kompa
Full Member
i was wondering if anyone has used an garrett atp in wet sand and inside saltwater?? if so where and how did it perform? for the price is there something better for these conditions?
atp in salt water??
- Thread starter kompa
- Start date
According to Garrett it works fine. Mine sux!
kompa
Full Member
Oh ok... Thanks for ur response. Where do u use yours most?
At the beach. In the dry sand. It would be good for finding gold chains, smaller gold, etc. As soon as the sand gets damp you get all sorts of falsing and have to turn the sensitivity down too low. May work different where you are? Little better? Even worse? Hopefully you can run into someone at your beach who has been using one for a while who will answer questions.
Surfchunker
Elite Member
Garrett says you have to keep Ground Balancing it a lot to hunt in the wet salt water sand
Auriemma
Senior Member
An ATP can work in saltwater, but it depends on where you are and the sand condition. In South Jersey, my ATP works fine. Constant GB'ing from dry sand (80-90) to wet (30-40) to water (10-13) is a must.
GB 10-13 (in S.NJ)
IRON 35, SENS 6-7 (or where it doesn't chatter, too low and its not worth it)
IRON AUDIO your choice.
GB 10-13 (in S.NJ)
IRON 35, SENS 6-7 (or where it doesn't chatter, too low and its not worth it)
IRON AUDIO your choice.
Big Boys Hobbies
Forum Sponsor
They will "work" but the high mineralization of salt is not easy for a Garrett AT Pro or any other single frequency detector to handle. Most go with a PI or multi frequency to handle the salt.
Dry sand you will be good!
Firstring
Senior Member
Yes. Northern California. Great in a dry sand environment. The AT Pro was not originally intended for a sea water environment. If you want to get a sea water detector consider getting one designed especially for that environment.
Damianicus
Elite Member
I'm taking my ATP and Deus to Ocean City, MD next month. I'll try both on wet dry sand and try the ATP in the water.
Grumpysrb
Forum Supporter
Ground Balance VERY often. You may have to turn the sensitivity down two or three bars. Depends o which beach I am on. Depth will be reduced and the VDI will probably be erratic.
Good news is it will work. Solid targets will sound off normally. VDI numbers will be within a range, although not spot on. A Quarter that gets 86/87 will be around 82/89. Same for all coins. The dryer the sand the better it gets.
Good news is it will work. Solid targets will sound off normally. VDI numbers will be within a range, although not spot on. A Quarter that gets 86/87 will be around 82/89. Same for all coins. The dryer the sand the better it gets.
knightwillo-b
Forum Supporter
On the Delaware beaches it works pretty good in the wet and dry... The gb number above are around what I've used... Sense at 5-6.. Minimal chatter unless you touch the sand with the coil..
Here is the way I see it. Yes the AT Pro can work in a salt water environment. But you need to dial down the sensitivity and manipulate the discrimination and ground balance. All this is costing you depth. The entire name of the game when it comes to wet sand hunting is depth. Get as deep as possible because gold sinks. For dry sand and recent drops the AT Pro can work fine. You can even take it in the water and do OK because after all how deep can you dig in the ocean? Not very deep in the mid Atlantic anyways. But wet sand hunting is where you will be handicapped. While yu are gound balancing and deciding if that was a false signal or not the guy with the multi frequency unit is hitting it deep and having a good time.
