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Garrett AT Pro Question

lawman711

lawman711

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I'm road kill on the information highway and I incorrectly posted this question in general discussions. I think this is the right place now.

I am really wanting an ATP but have been seeing mixed reviews. People either love them or hate them. It appeares that the negative reviews stem from early realeased models that had falsing issues and depth issues. I'm hoping that Garrett has addressed and resolved these bugs. Although there is no guarantee that a faulty unit will not sqeek by QC, should I be concerned that there is a better than average chance of getting a unit that requires warrantee work or repair soon after purchase?
 
I have one of the early released AT Pro's and had to return mine for service like a number of others. What I have noticed for the last number of many months is that the complaints on the newer machines has almost disappeared. What I judge my opinion on regarding the problems they had was how they handled them. Garrett stood 100% behind their machines and now I have a great machine. Based on this I recently bought the AT Gold and could not be happier with it.

Will you get a problem machine? Possibly but very unlikely now. Nothing is 100% perfect but they have solved the earlier problems and even updated the shaft. I would not hesitate to buy one of these machines now. Talk to Bart at Bobs Bigboy Hobbies and he will let you know from a much broarder base as he sells a lot of them.
 
Hey there! KT has been studying the ATPro for a bit now...around a week and it appears when it was newly issued back in late 2010, there were some manufacturing bugs....but that has all apparently been worked out...kinda like the situation with a new car model...

But Garrett stood behind their product and did due diligent repairs and also got the fixes done in the factory...have not heard a strong complaint since late spring of 2011...when the factory was basically debugged.

Have not purchased one yet but it is now a strong priority for me.

Best of luck on pulling the trigger!
 
I recently purchased an AT Pro as a backup to my Etrac. I am very impressed with this machine. It's very simple to use, has great depth and in Pro mode the deeper the target the quieter the sound. It's great for cherry picking oldies because I trained my ears to hear deep repeatable signals, some so deep that they didn't register any number on the screen, just a repeatable whisper of a tone.

I found the machine incredibly rugged. I love my Etrac and it's by far my best machine, however it's tough to use in the woods and thicket. The coil gets hung up, it's heavy and cumbersome, especially with my Sunray probe getting tangled on branches. I was in dense thicket yesterday with the AT Pro and it seemed much more at home in the woods. The coil is heavy duty and feels much stronger than the Minelab ProCoil. Good if your hitting rocks and stumps and fallen branches. I also dropped it upside down a couple of times, accidentally hit it with my shovel. Things that would make me cringe to have happen to my Etrac. Not a scratch or even so much as a mark on the Garrett. When I got home I sprayed it with soapy water and put it in the shower dried it off and it looks brand new!

I also found the iron audio a terrific feature. Get a iffy signal and hit the iron audio button and if you get a ton of grunting chances are it could be good sounding iron, or even iron amongst a good target. You can hunt with iron audio on as well but I never tried that. I am still learning the machine. I am going to take the Etrac and AT Pro out and do some testing on a silver dime with a rusty nail and make a video of it. See how the Garrett stacks up against the almighty Etrac in iron. Should be fun!


I think it's worth every penny. It's such a versatile machine.
 
even if by some slim chance you get a unit that would need service garrett has great customer service and most returns are turned around in 10-14 days
 
Jressman said:
I recently purchased an AT Pro as a backup to my Etrac. I am very impressed with this machine. It's very simple to use, has great depth and in Pro mode the deeper the target the quieter the sound. It's great for cherry picking oldies because I trained my ears to hear deep repeatable signals, some so deep that they didn't register any number on the screen, just a repeatable whisper of a tone.

I found the machine incredibly rugged. I love my Etrac and it's by far my best machine, however it's tough to use in the woods and thicket. The coil gets hung up, it's heavy and cumbersome, especially with my Sunray probe getting tangled on branches. I was in dense thicket yesterday with the AT Pro and it seemed much more at home in the woods. The coil is heavy duty and feels much stronger than the Minelab ProCoil. Good if your hitting rocks and stumps and fallen branches. I also dropped it upside down a couple of times, accidentally hit it with my shovel. Things that would make me cringe to have happen to my Etrac. Not a scratch or even so much as a mark on the Garrett. When I got home I sprayed it with soapy water and put it in the shower dried it off and it looks brand new!

I also found the iron audio a terrific feature. Get a iffy signal and hit the iron audio button and if you get a ton of grunting chances are it could be good sounding iron, or even iron amongst a good target. You can hunt with iron audio on as well but I never tried that. I am still learning the machine. I am going to take the Etrac and AT Pro out and do some testing on a silver dime with a rusty nail and make a video of it. See how the Garrett stacks up against the almighty Etrac in iron. Should be fun!


I think it's worth every penny. It's such a versatile machine.
Click to expand...

Great post!
 
The ATP is a great machine and Garrett's service is fantastic. I thought I had got a machine that was falsing (purchased in November), I called them and they had me check it out. It seemed that it was just me being new, which might be some of the reason for the reviews.

I had read all the same reviews, found that the good reviews (from forums, not metaldetectorreviews.com or something like that) were good and that Garrett would make it right if there was a problem.

You won't go wrong with the ATP!
 
lawman711 said:
I'm road kill on the information highway and I incorrectly posted this question in general discussions. I think this is the right place now.

