AT Pro does NOT like salt water

MacDiarmada · Jul 17, 2016

So today was my first beach hunt with my AT Pro. Before this I have only hunted parks and fields. I quickly figured out that this thing doesn't like the salt water. I never even made it into the water, the damp sand made it go crazy and I was not able to ground balance, needless to say I stayed in the dry sand. I managed to scoop up about $5 in change tho and broke in my new scoop.
The coin in the picture, of course, is a fake... A souvenir that you find in the gift shops. I gotta admit tho, I think I peed a little when I first seen it in the scoop. :laughing:

leslie(nova scotia) · Jul 17, 2016

um

There is a few vids on the Pro on youtube for this concern. Never use mine in salt water nor wet sand as I have found P.I. machines are the way to go for that.

MacDiarmada · Jul 17, 2016

I never got to my question... Lol
Has anybody been able to hunt salt water with the AT Pro?
I usually run it in PRO CUSTOM and the small 5x8 coil. Sensitivity is two notches down from max. The problem I had was I could not ground balance in the wet sand, it was non stop noise when I tried. It worked fine in the dry sand, but as soon as I got close to the wet sand, it wouldn't shut up at all, numbers jumping all over. I felt like a newb, I didn't know what to do so I just stayed on the towel line... Until it got crowded, anyways... Any pointers for running this thing in the salt water would be great, Thanks. HH!!

Look4Coins · Jul 17, 2016

We just got back from vacation 2 weeks ago and my son (26) was in the water everyday with his AT Pro, 5' /6 '...loved it he said...he just bought a CTX3030 this week.
Here is some of what we found in the water...all rings but 1 found in the water.

Crown Cap Mike · Jul 17, 2016

I use mine in Pro Zero half down on sensitivity. Ming ground balances at about 11 or 12 usually. Works fine after that. Sounds great when hitting targets and not noisey as long as I don't contact the surface of the sand (keep it about an inch above).

MacDiarmada · Jul 17, 2016

Great tips! Thanks for the input... I'll be giving it another shot maybe next weekend... Wrightsville Beach, NC if anybody is close by

metaladdict · Jul 17, 2016

You could try to lower the sensitivity way down and listen for high tones. Good luck.
I think it will be difficult to hear any low tones.

SuperShaun · Jul 17, 2016

I used mine in the wet sand when I went to the beach was crazy at first I GB down to around 5 and sensitivity around 3 below max and worked for me but I know each beach is different. And don't let it touch surface when swinging also when I would sit it down wet sand got on the coil I had to dip it in water to quiet it back down.

Keep swinging my friends!

rockymtnrider · Jul 17, 2016

Last time I was on the coast got mine to work great, on the wet sand and went a little in water but not much. Sensitivity was at just 2 notches down from full.

Yesterday tried a spot that I thought was fresh water, but I guess because of the drought there is more salt water in it lately and I couldn't get it to ground balance at all. It was going crazy couldn't detect at all in the water.

I am though thinking about a new detector for the salt water beaches.

Grumpysrb · Jul 17, 2016

Used my ATP on the saltwater beach, dryish and wet sand, and have found quit a bit.

Ground balance often, stick to an area such as dry, wet or water, as moving from one to the other messes with the ground balance and you have to reground balance. I set my sens at full, sometimes minus one bar. Try the frequency adjust to get a little bit more stability, and manually adjust the ground balance.

The VDI numbers will bounce around but usually stay close to the normal. Tones are normal. Picking coins and silver rings shouldn't be a problem.

Some beaches are worse than others, I have found. Many of the beaches here are littler with many countless different size pieces of iron bits or chips. The ATP picks them up, but my Pin Pointer cannot. They seems to have gone lately. When bad I simply move down the beach.

Depth is the biggest issue I have with the ATP on the beach, mostly in wet sand and water. Good depth is 6 inches. Average seems to be 4 inches.

goodmore · Jul 17, 2016

This time of year you can find plenty of fresh drops. In the water is probably your best bet. Single frequency detectors can be manipulated to work, but you sacrifice depth. During this time of year it doesn't matter that much because of the fresh drops. Also in the water you really have a hard time digging deep anyways. It puts you on more of an even field with other people swinging. There is one thing you need to realize. In the wet sand a gold ring can sink out of detector range in a few minutes. Depth is everything to precious metal hunting. Have fun and enjoy your hunt. There is always walking treasures to be admired this time of year.

slider66 · Jul 17, 2016

Crown Cap Mike said:
I use mine in Pro Zero half down on sensitivity. Ming ground balances at about 11 or 12 usually. Works fine after that. Sounds great when hitting targets and not noisey as long as I don't contact the surface of the sand (keep it about an inch above).

I also have used mine 12 To 13 ground balance on the treasure coast and take the sensitivity down a bit. Works great. I have 2 Excals and a CTX. My AT Pro was in the closet. I took it out and went to the beach and found an 18 k wedding band. Look up R Adams on YouTube he uses the AT Pro in Miami and has great finds with it.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

pryan67 · Apr 14, 2019

MacDiarmada said:
So today was my first beach hunt with my AT Pro. Before this I have only hunted parks and fields. I quickly figured out that this thing doesn't like the salt water. I never even made it into the water, the damp sand made it go crazy and I was not able to ground balance, needless to say I stayed in the dry sand. I managed to scoop up about $5 in change tho and broke in my new scoop.
The coin in the picture, of course, is a fake... A souvenir that you find in the gift shops. I gotta admit tho, I think I peed a little when I first seen it in the scoop.

I know this is an old post, but I'm heading to Wrightsville Beach in June...

I'm hoping to find one of these, only a REAL one

MrJeep · Apr 16, 2019

pryan67 said:
I know this is an old post, but I'm heading to Wrightsville Beach in June...

I'm hoping to find one of these, only a REAL one

I found one on a Key West beach in 2010. It was a real heart stopper for sure seeing it in the scoop. It was also a souvenir coin lol.

langsy · Apr 23, 2019

Atp salt water

MacDiarmada said:
So today was my first beach hunt with my AT Pro. Before this I have only hunted parks and fields. I quickly figured out that this thing doesn't like the salt water. I never even made it into the water, the damp sand made it go crazy and I was not able to ground balance, needless to say I stayed in the dry sand. I managed to scoop up about $5 in change tho and broke in my new scoop.
The coin in the picture, of course, is a fake... A souvenir that you find in the gift shops. I gotta admit tho, I think I peed a little when I first seen it in the scoop.

I had an atp for 4 years I used it in the wet sand and in the water , usually wet sand ground balance at 9 sensitivity had to turn down same for in the water but little more unstable , decided to sell it because of that felt like I was missing a lot I think I was

zeemang · Apr 24, 2019

I have heard of people having the same issue, seems like it is not really built for salt water but does well in fresh water.

AT Pro does NOT like salt water

MacDiarmada

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leslie(nova scotia)

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