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Info on Garrett ADS Deepseeker VLF-TR

N

newbiehunter

New member
Hello I am new to this forum and new to metal detecting. I just inherited a Garrett ADS Deepseeker VLF-TR that looks like brand new. It has a small and a large coil and a probe type coil. I have the orig inst book and two other books that were in the case Detector owners field Manuel and Electronic prospecting. The detector has been used very little if any. It is pretty cool. I know that it is like 30 years old and not the best detector to start on but its what I have and it was free. So I guess its where I will start. That all being said, I have read all the material and realize that this detector is a little more complicated to use then the new detectors so if there is anyone out there with experience with this old machine and would be willing to impart their knowledge and experience on me I would greatly appreciate it. I have been told to sell the detector and get a new one but it has some history as to who it came from so I won't be getting rid of it. I live in Roswell NM and would also really like to find others in my area that participate in MDing that I could get with. Looking forward to hearing from anyone who has any info and advise. Thanks in advance.
 
Post a couple pics please. I've used a few of those old guys and still use an 1986 Garrett Groundhog VLF/TR. I use it in areas with millions of nails. Your detector will go pretty deep and discriminate out trash better than most new detectors using the TR mode.

http://jb-ms.com/Carlsforum/Feb12-2006/1137765997.html

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?56,1216705

http://ahrps.net/_tipsAndTechniques/AudioTargetClassification.pdf
 
FYI...you have a very decent detector. It will get similar depth compared to what single frequency detectors do today. Down side....heavy and lots of batteries. But don't let that discourage you. Go out, use it in the right places and you will be rewarded! :thumbup:
 
Stick with it and learn it. That old hog will hold it's own with most of the new stuff out there today. Just study the manual and practice, practice, practice, and you will find some goodies. That old tector found a lot of stuff in its day and it still can.

Bill
 
My Deep Seeker was pre-ADS, loved it, most of my silver finds were with it. Be careful about the battery tray, mine became mis-aligned from use of too much force.
 
Thanks, in fact going out right now to work with it for a while, see what I can dig up in my own back yard.
 
:usmc:

I have a Garrett Master Hunter ADS VLF-TR Groundhog and I think the only real difference between it and the Deepseeker version was the Groundhog runs at 15 kHz and the Deepseeker I believe was at 5.5 kHz, and I think both used the Co-Planar coil design. The Groundhog and Deepseeker coils though are not compatible used between these machines.

I'm not sure why Garrett made both machines so similar but I suspect to give the Coin and Nugget Hunters a choice. The 5.5 kHz leaning more towards those hunting coins and the 15 kHz for those looking more in the direction of prospecting for Gold nuggets. The operating instructions as I recall for both are pretty much the same. I'm unsure of what size coils were available for the Deepseeker but I have for my Groundhog three coils from the smallest, 4.5", to a large 10.5" and that rascal can get a bit on the heavy side after a couple hours of swinging it.

You need to get yourself a nice pair of volume controlled mono/stereo headphones (may one day have a them for them to be compatible with a newer detector) that will help you save on battery life and to hear and help interpret sounds a world of difference better. Other than these machines being to some, very stone age, in the right hands and with a willingness to learn Ground Balancing and what the Sounds of your machine are telling you, these Old Timers can still be wonderful machines as metal is still metal and iron and minerals in sands, soils, and rocks, are still iron and minerals today as yesterday.
 
Thnks, I got out today and found what amounts to a bunch of junk but had fun doing it. Found a bunch of nails, fishing weights, some bullets, a few pennies and several cheap rings
 
I had one of those in 1985. It was a fantastic machine and just to see it brings back some great memories. I packed that sucker miles up into the cascade mountians to find nuggets... did pretty well -- then I got married, and sold it.. Big mistake. You guys know the story....? Should have kept the ADS and sold the wife?!.:ranting:
 
Hay Dream Catcher, when you said you got married you sold it, ( big mistake) i was wondering if you mint married or sold it. I have a ADS 7, with hard case and all the coils, sent it to Garrett's for check up everything was good. Missing one knob and they didn, have any to fit it, been trying to find one but other than that it very good condition. I take it out 1 or 2 times a year. Good luck this year. Dean
 
Flintstone said:
Hay Dream Catcher, when you said you got married you sold it, ( big mistake) i was wondering if you mint married or sold it. I have a ADS 7, with hard case and all the coils, sent it to Garrett's for check up everything was good. Missing one knob and they didn, have any to fit it, been trying to find one but other than that it very good condition. I take it out 1 or 2 times a year. Good luck this year. Dean
Click to expand...

Which knob are you missing? I have some like new knobs off of a Deepseeker ADS. Older model but some of the knobs may be the same.
 
The deeo seeker was also heavier than Groundhog
 
I bought that machine with every accessorry.. a gift to myself back in 1980 from my previous detector's finds. Options for that model included:

- 8 inch Coaxial coil - Great for hunting in trashy areas. Could go right up next to metal poles and parking meters without picking up the poles.
- 10 inch Deepseeker coil
- 10 inch underwater coil with 50 foot cable
- 3.5 inch coil used for prospecting, nuggets, heavy trash areas.
- Optional Armrest - That detector was heavy and the arm rest made it that much moreso but I had Popeye arms after a few years with that beast:). The metal arm-rest tucked into the back of the black handle and made it more manageable, especially when wielding the 10 inch coil.
- Plastic foam-filled carrying suitcase

They are on eBay every now and then. So tempting, but really, it would probably just sit around gathering dust.

- Ron
 
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