Posted 07/05/2022 9:38 pm
Hi EDM,
Ironhorse has made some good points. My first detector was a Garrett Ace. I purchased it second hand but near new off ebay at half retail price from a teenager who had bought it thinking he was going to earn big bucks (watched too many YouTube videos I suspect). I later on upgraded when I got more into the hobby but my Dad now uses it and it hasn't missed a beat in 3-4 years which says a lot about the brand. I originally used a cheap Chinese Garrett knock off pointer that did the job enough to see if I was going to continue. I now use a NOX 800 detector with a Nokta pulse dive/pointer. With this set up I can do land based detecting plus use the pulse dive for snorkeling. Point is, you don't have to buy the same brand pointer as detector. Like the Nox 800, the AT Pro is also waterproof to 3m however I wouldn't use them for full underwater detecting. I know of several cases of water ingress with the Nox 800 and yes, Minelab did honour the warranty but it still meant down time for the owners. It does enable you to detect in the rain and provides peace of mind when detecting in the surf etc in case you drop it but I'd go with a unit designed for underwater use if I was getting into proper underwater detecting.
Good luck detecting with your new unit, whatever you decide on!
Ironhorse has made some good points. My first detector was a Garrett Ace. I purchased it second hand but near new off ebay at half retail price from a teenager who had bought it thinking he was going to earn big bucks (watched too many YouTube videos I suspect). I later on upgraded when I got more into the hobby but my Dad now uses it and it hasn't missed a beat in 3-4 years which says a lot about the brand. I originally used a cheap Chinese Garrett knock off pointer that did the job enough to see if I was going to continue. I now use a NOX 800 detector with a Nokta pulse dive/pointer. With this set up I can do land based detecting plus use the pulse dive for snorkeling. Point is, you don't have to buy the same brand pointer as detector. Like the Nox 800, the AT Pro is also waterproof to 3m however I wouldn't use them for full underwater detecting. I know of several cases of water ingress with the Nox 800 and yes, Minelab did honour the warranty but it still meant down time for the owners. It does enable you to detect in the rain and provides peace of mind when detecting in the surf etc in case you drop it but I'd go with a unit designed for underwater use if I was getting into proper underwater detecting.
Good luck detecting with your new unit, whatever you decide on!
Edited by David Graham
07/05/2022 9:40 pm
07/05/2022 9:40 pm
