First Impressions – ATTs Bite Alarms - 26/03/2009

When the TC boys first set eyes on the ATTs alarms at last year’s Tackle & Guns Trade Show we were all flummoxed by how small the heads were. Initially, one or two thought that they were mock-up, pretend, alarms of some sort. They could not have been further from the truth; these alarms are very real and very impressive. They are tiny, just six centimetres tall in fact, and we immediately wondered how so. Then it dawned on us that all of the switches and even the speaker are not present. This is because the ‘s’ in ATTs stands for silent. The head itself makes no sound whatsoever, hence there’s no need for the speakers – probably the single biggest component inside any bite-alarm head.

So, how do you hear it, you might ask? Well, the heads are programmable with the dedicated ATTx V2 receiver unit, which itself boasts five LEDs and both bleep and vibrate modes. Immediately the thought comes to mind that you can catch a lot of fish without anybody else on your lake needing to find out – especially at night. That’s if you are that way inclined, of course. Also, it eliminates the horrible racket made when people are setting their bobbins without having turned the alarms off first.

One or two people that we have spoken to about the alarms queried what happens if the receiver unit should fail. The alarms make no sound so how do you know that you’ve had an occurrence? We would counter that by saying that, when using a remote unit (any of which could fail just as readily as this one) you would normally have your alarms switched to silent anyway, otherwise why bother with the receiver in the first place? So, the argument is, at best, flawed. Available with choices of LED, red, blue, green, yellow, white, purple and even orange, the ATTs heads feature a black roller wheel as standard. However, these can be changed for one matching the colour of the LED and are available in two and four-magnet versions. The two-magnet wheel will register a bleep with 1cm of movement in the line, with the four-magnet version registering the bleep after just 5mm of movement.

High ears on the alarm heads eliminate the rod being pulled off the head itself in the event of a vicious, marginal take where the rod slams round one way or the other. The rubberised finish makes them extremely hardy and the heads can take a serious amount of abuse – even a dunking in the water, such is their waterproof and rugged design. Another feature is the ‘false-bite eliminator’ technology. Basically, and we’re not sure exactly how it works, the alarms will only register genuine movements in the line, a unique feature in any bite alarm, we’re told.

Finally, and one of the features that we absolutely love, is the fact that the alarms turn themselves on and off, so you don’t have to worry about forgetting to do so. Basically, take the cover (included) off the alarm and it switches on. Replace the cover and off they go. Genius!

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
To a man, the TC team has been impressed by the ATTs and can see them being one of the launches of the year, even at this early stage. They’re also, we reckon, extremely good value at less than 70 quid for an alarm and 100 quid for the receiver.

FACT FILE
ATTs Bite Alarms and ATTx V2 receiver
RRP: £69.99 each for the alarm heads and £99.99 for the receiver
Contact: Advanced Technology Tackle on 01708 742020