What are all these "Issues" with the AT PRO?

[dahut]

I'm prepping to get one of the new AT Pro detectors. I expect to sell my GTP 1350, a guitar or two and maybe even my first born child to obtain it, if needs be.
But, before I do, just what are all these "issues" I keep hearing about.

- Some people are fretting over the detector leaking - then another says go for it, NO problem.
- Others say there are problems with the coil, or not.
- Someone else says it falses like Casey Anthony testifying in court.

SO what is the deal here,? Before I plunk down a bunch of cash, or sell my son into bondage, someone tell me the straight skinny. John B - what gives?

 

[Jerry-Wi]

I have one the early models, 504 series. It developed a problem with false signals related to physical motion. Garrett took care of it promptly and I have not had any more issues with it at all. Sometimes from reading the forums, it would seem that many of the At Pro's are failing in the field. I see a lot of cross posting and repeat comments on the same instance so it is hard to get a handle on the scope of the problem. From what I have seen the issues fall into three categories, falsing , leaking and user. The first two Garrett has dealt with and the third will always be with us. This is just the way I see it. I am glad to see you considering an At Pro, I enjoy reading your posts.

Jerry

 

[widebody]

[size=large]ya for sure want ta sell off the baby smoker before ya have to pay for it's cancer treatments. ya do gotta love that avitar .
the way i see it is it's a crap shoot. there seems to be a more than normal amount of the same problems with the machine. my hunting buddy loves his. hasn't had any problems but has had it for only a few months now. and hasn't gone swimming with it. he loves the depth and it's a little annoying seeing all the rings and the silver nickel and just cool finds that i with my MXT PRO am missing. as far as his machine goes, it's living up to all he thought it would do. his is a newer model or number series. so you order yours and contend with what ever comes up. all makers have some problems but the AT PRO seems to have more than normal.Garrett as usual isn't saying how big the problems are and some dealers are trying to down play the problems.
garrett it seems likes to let it's dealers defend the products regardless of how bad things are. so order and hope yours is problem free.

HH [/size]

 

[John-Edmonton]

If you get a detector, AT Pro, GTI or ACE with some issues, call Garrett and be rest assured Garrett will look after you like they always have in the past.

 

[Joel-Winnipeg]

I had the first of the original batches with the coil falsing.
Sent it back to and it was promply fixed.
Came back like a new detector can crank up the sens to 7 bars no more falsing
and have never looked back

 

[Mark652]

Like some others, my AT Pro had a falsing problem when I first got it. And like others, I sent it in and got it promptly back within 9 days with the problem fixed. Garrett was very supportive and also sent a very useful and well appreciated gift for my troubles. The detector has not given me any problems since I got it back and I have had it out quite a few times since. It searches deep, tones are very helpful and the weight is a wonder compared to my Garrett GTI-2500.

If you buy one I am sure you will be satisfied with it. My sense is the earlier problems have been largely resolved and an AT Pro you buy now will most likely be problem-free. Good luck and happy hunting. Mark

 

[JoshuaA]

The one I purchased seemed to have some depth/falsing issues and when I called Garrett and let them know I was leaving on vacation so I didn't have time to send it in, wait for it etc. they just sent me a shipping label and as soon as they knew my unit was on its way back to them they 2 day shipped me a whole new one so I could be worry free on vacation.....NO ISSUES SINCE!!! This machine is amazing! Would like to get a 2nd one for backup just in case something ever goes wrong and I have to send it in....would hate to be without it for any period of time!!

 

[BigCatDaddy]

There's always gonna be a few glitches with a new release of a detector, always has been, always will be. Seems to me they've got the small problems worked out now, go ahead and shell out your sheckles and get one. I bought one of the first ones and had a couple of problems which Garrett fixed and sent me a free gift back both times. Works great now, finds stuff in places that I would have never believed held more goodies. I'm not wild about using the DD in the water so I got a 6 x 9 so I'm not constanly digging bottlecaps, even tho the ATP is telling me that's what they are. I just couldn't pass them up so valuable good target retieval time was lost.

 

[KCK]

If your asking if it is a great detector....I'd say yes. Has a two year warranty....That should cover it for the most part. If a guy or gal buys an AT Pro, Just stay with it long enough to make sure you learn what its trying to tell you. Most detectors now days are pretty darn good......The secret is to learn them!

KCK

 

[Leslie(nova scotia)]

From the land of the Bluenose......take a second look me son. This bouy after reading about the leaking still not taking her fur a dip and use me Seahunter mk11. Find in the Pro zero mode she chatters worse tehn the wife at a yard sale. Might be just me but not over ly pleased with the i Garrett. Thinking I'ze shop around fur another Freedom 3 Plus........ But the pro does get good depth and a hell of a lot more junk!

 

[dahut]

Thank you everyone for your comments.

It bothers me that my old chum Les (Nova Scotia) has not fared well in the switch to the AT Pro. I've hoped for a long time that he would give some of the new technology a whirl and once he does... it pans out poorly for him. Dang!

In my case, I plan on giving up a Tiger Shark for this detector. So the water hunting option is critical, and as one might imagine, assurance that it WONT leak is paramount.
"Chattering" is something I've been through once already, too, with my F70. It was hell until Fisher replaced the coil with the new version. It was fixed, but it was a chore getting there.

