AT Gold vs ATP Whats the difference for salt water use?

[Andrew Kalinowski]

http://www.garrett.com/hobbysite/hbby_a ... chart.aspx shows the differences between the two.
I wonder why they show there that ATP is OK for salt water use but AT Gold is not? I thought that a prerequisite for salt water use is ability to ground balance. What else is a must?
Anybody successfully using AT Gold in salt water?

 

[John-Edmonton]

The AT Gold doesn't ground balance down to salt, which means the AT Pro would be the better choice.

 

[Andrew Kalinowski]

Thanks John.
So, in simpler terms, ATP has a wider range for ground balance? I wonder why Garrett wouldn't allow that with ATG. Something to do with the higher frequency ATG runs at or, just making sure that there wouldn't be too many higher end options included in lower priced detectors? I'm thinking about upgrading from my EuroAce but, I visit Northern Ontario relatively often so; I like the idea of ATG being more sensitive to gold (a nugget dream but, sometimes I do go to the ocean so, I'd hate to be excluded from hunting beach surf as I am right now with my EuroAce. I don't care one bit that ATG offers fewer discrimination options - I like shooting coins and for Canadian Clad I can't see me discriminating anything... May have to explore other brands and see what they offer in the price range that is waterproof and good for both environments...
Oh, My EuroAce does not see my wife's small gold earrings. How small pieces of gold ATG will pick up vs. ATP?

 

[John-Edmonton]

The AT Gold has the true all metal mode, which is the mode of choice for hunting small gold nuggets. With either the sniper coil or the 5" x 8" coil, it will pick up the tiny ones at decent depth. The AT Pro comes in second, only because it doesn't get the same depth. But, using the 5" x 8" coil, it should do a decent job with nuggets also. Below is a grapgh showing the differences. Pay close to the depth of that tiny flake of gold.

 

[markg]

Dry sand is okay, but wet is out of the question for the AT Gold.

 

[Big Boys Hobbies]

Great chart John! The Garrett AT Gold is POWERFUL!

 

[Andrew Kalinowski]

Fantastic info; THANKS!