At Pro vs AT Gold

[warriorriver]

like the chat about this, one thing..the coil size will determine your depth, 5x8 will not go as deep as the 8.5x11, but in clear ground hunting for relics you want to use the bigger coil, for trash areas use the smaller coil. from Diggers Thanks for the note!

The AT Gold and the AT Pro definitely are different, but I find they are fairly similar in a lot of ways, and I set them similarly. For example, the AT Gold and the AT Pro use the same numbering system, so a nickel, for example, is 53 on both machines, which is great, because you don’t have to memorize two sets of numbers if you switch back and forth. Currently, I run the AT Gold in DISC 1 mode with the sensitivity up all the way, and iron at about 20, and then I adjust the values up or down depending on the junkiness of the site and the detector’s reaction to the ground. For the AT Pro, PRO/ZERO/40, and adjust from there. Ringy

he has use both as i have.....and i agree

 

[Longhair]

Another FWIW, is that the ideal frequency for response from a silver dime is 2.7kHz, yet 15 and 18kHz still hit them. So the reality is that the difference of 3kHz isn't as big as your imagination is blowing it up to be. The loss of depth due to that amount of difference in frequency is so negligible that coil selection will be more important.
It basically boils down to which features you like/want more. If you want a threshold tone and more target tones get the Gold. If notch capability and Iron Audio is important to you get the pro.

JMO

 

[ohiochris]

Just because a lower khz may be " better" ideally for detection of an item dont mean that you could even tell a difference between that frequency and a higher one. The difference is that certain machines may pick that target up a little bit deeper more consistently with the lower frequency. Since the pro and gold both can hit dimes at 8 inches its not much of an issue , thats average for almost any detector.

 

[dbanimal]

This is all very helpful information, thanks guys, it's much appreciated!!

 

[SafeMode]

Here is the AT Pro air test with gold nuggets of various sizes. I'd rather see them buried, but you get the idea:



A video if PRO vs GOLD with a silver quarter and 3 ringer all surrounded by nails:

 

[dbanimal]

Here is the AT Pro air test with gold nuggets of various sizes. I'd rather see them buried, but you get the idea:

Thanks for the video posts.

Too bad there wasn't a side by side comparison between the Pro and Gold. I would guess the Gold would be more sensitive to the nuggets!

 

[dbanimal]

I just ordered my AT Gold, hopefully I'll be seeing it within a week or two. Thanks again to all the helpful advice from everyone, it made my decision that much easier!

 

[warriorriver]

Glad to see you went with a Garrett AT
i really like mine............happy hunting
post some of your finds

 

[DetectorOCD]

Congrats! I was in the same boat. I made up my mind to get the gold for these reasons.

I used to have an ATP and I always hunted in pro zero iron disc 35-40
I don't notch unless I'm hunting coins I disc out pull tabs etc (Gold can do this)
I like the sounds better
I like having the option of All metal and threshold
I prefer the 5x8 coil
I hunt for jewelry a lot.
I want to hunt in streams and some really good hunters prefer this machine for stream relics like Beau and Nugget.

 

[Big Boys Hobbies]

I'd rather see them buried, but you get the idea:

Air testing inside a house is NOT a good way to test anything.

 

[dbanimal]

I took my Gold out for the first time in my back yard yesterday and within an hour found about a dozen things...all junk but very exciting to say the least. The Gold is surprisingly very easy to get the hang of, ground balancing was a snap as well. I realize I could have adjusted the discrimination a bit to sort past the junk but I really wanted to dig up anything that was in the ground. I'm very glad I went with the Gold. I ordered the 8.5 x 11 coil for it and used that, pinpointing with it is amazingly accurate as well. Another thing is some of my targets were 10 - 12 inches down and I had a good strong signal! I can't wait to get out on some old property where I can find something spectacular.

What was the lesson I learned from yesterday? My back yard is a junk pile!!

 

[inspectorjj]

I currently have a ACE 250 with the ultimate 13" coil. I am in the same dilemma for another detector. I have also narrowed it down to the AT Gold or AT Pro. I have already made my decision to go with the AT Gold which is based on where I live, about 3 hours from Sutter's Mill in California.

With that being said, I would have chosen the AT Gold for any application that doesn't involve the beach since I have the ACE 250. \

I am a Cajun originally from South Louisiana. There is a Cajun word called lagniappe which means "a little something extra". The AT Gold has that, the AT Pro does not. (3 extra kHz)

Good luck on your choice.

 

[Ice Scratcher]

Just in case anyone is still on the fence about the ATP finding gold, I got all this in 6 months, and a bunch of silver too... Also why worry about small gold, like earing backs, when the average silver ring is worth more!

Just saying...

<*)))>{

 

[Ice Scratcher]

There is a Cajun word called lagniappe which means "a little something extra". The AT Gold has that, the AT Pro does not. (3 extra kHz)

"But this one goes to eleven"

Like I mentioned in my last post, the 3 kHz, is not extra, it is different... Although it might help you find a small GOLD nugget worth $1.00, it might also cause you to miss that really deep silver ring, worth $5.00 in scrap, or $25 to $100 on etsy..

YMMV...

<*)))>{

 

[inspectorjj]

"But this one goes to eleven"

Like I mentioned in my last post, the 3 kHz, is not extra, it is different... Although it might help you find a small GOLD nugget worth $1.00, it might also cause you to miss that really deep silver ring, worth $5.00 in scrap, or $25 to $100 on etsy..

YMMV...

<*)))>{

It is different than 90% of the metal detectors on the market. Plus the AT Gold is one of two detectors that I have. My comments were specific to my current situation. As far as advice, I'm sure that 99.9% of the people on this site has more experience than me so maybe I shouldn't comment or give advice.

Good luck to the original poster on finding the right detector for his needs.

 

[SavingThePast]

Even though I own the atpro, I would personally rather have the gold. I have owned both and I would much rather have the threshold on the gold. When I decided I wanted to have another AT back in the arsenal I only went with the pro because of the new two coil special which is running. With the way i run them(pro in pro zero)(gold in disc1) I. Prefer the gold. If someone likes a silent hunter or likes to notch out targets then they would want the pro...

 

[NMsilver]

"But this one goes to eleven"

Like I mentioned in my last post, the 3 kHz, is not extra, it is different... Although it might help you find a small GOLD nugget worth $1.00, it might also cause you to miss that really deep silver ring, worth $5.00 in scrap, or $25 to $100 on etsy..

YMMV...

<*)))>{

Gold prospecting is a very different game though. You can use those "$1.00" gold flakes as indicators of likely areas to dig for samples to pan out while looking for pay streaks.
If it can find the biggest/ shallowest piece in a pay streak when the rest is too small to give any signal, the prospecting detector has done its job.

 

[Ice Scratcher]

Gold prospecting is a very different game though. You can use those "$1.00" gold flakes as indicators of likely areas to dig for samples to pan out while looking for pay streaks.
If it can find the biggest/ shallowest piece in a pay streak when the rest is too small to give any signal, the prospecting detector has done its job.

Now that, makes all the sense in the world to me!! Good post there, I can see that.. At that point, your not really metal detecting for big nuggets as much as you are looking for a spot that is likely to have some yellow rich material....

I learned something there...

Thanks for taking the time on that, as you can see I don't know jack about real prospecting..

Good luck man!!

<*)))>{

 

[Kickindirt]

Something else that I think is a big difference is the atgold has 44 compared to pros 40 iron discrimination id's. So the gold will prob false less on big iron and be better in trash!

 

[WadeF]

I just ordered the AT Gold from Bart at bigboyshobbies.net! He was great to deal with and hooked me up. Can't wait to try it out.