After 20+ years using Whites detectors only, I decided to test a Garrett AT Pro from a local dealer. I liked it and bought one. Here is a review of 2 hunts I did with it.
1st outing with the Garrett AT Pro
Took the AT Pro out to a park area that has lots of trees and is next to a school. The school was built about 1 1/2 years before the land next to it became a park area. The park was built in 1964. My assumption was the school kids played in the area at recess and after school activities.
As it was my first detecting search with the AT Pro, I used the STD mode and wanting to test the tone roll audio on the bottle caps that are in almost every park I search, I notched out everything but the upper coins. I will have plenty of time to test out the other features of the detector.
On most detectors lots of bottlecaps read as quarter signals----that is what I wanted to test first. I dug on every quarter signal and on every quarter signal I rechecked it in the PRO mode, to see if the tone roll audio was correctly IDing bottlecaps from the quarters.
Every time the PRO mode sounded its triple tone on a pass---low/high/low, it indeed was a bottlecap, and every time the PRO mode had just the high tone, it indeed was a quarter. I dug over 25 bottlecaps and 4 quarters. The Tone Roll Audio just by itself is worth a look because we all have been tricked by those quarter--bottlecaps.
The AT Pro does sound very good on targets. One high tone I got on the AT Pro, showed 10 inches deep. I dug up a piece of copper tubing that was over 8 inches deep, acording to my diggers length, and the signal was loud and clear.
The headphones are very good and are solidly built. A little bit heavy for warm days, but they do block out quite a bit of outside noise and even with a slight hearing loss in my left ear, I had to turn the headphone volume, down because it was a bit too loud. The phones have a separate volume for each side and a mono/stereo switch also.
While searching, I got a signal that bounced from quarter to half to quarter. I dug and got a clad quarter, rechecking the hole --there was another quarter---it was a 1964 Washington. Both quarters were less than 4 inches deep. [attachment 186350 silverWashSmall.jpg]
Then along a 3 foot long tree root that was showing just above the ground next to a tree, I got a penny signal. In that area I pulled 26 wheats from close to the tree root. Talk about pocket spills !!!!!!!
Though they were just a few inches deep and most any detector could have found them, the AT Pro located them !!!!!!!!!!!!!
[attachment 186351 spillarea2Small.jpg]
The detector is lighter than the Whites detectors I am using, but while swinging the unit, the balance is not as even, as the coil side is a bit heavier. I spent 3 hours detecting and while it feels different than my Whites, it was easy to swing and I am liking it alot.
2nd outing with the AT PRO
Went back to the park, where on Saturday I dug a coin spill of 26 wheats and also dug a 1964 silver quarter from the grounds. I still am in the learning process so I kept the STD Mode on, and tried to recheck some signals using the PRO Mode. Still learning, the VDI numbers, I notched out everything 70 and below.
I know I could be missing some good items, but I can always return and try after I get the higher VDI targets dug from there.
I had a better idea of the workings of the detector in the STD Mode, but did forget to recheck some quarter signals in the PRO Mode and dug a few bottlecaps because of it. One cap was not the typical bottlecap and it did fool me as did another bottlecap that was a little larger in size.The Tone Roll Audio is a great feature !!!!!!!! Most of the parks I have searched have bottlecaps and more bottlecaps in the ground. It is nice to be able to NOT dig them and still get to the coins, close to them.
The DD coil does a very good job at separating close targets. I still have a little trouble in the pinpointing mode to get the exact location of the target before digging, but I am getting closer each time.
When you are searching, some of the signals did sound off the high tone but if you scan the target a few times some will then show as iron. Guess most detectors have this "wrap around" signal where a larger piece of iron will sometimes show as a "good sounding" target.
As the only coins I found today were clad, in the park today, all but a couple of coins were dug at over 6 inches deep. The area I searched was one I had searched before, using my Whites M6 and 6X10 DD coil. I had thought it was pretty clean of coins. That's what I get for thinking.
After I was done with the park I came home and searched a small section of my yard. This section is one I have searched with all the other 12 metal detectors I have had. At 4 inches the AT PRO located a penny signal and when I dug it up--- it was a wheat cent !!!!!!!!!
I am liking this one, more and more each time I use it.
