FNG! newbie guy again

[bountyhunter1972]

Hello all,

I just signed up today , but have been MD on and off for awhile now. I have an inexpensive BH pioneer 101. but i was hoping i could gather a little info from people that might have used one. I only have a couple of questions if you could take the time and help me out. First question is about depth can this model go any deeper than 4 or 5 inches? Second i have read someplace here that a guy set his sensitivity to about 12 o'clock, what exactly is this function for, if it set it lower will it help me find deeper coins. Also on more thing i found that i can buy a 10" coil from http://www.metaldetectors.com/metal-detector-accessories/searchcoils/bountyhunter10inchsearchcoil.cfm will this one work on my 101? My 9 year old son and I are however still having a blast with it, every day he asks if we can go and sure enough i give in. thanks for the info and great site guys.

 

[flash5153]

Not sure about the depth or Coil.
But the sesitivity is so you can set your detector for mineralization, in the soil,in different areas. The higher it is set it,, the deeper it will detect. But if too high it will give you false signals and erratic behavior.. Depending on the soil is the factor on how high you can set it. Will change from place to place.

Good luck

 

[flash5153]

I went and looked at the pioneer 101. Sure seems you should get more than 5 " on a coin. Looks alot like the Pioneer 202 which I have. Also the coil should be interchangeable, sure looks the same to me but Im not positive. Take a look at this site about the 101. http://www.detecting.com/pdffiles/p101man.pdf


Good Luck

 

[flash5153]

Just went and looked again, says it is compatible with 4' ,8' and 10" coil. Seems your good to go.

 

[GoGoGopher]

The Pioneer 101 is fully capable of reaching depths of 8"+ on coins, and 2' on larger objects...Most of your coins are gonna be at 6" or less, but some relics and heavy iron can sink deeper...The SENS controls the sensitivity of the Receive circuitry in the detector...the higher you set this, the more sensitive the detector becomes, but also more unstable, and more sensitive to outside influence (Power lines, cell towers, radio towers, even CB radios and cell phones)...You want to turn this as high as you can without the detector giving false signals on every swing, or when motionless...it can increase your depth on finds (to a point). The DIS is your Discrimination of course, and the higher you turn this, the more metals you reject from detection...It goes something like this...small iron nail, medium iron objects (screwdriver, mason jar lid), large iron objects and foil, small gold and nickel, medium gold and pull tabs, large gold and screw caps, zinc, copper, lead...you cannot normally DISC out Silver or larger coins...The 10" coil will gain you only 1-2 inches of additional depth on coins from the stock 8" coil, and maybe 6" to 8" on larger objects...

Happy Hunting,

 

[bountyhunter1972]

hey thanks guys for the info. i will take a trip today with my boy and see what we come up with. I knew i could find the info i wanted here. I will start to play with the settings and learn my machine, I'm sure that i can find merc's and the older coins like the rest of you guys with my inexpensive MD.

 

[Oakman404]

The 101 is the same machine as the Tracker IV. I love mine, I have had it for about 13 years! Found my first JFK half with my tracker IV. Yes you can use the 4, 8 and 10 inch coils.

 

[airbrush]

I have toe 101 and i use the 10 & 4 coils on mine.

 

[bountyhunter1972]

I have no problem finding clad coins, have found some newer silver in the past but i have a real hard time finding nickels. I mainly us the disc mode, and i know i have past over nickels, I sometimes put it on all metal mode just for the heck of it and get hits, when I use the tone mode i get the low tone but its always broken, and when i try to adjust the disc still the same noise, so i guess i just dig the lows and hope for the best right or am i missing something.

 

[GoGoGopher]

Easiest way to check your machine for the tones it will give on different coins is to carry those coins in an old pill bottle with you in your detector carry bag (Silver Dollar, Half Dollar, Gold Sacs and President coins, Silver quarter, clad quarter, silver dime (merc), clad dime, Buf nickel, clad nickel, copper penny, clad penny, pull tab, screw cap, nails)...I drop them on the ground where I am gonna hunt, and sweep them...This gives me a more precise idea of the tones I am gonna get in that area...This is also a good idea for setting your DISC knob...set it high, then back it down until the nickel is just picked up clearly...This should eliminate foil and iron, but still get you nickels and gold...If you DISC out nickels or pull tabs, your gonna pass right over the gold.

HH,