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How many remember the very first detector you started the hobby with and how long ago ??

Missouri -- Ma Betty said:
My ex & I, joined the MD Club in North County, St. Louis, MO. in JAN 1980 & Roy Volker the CEO started it, for he was the distributer of Sweet Home Oregan's, Whites Metal Detectors & sold us our first one--WHITES in 1981--then we argued over who would use it & another was purchased in 1982 & then other Whites until we divorced in 1988 & I bought my Whites XLT Spectrum in 1994 & used it until I had to quit because of Illnesses for both me & my brother, who had moved from FL to MO & then lived in my home until he went into Hospice Care & died in 2009! Loved the XLT--Found many coins & other stuffs with it, but I overdid detecting (got addicted) & my health paid for it! Went to DR, Yesterday, my vitals were working except needed more oxygen, which I didn't have with me, but she said I am still alive but not kicking as my knees are very painful when trying to get up & down from a sitting position! Anyway, I did get to enjoy my detecting hobby for many years using just WHITE'S DETECTORS! HH & have fun but don't wear your body out like I did! God Bless! Ma
Click to expand...
Roy was a nice guy.
 
An AH Pro Super Pro Off Resonance detector in 75.
It would discriminate thru screw cap. The best discriminator ever made.
Got it from Herb Jeffries at Mission Rexall Drug.
 
morelic1955 said:
Wish I could get it fixed!
Click to expand...
Can you solder ?
Ever open it up ?
If not corroded by molten batteries.
Usually just bad capacitors.
Take pics notting polarity.
Replace one at a time with exactly same type.
Clean potentiometers and switches with contact cleaner. Use canned air to blow dry. I'll even use a soft toothbrush to scrub bad areas. Peavy Funk Out works great. Buy at music store or Amazon.
Can even clean up corrosion.
Good Luck.
 
Odanscoils said:
Can you solder ?
Ever open it up ?
If not corroded by molten batteries.
Usually just bad capacitors.
Take pics notting polarity.
Replace one at a time with exactly same type.
Clean potentiometers and switches with contact cleaner. Use canned air to blow dry. I'll even use a soft toothbrush to scrub bad areas. Peavy Funk Out works great. Buy at music store or Amazon.
Can even clean up corrosion.
Good Luck.
Click to expand...
I've been told that the diodes are what goes bad in the old BFO detectors, I've bought salvage ones when I could get them cheap, but I could not figure it out.
 
Diodes are like caps. Polarity sensitive.
Photograph them. Remove one. Read the tiny numbers. Order a pack of ten. If what's in there is say 1/2 amp. Get the 1 amp. Seeing as how these fail. Go with higher amp version.
Caps go bad just from sitting after many years.
Typically most common parts to fail.
Learning to test these components is a must.
Try reading this book. Free pdf download.
Many books on the subject of "troubleshooting electronics" PDF.
Get a decent multimeter. Here's an old favorite.
Never leave the batteries in. Number one killer.
Some will even test caps,, diodes and transistors.

https://nvhrbiblio.nl/biblio/boek/Geier%20-%20How%20to%20diagnose%20and%20fix%20everything%20electronic.pdf
 

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In 1972 I bought a Jetco GTX Huntmaster, I was 12 years old, that's what started it all for me. We had a couple of Whites and a Heathkit in the family, but I found the long-lost grandmothers 13 diamond ring with the cheapest detector of the bunch! 51 years later, here I am, still detecting!
 
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WV62 said:
Jetco 1975, I had all 5 that they had in the store. As soon as I got each I took them to a creek and put the so called water proof coil in the water it was gone. I keep taking them back until they ran out of detectors and had to settle for a bicycle.
Ron in WV
Click to expand...
I had (2) Jetcos, a GTX Huntmaster and I think the second one was a Treasure Hawk and just as you said, the coil failed. It was a molded plastic coil with a chrome plug having 3 pins on it to plug it in.
 
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Remember? Hell, I still have it. An X Terra 705 that used from 2008/ 2009 to December 2022 when it was replaced by a Nox 900.
 
Tesoro Silver Sabre Plus! Found my first 3 ringer with it. Sure wish I would have kept it. For some reason back then, I thought you had to have one detector and upgrade every now and then. Now I have 5. Go figure.
 
In 1973, I bought a Jetco BFO detector at a yard sale. I was stationed at George AFB in California, so I searched lawns throughout base housing. I found mostly newer cents, until one day I dug a 1944 Walking half dollar. That was the beginning of a wonderful 50-year hobby.
 
jim tn said:
That's funny! As I recall, my Jetco got maybe 3" on a good day. Found enough to trigger my interest and invested in a White's Coinmaster BFO. HH jim tn
Click to expand...
My Jetco did OK in established lawns (maybe 3”, if conditions were right), but in the desert dirt surround the air force base where I was stationed, it literally would not find a one cent piece lying on the surface of the ground.
 
Missouri -- Ma Betty said:
My ex & I, joined the MD Club in North County, St. Louis, MO. in JAN 1980 & Roy Volker the CEO started it, for he was the distributer of Sweet Home Oregan's, Whites Metal Detectors & sold us our first one--WHITES in 1981--then we argued over who would use it & another was purchased in 1982 & then other Whites until we divorced in 1988 & I bought my Whites XLT Spectrum in 1994 & used it until I had to quit because of Illnesses for both me & my brother, who had moved from FL to MO & then lived in my home until he went into Hospice Care & died in 2009! Loved the XLT--Found many coins & other stuffs with it, but I overdid detecting (got addicted) & my health paid for it! Went to DR, Yesterday, my vitals were working except needed more oxygen, which I didn't have with me, but she said I am still alive but not kicking as my knees are very painful when trying to get up & down from a sitting position! Anyway, I did get to enjoy my detecting hobby for many years using just WHITE'S DETECTORS! HH & have fun but don't wear your body out like I did! God Bless! Ma
Click to expand...
I can just see you Betty hunting those golden streets of gold in heaven:wave:.
 
Bought a Red Box Teknetics Mark 1 in 86 --paid top dollar over 650 bucks from Kellyco. I was apx 30 years old at the time --mainly used locally --old lots and such and on vacation in Tennessee--. The Mark 1 had 8 knobs -- just set each on the "blue" preset marking and go ---.used this detector till the end of the 90's --moved up to a Garrett 1250.
 
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