If I know I'm buying trouble at the outset, then I don't mind sending it back. I expect to pay less, too.
But paying $$$ for hidden problems strikes me as just wrong...

Garrett has always taken care of any issues I've ever had, I admit that. But it's a weird situation to be in, i.e., expecting something great from a trusted source... and knowing that it might be a crap shoot at the same time.
Like I said - weird.

 

[marcomo]

David - I've only had mine a short time, but no problems so far.

I've seen a lot of problems with those that have been submerged by users.

A majority of AT users are probably like me and haven't dunked their detectors because land detecting doesn't necessitate that, so my instinct is that the leaking problem may be more widespread than it seems.

 

[dahut]

David - I've only had mine a short time, but no problems so far.

I've seen a lot of problems with those that have been submerged by users.

A majority of AT users are probably like me and haven't dunked their detectors because land detecting doesn't necessitate that, so my instinct is that the leaking problem may be more widespread than it seems.

Well that issue will need resolution. Like I said, a Tiger Shark is leaving so the AT Pro can move in.
That rock solid detector is a true water hound. It's replacement must not falter....

 

[zeekeys]

Well Dahut it is kind of like the Edsel. Really different but not popular. I think the AT Pro is the same way. All of us are looking for something better than what we have been getting from the manufactures. As you know I had the F70 and it is a great detector. I got the AT Pro by mistake. I had a standing order but not until early summer. The guys from the shop called in Dec. and said your AT is in so I went and picked it up. I only did a few hunts with it and recognized it detects differently. It isn't perfect. It is packaged not so good. But Garrett does have a different detector that will change the way detectors are built. If you noticed that most of the manufactures have stuck with what sells. Not going too far out into something they can't really guaranty. Garrett has gone out on a limb. I don't think there was much thought about doing different than what worked for Garrett? That is probably why the connectors, balance and water proof, headphones, iron, depth, coils, simple, easy to use, etc Garrett stuff went into Garrett detector. You really have to give Garrett credit for stepping up to the plate and trying to give us something different. Will it work? I sold my F70 and only using the AT Pro. I probably would have bought an Edsel. I am thinking that Garrett is now thinking that they have a monster on their hands and either improve it or Edsel it?
These are my thoughts and I have been wrong more times than I care to admit.
Thanks for reading guys. Happy Trails......Z

 

[dahut]

Well the proof of the model is in the hands of guys like John B. and Big Cat Daddy. These chaps and others simply use it as intended and wring out all that it is capable of.
In the end, they don't talk it to death like we do - they put it to work!

From what I can determine, the AT Pro WAS rushed into distribution. It wasn't fully through the testing phase before public pressure to release it was brought to bear.
"Release it, or we'll buy someone else's new model!" etc. Detectorists are nothing if not persnickety that way.

But judging by results, they got what they were crying for. "Be careful what you ask for," might be appropriate... now those same people are whining about the "issues" we're discussing.
Essentially, it has been a development in production. But once tweaked out - it has the right stuff from what I can tell..

 

[Muddyshoes]

Agreed.

I'm looking forward to hitting the grounds this afternoon for my first outing with my new AT Pro. I've read just enough of the manual to be dangerous, and that can slaw isn't going to dig itself.

- Muddyshoes

 

[dahut]

As coins are now made of "pot metal" and disintegrate over time, the good old stuff gets deeper and more scarce, picked from the ground coin by coin by a growing number of detector enthusiasts using more sophisticated and powerful machines.

Something Garrett is partially to blame for, in fact. With the mass marketing of detectors that they and a short list of others have pursued, we now find a horde of treasure seekers out there. Let's not delude ourselves that they did if solely to benefit our "beloved hobby, " either - profit was a larger motive. Mr. Garrett has, in effect, carved out an empire in the metal detection business. That is how the world works, after all.

I can tell you from decades in this hobby, however, that is INDEED a benchmark change. Where no one knew or cared that you detected before, now we are in every living room and the limelight. Frankly, it hasn't helped the hobby as much as had been hoped. It's brought us a lot of great people, like yourself. But the trade off is that it has brought us a lot of people....

As for the AT Pro, hybrid designs are nothing new. Fisher has had their excellent Aquanaut 1280X on the market for years. It is essentially a 1236 in a waterproof housing. Detector Pro license builds the Fisher circuit, too, and puts it in their own hybrid designs. Tesoro has their Tiger Shark, an underwater Bandido. And so on.
Garrett, Inc. itself has had several hybrid designs over the years. I was always enamored of their very nice AT4, a semi-submersible beach detector. It was based on what we know as their Freedom series of detectors.

What Garrett has done with the AT Pro is marry many of their own innovations with some of the best of what others have been producing. That is a big change from the folks in Garland, Texas, who have traditionally cut their own path in this business. The "Pro" audio features, for example, are a nod to what others have been doing for some time.
Personally, I'm glad to see it. The danger in going your own way, as Garrett has over the years, is that you go it alone. Pioneering is a rough business, after all.
This AT Pro promises to bring together many proven features, in one instrument.

I mean, you don't know how much I've longed for an affordable, water detector capable of ID'ing ferrous objects AND offering multi-tone audio. Dammit man, this is like a dream come true!
So much so that I am considering trading my Tesoro Tiger Shark for one. Brother... that is a serious commitment.

 

[joe dirt_1]

There is no way I would trade a Tiger Shark for an AT PRO. Thats like trading a Mercedes for a Yugo.