Here is my report from using the GTP 1350 for one complete year. The depth a metal detector will get is proportional to the size of the coil being used, therefore it is hard to answer 'how deep does it go?" I also included my coin finds for the one year using the GTP 1350.
"Garrett recently celebrated 40 years of producing metal detectors, some of the best in the world. My curiosity got the best of me, since there were two new releases, the "ACE " Series and the "GTP 1350". I have both, and was quite interested how the latter, the "GTP 1350" would work in the field under different conditions.
I got home from work late one evening to find a reminder to pick up a parcel from the post office. I already knew what the parcel was, so I immediately went to the post office to pick it up. After returning home, I broke the #1 cardinal rule....."always read the manual first" and proceeded to put the new GTA 1350 Detector together. Fortunately, this was my 6th Garrett Metal Detector during the last 10 years, so it was quite simple.........and yes, I did right the first time. However, I am some what of a visual learner, and will always understand any written instructions better if the instructions include pictures, of which all of Garrett Metal Detector Owner's manuals do.
Rather then take out the machine for two or three hunts and write about them, I chose to use the GTP 1350 for one month, try different types of places, search for different types of targets and then present my final outcome, which would give a much more accurate interpretation of how the machine performed. After my 30th day, I figured it was time to sit down and write. This report is the result of 16 hunts totalling 29 hours. They include a ski hill still covered with 3-4 feet of snow in places, some current athletic fields near my home and some older country community halls with sports fields and picnic areas.
Now, I am primarily a coin hunter.....and hunt them all! I don't mind finding pennies, as they are a good way of practicing pinpointing, faster coin retrieval and every year I find enough to buy myself a gold coin. I also like to hunt in the woods in the spring and fall, when the bugs are at their lowest numbers and also work in some freshwater beaches on hot days. So, after I got my GTP 1350 assembled, I drove to a ski hill, 10 minutes from home which still had 2-3 feet of snow in some places. My first find.....mmmmm, a cell phone sticking out of the snow. It did not work...in fact the cellphone had visible water in the digital screen. I wanted to see how the GTP 1350 would handle snow, so I went out of my way to look in the snow for buried coins. I was rewarded with a one dollar coin, some quarters, dimes and nickels. Two of the dimes were buried at about 5 inches, and the rest of the coins were not as deep. Now, it is very common for me to dig around $100.00 each year in the winter months on toboggan and ski hills.
Near my home are 6 schools, and each one has at least one soccer field, baseball diamond, playground and basketball nets. I searched many of these, and yes....it was "Clad City". I got lots of pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, one and two dollar coins. There were also a few surprises, some silver coins and rings. I love it!
Now, I do love to find coins, but finding a silver coin is a better coin, and if it's old......well "fantastic". So, I set my sights on some places that should produce some old coins. I had kept track of some older community halls during the past couple of years, and decided that these would be my first choice. I detected three old community halls which also had a baseball diamond and picnic areas. The GTP 1350 rewarded me with lots of clad, but also silver coins and a nice gold ring. The oldest silver was a 1919 silver quarter. A great addition to my coin collection.
So, lets get personal......about the GTP 1350 ' that is...........
Assembling the GTP 1350 was very easy. As mentioned earlier, the owners manual has clear written instructions with pictures. All the parts fit nicely together, and there are even batteries included with the GTO 1350.
The POWER touch pad button turns it on and it is already to use....it is set at factory default. You can immediately start hunting, however.....remember the #1 cardinal rule : "Read The Manual First", DO IT!
Now, Garrett has come out with another very interesting first with this machine. I'm unofficially calling it "AUDIO DURATION TARGET SIZING". Let me explain..........
