AT Gold thoughts

I made the journey down to North GA Relics and played with a few detectors. I ended up bringing home the AT Gold. I didn't veer too far from the standard package; all I upgraded was the waterproof headphones, in which I got the Grey Ghost amphibian model instead of the waterproof Garrett. I stopped at my Civil War bullet site on the way home to play a little bit. It has rained quite a bit here at the house but down at the bullet site, it hasn't rained a drop. Since I had the GPX in the truck, I figured I would mark a bullet or two in the ground with the GPX then try the AT Gold out over them to see how it handled the worse of the soils I have around here. Well after about 20 minutes, it was too blasted hot and humid to be playing in a wide open field.

Was able to mark 3 minie balls in the ground and then I was done. One thing I could tell right off the bat, was that it handled the bad soil a lot smoother than the MX Sport did down there....no falsing, no having to GB every few feet. The Gold had the 5x8 coil on it and it is no slouch on depth for the size. If I got the coil directly over the bullets, I could get them to come in with good tone and ID. The deepest one was approx 7 inches deep. I didn't have long to play due to the heat but I was pretty happy with what I saw. When I came home I ran it through my test garden, in which I do have a flat button at about 8 inches, and once again, if the coil was centered over the target, it would give a good tone. It was tough to get the 8 inch flat button though. If I didn't know where it was, it would be a tough one to hear. In all fairness though, the 5x8 coil is a tiny coil compared to what I'm used to. On the MX Sport, the 6x10 coil would not detect the 8 inch flat button nor the 7 inch indian head penny beside it. The 10 inch coil would though. I imagine the Gold with a bigger coil would offer plenty of depth; but that is to be determined on down the road. I did just buy a Cors Scout coil for the AT Gold (the 12.5x8.5 size), as I never have liked the stock Garrett coils. So far, I like the Gold a LOT better than I ever did an AT Pro. I have tomorrow and the next day off; will try to get it in my flat button spot and see what it can do in the iron.

Great post, Daniel.
I've thought about getting the AT Gold as well. Mainly because it is water proof and , as you just confirmed, seems to be a solid performer. We don't have too much water here in AZ, but there are a few well known swimming holes that I would like to hit. The lack of water actually concentrates people to the few sites that there is. Since getting the Relic my X-Terra is getting very little love. May be time to sell it and get the AT Gold just for swimming hole hunting.

Thanks again for the "thoughts" on the AT Gold.

Dean

Love the AT Gold. Gives more info in audio than AT Pro and deeper. Has 2 tone true all metal too!

I did some air testing earlier this morning in my relic room. Again, the coil is the stock 5x8 coil. In disc 1 mode it seems to peak around 11 inches on most coins and buttons I have of similar size, with 10 inches coming in strong and 11 being right at the fringe. All metal gains approx 1.5 to 2 inches more on those same items. My ground does knock some of that distance off though; it appears that in disc 1 mode, it is going to be cut to 7.5 to 8 inches in-ground on coin/button size objects. Which that is still great for such a small coil. That beats the Fors Relic in my soil by several inches in disc 1 mode and even more via all metal.

Some good info Daniel.

Thanks Daniel for your candid AT Gold test observations and for sharing this information.

Jim.

Now go hit them creeks and see if you can pull some of them Plates outta' there like Ole' Aquachigger!

Daniel I used a AT-GOLD for 2 years and decided to trade it off when the warranty was up. I love the AT-GOLD and I figure I'll eventually get another one down the road. But right now I'm giving other detectors a try that I've been wanting to try. I have yet to find a machine that will out perform it in iron. I just got a T2classic and haven't been able to test it out other than in my test bed and it performed quite well but true world hunting will tell the tell.

One thing I have noticed about it is that it seems to be more of my breed of machine. I do like to dig some iron...especially the bigger stuff that might be artillery shells, frags from them, ax heads, gun parts, etc. The problem I run into with some detectors is that their iron range is very small. As in, if you discriminate out nails or what not, the machine will also struggle on the larger iron or knock it out all together. Another problem I see a lot, is that the detectors will "ratchet down" the size of an iron object and make it appear to be much smaller than it actually is. I tend to favor machines where I can size up an iron object.

