Find's Treasure Forums
Welcome to Find's Treasure Forums, Guests!
You are viewing this forums as a guest which limits you to read only status.
Only registered members may post stories, questions, classifieds, reply to other posts, contact other members using built in messaging and use many other features found on these forums.
Why not register and join us today? It's free! (We don't share your email addresses with anyone.) We keep email addresses of our users to protect them and others from bad people posting things they shouldn't.
Click here to register!
Need Support Help?
Cannot log in?, click here to have new password emailed to you
Changed email? Forgot to update your account with new email address? Need assistance with something else?, click here to go to Find's Support Form and fill out the form.
Discovery Electronics/ Treasure Baron SST?
- Thread starter Woodchuck
- Start date
Larry (IL)
Well-known member
Lots of info about Discovery, even have their own forum........ Google........
I've still got a Treasure Baron + modules. Even the original carry bag (in bright red and original headphones). Still use it though its HEAVY. Thick alloy case. Lots of batteries plus extra ones for the Deep Hunter module.
You start with the base unit which only has an on/off/power adjustment on the left and the discrimination knob on the right with a large switch in the middle to select discrim. or all metal.
Then start adding beach/blacksand units or the Pro Hunter one (provides notch and ground balance). Deephunter that activates a passive componant in the coil for super depth. There's several add ons, Goldtrax, Cointrax etc the idea being that one base machine could be adapted to tackle any detecting task.
S.S.T. stands for Smart Scan Technology. Really bright red LED lights across the width of the case light up and scan back and forth as you detect. This helps with pinpointing and indicates coin depth.
All worked really well except for the weight/balance and the sheer cost of all the bits on top of the base unit.
I've got the stock coil but you could also get smaller and larger. I like the 11" Thunderhead.
One advantage is that good items that would move down scale on most detectors on bad ground ie sound like iron move up so you don't miss them.
There's cut down versions that you can't upgrade (Millenium Edition with a lighter plastic case) or you might be able to pick up the C-Scope 8SST which combined two modules in the one case at a much lower cost than going for the true Treasure Baron. Not expandable but cheap.
There's spin off models such as the Cobra/Cobra II and Viper. The last was the best of the bunch with a Quad depth range detecting circuit. Surface 0-5", Sub-surface 6-9", Mid-range 10-14" and Deep terrain 15-30" !! not that I ever managed that. The users of these detectors got REALLY upset when Kelly Co started to use the names on some very average detectors.
Hope thats of some help. Standard models seem reliable but the specialist Goldtrax for instance can suffer from sticking touchpads so watch out if buying off E-Bay.
You start with the base unit which only has an on/off/power adjustment on the left and the discrimination knob on the right with a large switch in the middle to select discrim. or all metal.
Then start adding beach/blacksand units or the Pro Hunter one (provides notch and ground balance). Deephunter that activates a passive componant in the coil for super depth. There's several add ons, Goldtrax, Cointrax etc the idea being that one base machine could be adapted to tackle any detecting task.
S.S.T. stands for Smart Scan Technology. Really bright red LED lights across the width of the case light up and scan back and forth as you detect. This helps with pinpointing and indicates coin depth.
All worked really well except for the weight/balance and the sheer cost of all the bits on top of the base unit.
I've got the stock coil but you could also get smaller and larger. I like the 11" Thunderhead.
One advantage is that good items that would move down scale on most detectors on bad ground ie sound like iron move up so you don't miss them.
There's cut down versions that you can't upgrade (Millenium Edition with a lighter plastic case) or you might be able to pick up the C-Scope 8SST which combined two modules in the one case at a much lower cost than going for the true Treasure Baron. Not expandable but cheap.
There's spin off models such as the Cobra/Cobra II and Viper. The last was the best of the bunch with a Quad depth range detecting circuit. Surface 0-5", Sub-surface 6-9", Mid-range 10-14" and Deep terrain 15-30" !! not that I ever managed that. The users of these detectors got REALLY upset when Kelly Co started to use the names on some very average detectors.
Hope thats of some help. Standard models seem reliable but the specialist Goldtrax for instance can suffer from sticking touchpads so watch out if buying off E-Bay.
