Functional Advantages of the AT Gold over the AT Pro

[landman]

When I first introduced to the AT line I immediately gravitated to the AT Gold.( I do not hunt for gold nuggets,)
I had the initial impression that the AT Gold was had something over the AT Pro. Then I saw the opposite reaction from the general public with most gravitating
to the AT Pro and I understand why. My question, not owning either one is, is there a functional difference or feature that the AT Gold has over the AT Pro that
has been overlooked? Again not for gold nugget hunting but for coin and relic hunting. Thanks!

 

[MikeLab]

There are some videos on the Garrett website you can watch. Also the instruction manual is there. There are several different features, but the All Metal mode is the biggest difference. Many/most people have the AMM phobia. Most people don't believe it bu there is much more target info available in AMM because it reads everything, not a fake tone like a discriminator circuit. But you gotta learn it and I think Clive Clynick has the best books on this. His Jewelry Hunters book, well, I shouldn't be giving out too many secrets. LOL. All Metal is not for high trash areas.

 

[MikeLab]

AMM is not for high trash areas but it's easy enough to switch over to it when you want to double check a target. The control buttons are easy to press with the same hand you hold the detector with. A lot of targets get missed when using a discriminator. All Metal is much cleaner signal and targets on edge can't hide nearly as easily. Like I said it reads everything and that's what you hear. That's why there is so much more info and even more accurate discrimination for iron vs. non-ferrous. Yeah that's right, you heard it. You gotta read Clive.

 

[MattBullSummerville]

Well said fellows, totally agree with your opinions on AMM, and Clive's books. Good reading for us detector junkies.

 

[landman]

Which of Clive's books?

 

[John-Edmonton]

Basically, the AT Gold will perform better looking for tiny nuggets of gold in areas where such gold exists. It has the true all metal mode which gives increased sensitivity to tiny nuggets, and will also get a little more depth compared to discriminate mode. The AT Pro has the ability to notch out targets, and as I have discovered, gives better audio discrimination over the AT Gold. The AT Gold is not recommended for salt water whereas the AT Pro will perform in saltwater.

So, between the two, the AT Gold gets a little more depth over the AT Pro, but the AT Pro can be programmed for better coin/ring hunting. Or, in simple terms, the AT Gold is better for relics where depth is important, but not so much discrimination. The AT Pro will giver better audio for coin/ring hunting. All the different coils are interchangeable between the AT Gold and the AT Pro.

 

[asiandigger]

I owned the AT PRO and the AT GOLD at the same time, I did extensive test, air and dirt test, there are no difference in depth. Both machine with the 5X8.

 

[MikeLab]

Clive says he finds "most of my stuff" behind people who use discriminate mode. And many targets "are not deep at all". I'll omit my editorial comments about this, but you can guess.

 

[Turak]

I have both the AT Gold and the AT Pro....LOVE THEM BOTH!

Let me start off by saying you can not go wrong with either machine.

In general I would say that it really comes down to;
Where (trashy vs non-trashy and salt water vs fresh water)
and/or
What (small gold items nuggets/rings/chains vs coins/jewelry) you are hunting for.

Overall both machines are close to equal when it comes to detecting depth. Although a slight edge to the AT Gold
if used in ALL Metal mode with no discrimination used. But only by maybe an inch or so with the smaller coils and
maybe an inch or two with the larger coils.

The coils used, both size and type (concentric vs DD) will actually make more of a depth difference than the machines do.

AT Gold
-------------------------------
Best for non trashy areas.
Least useful in High trash areas or Salt water.

Pros
------
18kHz
Very sensitive.
Especially good for smaller gold nuggets, etc.

Cons
-------
VERY chatty (compared to the AT Pro)
Basically only 2 Fixed discrimination modes; Disc1 equal to AT Pros Zero mode and Disc2 equal to AT Pros Coin mode. No adjusting them.
Can be hard to stabilize in Salt water.


AT Pro
---------------------------
Best used in.....almost anywhere. VERY Good in high trash areas due to the variable, selectable discrimination modes.
Least useful....can't think of anything here. It works well in all areas even salt water. Better than an AT Gold in the Salt water.

Pros
-------
15kHz
Tuned especially for coin hunting.
Can be used in both fresh and salt water.
Adjustable, user selectable discrimination patterns

Cons
-------
No true All Metal mode. Closest you can get is zero mode with 0 iron.
Slightly less sensitive to small gold nuggets when compared to an AT Gold.

 

[MikeLab]

Never understood why people say they have trouble with bottle caps on the AT Pro. Then I saw a video and it was not the same as the AT Gold response in Iron Audio. Never have any trouble as long as I remember to check the iffy targets with Iron Audio. I go for hours and get one rusty cap.

 

[ohiochris]

Threshold control on the AT gold , assuming it works as the threshold on most detectors do , can gain you some significant extra depth advantage over the pro , if you know how to use it.

 

[PostalTwo]

Never understood why people say they have trouble with bottle caps on the AT Pro. Then I saw a video and it was not the same as the AT Gold response in Iron Audio. Never have any trouble as long as I remember to check the iffy targets with Iron Audio. I go for hours and get one rusty cap.

U keep passing up those bottle caps last season I found many silver with bottle caps in the hole lol just saying

 

[PostalTwo]

Threshold control , true all metal, iron audio in all metal and a general smoother tone are what I like about the at gold over the pro .

 

[Miser67]

I've used both. To be honest, your biggest consideration is the kind of trash you will deal with most often. If you're a park a hunter and want to dig more than just coins, I would probably steer you away from the AT gold because of the amount of aluminum trash you will encounter. I would advise you to go with the AT Pro instead. Again, this is just due to my personal experience.

But if you're a relic hunter and in a heavy iron trash environment, I think the AT Gold would likely bet your better choice.

 

[cjc]

Thanks for your kind words, Mike. Don't sell too many of that book but it's got some stuff that's worked well for me over the last few years. Wish someone had written that book for me years ago--would have saved me a lot of tramping around up on the overburden.
cjc
clivesgoldpage.com

 

[MikeLab]

The Gold Jewelry Hunter's Handbook