A good example of what I'm talking about is this: FBS machines do not make good iron finding machines. I have owned several but as a refresher, while at the shop Friday I played with a CTX 3030 on various relics in the shop. Don has a box full of iron cannister shot and shell frags. I picked up a couple of them and put the machine in a cleared screen mode and ran those pieces by the coil. The FBS machines will give a multiple beep on a cannister ball and shell frag, no matter how big or thick it is; like how some other machines will do on a nail with a "double beep". The AT Pro has a decent iron discrimination range on it, but it too tends to ratchet down the size of the signal. I think that might be one of the reasons AquaChigger likes the Gold over the Pro...it allows him to size up the iron and know that it is iron to a pretty accurate degree. It will be interesting to see how this machine behaves with the larger coil. I don't have enough hours on it yet to find all the ins and outs...but from what I see so far, I think I'm gonna keep this one a while. I got it just for water hunting but it looks like it is going to be a surprisingly nice land unit as well.

Daniel, if you hang onto the Gold, you might want to try a NEL Tornado 12"x13" coil on it. I used that setup for about a year. Pulled over 100 bullets, buttons out of a CW site that most locals had given up on. Hunted in all metal, and only dug targets that registered 6" or deeper since there was a lot of modern trash, since the location had been turned into a local park. Good luck with the Gold. Mark

Are NEL coils and CORS coils made by the same people?

goodmore Wrote:
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> Are NEL coils and CORS coils made by the same
> people?


Yes, identical. Buy NEL and support your small dealers.

Yes Nel & Cors are made buy the same company. Done for marketing reasons. Kinda like Notka and Makro now.

Good read..

Down this way i liked the Pro over the Gold for depth on higher conductors..funny the Pro being on 15K for some reason eats higher conductors Zinc and up like minnie balls and deep brass..

I dug a breast plate once with a Pro that was a good 16 inches..

Keith

“I don't care that they stole my idea . . I care that they don't have any of their own”
-Nikola Tesla

I bought the Gold a few months ago for freshwater creek hunting. I expected it to basically be an Ace 250 that was waterproof. Wrong big time. It's a really good land relic hunter. I chose it over the Pro due to the true all metal mode, and notching capabilities didn't pertain for relic hunting. The GB window works well in my ground, which is highly mineralized. I wish I hadn't waited as long as I did to buy it. Really good machine.

The Cors coil I bought came today. It was supposed to be a used coil but I can't tell it has been used at all. The coil and headphone connection area of the AT Pro and Gold is my biggest complaint about them. They are a PIA to swap out on the fly. Anyway, I plugged it in and air tested it. Wasn't too blown away at the air test results with the 8.5x12.5 vs the 5x8 coil. The distance was about the same but the signal strength was greater if that makes sense. In the test garden I noticed much of the same. The deeper targets that were tough to get with the 5x8, came in much clearer and stronger...coil position didn't have to be as precisely centered to give good tone and ID. I like the 5x8 combo the best I think. As for AT Gold vs Pro. I favor the Gold from what I've seen so far. It has a really smooth all metal mode but not shabby in disc mode either. In my soil, it is deeper than the Pro.

Daniel, you have a super hot unit. Solid 10" , iffy 11" airtest in discriminite mode on a typical coin like a penny is phenomenal with the 5X8 coil.

Take special care of this detector. Baby it. Give it a name. You don't want to take a chance on performance loss if you need a repair.

Daniel, 10" solid, 11" iffy airtest in discriminate mode with the 5X8 coil is phenomenal.

You got a hot one for sure. Take care of that detector. Baby it. Give it a name.

A repair trip to Garland would be a performance risk.

marcomo Wrote:
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> Daniel, you have a super hot unit. Solid 10" ,
> iffy 11" airtest in discriminite mode on a typical
> coin like a penny is phenomenal with the 5X8 coil.
>
>
> Take special care of this detector. Baby it.
> Give it a name. You don't want to take a
> chance on performance loss if you need a repair.

Maybe they are hotter now. I got one in May and it too was hotter than expected. Could hit my 8" quarter in disc no problem and in all metal it was very loud.

After reading Daniel's air test I naturally had to check my AT Gold to see how it compared. Happy to report it did about the same with a nickel doing the best. Maybe the new ones are a little hotter than the older ones. A keeper machine for sure.

