Garrett AT Pro information and questions

[Guest]

Thanks for that boys, I appreciate the guidance. I am a bit disappointed because for the sake of $85 I could have had the AT Gold.
So I'll have to figure out whether I should sell it unopened and get the AT Gold.
Any suggestions?

 

[WalnLiz]

If it's gold you're mainly targeting, I'd probably do some surfing through the Detector Section of the forum, and check out fellow members opinions on the various detectors out there that suit our region. VLF's will get you gold but to be serious about gold you rely should look at a Pulse Induction machine....even if it's a second hand one.

Best of luck with it.

Cheers Wal.

 

[Guest]

Good advice.

 

[Ramjet]

Agree with Wally. The reason I got the At Pro was that I live many hours from the gold areas so would only get to use a detector a few times a year. With the Pro I can hunt coins and relics any day so I will get much more use from it. Have a think about how often you will be able to hunt nuggets and if you have an interest in coin shooting. Also depends on where you live. If you are near or in the gold fields you can hunt often. Just a couple of thoughts.Good luck

 

[Guest]

Very kind Ramjet. Thank you.

 

[Jackthehound]

If you live near the coast the AT Pro is also better suited to beach prospecting, I don't think the AT Gold would be suitable for the beach. I had the AT Pro Int. as my first detector and it was a great little machine for coins and relics. We spent many an hour out searching old sites and ovals till I got more interested in finding gold.

 

[slipped disc]

GOLD BUG 2 or pro, Fisher, could be an option at about $900. a P.I. will go crazy amongst the trash. to be successful at gold hunting, you must spend the money. you can get older minelabs from around $1500 upwards. gold mining, I think,is more than just detecting. panning,sluicing etc can be very rewarding. check out the gold mining sections here and other forums. HH.

 

[tassietaurusbull]

Hi cmark i am new to it all i am looking to get myself a at pro. where did u find yours mate ? im in tasmania and dont think any one here would sell at pro as cheap as shops your way, can u drop me a price u payed for it plz .

 

[slipped disc]

Hi cmark i am new to it all i am looking to get myself a at pro. where did u find yours mate ? im in tasmania and dont think any one here would sell at pro as cheap as shops your way, can u drop me a price u payed for it plz .

Google Garrett Aust. or Garrett dealers Aust. some have details and pricing on their web site. And haggle when your ready to buy.

 

[Goldpick]

The ATPro can be used for gold detecting, considering it has a lower frequency than the ATGold, and in theory that should make it less susceptible to ground mineralisation, but not as hot on the real small nuggets. The biggest issue is the ATPro not having an audible threshold like all the other gold vlf detectors have, so you may completely miss any faint or small targets. The Whites MXT also runs about the same frequency and has been successful on gold worldwide, but it has an audible threshold in prospecting mode.

If you want to do beach detecting as well, both the Fisher Gold Bug Pro and Teknetics G2 will ground balance all the way to salt, making them very usable on wet sand, and great on fine gold jewellery like chains (same detectors, but with different coils and shaft setup). The White MXT Pro has also been successfully used on beaches, and has the same proven ground tracking/ground grab setup as on the GMT.

In saying that, as mentioned above, gold detecting with a vlf detector these days can be a real chore, with many areas cleaned up with pulse induction detectors, so be prepared to learn the detector inside out, and put in plenty hours of detecting.

Also maybe give the Minelab X-terra 705 a look at as well.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for this boys, I really appreciate the time and direction and suggestions.

 

[Guest]

And now that I've looked at the Teknetics T2 SE; that really is a good machine. It is getting a lot of raves around the traps. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Goldtarget]

Always a dilemma trying to find a machine to do two things in the same fascia. Time will tell but realistically dedicated machines really are the way to go, bit like cars some do a pretty good job in a cross over role but it will always lack something, finesse, grunt, clearance, handling. I want to say the posts above are steering you in the right direction but as you mention a t2 this for all its inherent limitations is not a bad go to choice. Ultimately you will undoubtedly need two dedicated machines or roll out the bigger outlay for something like an atx. Even then it's still coming up a little short. Personally I would err on the side of something like the t2 and is platform purely on the basis if you have enough coil time over coins and jewelery you can narrow the gap in a very short time in terms of return from the value. Gold detecting can be a mighty specialized game and even the best are still out there learning every day. It's not rocket science going beep dig in the sand and dirt for coins and jewelery with all due respect to the shooters out here.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for that GT. You sound like a favourite uncle I never had.

And I 'get it' now. A dedicated machine is the way to go.

I've got an AT Pro on the way from the US, (my son did the deal for me the prices for that unit here are way over the top). So I'm going to do my best with this machine until I can afford a T2. Plus I'm going to order Nel coils as soon as my pension cheque will allow it.

Thanks again, I'm a desperately slow learner, so I really appreciate good feed-back.

 

[Goldtarget]

Have a look around at what the prominent posters have to say about their specific machines and targets. Having a good idea of what you want to achieve will guide your decision on what would best suit your needs. The machine your getting is no slouch, the question is what it can do for you. If you have the right tool and advice and keep the coil on the ground it will come. There's no shortcuts whatever path you tread.

 

[Guest]

Thanks GT. I was a Bendigo boy for nearly 20 years. Am in Cairns presently and am studying the Georgetown and Forsayth area.

And I take your point about shortcuts. Having driven a cab, years ago, I learned the hard way, most shortcuts ended up in dead ends or streets that had been closed off because everyone was using them for a 'shortcut'.

 

[eskyman]

how can u tell the difference between a Australian pro and a over seas one looking at a second hand one can't tell which one it is please for any help and is there any down falls one from the us or is it better one built for Australia

 

[Danmuss]

You could always ask them for the serial number and then contact Garrett and if they say its warranty has ran out or still valid its Australian but if they say its not registered here chances are its from US. Maybe someone else cant advise you better on here, that's best I know

 

[Goldpick]

Depends how old it is, as of Nov 2012 all AT Pros sold in Oz should be the AT Pro international version, with units in cms not inches, expanded high tone range/smaller mid tone range, and ferrous/non-ferrous facia vs the US version showing US coinage.

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=256

 

[Ramjet]

The info in the link supplied by Goldpick has the information your are after. I have the American version and I'm very happy with it. At the end of the day they are virtually the same machine with the only differences as described in the link above.