AT Gold - Maiden Voyage

Took the Gold out for its first spin today. First impressions are very good. Scored 7 nickels! Two of which were 1945 war nickels. Also scored a 1911 V nickel, a sterling pin & a little clad. Not bad for an initial run. Have a few questions though...

I was running in disc 1, with Iron Audio on throughout my hunt. Had it set at 28.

Depth seemed lackluster. Most of the times the target was still in the plug. I wasnt expecting a depth demon for sure, as I specifically got it to hunt in iron rich areas, but, is this common when running in disc on the Gold?

Pull tabs & foil seemed to register very high on the VDI, which was strange. And these weren't deep targets, maybe a few inches. My Safari would call most of those junk, but, not the Gold. What's up with that?

I dug MANY bouncy signals, thinking the bounce was multiple targets in one hole, yet, not once did I find a good target amongst trash. There WERE many instances though, where multiple JUNK targets were in the same hole. So, is a widely scattered/bouncy VDI due to multiple targets in the hole (good & bad), or, simply a telltale sign that the target is junk, and shouldn't be dug?

The unit seemed to false a lot on deeper iron. It would give a repeatable, fairly X'able high tone, and wind up being deeper iron like giant nails, a horseshoe, etc. Is this the norm?

The iron at most of my sites isn't one size. It's everything from smaller rusted screws to gigantic spikes. How would I go about setting the disc properly if there's so many types/sizes of iron at hand?

The Gold is definitely a keeper. It's sooooo quick. Really sniffs out the goods in the toughest areas. Those nickels came from a bad patch where the Safari is basically inoperable. So, the Gold is already serving the purpose I got it for

Joe



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/31/2013 12:42AM by njnydigger.

Never used the gold...only the pro...but with it , after some experience, you can recognize most bigger iron. Believe me, in mining camps , iron goes from small to huge.

Joe usually if it's iron or a junk target the ID won't lock on to it and the audio will be breaking up.

Joe....... the AT series are not known for depth.......... but are spectacular in carpets of nails. I would select a different detector for extra depth...... and keep the AT for iron infested areas only (which is where most of the finds/targets are anyway). You have a learning-curve to go through with this unit. Larger iron implements will give a good mid-tone (or high-tone).... but the audio length is very 'broad'....... longer in audio length duration..... and sizing. Large iron items will..... (in time)..... be quite distinguishable from large non-ferrous targets. Stay in the iron....... and learn the audio length/breadth/duration of the larger iron implements!

It is not all about depth as I am sure you have heard before...It a detector can't get through the iron or ground, depth won't matter. It you are hunting a clean area where hits are not all around then a deeper machine maybe the way to go...but for relic hunting it seems depth is not always as important as seeing through the clutter

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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!

I'll be interested to see how this goes as you get more familiar with it. As I recall your objection with the 75ltd was the amount of junk you dug which I have found to be true when comparing it to the e-trac.
I have learned to live with the 75's shortcomings in that department and just ignore the trash numbers in public parks and such---especially when it comes to low conductors. I limit myself to about a three number low conductor TDI span on the 75 and still dig more trash with it than I do with a much larger relative spread on the e-trac because of the tones.

shoveler Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'll be interested to see how this goes as you get
> more familiar with it. As I recall your objection
> with the 75ltd was the amount of junk you dug
> which I have found to be true when comparing it to
> the e-trac.
> I have learned to live with the 75's shortcomings
> in that department and just ignore the trash
> numbers in public parks and such---especially when
> it comes to low conductors. I limit myself to
> about a three number low conductor TDI span on the
> 75 and still dig more trash with it than I do with
> a much larger relative spread on the e-trac
> because of the tones.

I hear ya, Shoveler The AT Gold is VERY similar in a lot of ways to a T2/F75...minus the extraordinary depth. The speed of the unit, it's ability in iron, lightweight & ergonomic, etc. The Gold is a MUCH calmer machine though! Don't get me wrong, it's still chatty (especially when not being swung), but, NOTHING like how finicky the 75 was.

All things considered, my first impressions of the Gold are all positive. Yes, depth is quite poor, however, it's for sniffing out the goods in iron, which is a very specific task, so, I'm fine with what it can and cannot do. Using it as a backup machine though, and going from multi frequency to a VLF is like stepping back in time, lol.

The Gold definitely has its place in my arsenal. It's for very specific, certain spots & tasks. And IMO so far, it is a SUPERB un-masker

Joe



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/31/2013 07:41PM by njnydigger.

Indeed. You really cant' go wrong with either the AT Gold, GBP or G2. All awesome machines in heavy iron. The nice bonus with the Gold is it's waterproof! So you have a water machine (fresh) and heavy iron machine in one.

Looking forward to more of your results.

Hi Joe,,,I'm kinda wondering why you say depth is poor on the AT Gold.. I thought they were comparable to the AT Pro as far as depth goes? I know there's hot & cold AT Pro's but I can't comment on the AT Gold...I still have not found the iron audio to be helpful to me....Both of mine AT''s are no slouch in the depth department and will keep up with my 3D...I did hear that the AT Gold is not as good on deep silver when compared to the AT Pro......JJ

jimmyjiver Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hi Joe,,,I'm kinda wondering why you say depth is
> poor on the AT Gold.. I thought they were
> comparable to the AT Pro as far as depth goes? I
> know there's hot & cold AT Pro's but I can't
> comment on the AT Gold...I still have not found
> the iron audio to be helpful to me....Both of mine
> AT''s are no slouch in the depth department and
> will keep up with my 3D...I did hear that the AT
> Gold is not as good on deep silver when compared
> to the AT Pro......JJ

All good points, Jim Keep in mind, I am new to the AT's. My post is regarding only my first hunt. So, I'm still a newb on the unit, lol. To be sure, there's a HECK of a lot that's right about the Gold (and probably Pro, too). The Iron Audio feature is pretty much what sold me on the machine, and it worked beautifully on the first go-round. Unit is super light, waterproof, ultra fast, etc. However, one thing I disagree with at this early stage is the depth matter. I didn't see mind blowing depth on my trial run. But, the unit isn't made for that, IMO...which is fine. In MY soil, there's no way the Gold can even come close to the depth on my Tom tuned CZ. I've pulled out tiny, tiny bullets, rivets, screws, etc. at depths approaching 7, 8". An honest to goodness 12" on coins isn't rare, either. Again, that's in MY soil. Down in Tom's neck of the woods, he can probably get an Ace 250 to go 10", due to the lack of mineralization. Our ground is pretty bad here in NJ. Still lots of testing to be done on the Gold. Matter of fact, gonna try running in all metal tomorrow. I'll post the details...

Joe

The Audio is everything on the AT...Learn it and Know it and Use it to your advantage,.

Keith

I seem to be able to run the sens all the way it may chatter a bit but with the iron audio on I have a lot to listen to except when it hits a good target in iron. I have not been able to tell foil from a good target nor full on iron from a good target like a washer or bolt or thick iron but then you just have to dig those targets and hope for the best.

LowBoy

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

[www.youtube.com]

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!

I find the depth to be decent on the pro. Yall make it sound like a Compadre in the depth department, lol. The gold has the smaller coil. Despite what I've heard others say in the past, the bigger coil goes MUCH deeper on my pro.