I am really wanting an ATP but have been seeing mixed reviews. People either love them or hate them. It appeares that the negative reviews stem from early realeased models that had falsing issues and depth issues. I'm hoping that Garrett has addressed and resolved these bugs. Although there is no guarantee that a faulty unit will not sqeek by QC, should I be concerned that there is a better than average chance of getting a unit that requires warrantee work or repair soon after purchase?
Click to expand...

Hey lawman, the only possible complaint I can make about it is the weight. After the Ace, my arm was tired after the first hour. :lol: You get used to it though. Have fun with your new ATPro. :grin:
 
Love mine and learning more everyday.

It's alot like learning babyspeak. I say this because I have a 17 month old son. He's talking to me, making all sorts of different sounds. The more I listen the more I can tell what he's trying to tell me. :p

Once you get those AT pro sounds all down you'll be in sync with that machine and what's hiding in the ground.

You won't be disappointed

Joe
 
JohnH said:
I have one of the early released AT Pro's and had to return mine for service like a number of others. What I have noticed for the last number of many months is that the complaints on the newer machines has almost disappeared. What I judge my opinion on regarding the problems they had was how they handled them. Garrett stood 100% behind their machines and now I have a great machine. Based on this I recently bought the AT Gold and could not be happier with it.

Will you get a problem machine? Possibly but very unlikely now. Nothing is 100% perfect but they have solved the earlier problems and even updated the shaft. I would not hesitate to buy one of these machines now. Talk to Bart at Bobs Bigboy Hobbies and he will let you know from a much broarder base as he sells a lot of them.
Click to expand...

I could not have said it better...good post!
 
Well we're curious, have you taken the plunge??
You haven't posted on anything since posting this..
Sonny
 
I was on the Pre-Order list for the AT Pro and STILL to this day have not had to turn mine in for any repairs. Note that a lot of the falsing issues were when the detector was shaken hard while in the air. I don't metal detect that way myself and even still didn't have that issue when I tested mine. I have had no issues outside of the fact that I had a heck of a time pinpointing with the OEM coil. For some reason, no matter what method I used the target was off any direction by a couple of inches.

Now, I have upgraded the coil to the 5x8 and when I say upgraded, it was definitely an upgrade!! It is my primary coil. I don't even put the OEM coil on anymore unless relic hunting at the beach or jupiter.

It's a good machine. Just purchased an ETRAC and gave my fiance the AT Pro. She beat me in the valuable finds count last time out. I was a little disappointed, but hopefully will get the Etrac dialed in. So far... AT PRO still remains my favorite.
 
AT Pro

The AT Pro is the best machine that I've ever owned, and I've owned many. I've been detecting since 1979 and have probably owned 25 or 30 different machines in that time, and in my opinion the AT Pro beats them all...hands down. I have one of the newer ones with the camlocks and redesigned armrest, and I haven't had one issue with it. I've returned to parks where I have dug very deep coins in past years, and I started finding deeper coins again with the ATP that I know had to be missed with other machines. The AT Pro is DEEEEP! I use the Pro Zero mode with iron cancel set at 32, then crank the sensitivity up as high as I can without causing falsing and chatter noise. I listen to everything...and I don't use any discrimination. I just listen for repeating signals and check the numbers to see if I want to dig. Don't forget, if the sound is a whisper, forget the numbers and dig. Trust your ears because deep coins won't always give you a valid number reading. I've found coins over 10" deep with the stock 8 x 11 double D coil. but if you search in heavy trash areas like city parks, I'd recommend buying the 5 x 8 dd coil. It wades through the trash and is fantastic. Its depth capability will impress you, too. I've found coins at 7" plus with the smaller coil. You won't go wrong with the AT Pro. My hunting buddy has a Teknetics T2, which is a very deep machine, and my AT Pro goes every bit as deep as the T2. The AT Pro is very easy to learn, but it will take you a few weeks to REALLY understand what it is telling you. Read the book...more than once, and check out all of the learning videos that can be found on YouTube for the AT Pro. Garrett has some great videos that will help the learning process.
 
Atp

I'm liking that spring special and was thinking of getting it for my girlfriend. Her knees are worse than mine are though, so getting her out metal detecting would just have me digging twice as many targets. It really does appear they have worked the bugs out of the ATP. You Can't beat it in its price range that I know of.....Good Luck and Happy Hunting.....:biker::digginahole::biker:
 
I do not think there is a learning curve with the at pro. I say that because unlike an etrac or fisher, Garrett makes it as simple as possible. No need to know CO/FE numbers. Just learn the tones which aren't many and if unsure look at what it suggests it is. The VDI gives a confidence number as well as a visual symbol. IF other "higher" end (priced) machines did this theyd really make a killing.

BTW the ATPRO I believe is now Garrett's most top end series beating their GTI series. And at half the cost.
 
I ordered the ATP last week and am impatiantly waiting. As soon as I get it and run it through its paces I'll post my thoughts. Today was a slow day. $3.87 in clad and a silver zodiac pendant. Looking forward to the new ATP to see what Ive been missing.
 
lawman711 said:
I ordered the ATP last week and am impatiantly waiting. As soon as I get it and run it through its paces I'll post my thoughts. Today was a slow day. $3.87 in clad and a silver zodiac pendant. Looking forward to the new ATP to see what Ive been missing.
Click to expand...

Awesome. I am excited for you! LOL
 
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