If anyone has every got or seen the Automax V4 pinpointer, you know a few things....
-- it's big and bulky, and it's not as sensitive as the Garrett Pro-Pointer. That's why they sell on Ebay for about $30 and the Pro-Pointer gets $127 all day, and then we have the SunRays and all the other ones fetching top dollar also.
You don't realize how bulkythe V4 is until you see one in person. Plus you get MAYBE an inch range on it for metal detection if you are lucky.
I got a V4 with my Etrac a few months back from KellyCo and never used it, plus it was bad out of the box! YEAH! It vibrated but had no audio! It made me mad, but I love my Pro-Pointer, and I just put the V4 back in the box it came in and on a shelf.
Right now in Pittsburgh, PA, the weather is about 10 degrees and snowy. Metal detecting is hibernating.
I am a tinker and have always taken stuff apart to see how it's made and tried to make it better, even as a little kid. When I was 18 years old I spent my graduation money on a 1979 Pontiac Trans AM with the stock 6.6 litre Olds 403 big block motor in it. I was not satisfied until it was pushing over 600 horse power and was the fastest car in my neighborhood. LOL
I decided to take apart the V4 to see why it had no audio. I found a loose speaker wire. Audio fixed.
So then I proceeded to take it apart more to see how it works and what the parts inside are and might do (see picture).
I found a small dial on the main board and after fidgeting with it for a while along with the sensitivity dial, I got it to hit on AT LEAST twice the depth it hit on any metal before I started. I messed with it for over an hour, because the slightest adjustments on either knob over the limit would get it to false. I included where the small dial on the board is. (see picture)
I have no idea what the small dial does in relation to the other controls, but AS OF NOW, it gets more depth and better sensitivity than my Pro-Pointer! No kidding! The only thing that sucks, is it is stuck in that, in my opinion, garbage bulky shell.
One day I hope the Automax V4 makers, whoever they may be, read this. I hope they know that they actually have some KILLER electronics, stuck inside a bulky crappy shell.
I actually might modify the case, using some of it (the upper probe tip and controls), and put it in a streamlined shell and totally seal it making it WATERPROOF, including an o-ring battery door. I have a few ideas.
I got a few more months of winter, and still have that motto: 'if it's fast make it faster, and if it's good make it better'. We'll see what happens next! ;-)
-- it's big and bulky, and it's not as sensitive as the Garrett Pro-Pointer. That's why they sell on Ebay for about $30 and the Pro-Pointer gets $127 all day, and then we have the SunRays and all the other ones fetching top dollar also.
You don't realize how bulkythe V4 is until you see one in person. Plus you get MAYBE an inch range on it for metal detection if you are lucky.
I got a V4 with my Etrac a few months back from KellyCo and never used it, plus it was bad out of the box! YEAH! It vibrated but had no audio! It made me mad, but I love my Pro-Pointer, and I just put the V4 back in the box it came in and on a shelf.
Right now in Pittsburgh, PA, the weather is about 10 degrees and snowy. Metal detecting is hibernating.
I am a tinker and have always taken stuff apart to see how it's made and tried to make it better, even as a little kid. When I was 18 years old I spent my graduation money on a 1979 Pontiac Trans AM with the stock 6.6 litre Olds 403 big block motor in it. I was not satisfied until it was pushing over 600 horse power and was the fastest car in my neighborhood. LOL
I decided to take apart the V4 to see why it had no audio. I found a loose speaker wire. Audio fixed.
So then I proceeded to take it apart more to see how it works and what the parts inside are and might do (see picture).
I found a small dial on the main board and after fidgeting with it for a while along with the sensitivity dial, I got it to hit on AT LEAST twice the depth it hit on any metal before I started. I messed with it for over an hour, because the slightest adjustments on either knob over the limit would get it to false. I included where the small dial on the board is. (see picture)
I have no idea what the small dial does in relation to the other controls, but AS OF NOW, it gets more depth and better sensitivity than my Pro-Pointer! No kidding! The only thing that sucks, is it is stuck in that, in my opinion, garbage bulky shell.
One day I hope the Automax V4 makers, whoever they may be, read this. I hope they know that they actually have some KILLER electronics, stuck inside a bulky crappy shell.
I actually might modify the case, using some of it (the upper probe tip and controls), and put it in a streamlined shell and totally seal it making it WATERPROOF, including an o-ring battery door. I have a few ideas.
I got a few more months of winter, and still have that motto: 'if it's fast make it faster, and if it's good make it better'. We'll see what happens next! ;-)