Discovery Electronics stopped building detectors and shut down a couple of years ago, but one of the co-owners who retired several years ago has plans to begin producing at least one model and two coil sizes again. The SST was the last Treasure Baron version Discovery built. It's in the same housing as the Millennium II and, except for the notch feature, uses the same electronics as the Newforce CS-5ZX that was a joint Discovery/C-Scope effort, but the SST is more stable, has a faster recovery speed and more depth. It, like the other Barons, was designed by George Payne and at 2.75 lbs it's light weight and easy to use. It doesn't have quite as much depth as the Cointrax versions but it has good depth, the choice of one, two or nine tone audio and true auto ground balance with an inhibit feature that prevents it from tracking to iron or large targets. The SST is simple to use, darn good for coin hunting and like the other Barons it hits on tiny gold jewelry exceptionally well. It's also a fun detector to use. A hunting buddy bought an SST a couple of months ago and likes it so well his Fisher F5 and e-Class Baron, which is the same as the Millennium II, has been relegated to backup status and get very little use. A major downside is there's no warranty, and if one happens to need repairing getting it fixed could be a problem. As Larry said, there's a Treasure Baron forum and a website dedicated to them that has a very large amount of info about them. They can be found by Googling "Treasure Baron" with the quotation marks included.
"Quad depth range" was just one of many misleading statements used by the big K in their ads. I have an A and S Special, which is a Cobra II that was sold by another company, and also have a Viper, which is a Cobra II with an LED intensity meter. Both are nothing more than base Baron boards with notch and circuitry added for charging Nicad batteries, plus the intensity meter on the Viper. They do have excellent depth, even without "Quad Depth Range" circuitry. I use the A and S, which has added external pots for ground balance and threshold, most of the time, in fact if I had to choose one detector from the many I've had I would choose the A and S. It's not as deep as the Cointrax versions, or the Prohunter when the Deephunter module is added, but it goes deep, runs stable at maximum sensitivity and like the other Barons it hits hard on small gold jewelry. The Cobra,and King Cobra sold by the big K were made by Gold Mountain Technologies, they were good detectors but didn't get much over half the depth the Cobra II and Viper gets here.
Not certain I would blame big K or did they sell them then ?
I used the Viper back in 1994, perhaps 1995 and the spec. sheet said something along the lines that it had been produced in response to detector user demands for a Cobra II that would go a little deeper and capture the target signal better. They had farmed the design out to outside engineering and it had taken six months to perfect the design.
I used the Viper back in 1994, perhaps 1995 and the spec. sheet said something along the lines that it had been produced in response to detector user demands for a Cobra II that would go a little deeper and capture the target signal better. They had farmed the design out to outside engineering and it had taken six months to perfect the design.
There's still the problem (as with the Viper being reissued but many not realising its not the detector they might have seen a good review on) that the U.K. CS 5 range sold under several 5 designations was nothing to do with Discovery. Its more a copy of the Fisher 1266 but with a battery check meter in the middle.
Same with the CS4ZX. A hybrid detector in the U.K. developed from the Metadec 2 and 3 design's. Seems the U.S. version gained an I.D. meter instead of the fixed level ferrous/non ferrous of the British original and lost the hybrid Arado type design of the original.
To skip to another two brands, I was reading a few weeks back that someone had "won" a Groundhawk (I assume on E-Bay) thinking they were getting the U.S. relic hunting machine instead of which they received a discriminating P.I. of British design and manufacture that even new (a) wasn't to hot and (b) you haven't been able to get spares or repairs in twenty years. There was also a Chinese origin "Groundhawk".
Same with the CS4ZX. A hybrid detector in the U.K. developed from the Metadec 2 and 3 design's. Seems the U.S. version gained an I.D. meter instead of the fixed level ferrous/non ferrous of the British original and lost the hybrid Arado type design of the original.
To skip to another two brands, I was reading a few weeks back that someone had "won" a Groundhawk (I assume on E-Bay) thinking they were getting the U.S. relic hunting machine instead of which they received a discriminating P.I. of British design and manufacture that even new (a) wasn't to hot and (b) you haven't been able to get spares or repairs in twenty years. There was also a Chinese origin "Groundhawk".
