Hi everyone,have put aside $1000 in my budget,for a Metal Detector>
Currently on Trademe Im uummimg and arrring over a (used) 3 year old Garret AT pro international, he wants $800 for it,
But also I’m doing the same thing with a new Minelab 540 vanquish from Jacobs digital for $800ish as well,but as we know they are not in the country for about another month,according to the store.
Both detectors are set for the type of detecting I would like to do, beach combing (wet and dry),prospecting, and relic/coin hunting.
The Garret at the moment is slightly (weee bit) in favour,mainly because of its
3mtr water ability,and able to have for the long weekend but then again,the minelab is new and with new tech in it etc etc etc,and I will kick myself if I miss out on a opportunity for a new machine,because the head accountant (the wife) has put her foot down and said ,“last one no more or out the door” so shall I get the Garret cause its there waiting,(no bids at time of writing and I can give him an offer as well ) ,or shall I heed the quote “good things come to those that wait”. Cheers I eagerly await your answers. Tom
Have you considered an equinox 600 or 800 it will out preform the garrett by far on wet sand. Otherwise I would go new nice to have warranty if something goes wrong.
Stretch your budget & get the Equinox 800. The very best of both worlds.
JW 
Thanks for that tip (JW2)
What’s the Noki 600 like on the prospecting side Cosmo, would be nice jW but my skill level barley reach the 600 level Cool Tom
That’s the difference between 600 & 800 is the prospecting mode which is only on the 800. To be honest I have not even tried looking of alluvial gold with it but from what I’ve seen online it can pick up a gram picker at 5/6 inches. Of course it works best with 6 inch coil which is another $260 odd. The other difference is the iron biais is more adjustable on 800.
Ok cosmo cheers for the info,will be looking into it .
I hope you didn’t buy the AT Pro, the Vanquish or Equinox will be far better. At Pro at 15Khz and 10+ year old technology is a waterproof coin detector that will do “OK” on bigger gold. Nox 600/800 or Vanquish will be better with multi frequency for everything, and you can use them on the beach too. The only reason the AT series still exists is Garrett haven’t come up with anything better for a LONG time.
No I havnt ,will probably get a NOx 800
Or I’ll wait for the vanquish,decisions,decisions.
The Vanquish 540 Pro Pack which includes the V8 8x5" coil will be a good little prospecting unit. Multi IQ has been proven effective for nugget hunting with the Equinox 600 and 800, the 600 in Field 2 is virtually as good as the 800 in Gold Mode. Any of the “preset modes” on the Nox can be used for prospecting. They’re just preset settings.
You really need the Pro Pack if you want to do prospecting. The V12 coil at 12x9" is getting a bit big to be optimal for finding small nuggets.
So run the Vanquish in all metal using the 8x5" coil and you’ll be set. That little 8x5" coil is what prospectors wish for on the Equinox. I’m sure the Vanquish 540 will flog an At Pro at nugget hunting.
The AT Pro is very old single frequency tech and is only 15khz, more of a coin hunting detector that’s capable of finding some nuggets, mostly bigger ones which are few and far between 
You could either buy the Nox 600 and 6" coil which may blow your budget or wait for a Vanquish 540 Pro Pack. which will fit into your budget.
Hi Phrunt, yeah mate ,I think the vanquish pro is the way to go for me,which is why Ive been indecisive as to what to purchase,one I can purchase now Nox 8/600 and the other I have too wait still,have spoken with Chris at detectNZ about the Vpro and he thinks next month they should be in,common sense is telling me to stick to the budget, and be patient,so guess what Im getting for Xmas 
and thanks for the input Phrunt.
Tom