Need an Straightforward Answer

I gave up metal detecting in favor of fly fishing a long time ago, but after some accidental finds along the banks of trout streams (without a detector), I'm ready to jump back into metal detecting. Walking the banks would be a great way to pass the time in between water releases. Don't plan on using it in water, at least not anything more than a couple inches deep.

I really want another CZ-3D, but I'm dismayed at what I've been reading about them since the First Texas acquisition. I've been following older CZ-3Ds on auction sites, but they typically reach the price of a new one, and I'm leery of buying used for the price of a new, with no warranty or return options.

I live in Southeast Tennessee, and there aren't any Fisher dealers in this area. My purchase will likely be online, so I won't be able to air-test before I buy, whether I go new or used.


That sets the scene, and now the questions - If I buy a new CZ-3D, am I taking a huge gamble on getting a poor performer?

And the next question - I hear both good and bad about Kellyco - is that another huge gamble? I spoke to a sales tech there who assured me that if I get a poor performer, I can swap it within seven days, I just have to cover shipping. Sounds reasonable, but some online reviews contradict what I was told.


I've been out of the hobby too long to trust my instincts, so I'm open to alternate detectors similar in price/performance, and/or reputable shops that will make sure I get a quality product. Thanks.

Straight forward answer....here you go.

Don't buy a new 3D CZ, I have and regretted it and so have others.

If your just hunting on the river banks there's too many machines to only just recommend one. Working so close to water there still is a hazard involved. I think one of the best machines out for the money right now especially if your on a tight budget is the ATPro.

Regarding Kellyco...I bought many machines from them over the past 26yrs and have a had a few problems but they have always taken care of me. I know the dealers hate them and I understand why however I honestly can't say anything bad about them.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/24/2012 09:16PM by Aaron.

I wouldnt say HUGE gamble but a gamble maybe. I think the problem may be what you or others consider normal depth for a 3D and what FT considers normal. I would have hated to buy a new one and have it only air test at 7 1/2 to 8 inches and then be told there is nothing wrong with it. I found a dealer that had one in stock and had him do an air test for me before I bought it. You may be able to do the same. And I do not think there is really any way to tell if its calibrated right either until you actually get it and start using it unless you can find someone who is willing to go through the trouble of doing that too. The only other advice I can give you is to look around also. I was quoted a price of $699 from a dealer for a new one. Good luck.

I bought mine used from a reputable dealer, I was able to air test it, so I knew I had one worth buying. After using it for a couple months, I sent it to Tom D for calibration, it's even better now.. You just need to keep an eye out for one, It took a few months for mine to turn up. As mentioned, you might take a look at the AT PRO.

What part of Southeast, TN? I'm in the Athens area and there are two or three local Fisher dealers here. One in Knoxville, Chattanooga, and in Ringgold, GA....I buy all my new ones from North GA Relics...can be down there in 45 mins.

I'm in Dunlap, about 1 hr 45 minutes West of Athens. I trout fish the Hiwassee on occasion. A friend and I found a 'lead spill' there about five years ago while wading up towards the dam from the canoe launch. It was across the river along the railroad tracks. Looked like a bunch of lead rifle and pistol balls had been spilled in the river bed. They were only visible during very low water conditions, were mostly silted over and very corroded. Kept a couple of each and a history buff I know said they looked like .54 and .69 caliber civil war rounds. Reported it to a TWRA warden because of the environmental hazard, but never heard what came of it.

I visited a couple shops in Chattanooga, but they didn't have anything that interested me. I was considering heading to Knoxville or Atlanta next, but now I think I'm headed to North Ga Relics this weekend.


To everyone else, thanks for the responses.

I'm looking for a good all-around detector for my jump back into the hobby. I'll be hunting some old homesites and some fields, as well as the riverbanks. Is the AT Pro still recommended?

Budget isn't really a problem, I just don't like gambling with my hard-earned money, so something more expensive is OK, too. I also prefer analogue dials over digital menus, but I'm flexible on that point.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/25/2012 04:47AM by HangnMoss.

AT Pro is a fine machine now that they have ironed out the start up kinks. Don @ North GA will do you right. He's in the old part of down town Ringgold....its easy to drive by and not see unless you're looking hard for it.

HangnMoss Wrote:
>
> I'm looking for a good all-around detector for my
> jump back into the hobby. I'll be hunting some old
> homesites and some fields, as well as the
> riverbanks. Is the AT Pro still recommended?
>
> Budget isn't really a problem, I just don't like
> gambling with my hard-earned money, so something
> more expensive is OK, too.

Have you considered a soft case to hold a pair of skis?

Since money isn't an issue have you considered a hard sided Pelican case... they come in all sizes?

-NEBeachcomber

I made a trip to North Ga Relics Saturday. I read many reviews of the AT Pro, the GTI 1500 and the GTP 1350. I was leaning towards a GTI 1500 when I left the house, but ended up leaving the store with an AT Pro, and a Pinpointer Pro. They were great guys. They answered every question they could, and seemed very honest, even to the point of admitting they had never personally hunted an AT Pro. They still recommended it for someone who's been away from the hobby as long as I have, though. What really sold me was their trade-up program. They recommended I start with a mid-range detector, and if I stick with the hobby, they'll give me fair market value for the AT Pro towards any other detector they sell. Best of all, their prices were spot on with the big distributors & resellers.

Thanks, Daniel Tn, for the recommendation! I'd feel very comfortable recommending North Ga Relics to anyone, after only one trip.

