metal detecting

[evinrude1657]

Hello guys, I was wondering if some of you more experienced people could help me with my Bounty Hunter "Commando" metal detector. I just moved to the country and when I did I last my manual,but the good news is,is that I found an old Union Metallic bullet casing with the indented "u" on that back. I found out what this bullet was on this web site so I though some of you could help me learn more about my metal detector. I would appreciate it if some one would tell me what the dials and the one red switch means. Thanks for all your help.

 

[Bucksport]

It sounds like it is a Tracker IV. You can find the manual online. Also do a search on this forum. There is lots of good info on it here to.

 

[Ed in SoDak]

The Tracker is a BH classic that's been around and is well-proven by countless user reports on the forums. There's many variations in packing, but what counts on the inside is the same. I keep a page on the series here: http://www.whiteriverprep.com/vintage/bountyhunter/Tracker.html
-Ed

 

[evinrude1657]

Thanks for the help and by the way i found the manual online like you said it has helped me out a lot, but i just cant seem to get the different beeps down for gold, nickle, and the pull tabs and copper, silver, and brass.

 

[Bucksport]

With mine I set the sens. to around 3 o'clock, the toggle to tone, and the disc. set to about 11 o'clock. Your modern clad and silver will give a high beep, the modern pull tabs, nickels and SOME gold will give the low tone. You will have to adjust the dial slightly in that mode using an assortment of pull tabs to get it set so that you get a crackly sound on them. You will never be able to totally tell the difference between tabs, nickels, and gold. I do seem to find more nickels when I use my Tracker though That is just the way detecting goes.

 

[evinrude1657]

Ok, that makes more sense know because I have found some pull tabs with the same crakling sound that gold and nickle have, but i am new so i guess it will be awhile till i figure the differnent stuff out.

 

[hsshunter]

After maybe 3 months, I finally got the beeps down. Just listen for the NICKEL beep..... that's a nickel, or pull tab, or GOLD. And listen for the High tone Beep which are the copper pennies, dimes, and quarters, and Half Dollars, like I found for the first time yesterday. It was a 1971 Kennedy. I started digging all the sounds, because the guys with experience that are finding neat stuff dig everything. Good luck, and keep with it, you will finally learn the beeps, it just takes time.

 

[evinrude1657]

Thank again you guys y'all have helped me out a lot. I just got one more ?. Do you think it would be a good idea to go and try detecting my dads house because it was built a hundred years ago when my city was built( surprisingly still in good condition but some remodeling has been done), but it is in the city. i was just wondering if this would be a spot that some of you more knowledgeable people about this would go.

 

[Ed in SoDak]

For sure I'd hunt a 100 year old yard, let us know what you find!
-Ed

 

[evinrude1657]

OK.....I whent and searched today and found nothing but 3 pennies and a long piece of metal. I have my detector set to about 3:00 sen. and 12:00 disc. and the toggle switch is at tone, so that helps me not pick up all the pipes under the ground. If i find anything of intrest i will let yall know.

 

[slingshot]

OK.....I whent and searched today and found nothing but 3 pennies and a long piece of metal. I have my detector set to about 3:00 sen. and 12:00 disc. and the toggle switch is at tone, so that helps me not pick up all the pipes under the ground. If i find anything of intrest i will let yall know.

In the tone mode, start from the just on disc. setting and rotate the disc. knob until the NICKEL just gives a low tone-and you're set! Now the nickel will give a low tone, most tabs (except for the sta-tab) will give a broken tone, and the clad will give a high tone. Heck, I've tweaked this setting after that and my Tracker IV will give just a hint of high tone on a lot of the newer sta-tabs that fall in the nickel area and STILL give a low tone on the nickel. Another hint: most advise turning the sensitivity almost full-but I found that some areas call for maybe 2/3 sensitivity. The reason being that too much sensitivity actually picks up so much ground it fights it's purpose. I discovered this by accident-and it's true for all my other brands I use in my area. Experimenting at all sites helps.

 

[Bucksport]

I did some testing on one of my Tracker IV units. These tests were done with the 4" sniper coil. Set the sensitivity a little below 50 percent. This was done after slingshots advice. I tested at 3/4 sensitivity and could not get the same results with the tone break. All the rings are the thin 10k gold style. I didn't have anything bigger to test.

The rings and the 2 nickels gave a nice solid low tone. One of the nickels is a 1945 war nickel. All the items on the right side of the pic gave a broken low tone. The one pull tab by itself gave a high tone. Like I said, at a higher sensitivity level the stay-tabs would not break up while giving a solid for the nickels and gold. At least not for all of them. The distance did not seem to be less using the different sens. levels either. These tests are in the air, so take with them as a possible scenario since the ground will affect them differently, but this is a good jumping off point.

 

[Bucksport]

Just did the same test on my other Tracker, and had to set the dial a bit differently. Figures that different machines will have different results.

 

[Ed in SoDak]

It's relatively common to see differences from one unit to the next, especially so with one that's been around so long as the Tracker IV and it's brethren. It also might help explain why some people brag their units up to no end, while others are not as enthusiastic. We tend to lay the blame on hunting conditions or operator "experience," but it's as explainable with simple variability in the detectors themselves. Certain parts like capacitors have relatively wide tolerances that can change with age or climate and there's a lot of minor variations in how close internal trimmers are adjusted to the optimum design goal. Throw in coil variations and it's easy to see how hard it is to make one machine identical in all respects to the next one off the line. They set a minimum standard of performance, but many units might be expected to exceed that "low bar" to some degree. BH is also know for incorporating internal tweaks along the way that might improve operation or performance or simply to help with production costs and labor or unavoidable changes in their supplies of parts.

It's good to have a given setting as a recommended starting point, but don't be afraid to experiment to find what works best for your own machine, locale and hunting style.

-Ed

 

[evinrude1657]

still haven't found anything but a penny and nickle here and there but i keep trying