Eric in RI
New member
Good evening, my name is Eric and I'm from the RI / SE Mass area. I've been lurking the findmall forums for a few years now. I've been an avid hunter for the last 10 years. Started off with a Whites IDX Pro, didn't like it after a month, upgraded to a Whites XLT and have been hooked on the hobby since then. While the XLT served me well the last 10 years, I finally had to spring for a new detector. I've been reading all the posts from all the various forums and I was really stuck on which machine I wanted. I must admit the Minelab E-trac really caught my eye, I couldnt justify spending that much money on a machine that I was restricted to hunt land with. My roommate / detecting buddy for the last 5 years recently purchased an AT Pro and he loves the machine to say the least. He's already found silver and a large cent with it within the last few weeks. I finally made the choice to go with the AT Pro as I am very impressed with its turn on and go features and still had pretty much all the bells and whistles that I am used to. The weight is similar than my other machine and at first I thought was coil heavy, I naturally got used to swinging it and didn't end up with a sore shoulder after an hour of use like I was used to with the bulky Whites. I also love the fact that I can go up to 10ft under water.
I took the day off from work yesterday and drove to my nearest rep. I didn't bother with Kellyco, and would rather give a small mom and pops / family owned business my business. I ended up picking up the AT Pro and also in my opinion the best d@mn pinpointer ever, the one and only Garret Pro-Pointer. I couldn't believe all the accessories I got with the machine. The full length detector bag, another bag for my tools, a new digger which the quality appears to be pretty good and boy is it sharp! A sweet book, a copy of Western and Eastern treasures magazine with the full review of the AT-Pro, an awesome backpack, and the list goes on. I spent roughly about $850 for everything oh and I forgot to mention, I paid the extra money for the underwater headphones. I couldn't believe everything I got for that price, when 10 years ago I bought the Whites for $900 and it dodn't come with half the stuff I got yesterday.
I must admit I was reather eager to get out and try the unit last night that I read about half the manual and said I gotta hunt before it gets dark. Honestly I should have read the manual first but you learn from your mistakes. I had no idea how to ground balance the machine lol. My roommate was supposed to meet up with me and show me the ropes, but he got tied up and couldn't make it and unfortunately I left the owners manual at home. Even though I was a total noob with the machine and didn't do what I was supposed to do, I did find a James Polk presidential $1 coin and some clad. I did find a 56 wheatie at the school I was hunting which I had written off as "hunted out". When I say hunted out, I mean you could go 3 hours without a coin signal. The wheatie came up around 5 - 6" deep loud and clear. I did have problems pinpointing with the unit but I wasn't doing it right, I wasn't keeping it at a constant height and sometimes it wouldn't register anything was there. Again, my own stupidity for not reading the manual.
Today while on lunch break, I decided to read the manual. I finally understood what I was doing wrong and it actually made a lot more sense now. I went out tonight after work to a park down the road from my house which I've pounded for 7 years. Last year I pulled 4 gold rings within a 2 week span in a baseball field in the park. Well, I figured again hunting a previously pounded site by me for the last 7 years, maybe the AT Pro would surprise me a silver coiin or silver ring of some sorts. Boy was I wrong, I just finished digging a small piece of trash. I was using standard coin mode and didn't touch the sensitivity or any of the settings. I did use the Iron audio feature and I gotta say, one of the best features I've used so far with this machine. I also like the live depth gauge and the signal strength in pinpoint mode. Well when I first dug the piece of trash, I knew there was another signal about 12 - 14 inches away. It came up a solid 50 which I figured was around the nickel / pulltab area. Dont get me wrong, I dig everything in this park and tonight was no different. Only way i'm going to learn the numbers is by actual digs. Anyways I dug the 2nd target, took out my trusty pro-pointer and sure enough it was still in the hole. I couldn't believe that I just pulled out a ring missing a stone and wrapped up with string. It sure looked gold, so I unwrapped the string and sure enough I see a 10K stamp. 2nd day out with a brand new machine that I dont even know and I score a gold ring in my hunted out park within 10 minutes of being there. Absolutely amazing. i've been over this area countless times with my Whites and was very shocked I didn't find this ring. The ring was a good 3 - 4 inches deep so I know its been there for some time. I did eventually find the missing stone, turns out to be some white chalky stone. I broke it apart because I saw a piece of gold sticking out of it which you may see in the picture. I hunted for another hour digging everything and finally it was dark. I dd find a jefferson nickel about 6 inches deep and it locked on solid like it was 2 inches deep. This 8 1/2 x 11 DD coil is amazing, it pierces thru the ground like a hot knife lol. All in all, I am very very impressed with the AT Pro and its ability to find gold. I'm still on cloud nine. Thanks for listening to my story and HH all
