AT Pro and F75 ramblings and questions

Been metal detecting since last May. First forum post.
Purchased an AT Pro in May of last year. Used it relentlessly to learn the machine.(Logged 60 hours the first month alone!) The results have been very pleasant although that sweet, yellow metal still eludes me. I night hunt almost exclusively. My opinion is that the AT Pro is a very capable metal detector. It can successfully hunt very trashy areas, even with a novice at the controls. The depth is respectable with the deepest coin being a 1953 silver quarter at 12". Discrimination is more than adequate although all metal mode is the "go to" option for most of my hunting. (But since I just read the post about using discrimination to the point where the iron nails "click" will be worth a try.)
Spent the fall researching "big boy" metal detectors. i.e. the much talked about brands and models present in any forum. So, I purchased a Fisher F75 SE based on the general consensus of its quality, capabilities and how it would fit into my hunting style.
Here is the question with a little expanation included: I am having a very difficult time transitioning to the F75. The difference between the two detectors is apparent without a doubt, but they still work under basically the same principal. So, I figured the transition would be pretty seamless...boy was I wrong. The F75 has much more information flowing into the headphones and I find it difficult to separate the signals and track down a target. I've gone through the manual and the forums researching and trying different settings all to no avail. Sadly, since the weather has been very nice around here lately, I've been hunting more but have been reaching for the AT over the F75. What can I do to help my transition so I don't miss out on the capabilities of the F75?
I love my AT Pro, it will always have a place in my shop and under my arm. But, I do believe that not all detectors are created equally and would like to take advantage of the F75 and utilize it as effectively as the AT Pro.

for what it's worth, I have had about 7 detectors in 12 years and each one took me time to learn, I heard some people pick it up quick, but I find great stuff, so I'll keep doing it my way, now isn't that a hard head Yankee talking haha, take you time , you got the rest of your life, ask questions, a lot of good folk here

If you have the time........... read the threads on this forum titled:

Rcpt Ack of F75 LTD prototype
COMPILATION #1
COMPILATION #2

No comment.

I transitioned from the AT Pro to the Spectra V3i. My brain also had a hard time discerning and filtering all the information that it was receiving from the new machine. But as with foreign languages, my brain soon began to make sense of what it was hearing.

Be patient. Get yourself to hunt with the F75 exclusively without returning to the Pro. It was frustrating for sure but using the new machine exclusively eventually became very easy. Now I can go back and forth between the two detectors with no problem at all.

After two or three hunts, I finally put some coins and other items, pull tabs included, on the ground and spent 30 minutes to an hour just running the coil over them. It helped me a lot.

Patience is the key. Patience and paying attention.

Pinpoint twice, dig once

Thanks to all that responded. And the gentle reminders that it takes time to learn a detector. I now feel a little foolish tryng to "cheat" my way to proficiency with the F75. Time is the key to proficiency, I should have remembered that lesson from my AT Pro. I will also review the F75 information provided by Tom. (Thanks)

Pulltabminer...Thanks for the encouragement, I certianly appreciate your story, as one of the reasons I didn't purchase the V3i was due to its complexity.

Sounds like its time to go back to school....F75 in hand.

One last thing...I see the numbers of people populating the metal detecting forums and it appears there are LOTS of hunters out there. To this date, I've NEVER seen another person swinging a detector when I out hunting.

takes a "special" type of person to
continue to engage in this hobby year,after year,after year
this is why ,i believe i hardly ever see anybody else too!
i think a lot of people are fascinated by the hobby,however,due to time constraints,
lack of patience,and myriad other reasons,are non-participants.these days,anybody i
DO see is usually a "long time" hunter!..just sayin'

(h.h.!)
j.t.

I also have the ATP and the F75 LTD/SE. I have logged a lot of hours on the F75, well over 1,000 hours, probably much more. I've only logged about 100 hours on the ATP. I've found the F75 LTD in 3-tone mode to be similar to the ATP in Pro-mode (also 3-tones). I've found the ATP to be a darn good machine, but still have much to learn about it.

I'm curious what mode you are running on the ATP and the F75 (tone options, and process?)?

HH,
Brian

AT-Pro is a very nice detector...F75SE is a very nice detector but more powerful on a wide range of target's..Either machine is very capable ..the F-75 will eek a few target's out of iron the AT wont but you really have to be in super sleuth mode ....Not that the AT wont get iffy signal's but they have to be worked out of the ground...then the f-75 will get a "FEW" more by really working them using the faster target response...

One place the AT shines a little better over the F75 is in bad dirt....it has the ability do not i.d. deep target's as iron as much as the F75...but the f-75 sees deeper in any dirt jsut call good target's iron at depth in mineral's....the AT ha a tendency to call good coin sized target's good down to about 10-11 inch's..

AT-PRO is a good honest stable deep seeking VLF machine for $500.00 ...Its a safe machine...Yet very very capable in any environ....F-75 is a very advanced instrument that "most" people will never come to grip's with on it's true ability.....If you are not into really taking an ear bashing and rally exploring a site to it's full potential....i.e. digging alot of target's good and bad ...the At-PRO will get almost all of what the F-75 will within reason of a normal advanced hunter...To get the most out of an f-75 you really need to have a full understanding all of thing's detector related...

If you want the learning curve and like the challenge go for it ...!!!but the AT is very capable



Keith

Very nice summary, Keith...

Thanks!

Steve