What to buy????

[Jason73]

I'M looking to buy a detector thats waterproof and can id gold rings or nuggets. I need something that i can use in creeks or rivers but still be used on landhunts. I use whites v3i --- pi pro ( for saltwater beaches) tesoro golden umax. I'm leaning more towards the garrett At gold. So you tell me Is there something else that may fit better?????​

 

[mudpuppy]

Looks like you got a lot of bases covered with your existing gear...May I suggest the AtPro?...if its gold you want...the thing hits it hard, especially gold rings, but it also hits gold chains very much greatly..I've been running one on inland fresh water for 2yrs straight...It will Not miss a gold ring, no matter how small...heres a pic of a .4gr..14k...yep, thats point 4!...along with another small 10k one both found on the same day..of course, the chains speak for themselves....just saying...
Mud

 

[bulletman]

Nothing exists yet that can truly i.d. gold. If a manufacturer comes up with a detector that can do that, then it is game over!!!

 

[Jason73]

I guess i mean by Id is a visual id number. I find jewelry for people on the side and need something thats waterproof in case i have a call thats in a river or lake or when its just nasty out. I live down here in the south and we have gold in our creeks and rivers and would like to do some prospecting. Does the AT PRO or AT GOLD hit harder on gold or are they equal??? I have learned just because it says (gold or beach) doesn't really mean much. just another sales tool to sell a detector. AND WOW I NEED SOME GOLD LIKE THAT MUDPUPPY!!!!!

thanks for the comments
jason73

 

[mudpuppy]

Hey Jason, you probably already know this...

Those visual numbers are not gonna help you much on gold...its all about the tone and size of the target...lets see...a poster on the AtPro forum named 'Diggin-it" did some vids on rings of various sizes with his Pro and showed the tids...I am guessing you live near Kannapolis? I know the Pro hits those danged little lead split shots hard, they give me fits on account of they fall through the holes in my scoop...and really small foil too...didja see that 5lb nugget video that was posted the other day? Now thats the kind of nugget that wont fall through a scoop by cracky! I rarely look at the Pro's screen, and just try to find the 'right' sound/size, and of course a lot of hunting and digging in prime water real estate...that said, if its a 53, I'm digging it no matter what, if its any other real solid ping that dont hop around, its getting dug too...the chains may not give off a good solid signal, so therein lies the challenge...The Pro is very forgiving and simple, I almost never ground balance, just turn it on, run disc up to 40, in Pro zero mode and go...this may not work for small nuggets, but for anything the size of a small split shot on up, it will not miss it within reason...somebody else may be along soon to help you with their experience with a rig that may work for you...
Mud

 

[Jason73]

THanks for the info. I usually dig everything when i hunt by myself. but lookin for peoples bling the id just gives me targets to pass AND targets to investigate. I will look up DIGGIN-IT posts. thanks
jason73​

 

[targets]

gold that isnt 24c has all manner of base metals included amd thats the problem

 

[Jason73]

THINK I have made my choice. I believe i will go with an AT PRO If i can find one used thats in good shape. I think the notch feature is what sold me. Now 5x8 or the 11 inch which is better and what is the downside of either? also go with water phones or regular phones ?​

 

[Monte]

What is it about the 'notch' feature that sold you on the AT Pro? In Garrett terms, as with most segmented Discrimination adjustment models on the market, you only have a certain number of Discrimination 'segments' or 'notches' [size=small](12)[/size] to either accept or reject. Personally I prefer to have a variable manual Discrimination control, and with that I only adjust high enough to just barely reject typical iron nails laying on the ground. I don't adjust higher than that, and not more than one or two times in an entire year do I use any 'notch' setting, and that's just for a specialty application, not general hunting.

What type of detecting do you plan to do? What types of sites would you hunt, and what are you looking for at the different sites?

What types of trash do you think you'll encounter that encourages you to use any 'notching', and do you know what favorable targets you might also be ignoring when 'notch Disc.' is in use?

Just curious.

Monte

 

[mudpuppy]

Your original post states 'creeks and rivers', so you best get the water proof phones...I use the Garrett blues, although the Gray Ghosts amphibians have quite a following, with adjustable volumn and more comfortable...so If you have the dough, get those right from jump...
I only use the big coil, its all I have...but I have heard great testimony about using the smaller one in certain trashy locations...You should call a dealer that advertises here and have a little chat?...you may be able to get a package put together with both coils and a set of GG phones for an amount you can live with.. Thats what a fellow should do at this point...Or get the Pro with the stock big coil and the GGs and you can always pick up the little coil later?...I wouldnt worry about 'notch'..I never use it, most likely never will...like Monte says...you want to find gold? So no notch..."iron audio off" capability on the Pro is good enough to start hitting it right out of the box..
Mud

 

[Jason73]

Monte; Why the notch feature will work for me is when I am looking for a gold ring for a customer I only look for that ring I notch out all the high tones. Personally when i hunt for myself I notch nothing and dig everything.​

 

[Jason73]

I use my whites pi pro for saltwater beach hunting my whites v3i for general hunting my tesoro for park and general hunting but I need a waterproof machine for river and creek hunting that I can also find customers rings when it's bad weather. The notch feature will just aid in searching just that part of the gold range without hearing all the other signals that we always hear. At that point I only care about finding that gold ring not everything else. Maybe that will clear things up. Thanks
If Anyone knows of one that is inexpensive let me know
Jason73

 

[skookum]

Hi,
If you don´t have another ring made up of the exact same composition - how/where are you going to set your notch ??
If I were you, I´ld learn to become more efficient with your PI Pro.
It takes quite a while to understand what this detector is trying to tell you - but the rig is pretty well water resistent and you don´t have any additional cash outlay for it since you already own one.
A while ago I bought a Hammerhead as well as a Surf Pro and these suckers go deep - in most soils much deeper than my XLT , which is the most potent of my VLF machines.
But as I have said, the learning curve regarding what a PI detector is trying to tell you is much more difficult than with a VLF detector.
The Hammerhead learning curve is even more difficult than that of the Surf Pro because there are various adjustments that can be made - not found on the surf pro
Just my 2 bits worth

greetings
skookum

 

[rexy]

For general All alround hunting. You could get the XP deus.
They came out with the waterproof antennae, and they have different frequencies for underwater use.
It is also a great coin and relic detector, very deep, and the new version update has a gold prospecting mode.
Only problem is that it costs about 4 times as much as the AT pro.

 

[Jason73]

Yea I thought about the xp deus for about 4 seconds after seeing the price. Not really sure how the xp is in salt water but i can't believe it would be good especially in my SC beaches (Heavy black sand even my pi sometimes reacts to it). I have dug small fishhooks at 2 scoops (T-REX 9 1/2 W) with my pi. As far as knowing my whites pi pro i know it really well. Its not the deepest that would have been my Eric Foster machine that when I dug I came out with chinese coins. Right now all i want is a detector that is waterproof and that can descrim out unwanted high or low tones depending on the type ring i'm looking for. Example--- If a friend calls me saying he lost his silver ring at the park I will notch out the low tones and keep the high NOT wanting to stop at every pull-tab or foil signal. AND that i can use in creeks or small rivers. and that's all i have to say about that. I have owned all the US brands and have owned minelabs. AS all of us know we are never content with just one detector we are all looking for that one machine that we need to complete our needs or desires
My stable of detectors as of now
2 pi detectors (scan search)( whites pi pro)
3 vlf detectors (whites spectra v3i) ( tesoro golden umax) (detector pro ''wader'')
1 pi pinpointer deteknix x pointer AWESOME!!!!!!!!!
1 garrett pro pointer MADE ON MONDAY :-( faultes all the time​