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Way too early to think about upgrading advice. AT Pro or AT Max?

Fooleeze

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 23, 2018
Messages
340
Location
Copley, OH
So, I bought my Ace 400 only 3 months ago. And since then I've become completely addicted to the hobby. I love it. I can't look at a house or park or piece of property without thinking what might lie beneath the surface. I joined a forum, watching youtube videos, bought all of the accessories. I've always wanted a detector since I was a kid, and I finally decided to give it a try. No turning back now!

While I like the Ace 400, I've found myself wondering if a higher model would be beneficial. Like, am I missing targets that a better detector would find easier? It seems about the only coins I find are within the top 4-5 inches of soil. Anything deeper than that usually turns out to be an aluminum can buried deep or a pipe 12 inches beneath the surface. So I'm looking for some advice.

(At this point I'm pretty committed to the Garrett brand, that's what I'm comfortable with. You can make other suggestions, but I'm kinda sold on the Ace 400 / AT Pro / AT Max. )

If I were to upgrade to an AT Pro or an AT Max, would I see a big change in the targets I'm hitting? Are the benefits of one of these better machines worth the investment? I've heard all of these stories about people who upgraded and hunted previously hit areas only to find out how much they missed. That's kinda what is driving me to this point.

I've watched a few videos on the AT Pro and AT Max, and seen countless YouTube videos of them both in action. What are the benefits of one vs. the other? I know the z-link wireless is built into the AT Max, which is really appealing. I really hate that cord on my headphones.

I'm mostly hunting coins and relics, if that helps. I'd love to give water-hunting a try, whether it be beaches or streams/rivers, mostly fresh water.

And last thing. . . any advice on how to ease my wife into the idea of me buying an upgrade only 3 months after buying my first? :)

Thanks for your feedback!
 
Bury coins and scan them and listen and identify how the signals change with depth. I would hold off and learn more before jumping ship on the 400 but you are free to do as you please. The "wife" advice is buy what you want and ask for forgiveness after you have it. It is a lot easier and less stressful in the long run but believe that you really need to learn the one you currently have before advancing to another machine so soon.
 
Very good advice. I did do that when I got the detector. I did air tests with different coins (Clad, gold, silver) and some other objects. I then buried some clad and silver coins in my garden at 2, 4, 6 and 8 inches. What really concerned me was that in many cases, at 8 inches, the Ace 400 just didn't pick it up.

I saw one video put together by a few kids where they compared the Ace400 and AT Pro and that depth was one obvious advantage to the AT Pro.

I'll probably go back and re-do some of this testing now that I've got more experience with the Ace400. But I'm still yearning for a stronger machine.

Bury coins and scan them and listen and identify how the signals change with depth. I would hold off and learn more before jumping ship on the 400 but you are free to do as you please. The "wife" advice is buy what you want and ask for forgiveness after you have it. It is a lot easier and less stressful in the long run but believe that you really need to learn the one you currently have before advancing to another machine so soon.
 
I would buy an Atpro. If you get a Max I would pay the lowest price possible and get it used.
I've not tried a Max and have no desire to.
The Atpro is nose heavy with stock coil,wore out my arm quick..need lightweight 5by8 coil.:yes:
 
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So, I bought my Ace 400 only 3 months ago. And since then I've become completely addicted to the hobby. I love it. I can't look at a house or park or piece of property without thinking what might lie beneath the surface. I joined a forum, watching youtube videos, bought all of the accessories. I've always wanted a detector since I was a kid, and I finally decided to give it a try. No turning back now!

While I like the Ace 400, I've found myself wondering if a higher model would be beneficial. Like, am I missing targets that a better detector would find easier? It seems about the only coins I find are within the top 4-5 inches of soil. Anything deeper than that usually turns out to be an aluminum can buried deep or a pipe 12 inches beneath the surface. So I'm looking for some advice.