I've been involved with Discovery Electronics and their products for a long time, and also with George Payne for a few years. Reg Sniff and I were the two people who tested every prototype and final version of the chips George Payne programmed for the Cointrax models, and I spoke with Alan Hughes, who was the marketing director at C-Scope then, several times re the CS-5ZX and 4ZX when they were first produced. Both of those models, and the CS-8SST which is a 5ZX with letters instead of coin designations for meter ID, use a George Payne designed, stand alone, simplified version of the Treasure Baron Cointrax module. I got a CS-5ZX right after they were released in 1997 or early 1998, and have one.now as well as three other Baron versions. The board in the the SST and 5ZX, also the 4ZX and 8SST according to Roy Van Epps at Discovery, are basically identical. They all have the three different audio option capability and notch circuitry but don't have the switches and jumper configuration on the boards to allow changing the audio or the potentiometers required to be able to use the notch. In addition, the sensitivity was restricted on those models but installing a jumper across the J-3 contacts on the circuit board removes the restriction and allows full sensitivity. The SST had the jumper installed at the factory, as well as the switch and jumper configuration to allow the three different audio options. The Cobra II and Viper were built by Discovery as house brands for Kellyco after Gold Mountain shut down, the current Cobra and Viper models they sell are built in China. Discovery made the Hothead coils for the big K for several years after Wilson stopped making them, and also made the coils Jimmy Sierra sold for Whites detectors for a long time.
Larry (IL)
Well-known member
Hope you don't mind JB...... here is the link to JB's Field Test of the SST: http://jb-ms.com/Detectors/sst.html which also contains another link to Andy Sabisch's review.
Larry (IL)
Well-known member
Information overload Woodchuck? I noticed you withdrew your ad for one. I enjoyed the history lesson though.........
Interesting about the C-Scope. It never did have the performance of the original but at half the price was a good entry point in Europe.
I've just turned up the ad for the Viper from 1995 and they were imported by "The Midas Touch" in Britain but no suggestion of any KellyCo involvement though I suppose they might have had some idea of a move into Europe through an established dealer here.
I've just turned up the ad for the Viper from 1995 and they were imported by "The Midas Touch" in Britain but no suggestion of any KellyCo involvement though I suppose they might have had some idea of a move into Europe through an established dealer here.
Similar in general look to the U.K. version but instead of "LED SELECT" it has a vertical moving switch with LED-1 above and LED-2 below. Power knob is the same. Where you have "reject width" we just had "NOTCH" printed to the left. DISC/ID is marked as per your picture but lacks the "Set for Tone I.D."
This version cost
This version cost
Rich Salmon, who was a co-owner of Discovery until he retired 8 or 9 years ago said the Barons would have been big sellers in the UK if the distributors and dealers hadn't jacked the prices up. Discovery shut down, stopped building detectors a couple of years ago and closed all operations last year, but Rich acquired most of the equipment. He plans on making 5.5 and 8 inch coils initially, then a lighter weight version of the Cobra II with surface mount components and manual ground balance. He said it will be aimed primarily at the UK market and to keep the price down it will be sold direct from the factory instead of through distributors and dealers. It will also be available in the U.S. by direct order, but Rich is in his mid 70's, not in the best of health and it may not happen.
Blame the importer every time. In the past the norm was to convert Dollars to Pounds and this could mean the U.K. price was double. Then cut the warranty down to the minimum allowed in the country.
Next do a "we will not be undersold in U.K". offer and any dealer who dares undercut the importer is found and can have his supplies cut off.
Here's a question you may be able to answer. I assumed that Discovery designed the hoard hunter who's name I can't think of but was almost identical to the C-scope 9000HPX and Whites TM808 versions because the Discovery version always seemed to be the one to have, with the others on catch up. Was it a Discovery design or Whites as has been suggested in the past ?
Thanks if you can help.
Next do a "we will not be undersold in U.K". offer and any dealer who dares undercut the importer is found and can have his supplies cut off.
Here's a question you may be able to answer. I assumed that Discovery designed the hoard hunter who's name I can't think of but was almost identical to the C-scope 9000HPX and Whites TM808 versions because the Discovery version always seemed to be the one to have, with the others on catch up. Was it a Discovery design or Whites as has been suggested in the past ?
Thanks if you can help.
Rich Salmon said the TM-800 was being manufactured by Discovery and marketed by White's when he and Roy Epps acquired the company, including the patents on it. He said Whites was buying about 100 month at that time and continued the arrangement with them, but when Discovery started marketing the Treasure Barons Whites stopped buying the two box units from them and started building their own version of it. The C-Scope version was the Discovery Electronics TF-900.