Garrett AT GOLD Depth and Target IDs

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Nugget

Nugget

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Here are the result from some air testing I did when I first got my AT-GOLD. IDs and tones can obviously vary depending on ground conditions, target orientation and the inclusion of any corrosion etc, but this should give you a rough idea of what to expect from the machine. I will do some more testing in All Metal Mode and post the results at a later date.

Testing was carried out using the stock standard 5x8" DD searchcoil, sensitivity was set at 100%.

Mode = DISC 1
5c piece mid tone ID 47 - 18/19cm
10c piece mid tone ID 53 - 18/21cm
20c piece mid tone ID 61 -20/23cm
50c piece mid tone ID 65 - 24/27cm
$1 coin high tone ID 76 - 18/20cm
$2 coin high tone ID 75 - 15/17cm
Bronze token high tone ID 81 - 20/21cm
Junk ring mid tone ID 62 20/21cm
Modern Pull Tab - mid tone - ID 55 - ?
Old Style Pull Tab - mid tone - ID 60 -?
250ml aluminium can high tone ID 76 40/41cm
9ct gold ring (med) mid tone ID 60 21/23cm
18ct gold ring (thin) mid tone ID 63 21/22cm
Threepence (.925) - high tone - ID 77 - 18/20cm
Sixpence (.925) - high tone - ID 83 - 18/20cm
Shilling (.925) - high tone - ID 87 - 22cm
Half Penny - high tone - ID 75 - 20/22cm
Penny - high tone - ID 87 - 22/24cm
Gold Nugget 1 gram - mid tone - ID 51 - 13cm
Gold Nugget 0.5 gram - mid tone - ID 40 - 10cm
Gold Nugget 0.4 gram - mid tone - ID 37 - 10cm

Mode = All Metal Mode
Gold Nugget - 1 gram - ID 51 - 17cm
Gold Nugget - 0.5 gram - ID 39 - 13cm
Gold Nugget - 0.4 gram - ID 37 - 12cm
Shilling (.925) - ID 86 - 25cm
Sixpence (.925) - ID 81 - 22cm
More to come!

Just to give you an idea at the depth difference between DISC 1 and All Metal Mode, a Half Penny in All Metal Mode picks up at around 30/32cm.
 
Damn that means when mine arrives Im gonna have to check the mid tones just in case its a ring lol
 
Yes, the goldbug DP also lost depth in discrim mode.
Ended up just running in all metal mode.
That and I found at the limits of depth in discrim mode, the
indicators favoured everything being in the low end for iron'
until u had dug down a lot to have less depth and then
the target id would start getting more accurate.
Same in all metal mode except without the loss of depth.
Now in the ground the depth started to be less depending
on the mineralisation.
 
Hey Nugget have you done water detecting with the At series at all? as im in the market for a detector that i can work the beach in and out of the water.. but im curious as to how it will go at say 1 meter deep? and what would be better do you think and others opinions as well.. The AT pro int... Or the At Gold?
All comments much appreciated..
Regards Poizon83 :)
 
Both the AT Pro and AT Gold are fully submersible up to 3mtrs but only the AT Pro is suitable for salt water use. I haven't needed to fully submerge mine but I've used it many times in heavy rain, muddy conditions and I hose it off regularly. They're 100% water tight. Just remember to lube up the 'O' ring when you replace the batteries.

So if it's mainly coin and relic you're after, the AT Pro is the better option as it's fine for salt water use and has an adjustable notch discrimination (for eliminating pulltabs etc) whereas the AT Gold is fixed.

Nugget.
 
Thanks for the reply..Rod.. after digging around on here i would be best to go the At Pro Int.. as it can handle the salt water and as ive seen the At Gold will not..
Clint. :)

Thanks for the Reply Nugget.. what do you use to lube the O ring with.. Marine grease perhaps?
As for gold I use the xterra 705 for that but at the beach in the wet sand its useless at the best of times lol.
Clint.
 
Nugget,
what sort of lube would you use for the "O" ring once you have replaced to batteries as i don't want to carode the rubber with the wrong lubricant..
Poizon83.?????????????????
 
poizon83 said:
Nugget,
what sort of lube would you use for the "O" ring once you have replaced to batteries as i don't want to carode the rubber with the wrong lubricant..
Poizon83.?????????????????
Click to expand...

I would suggest some silicone grease similar to that used in Nikonos underwater cameras but any quality silicon grease would be fine

.DO NOT USE any Petroleum based grease like Vaseline

Pete
 
Hi...at work we use sapphire silicone grease an all our 'O' Rings. (pump seals etc) works extremely well.
 
