Garrett AT Gold Review

Garrett AT Gold Overview

This model by the Garrett company is generally a variation of the well-known and loved Garrett AT Pro detector that has been tested by time. All users state that the AT series literally raise the bar in the beginner metal detecting for gold, and the item created for aurum slug prospecting offers features for excellent land and underwater search.

The frequency of the metal detector is 18 kHz which makes it absolutely perfect for gold seeking. However, this frequency does not show itself well on salt wet sand or in salt water. So, while being submersible, it functions better in freshwater.Sensitivity and ground balance are also specifically enhanced to make search for aurum more effective. Overall, this metal detector is perfect for beginners or medium-skilled treasure hunters, since it combines comparatively easy-to-master settings with rather advanced features. The whole thing is powered by 4 AA batteries and offers user-friendly design with adjustable collapsible shaft.

Control Box

The control panel screen provides the following information to the detectorist: Sensitivity Setting, Mode Indication, Iron Discrimination, Digital Target ID, Depth Indicator, and Battery Level indicator.

In the lower part of the panel, the buttons are located, including: Iron Disc Pushbutton, On / Off Power plus Search Mode plus Reset (all controlled with one button), Iron Audio Pushbutton, Sensitivity, Pinpoint, Frequency, Threshold, and Ground Balance. There are no secondary controls, so the control panel is pretty easy to manage.

Garrett AT Gold Features

Gold prospecting is one of the most complicated niches in hobby prospecting, and it actually demands more knowledge and skill, and more advanced equipment than would a hobby. AT Gold Garrett has solved this problem offering an option which is at the same time advanced and yet beginner-friendly. Garrett AT Gold waterproof metal detector is more comprehensive in settings, and the learning curve is not as steep as in many other prospecting machines, and yet AT Gold is efficient enough for successful gold search, and offers some advanced features. Just check out the features in the list below:

• VDI Target ID – visualized targets with numbers assigned to different types of targets depending on their chemical composition are always easier to interpret and analyze
• Auto/Manual Ground Balance – having both automatic and manual settings option is handy, since prospecting usually takes place in complicated environment, and the user should be able to adjust their metal detector to some unique situation
• Adjustable Ground Balance Window – this unique feature allows the detectorist to adjust the Ground Balance to a range of values at the same time
• waterproof up to 10 feet – in many cases, gold prospecting takes place in creeks and on river beds, so having a completely waterproof metal detector is a must
• Pinpoint mode included – to locate the suggested targets more accurately, PInpoint mode can be very useful
• DD coil – Double D search coil configuration is one of the most versatile options and shows steady performance in various environments, which is necessary for prospecting
• High Resolution Iron Discrimination – this feature allows to apply Iron Discrimination in a very controlled way, without cutting off good targets masked by ferrous ones
• Iron Audio – allows to hear the silenced ferrous targets and analyze the suggested targets better before digging them
• Frequency shift – important for adjusting the search if any electromagnetic interference is present
• high Recovery Speed – allows to distinguish between targets close to each other by processing response from every target separately

Adjustable Ground Balance Window

Treasure hunting on mineralized grounds is already a complicated task. However, the problem with highly mineralized soils is that they are usually unevenly mineralized. Most often, the soils are not homogenous, but are a mixture of soils, rocks, minerals, and even air pockets. Ideally, every particular patch requires its own ground balance tuning, to make the detecting effective, but this is literally impossible. Even metal detectors with the feature of continuous ground tracking often do not compensate for such variable mineralization.

This issue was solved by Garrett AT Pro Gold metal detector with the unique Adjustable Ground Balance Window feature. Due to it, the prospector can spread the Ground Balance settings to be relevant for a range of values on certain patches of land. This way, subtle changes in the ground response get reduced, and the user can pay attention to faint signals from potential targets.

High Resolution Iron Discrimination

Iron Discrimination is something every metal detectorist needs, however, too diligent Iron Discrimination can become the reason for missing potentially valuabe targets which are masked by the response of the ferrous items. This is why more segments of discrimination provide more control over this setting, and enable the user to apply discrimnation more precisely. AT Gold offers segments from 0 to 44. With minimum discrimination possible, the user will cut off ferrous targets but will still be able to spot gold nuggets.

Iron Audio

This is another feature that helps solve the problem of good targets being masked by the ferrous targets nearby. Normally, the Iron Discrimination silences ferrous items, to enable the user to hear signals from potentially valuable objects. Iron Discrimination, on the other hand, allows the detectorist to hear the iron which is normally silenced, in order to see the whole picture and to assess the potential value of the buried targets. If the user is suspicious about the target, they can switch on the Iron Audio and double-check. If the target is undesired, the metal detector will give a recognizable low-tone signal which cannot mark any good target.

Garrett AT Gold Coils

The default search coil that goes with the basic kit is the elliptic 8.5×11 inches DD type. It is a powerful and versatile coil, easy to manipulate, and effective enough for highly mineralized soils and small objects. It is pretty much universal and covers larger patches of ground yet spotting smaller targets in various depths.