The simplest way to use this feature is to turn off the tone id, turn off the profiling and start hunting...say for example, in coin mode. All the coin size objects will give a short audio sound, a medium size target will give a longer audio tone and a larger target will give an even longer audio sound or the over-size ringing sound. After several hours of hunting in this mode, you get conditioned to the sounds and what they mean. This is new technology, the kinds of engineering that everyone who metal detects regularly is so ravenous for. The GTP 1350 can also size a coin (like the GTI 1500) using different technology by the "PROFILING" mode, a watered down version of the IMAGING MODE, only sizing targets A, B or C. "A" sized targets are the ones I focus on, as they are the coin size ones. This machine has the ability to size an object either with the profiling method, the audio method or both. The audio sizing takes metal detecting using tones to a new level. You can now notch out all your own selected junk, and hunt using the audio duration sizing mode to only look for coin size objects. You don't have to look at the screen at all unless you want to profile/and or pinpoint the target. This is great to also hunt at night or if your vision is not too good.
Now back to basics. Using the coin mode on the GTP 1350, does just that! It is set to get rid of most common junk and give good probability signals on common clad. Silver coins read up a little higher on the screen. Keep in mind that the cursor will read a target, and that it is only a probability. Some targets with the same metallic content or rusty bits of steel will sometimes read as a coin. This is normal, and is a common problem found with all metal detectors. However, the GTP 1350 has the ability to size an object. By centering the coil over the target, just momentarily push the pinpoint button, which turns on the machine into the PROFILING MODE. To get the most accurate sizing information, you must swing the coil 7 inches past the center of the target in a smooth swing, parallel to the ground. After 2-3 swings, the detector will give a distinct "Beep", and the target size will be largely and clearly shown in the center of the display as small, medium or large. Small targets are 1.5 inches or less, medium are from 1.5 inches to 4 inches and of course large are greater then 4 inches.
My thoughts on the GTP 1350 are this. It is another one of Charles Garrett's Machines which really is in a class of its own for coin hunting. The sizing capabilities of the "Profiling" feature allows you to size an object and leave large junk targets in the ground where they belong. The pinpointing on the GTP 1350 using the stock 7 X 10" is so simple and effective. Just push on the pinpoint button and either use the audio, where the loudest is the entire or watch the squares in the lower scale, and when the most squares line up, is where the center is. I have developed another method of pinpointing using the inner toe of the stock 7 X 10 elliptical coil. See the instructions below:
To find coins, I suggest you go over an area using zero discrimination. The area with the most signals is probably where the most activity took place, so this is the area to hunt first. Next, switch to jewelry mode, and continue hunting. Keep the machine in tones mode, so you can dig medium or high tones. If there is too much junk.......switch to coin mode, then check each probable signal or "SEARCH-SIZE & DIG", as I call it. The GTP 1350 will give you plenty of depth with the stock "7 X 10" elliptical coil. I measured the bottom of a flashlight, about 1 1 /2' in diameter at a measured 9 inches depth. This machine just loves silver coins. If you swing the coil over one, it will definitely sound off and tell you that it is a coin. Profiling the coin further confirms this. And....the GTP 1350 also will sound off on those one and two dollar Canadian Coins. A Real bonus if you live in am area where they are common.
I accidentally discovered another way of sizing object with this machine. If you are pinpointing a target using the inner toe of the coil, and the audio suddenly drops off, it probably is a coin. However, if the target audio slowly fades out, it is usually a large target, quite often deeper then the depth is indicated on the faceplate. This is good information to know when using this machine, and can help you to decide whether to dig the target or not. And by the way....you can hunt for a very long time on a set of alkaline batteries. Much longer then previous Garrett models. The GTP 1350 also readily accepts rechargeable batteries, so if you hunt often, batteries will cost you pennies a hunt.
So, it looks like Garrett has come out with another winner, the "GTP 1350". Specially built to find coins....lots of them. It is so easy to operate. It has a good probability of telling you whats in the ground, and the "Profiling Feature" quickly lets you know the size of the target. You can also choose to hunt using audio features to size a target, another "First" designed and utilized by Garrett. The machine is so simple, yet full of tricks to help you find more coins. A simple, small 2 1/2 X 5 inch instruction booklet is all you need to find coins using the GTP 1350, in more ways then you ever imagined. The book has lots of diagrams for the visual learners too. This machine can also use all Crossfire II coils and 10 x 14 DD coil to suit your hunting needs."
Below are my finds for one complete year using the GTP 1350:
The most detailed review I ever seen John thanks! HHH