1st outing with the Garrett AT Pro
Took the AT Pro out to a park area that has lots of trees and is next to a school. The school was built about 1 1/2 years before the land next to it became a park area. The park was built in 1964. My assumption was the school kids played in the area at recess and after school activities.
As it was my first detecting search with the AT Pro, I used the STD mode and wanting to test the tone roll audio on the bottle caps that are in almost every park I search, I notched out everything but the upper coins. I will have plenty of time to test out the other features of the detector.
On most detectors lots of bottlecaps read as quarter signals----that is what I wanted to test first. I dug on every quarter signal and on every quarter signal I rechecked it in the PRO mode, to see if the tone roll audio was correctly IDing bottlecaps from the quarters.
Every time the PRO mode sounded its triple tone on a pass---low/high/low, it indeed was a bottlecap, and every time the PRO mode had just the high tone, it indeed was a quarter. I dug over 25 bottlecaps and 4 quarters. The Tone Roll Audio just by itself is worth a look because we all have been tricked by those quarter--bottlecaps.
The AT Pro does sound very good on targets. One high tone I got on the AT Pro, showed 10 inches deep. I dug up a piece of copper tubing that was over 8 inches deep, acording to my diggers length, and the signal was loud and clear.
The headphones are very good and are solidly built. A little bit heavy for warm days, but they do block out quite a bit of outside noise and even with a slight hearing loss in my left ear, I had to turn the headphone volume, down because it was a bit too loud. The phones have a separate volume for each side and a mono/stereo switch also.
While searching, I got a signal that bounced from quarter to half to quarter. I dug and got a clad quarter, rechecking the hole --there was another quarter---it was a 1964 Washington. Both quarters were less than 4 inches deep. [attachment 186350 silverWashSmall.jpg]
Then along a 3 foot long tree root that was showing just above the ground next to a tree, I got a penny signal. In that area I pulled 26 wheats from close to the tree root. Talk about pocket spills !!!!!!!
Though they were just a few inches deep and most any detector could have found them, the AT Pro located them !!!!!!!!!!!!!
[attachment 186351 spillarea2Small.jpg]
The detector is lighter than the Whites detectors I am using, but while swinging the unit, the balance is not as even, as the coil side is a bit heavier. I spent 3 hours detecting and while it feels different than my Whites, it was easy to swing and I am liking it alot.
2nd outing with the AT PRO
Went back to the park, where on Saturday I dug a coin spill of 26 wheats and also dug a 1964 silver quarter from the grounds. I still am in the learning process so I kept the STD Mode on, and tried to recheck some signals using the PRO Mode. Still learning, the VDI numbers, I notched out everything 70 and below.
I know I could be missing some good items, but I can always return and try after I get the higher VDI targets dug from there.
I had a better idea of the workings of the detector in the STD Mode, but did forget to recheck some quarter signals in the PRO Mode and dug a few bottlecaps because of it. One cap was not the typical bottlecap and it did fool me as did another bottlecap that was a little larger in size.The Tone Roll Audio is a great feature !!!!!!!! Most of the parks I have searched have bottlecaps and more bottlecaps in the ground. It is nice to be able to NOT dig them and still get to the coins, close to them.
The DD coil does a very good job at separating close targets. I still have a little trouble in the pinpointing mode to get the exact location of the target before digging, but I am getting closer each time.
When you are searching, some of the signals did sound off the high tone but if you scan the target a few times some will then show as iron. Guess most detectors have this "wrap around" signal where a larger piece of iron will sometimes show as a "good sounding" target.
As the only coins I found today were clad, in the park today, all but a couple of coins were dug at over 6 inches deep. The area I searched was one I had searched before, using my Whites M6 and 6X10 DD coil. I had thought it was pretty clean of coins. That's what I get for thinking.
After I was done with the park I came home and searched a small section of my yard. This section is one I have searched with all the other 12 metal detectors I have had. At 4 inches the AT PRO located a penny signal and when I dug it up--- it was a wheat cent !!!!!!!!!
I am liking this one, more and more each time I use it.
Nice hunt!
Great review on the AT Pro!
Good enough for Lost Treasure Magazine if ya ask me!
Congrats on the silver!
Awesome pocket spill!
26 wheaties!?!
Holy cow!
Nicely done!
Thanks for sharing!
Happy Hunting!
)