However, one cannot have too many additional search coils when we are talking about gold prospecting, because every new compatible coil unlocks additional possibilities. So, Garrett AT Gold has a bunch of compatible coils. They include:

• round concentric 4.5 inches Super Sniper coil for narrow places and trashy areas
• elliptic 6×9 inches PROformance concentric coil which is waterproof and more fit for less mineralized soils
• elliptic 9×12 PROformance concentric coil, proper for underwater search on greater depth, and works better in less mineralized environments
• 8.5×11 inches PROformance DD coil, waterproof and perfect for deeper underwater search; it also reaches greater depths underground, and works nice on mineralized soils

Garrett AT Gold Settings

To set the Sensitivity properly for gold prospecting, the detectorist should choose one of the eight levels. Very small targets or targets located in greater depth are spotted better with higher levels of sensitivity. You should decrease the sensitivity level only if you work on trashy or highly mineralized grounds, or you have issued with electromagnetic interference, but you cannot solve the issue with the help of Discrimination, Ground Balance, or Frequency shift. In this case, lower sensitivity will decrease the noise and false signals you get.

To manage the Ground Balance properly, check out the following typical ranges:

• low to moderate mineralization ranges between 0 and 30
• moderate to highly ferrous soils range between 30 and 50
• highly ferrous and slightly conductive grounds range between 50 and 65
• very ferrous and mineralized soils range between 65 and 99

Knowing the type of soils under the search coil, you will also be able to tune other settings, and be prepared to additional conditions typical for such soils.

To manage differently mineralized patches of soils within the same location, use Adjustable Ground Balance Window. For optimized tuning of this feature, choose All Metal mode first, ground balance the metal detector, and then set the Window feature to zero. Swipe over a clear area, and increase the Window by 1 segment until the ground response is at acceptable level. Better use a minimum Ground Balance Window, to still hear some faint targets. The default level is 2 and for many locations, it is the best level.

Garrett AT Gold Problems

One of the problems that immediately becomes obvious is non-updatable software for Garrett AT Gold. When metal detector Garrett AT Gold was released, updatable software was an option, so we should not view lack of this feature as a disadvantage. However, at the time of writing, updatable software is something most metal detectorists want in their machines, because it allows fixing bugs and upgrading the functions. Considering that AT Gold is not a recent release, its software would only benefit from an update, but it is impossible.

The next peculiarity is that, despite the fact that AT Gold is fully water isolated and can be used for diving, and despite the fact that it is expected to work well on highly mineralized soils (because these soils are often gold-bearing), the manufacturer does not recommend using in in saltwater. While this is not exactly a problem, this is certainly a limitation, because AT Gold owners cannot search for modern lost jewelry on the seashores, or hunt for treasures on the seabed.

Next, please keep in mind that wireless headphones by Garrett with Z-Lynk technology are not available for AT Gold, which means only the wired option. Of course, this is not very convenient for land use.

And eventually, some detectorists tend to report that AT Gold seems to fail reaching decent depths on highly to moderately mineralized grounds. While this is an issue, it is actually not clear whether their metal detectors fail, or whether the detectorists fail to cope with the settings correctly.

Tips & Tricks for Garrett AT Gold Users

To dig only potentially valuable targets, Iron Audio is recommended for double-checking any suspicious patches of ground. However, if the land is ferrous, it is better to switch the Iron Audio off at all, to avoid getting too many signals all the time. Keep it off and switch it on only around dubious targets.

When you start prospecting, you ground balance the ground and can even use the Adjustable Ground balance Window for better results. However, even with this Window feature, you can sometimes see that the soils start changing, or you can hear that the general pattern of mineralization changes because you start getting more noise. Therefore, the bottom line is to ground balance as often as you feel necessary.

As you know, gold is usually found in highly mineralized, rocky terrains that have loads of other minerals, both conductive and ferrous. If you are a beginner prospector, your best bet is to start searching in All Metal mode, and make sure you ground balance correctly. This approach will allow you to neutralize mineralization and yet spot even tiny gold nuggets.

Garrett AT Gold Accessories

Accessories make searching more convenient and more productive. In addition to several compatible search coils existing for Garrett AT Gold, you may consider one or more of the following available accessories:

• Garrett waterproof wired headphones – this headset is compatible with all underwater metal detectors by Garrett, and provides excellent user experience
• search coil covers – these are helpful to protect the coils from mechanical damage
• Garrett PRO-POINTER® Pinpointing Detector – Pinpoint mode cannot substitute a powerful 360 degrees side scan pinpointing tool you can use anywhere and even stick it directly into the dirt. The pinpointer is water resistant and has LED lights for poor visibility environments.

Garrett AT Gold Kit

The standard kit by the manufacturer includes:

• metal detector
• 5×8 DD searchcoil
• Owner’s manual
• Warranty Card
• MS-2 Headphones

At the time of writing, Garrett does not offer any advanced packages, but you are most likely to find advanced kits and bundles offered by your local retailers, or big international platforms. Getting kits in a bundle is always beneficial since you can get some necessary accessories with a certain discount.

Garrett AT Gold Manual

To make an informed decision about whether Garrett AT Pro Gold meets your needs for gold prospecting or not, it is always better to double-check the manufacturer’s manual. The manuals contain all the tech specs and all the necessary info a potential (and actual) user needs.

Download Garrett AT Gold User’s Manual

Instructional Videos For AT Gold Metal Detetcor