Sensitivity chatter on ATP normal or not?

Critik

Jr. Member
Apr 25, 2017
59
79
Charlotte, Nc
Detector(s) used
Garret AT Pro/Bounty Hunter Tracker IV/Fisher 1225x
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Sensitivity chatter on ATP normal or not? SOLVED

So I went from using a Bounty Hunter IV to a ATP, And I have noticed with the bounty hunter I could have the sensitivity way up when detecting a house front yard with power lines and have no chatter. But went to a yard with the ATP (same conditions) and I can not have it above 3 or I get constant chatter. Note that I have not tested it in a field but question is, does this seem like normal behavior? I was maybe 30 feet from power lines and right beside the house which was not being used.

FAULTY COIL
 

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I guess it all depends on how many power wires there were?

Typically I would say that you shouldn't have a problem, but if it's a substation then that's a different story.

Do the usuals first.......check and make sure all connections are tight, coil cord wrapped the right way around stock, turn off cell phone.

If still a lot of chatter, do a ground balance again (guessing you've done it already), try selecting a different frequency to see if that fixes the problem.

Move to a different location of the yard and see if makes any difference.

Sometimes the earth is so highly mineralized that you will have to do a combination of things to quiet it down.

Try a different location altogether and see if you are still having the same problem?

You could have minerals caught between the coil and the coil cover. Clean that as well and see if that makes a difference.

Keep us posted.
 

The ATP can be pretty sensitive to EMI. Sometimes its power lines , sometimes its wifi. Generally its not a problem but there are areas where it can be a problem. Try a different area.
 

I agree....try another spot and see if you get same results. At pro is better than average at handling EMI. I would also try doing a factory reset and a freq shift. I actually used my AT pro at a battlefield site that has been hunted out pretty much.....the field had this huge set of power lines running through it and made hunting directly under those lines nearly impossible. I used the AT pro with one bar under max sense to hunt right under those lines and filled my pouch with relics that day. So your experience just doesn't sound right to me unless maybe there is a big AC unit that wasn't being used before when you were there? Some things like that can effect the AT pro, but no more than any other machine....
 

Same here, one notch down under "one" powerline works here, but have been on farmland with full sens, and get a little chatter. Most likely ground. Don't forget about those wonderful cable tv cable's.
 

OK I am going to try a few different areas. Do you think EMI comes from the coil or the control box? Here's what mine does. When I put sense too high and just hold it still in air or ground every so often it will register and chatter and the higher sense the more chatter. So it happens when holding it still. Def has got to be EMI
 

So I went from using a Bounty Hunter IV to a ATP, And I have noticed with the bounty hunter I could have the sensitivity way up when detecting a house front yard with power lines and have no chatter. But went to a yard with the ATP (same conditions) and I can not have it above 3 or I get constant chatter. Note that I have not tested it in a field but question is, does this seem like normal behavior? I was maybe 30 feet from power lines and right beside the house which was not being used.

FAULTY COIL

I would think that the AT puts out a lot more power than the BH. My MXT will do the same thing when you turn it way up. Like said above, Location, soil matrix, EMI from all sorts including new things like buried and hung Power lines, Communication towers, and large powerful electrical devices and over driving your coil :) DO you drive your car with the gas pedal floored through tight curvy roads (compared to a straight road) ? :) I've lived in Pennsylvania where the soil matrix is mild, compared to the harsher ground of CA :) and Gain / Sensitivity settings have to be adjusted according to the matrix :) .
 

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I would think that the AT puts out a lot more power than the BH. My MXT will do the same thing when you turn it way up. Like said above, Location, soil matrix, EMI from all sorts including new things like buried and hung Power lines, Communication towers, and large powerful electrical devices and over driving your coil :) DO you drive your car with the gas pedal floored through tight curvy roads (compared to a straight road) ? :) I've lived in Pennsylvania where the soil matrix is mild, compared to the harsher ground of CA :) and Gain / Sensitivity settings have to be adjusted according to the matrix :) .

Of course you get your normal EMI but I could tell this wwas not normal and it turned out to be a bad coil.
 

Of course you get your normal EMI but I could tell this wwas not normal and it turned out to be a bad coil.

Sorry to hear that. I hope the replacement didn't cost you much. I have been lucky and never had a coil go bad.
 

I hunt a farm that is adjacent to some really huge power line monsters. You can hear the static crackling in the air walking toward the site. The first time I was there I had my smaller coil and had only slight problems, notching down power by 2 or so. Second time I had my DD coil and it was unusable unless sensitivity down to 2 or 3. Also if I swung with the power lines behind me it helped reduce chatter. Good luck.
 

Hello, I was getting ready to start my own thread when I saw this one. Critik's situation is almost exactly mirrors my own... brand new ATP, at a house with powerlines, unusable above a sensitivity level of 3. The only difference is that mine did work better when I got home and turned it on. So, my question....I've tried everything you mentioned as well as factory reset. The only thing I'm not sure about is whether my phone was in my pocket. The site is 2 hours away so it would be inconvenient to go test and see if that was the problem. Are cell phones a known issue for the ATP? Would it cause constant chatter on sensitivity at only 4 or 5? I was trying to work through it and my ATP was actually giving high tones on nails with nothing else in the hole.

Thanks,
OO
 

Hello, I was getting ready to start my own thread when I saw this one. Critik's situation is almost exactly mirrors my own... brand new ATP, at a house with powerlines, unusable above a sensitivity level of 3. The only difference is that mine did work better when I got home and turned it on. So, my question....I've tried everything you mentioned as well as factory reset. The only thing I'm not sure about is whether my phone was in my pocket. The site is 2 hours away so it would be inconvenient to go test and see if that was the problem. Are cell phones a known issue for the ATP? Would it cause constant chatter on sensitivity at only 4 or 5? I was trying to work through it and my ATP was actually giving high tones on nails with nothing else in the hole.

Thanks,
OO

OK the phone can cause EMI, but try this take it outside middle of yard or closest open area not many lines. So turn it on put it up to two bars under max and see what you get. Remember to hold the detector up mid way off ground and see if you get chatter. Also one other very important thing, the coil plug goes way past the the black O ring make sure you have it in all the way.. get back to me.
 

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