I got out for the last few hours of sunlight on Sunday. After playing in the yard some the day before, I decided to try an old homplace with a creek behind it for practice. I fully expected to be frustrated, but I just had to see what the AT Pro would do in the wild. After being annoyed by continuous, but unrepeatable coin dings, I switched over to Pro mode with Zero disc, iron audio off, with iron disc at 25. I figured I could handle it - after all, my last detector had multitone ID. Holy crap, was my initial response. The AT Pro came alive, and that's when I noticed it doesn't talk at all like my old CZ, or any other detector I've ever used. I dug everything, just to see what was there. I had many hits that bounced all over the VID spectrum, with a 'warbling' tone (best way I can decribe it - quickly changing in both pitch and intensity). The objects were nearly impossible to pinpoint, and showed 10+ on the depth. Those hits turned out to be large sheets of tin roofing material, 15-18" deep. After a chat with the landowner, the old home that was torn down in the 1980s was built on top of one that collapsed in the early 1900s. The place was littered with old tractor parts, bottle caps, pull tabs, and just about any other trash you could imagine. In a short swing I'd get multiple hits, with VIDs across the board. Most weren't repeatable, but anything I could get to repeat, I dug.

After much warbling, digging and multiple epiphanies, I moved further away from the homesite. I started getting into very strong nickel VIDs. Those all turned out to be rocks. They looked like coal, were feather light, and had a VID that fell somewhere between high nickel and a penny. I was told those were 'clankers' - chunks of coal that never fully burned and were discarded (in what used to be the old driveway, apparently). So, I decided to head to the creek and found more of the same, but it was even trashier than the yard. In a 3 meter swing, I'd get at least a half dozen good hits, but most weren't repeatable on a slower followup swing. Those were passed over in the fading light. I found lots of interesting stuff, but nothing worth pocketing.

Despite the lack of finds, the trip was well worth it. I've got a pretty good feel for the AT Pro's tones, and even in trash, I have the pinpointing down pat, which was the thing I feared most in a DD coil. I still have plenty to learn, but I can pick out a bottle cap now, and I'm fairly certain I can ID a buried tin roof without too much second guessing. I just need to get back out there before I forget everything I learned this evening.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/27/2012 02:29AM by HangnMoss.

The AT Pro is Garrett's best unit..... regardless of price.

Sounds like you started your initiation process...... at the worst possible site! Not good for 'confidence' building.

There are little tricks to the AT Pro. Trashy sites are probably best hunted with the new smaller elliptical DD coil that came out for the AT Gold and Pro. The thing sure has a language of its own but goes pretty deep and is great in trash for cherry picking. Pinpointing is easy....a bit more difficult in chest deep water though. But the AT Pro was light years ahead of the Excalibur II in the water as far as pinpointing targets. I could usually get it up in my longhandle scoop in 3-4 tries with the AT...vs some of them I never got with the Excalibur.

Watch some of the vids on YouTube and get a better idea of sounds on it...most guys just show the good targets being dug so you can get an idea how it behaves on goodies in ground.

Pro Zero was my favorite mode too...but I preferred mine with Iron Audio OFF, vs ON. Just a difference of preference.

Don at North GA is a good guy. They've always done me right and good deals too. He is also a sponsor of many of the forums I go to and usually donates great door prizes at the DIV hunts.

I had already played in the yard for most of the previous afternoon, and I wanted to see how it reacted to trashy ground. I just didn't expect the ground to be as bad as it was. This was my first time to this spot, and no one mentioned the older, collapsed house until I found the buried roof. Overall, I think that site did my confidence some good. In the end, I was in the worst of the worst, and didn't walk away frustrated.

My biggest problem initially was pinpointing in that trash. I was attempting to use the 'tip' pinpointing method because that was the one I had the easiest time with the night before. But, before I could completely swing off the target I was trying to pinpoint, I'd hit another target. So, I swapped over to the center pinpointing method, but even then I was still having issues in the trash. I remembered reading about narrowing the target area by 'retuning' - finding the strongest signal, quickly releasing and repressing the pinpoint, then going through the pinpointing process again, repeating as needed. I gave that a try, with a hybrid center/tip method, and found my pinpointing 'zone'. Ocassionally, I would retune one too many times, completely lose my target, and have to start over. I had the AT Pro manual saved on my phone, so I pulled it up to make sure I wasn't doing something wrong, and figured out I wasn't using the retuning process exactly as Garrett had intended (finding center on a larger item). But, if I was careful, and didn't overtune, the process worked very well to help me pinpoint in very trashy ground. Once I got the hang of that, things went a lot smoother, and my confidence grew. I was able to consistently find my target by removing no larger than a six-inch diameter plug.

My confidence grew even more once I correctly ID'ed a couple bottle caps before I dug. Then I got good at picking out those freaky rocks before digging. Once I got a feel for the ID tones, the only thing that threw me was a stamped metal heart, about and inch and a half across, with a hole between the upper lobes. It was near the concrete slab that was once a front porch,.about six inches deep, very slightly on edge. The heart consistently ID'ed as a large silver coin, even out of the hole (when held parallel to the coil). I can only guess on the metal because it was painted. It was credit-card thin, but very strong. Maybe copper? Or maybe the paint threw of the VID?

All in all, I came away feeling very good about the AT Pro. I can't wait until it warms up and I can head to the river with it. Until then, I plan on making more visits to the trash heap lol.

If you can tuitionally grow up.......... cutting your teeth......... in the 'Sanford-and-Sons' trash heap; the rest of the world will be extremely easy.

Sanford & Son.....lol.........I loved that show.