Nugget please help.i have a AT gold and I'm getting erratic ID readings.
Some times I get a 10-15 then it bounces up to max and back down.im new to detecting and
And only have about 10 hrs on it.im going to watch the instruction vid again tomorrow before I go to the beach on Saturday.do you have any tips on what the basic default settings
I should start on for coin/relic and gold detecting.please help
Thanks coinman
 
Erratic ID readings could be caused by a number of different factors including trashy or highly mineralised ground (including seawater), EMI (electromagnetic interference), targets that are either large, oddly shaped and / or containing a variety of metals (hence the multiple readings).

Can I ask what settings you are using and the type of ground your were detecting at the time?

Also have a read through this previous post of mine and let me know if you have any more questions.

Nugget said:
My advice would be to read the manual inside and out and watch the DVD that came with it, if yours didnt come with a DVD check out YouTube as Garrett have posted a bunch of instructional videos for the AT-GOLD. Between 50-100 hours seems typical to learn a new machine so dont get discouraged if youre not picking it up right away, just keep at it and you'll master it in no time.

Learn how to ground balance properly and do it often, changes in the ground composition can impact the performance and depth of the detector.

Try each mode in different ground conditions to work out which mode works best in what situation. I personally try to use All Metal Mode wherever possible as this mode provides the most depth but you will lose tone ID and the target ID accuracy is supposedly effected.

In time you will learn the different characteristic of common targets. For example on the AT-GOLD, a modern pull tab in All Metal Mode shows up with a target ID of 54-55 while a Gatorade seal shows up as a 42. Knowing this information can help to answer the "to dig or not to dig question", although I highly recommend digging all targets until you get used to the machine.

It's not always practical to use All Metal Mode, for example in trashy areas I use Discrim 1 which helps quieten it down a little, Discrim 1 also provides tone ID which can be very useful for identifying quality targets. You may also want to use Discrim 1 when the detector is being effected by hot ground or hot rocks, ultimately you would want to at least try to use All Metal Mode when searching for gold as this is the preferred mode for maximum depth and sensitivity. I almost never use Discrim 2 but you could once again use this in trashy areas or when searching specifically for coins.

Practice pinpointing, once again the manual or YouTube might be the best place to learn how to do this.

One last thing, don't detect with Iron Audio turned on, only turn it on to test a target then switch it off. Iron Audio combined with other target indicators can help identify trash metal, BUT be aware that Iron Audio can falsely sound on a quality target, this could be due to the angle of the target in the ground, if corrosion is present or if the quality target is sitting right next to trash metal.

Swing low and slow and just have fun with it. I hope everything made sence, its late.
Click to expand...

Link: https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=716#p716

Nugget.
 
Hi Guys..

Dont know if anyone is interested in this...but fitted a Nel 'Hunter' coil to my AT Gold and did some air tests together with my AT Pro (International) with standard coil... Distances are those that were repeatable and would stop you over the threshold and not just where first heard target.....No discrimination on both machines..AT Pro in 'Pro' mode...AT Gold in 'All Metal Mode'. Both machines ground balanced.

AT Pro
1 gram gold nugget.....75mm. 5 cent piece......231mm 10 cent piece.......273mm

AT Gold with NEL Hunter coil
1 gram gold nugget......150mm. 5 cent piece....281mm 10 cent piece.......330mm
 
Excellent information. I have just recently purchased an AT-Gold and love it. None of the yellow stuff yet, but very soon I hope.
 
Thanks Nugget, great info! I got the AT gold today, Im up the creek this week :D
 
Hi Nugget, as an AT GOLD owner your list is great and I've used it to help with learning the machine.

I've only done coin and relics to begin with but aim to venture into the gold fields. I've seen heavymetal's post re finding gold with the AT gold and he mentions that the id ranges started off in the 40's but as he got closer into the 70's. With your air tests did you notice this too? The ID ranges between disc1 and all metal are the same aren't they?

Also out of interest I had gotten down to one bar on the battery level and noticed that it seemed to take an eternity to reset in disc1 when trying to pinpoint a target. first pass you'd get an indication, second nothing. wait a few seconds then it would be okay so I think that there is a small lose of operation when the batteries get low. Garrett do say to replace when there is only bar left, but I did read somewhere that you shouldn't lose any performance. (Just something I noticed, new batteries = issue gone).
 

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