Jump to content

Best Coil For Garrett AT Gold?


Recommended Posts

I am chasing some advice, I recently swapped my QED PI detector for a Garrett AT Gold.  I basically never used my QED and it was gathering dust and wasting cupboard space which with my growing collection is becoming an issue, I've never gotten rid of a detector before, I even have my first detector from when I was about 9 years old but I decided the QED had to go.  I offered to give it to a friend but after trying it out in my backyard he decided detecting isn't for him as it was too complicated 🙂.  An opportunity came up to swap it for an AT Gold to a guy in Australia who offered to swap his AT Gold plus some cash for a QED, I just took the direct swap with no cash involved to keep it simple so I jumped on it and sent the QED on it's merry way on an international flight the next day.

So now I have an AT Gold, I've messed around with it and the gold performance is not near the VLF detectors I prefer to use for gold more on par with my other 19kHZ detectors from other brands that also spend their life in the cupboard and nowhere near the performance of the higher frequency VLF's that I do use so I figured I'd get a bigger coil for it for coin hunting, not because I'm expecting it to compete or compare to my other coin detectors but just to give it another purpose as I'm unlikely to use it for prospecting, although maybe the odd creek trip being waterproof might be in it's future.

948271749_ATGOLD.jpg.f316904fa1e5ec72cc7eddc08d9105cd.jpg

It's in tidy condition, the owner was a GPX 4500 guy and in the land of OZ with high mineralisation so the AT Gold was a cupboard decoration for him too.  He sent the Garrett headphones for it too but I have a phobia of headphones so they're stashed away now never to be seen again.

So, what should I do for coil options for it? The Garrett NZ dealer only has the coil I've already got for it in stock and the 9" x 12" PROformance Concentric Search coil, I am in mild soils so perhaps this concentric would serve me well for coins?

I prefer aftermarket coils in general and especially in comparison to standard Garrett coils that I've got with my Ace 350, 300i and now the AT Gold, so would I be better off getting a Detech Ultimate, Nel Superfly or Tornado for it? I have both the Ultimate and Tornado for other detectors and really like them and I love that I even have the option of getting these coils with the Garrett as it is one of the things I absolutely despise about the other brand that doesn't allow aftermarket coils.

I've tested the stock coil on it and the target ID's are pretty poor on my usual coin digs, my Ace 300i with Nel Tornado is giving me deadly accurate Target IDs on deep NZ coins at 6+ inches in depth and the AT Gold with stock 5x8' is all over the place on the exact same targets, very unreliable ID's and won't even detect a 8" coin that the Ace 300i hits on with ease with the Tornado.  Yes I know, big coil, little coil.... this is what I want to improve.

On Ebay there are a brand of coil I've never heard of available for the At Gold, Magic Coils, made in Russia and they look quite good, Youtube personalities like The Hunter GT have left them very positive reviews but I can't find too much info on them, I'm always willing to try new things though, you never know when you'll discover something special others aren't willing to try.

Here is one for sale for the AT Gold https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/292834716248?hash=item442e4f2a58:g:ijgAAOSwkB5b~EMv

So what's my best option from people using one of these higher end Garrett VLF's, Nel? Detech? Magc? or the good old trusty stock coils? if so which one? As at the moment for coins my Ace 300i is flogging it for target ID stability and depth using the Nel Tornado vs the 5x8" Garrett DD on the AT Gold, even on shallow coins the ID's are more stable on the Ace.

Also, is it worth getting a Nel Snake for it to get a decent little gold coil? I have one for my GBP's and it works well, again no match for the higher frequency detectors I prefer to use, has anyone used a Snake on an AT Gold? I don't expect it to compete with higher frequency detectors but even if it handled hot rocks better or anything it might be an option worth considering.

 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites


I really like the Nel Superfly on the Anfibio.  It's so light and performs very well and would be a good one for the AT Gold. 

The Nel Snake would be good one too. I had it on a T2 and never took it off.

I didn't try these coils on the AT Gold I had. Hopefully someone posts that has.

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like the Superfly too. It is more comfortable to swing than the Utlimate and Tornado. Also, in my opinion, the best Garrett coil is the one you have that comes with the AT Gold. Otherwise, I would stay away from the other Garrett coils.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I did snag a Mars Tiger 10x13 that is very emi resistant and beefy and use that on my AT Pro as it is a very quiet coil but it is heavy so I tend to keep that just for freshwater hunting. I also have the 9x12 concentric and found it to be a bit noisier and because of the larger detection area it is not very good in high trash areas, larger concentric is suitable more for relic hunting and where there is a lot of flat iron.

Superfly is a very good coil, hard to beat it's light weight and performance.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have the Mars Tiger on my T2 and I agree how good it is with EMI, put the stock T2 coil on in my front yard and the T2 goes nuts with EMI, put the Mars Tiger on and it runs perfectly even in maximum sensitviity it's pretty stable, impossible with the stock coil.   I think I'll get another Tiger for the AT Gold or the Superfly.  I really like the Detech Ultimate but it's nowhere near as good in EMI as the Tiger and the Tiger is a shape I prefer.  I'm not bothered by weight as I'm growing a Popeye arm from swinging the GPZ so these VLF's all feel pretty light by comparison.

At the moment it's between the Tiger and the Superfly, I've never owned a Superfly so perhaps I should get it so at least I've tried one.  You know you've been swinging a GPZ a lot when you pick up a CTX and it feels very light 🙂

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, ordered the Superfly, Although I think the Mars Tiger is awesome it's main benefit over the Nel coils is its EMI handling, the AT Gold is already great with EMI, than 18kHZ an 19kHZ frequency range seems a good one around here for EMI so EMI handling wasn't on my list of requirements for a coil.  I'll see how the Nel goes.  I notice on their coils now they all appear to have that funky red coil cover, I'd rather the old school black ones.  I don't like standing out like dogs nuts.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Simon .. I think Super Fly / 12x11 "/ will be a good coil ..., I expect a similar effect .. as when using 13 ultimate on G2 ... it should kick Garett AT Gold into the depth of detection ... these gold detectors they have higher ground filters in order to work more stably in mineralization, so when using a small coil they do not have the maximum depth performance ...

Test from colleague WM6 for 4bar Fe3o4 mineralization :

826373744_Atgoldtest.jpg.02317e133578838ddb72ba62114cf562 (1).jpg

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...