

 

[JohnApthorp]

G'day Mick,
missed you @ Don & Margaret's farewell @ Stuart Town last Sunday. Sharon & myself got to really compare her AT-Pro & my X-Terra 705. Sharon detected the first 3 hrs (I was the digger) & her machine worked really well. No gold was found but in all test, the AT really gave the XT a run for it's money. Different size nuggets were setup & the AT really screamed LOUDLY at them. The XT picked them up but the volume out of the speaker, even though it was set on max, was really hard to hear. If there was any loud noise, I may have missed the test nuggets! The only way I could beat Sharon was when the sun went down & it got dark - she couldn't read her screen as the AT-Pro is "night blind" - no backlight. The other day @ a park - far far away, she picked up $57 in $1 & $2 coins. I only picked up $52. Guess who copped a ribbing. (After she confiscated my coins)
The bottom line is, I'm very impressed with the AT-Pro but the balance of the unit is very annoying. I solved this problem by grabbing a "extendable tent pole" bracket from BCF, put this on her shaft just down from the control box & ran a bungy cord (like the minelab 3500s) back to a clip on one of my abseiling chest harnesses. Now the AT-Pro weighs next to nothing. Hence my digging her targets last Sunday.
Catch up with you soon.
Gary.

[sub]Personalities No 3: Sanguine - the person who likes to be the "life of the party" is usually the loudest one in the room so that the attention is directed at them. They are the

 

[Mick in Dubbo]

G'day John and Sharon.
I would have loved to get to the send off. They are a great couple. Unfortunately I had other commitments and was unable to attend. I think the club likes to go to that spot mostly for social reasons, as I think that that spot has been done to death now. I'm always happy to be proven wrong though.
it's good to see that you have done side by side comparisons on both these detectors. Especially in real world gold country with real gold nuggets. It's actually quite rare to find that sort of info on the net and know that it is the real deal.
That park you two found is pretty awesome. If I were you, I'd certainly make a return trip to in the future, but you don't need me to mention that. It would have been a a fun day and nothing like a bit of family friendly competition to sweeten the day.
Apart from the fact that I'm a big fan of Garrett's elliptical concentric coils, I think that they will balance out the AT a lot better, as would the lighter 9x12 elliptical concentric coil. That might be another solution to the AT's poor balance.
I rang up the manufacturer of my other detector a few hours ago. With a bit of an idea that was given as to what the problem is, I decided to pull it apart myself and found the problem Just a wire to the coil connection that broke it's solder, so I'll save myself a $100 and fix it myself. (no warranty).
we'll have to organise ourselves to hunt together at some point. It'd be a fun day.
Catch ya soon.
Mick Evans.
P.S. Have you been reading the book personality plus? (In regards to the little caption at the bottom of your post.)