I took the day off from work yesterday and drove to my nearest rep. I didn't bother with Kellyco, and would rather give a small mom and pops / family owned business my business. I ended up picking up the AT Pro and also in my opinion the best d@mn pinpointer ever, the one and only Garret Pro-Pointer. I couldn't believe all the accessories I got with the machine. The full length detector bag, another bag for my tools, a new digger which the quality appears to be pretty good and boy is it sharp! A sweet book, a copy of Western and Eastern treasures magazine with the full review of the AT-Pro, an awesome backpack, and the list goes on. I spent roughly about $850 for everything oh and I forgot to mention, I paid the extra money for the underwater headphones. I couldn't believe everything I got for that price, when 10 years ago I bought the Whites for $900 and it dodn't come with half the stuff I got yesterday.
I must admit I was reather eager to get out and try the unit last night that I read about half the manual and said I gotta hunt before it gets dark. Honestly I should have read the manual first but you learn from your mistakes. I had no idea how to ground balance the machine lol. My roommate was supposed to meet up with me and show me the ropes, but he got tied up and couldn't make it and unfortunately I left the owners manual at home. Even though I was a total noob with the machine and didn't do what I was supposed to do, I did find a James Polk presidential $1 coin and some clad. I did find a 56 wheatie at the school I was hunting which I had written off as "hunted out". When I say hunted out, I mean you could go 3 hours without a coin signal. The wheatie came up around 5 - 6" deep loud and clear. I did have problems pinpointing with the unit but I wasn't doing it right, I wasn't keeping it at a constant height and sometimes it wouldn't register anything was there. Again, my own stupidity for not reading the manual.
Today while on lunch break, I decided to read the manual. I finally understood what I was doing wrong and it actually made a lot more sense now. I went out tonight after work to a park down the road from my house which I've pounded for 7 years. Last year I pulled 4 gold rings within a 2 week span in a baseball field in the park. Well, I figured again hunting a previously pounded site by me for the last 7 years, maybe the AT Pro would surprise me a silver coiin or silver ring of some sorts. Boy was I wrong, I just finished digging a small piece of trash. I was using standard coin mode and didn't touch the sensitivity or any of the settings. I did use the Iron audio feature and I gotta say, one of the best features I've used so far with this machine. I also like the live depth gauge and the signal strength in pinpoint mode. Well when I first dug the piece of trash, I knew there was another signal about 12 - 14 inches away. It came up a solid 50 which I figured was around the nickel / pulltab area. Dont get me wrong, I dig everything in this park and tonight was no different. Only way i'm going to learn the numbers is by actual digs. Anyways I dug the 2nd target, took out my trusty pro-pointer and sure enough it was still in the hole. I couldn't believe that I just pulled out a ring missing a stone and wrapped up with string. It sure looked gold, so I unwrapped the string and sure enough I see a 10K stamp. 2nd day out with a brand new machine that I dont even know and I score a gold ring in my hunted out park within 10 minutes of being there. Absolutely amazing. i've been over this area countless times with my Whites and was very shocked I didn't find this ring. The ring was a good 3 - 4 inches deep so I know its been there for some time. I did eventually find the missing stone, turns out to be some white chalky stone. I broke it apart because I saw a piece of gold sticking out of it which you may see in the picture. I hunted for another hour digging everything and finally it was dark. I dd find a jefferson nickel about 6 inches deep and it locked on solid like it was 2 inches deep. This 8 1/2 x 11 DD coil is amazing, it pierces thru the ground like a hot knife lol. All in all, I am very very impressed with the AT Pro and its ability to find gold. I'm still on cloud nine. Thanks for listening to my story and HH all
