The AT Pro has a fully adjustable frequency setting. At its highest setting, it can produce a 15 kHz signal. This is considerably higher than most VLF units on the market, making it a great option for finding objects with lower conductivity levels. Pro Mode Audio Iron Audio – usually the feature of Discrimination allows the user to tell a good target from the bad one, however, having a separate Iron Audio mode makes this task even easier. The new features of the Garrett AT Pro are what have made this machine such a great all terrain machine, when Garrett have designed and manufactured the AT Pro they clearly have wanted it to be a metal detector that works anywhere no matter what. You also get the latest MS-2 headphones to hear the tones clearly. This is important because the tones will differ based on the depth of the metal detected underground. Iron discrimination may be the first to try as it helps you weed out Coke cans and nails. Waterproofing

The discrimination settings for iron are fundamental for eliminating the metals that have low conductivity including ferrous objects. Garrett MS-2 waterproof headphones – these headphones are compatible with most underwater detectors by Garrett and are convenient even for deep diving metal detecting So if you live in areas of the country with highly mineralized soil (or hot ground), you’re going to want a metal detector with this feature for sure. Frequency Proportional audio can be turned on and off depending on user preference, experience, and skill level. When turned off, the machine audio will sound much like the monotones of the ACE series. Once you master this audio mode, you’ll find yourself digging less trash and more treasure. Iron audioThe top part of the control panel has a legend that shows potential target categories in the area. It is useful for getting an idea of what the target might be. The reason I list this as a con is that it is only a single frequency machine – as is almost every machine on the market apart from high-end Minelabs and other specialty machines. With single frequency, detecting on saltwater beaches is not ideal. So if you live by the coast, this can be a problem.

It has an LCD screen that provides tons of useful information as you search. Yet, it’s not overbearingly heavy like some other models you see on the market. For many treasure hunters with standard binary audio, junk bottle caps and flat steel washers appear to be good targets. They produce a high-tone target response. This happens because the shape of the bottle cap and the flat surface resemble a coin which fools the detector. With the AT Gold's Tone Roll Audio, however, the bottle cap will produce a very unique response with multiple audio tones. As shown in the illustration above, the bottle cap will yield a distinctive low/high/low response as compared to the coin's unique high-only audio response. While AT Pro is fit for saltwater operation, overall any VLF continous wave metal detector faces additional challenges in highly mineralized conductive salt waters. The most important feature to utilize for efficient saltwater search is Ground Balance. For saltwater beach metal detecting, consider Ground Balance between zero and 20. You may want to reduce Sensitivity to stabilize the signal under saltwater conditions. Intermittent SignalsAnother point to pay attention to is the fact that AT Pro cannot be used with wireless Z-Lynk headphones by Garrett. The Garrett AT Pro’s Iron Audio system works alongside its notch discrimination feature. Notch discrimination is a must-have if you’re serious about finding valuable items. Bonus2: Minelab’s CTX 3030 is hailed as the ‘king of detectors’ but is priced more than twice the AT Pro. What do you get from that extra cash? Find out what’s better between the AT Pro and the CTX 3030. Coils