(At this point I'm pretty committed to the Garrett brand, that's what I'm comfortable with. You can make other suggestions, but I'm kinda sold on the Ace 400 / AT Pro / AT Max. )

If I were to upgrade to an AT Pro or an AT Max, would I see a big change in the targets I'm hitting? Are the benefits of one of these better machines worth the investment? I've heard all of these stories about people who upgraded and hunted previously hit areas only to find out how much they missed. That's kinda what is driving me to this point.

I've watched a few videos on the AT Pro and AT Max, and seen countless YouTube videos of them both in action. What are the benefits of one vs. the other? I know the z-link wireless is built into the AT Max, which is really appealing. I really hate that cord on my headphones.

I'm mostly hunting coins and relics, if that helps. I'd love to give water-hunting a try, whether it be beaches or streams/rivers, mostly fresh water.

And last thing. . . any advice on how to ease my wife into the idea of me buying an upgrade only 3 months after buying my first? :)

Thanks for your feedback!

ATP and ATM are definate upgrades from your equipment. In stable soil, I had noticeably more depth with the ATM when comparing the same size coil on both machines. Now if you go the ATP route, you can probably find a nice (cheap) used machine and then explore coils.

A small coil will help your detectors ability to separate targets. For example, if you are at an old home site that is riddled with nails, you'll better be able to hear coins next to a junk target.

A large coil will gain depth and of course make it faster to cover large areas. These aren't ideal for trashy areas, but lets say you go to a farm field to hunt relics....now you can you gain an extra 20-60% depth and really punch down.

Talk to the forum dealers and ask what discounts they can offer or if they have any pre-owned equipment. You might even ask them to notify you when they get a trade-in.
 
The ATP has much better audio than the ATM. I found the ATM to be too digital if that makes sense. Too processed, too synthetic. Maybe that doesn’t make sense, but, for example, deep dimes with the ATP were very distinctive. I dug almost 300 last year. With the ATM tiny aluminum shards were indistinguishable from dimes. Same tone, good VDI. Maybe that was just me, but I couldn’t bond with it. I regretted selling my ATP. But all is well now, as I went back to Tesoro and making great finds with my Vaquero.
 
So a couple things. First of all, it's cool that you caught the affliction so many of us have. And yes you are missing stuff, however when you upgrade, you will still be missing stuff. So don't be too eager to change just to change. As you upgrade you will get more features, but you may still be disappointed on the poor find days we all have.

Secondly don't turn a blind eye to the competition. Many of us started that way, my first 3 machines I had were Garrett' s and while I'm glad I had them, I kinda wish I had started with another brand. All of the brands, have some stellar machines, just do your research. And stay open minded.
 
Good comments, I appreciate it. Yeah, I've had some bad finds days. . . I had access to a property with an abandoned 1916 home, and found nothing but about $3 in modern change. I had access to a 1920s home adjacent to an 1800s homestead and cemetery, and found two dimes, on silver, one modern. So yeah, a little bummed that these good permissions have really not produced much.

I get the advice to not turn a blind eye to the competition. I guess I'm just comfortable with the operation of Garrett. And without having an opportunity to put my hands on a different brand and try it out, I'd be incredibly hesitant to invest my money in another brand. There aren't any test-drive programs, are there? :)





So a couple things. First of all, it's cool that you caught the affliction so many of us have. And yes you are missing stuff, however when you upgrade, you will still be missing stuff. So don't be too eager to change just to change. As you upgrade you will get more features, but you may still be disappointed on the poor find days we all have.

Secondly don't turn a blind eye to the competition. Many of us started that way, my first 3 machines I had were Garrett' s and while I'm glad I had them, I kinda wish I had started with another brand. All of the brands, have some stellar machines, just do your research. And stay open minded.
 
I would definitely recommednt eh AT PRO, you will not regret it.
I ran an Ace 250 for over 2 years and found ONE silver coin, but I was mostly hunting totlots and parks.
Once I got the AT PRO, I never looked back.
I also tried the Etrac and CTX and sold them, but I guess my ears are partial to Garrett's.
 
Who knows, maybe the next generation ATPro will get the wireless headphones and backlight? It’s already inherited the rubber grip.
 
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