Shenandoah Digger Wrote:
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> After reading Daniel's air test I naturally had to
> check my AT Gold to see how it compared. Happy to
> report it did about the same with a nickel doing
> the best. Maybe the new ones are a little hotter
> than the older ones. A keeper machine for sure.

Very interesting, I'm wondering if the nickel did the best even over a quarter? Could you please share the 5X8 coil airtest #s you're seeing on different coins?

marcomo -- I just did an official "write it down on paper" airtest with both coils that I have...the 5x8 stock coil and the Cors Scout 8.5x12.5 that I just got.

I tested a US Quarter, Dime, Nickel, Copper penny, and .58 minie ball.

5X8 Coil. Disc 1 mode. Sens wide open. Going by fringe depth repeatable signals.

Quarter - 10"
Nickel - 11"
Dime - 9"
Penny - 10"
Minie ball - 10.5"

8.5x12.5 Coil. Disc 1 mode. Sens wide open. Going by fringe depth repeatable signals.

Quarter - 12"
Nickel - 12.5 to 12.75"
Dime - 10"
Penny - 11"
Minie ball - 11.5"

Overall, for the extra weight, I'm not seeing much of a need for the Cors Scout coil on this machine. I mean it gains a little bit but all it really seems to do is amplify the targets that the 5x8 can already get. The overall distance gained is minute but comparing the targets that are barely heard with the 5x8...example, the minie ball at 10.5 is barely repeatable with the 5x8 coil. But on the Cors coil, the same minie at 10.5 is VERY stop you in your tracks loud, and repeatable signal. It is not a depth demon machine but it does retain quite a bit of its depth in the ground and is pretty accurate if the target is centered under the coil. I actually just went back and looked at my test data for a few machines I've recently had...notably, the MX Sport that I REALLY liked, and the Fors Relic.

The AT Gold 5x8 beats the MX Sport with the 6x10 coil. It would be interesting to see what the Relic can do with the 5x10 coil on it; in comparison to the Gold. I know the Relic is faster but from what I've already seen in my soil, the Gold is much better at ID on the in-ground targets. At least in my soil here.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/13/2016 01:55PM by Daniel Tn.

Good info, thank you Daniel.

FWIW, I've airtested three AT Pros with the 5X8. Two of them got 9" on a silver dime and one 8.5 rounding to the closest half inch.

I like the term you use, "fringe repeatable signal" That's a good way to describe where I cut it off too. At least mostly repeatable signal, more high tone than not. A signal you'd have a good chance of digging in the field.

Unlike you and probably most others who airtest their units, I only use a silver dime for testing. I figure that's the most common "yes!" target I find and if I know what the unit does on that, I'll have a base figure to compare with if performance seems to drop off or to check after repair.

Even running at 18 kHz, I was surprised to see you got an inch more depth on the nickel than the quarter.

" For what it's worth, my 1983 Tesoro Inca with 8" concentric coil air tests a dime @ 9" A nickel even farther...lol

Ahh but go throw that Inca in the lake or river and get back with me on what happens

I got the AT Gold for water hunting. That was the sole intent and purpose of it for me. It just surprises me that a 19khz unit with a small 5x8 DD coil can hit those air test numbers on high conductor targets and can retain a good chunk of it in the ground.

I really like mine it was really deep when I hunted in Virginia on a hunt with about 150 guys. A lot asked why are you using that machine but I did really well on that hunt. I am from the Gold Country Of Calif but now I hunt with the deus and the racer and sold a lot of machines to have these and no other machines. The racer has better coils and the smaller coils are deeper then the ones the Gold come with. Now I'm keeping an eye on when the impact will be released and if will top the deus

LowBoy

TAKE A LITTLE TIME KICKBACK AND WATCH SOME OF MY DETECTING VIDEO'S BELOW ON YouTube

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If you don’t dig it, then how are you going to know what you’re missing!
How can you have your pudding if you don’t eat your meat!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/14/2016 03:19PM by Lawrenzo.

Not here LowBoy. I have had two Red Racers with all the coils they came with (except for the newer NEL coils) In the ground, the Racer with 8x11 coil is about half of what the Gold is with 5x8. And the ID was all over the place.