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Titan 9000
- Thread starter Bucksport
- Start date
Ed in SoDak
Member
What did you learn, or is it a secret? :? Buttons and screen look the same. I'm happy to see it continued in production by any name. I own three Time Rangers, so you might say I'm fond of 'em. 
-Ed
-Ed
Bucksport
Active member
All that was told to me that there were a few tweaks made to it. That could mean just about anything. All that means to me is that the engineers took another look and made some minor adjustments to make it a little better 
I am happy that new units are being made available to the public from a solid source, and with a solid 5 yr warranty. Better than taking a chance at a unit that has been improperly stored in bulk storage by a bulk fleabay seller
I am happy that new units are being made available to the public from a solid source, and with a solid 5 yr warranty. Better than taking a chance at a unit that has been improperly stored in bulk storage by a bulk fleabay seller I liked the Time Ranger. It worked great in my very mild ground, but it had a few warts that needed fixing before I would buy one. The auto ground balance only worked in all metal mode, disc mode ground balance was preset and that could be a problem in ground with higher mineralization levels. If any changes were made to the discrimination settings. like notching out meter segments, it reverted back to the turn on preset settings if the pinpoint mode was used. and last,the preset discrimination setting was too high. The lowest numerical readout it accepted in Program ! was 19, and several girls and womens gold rings I checked were rejected. I changed the settings and the rings were accepted with readouts of 17 and 18, but using pinpoint made the setting revert back to 19. Not a big deal, but having to either pinpoint in disc mode or making the changes over and over was aggravating. Other than that it did work well. It got excellent depth and was the quietest detector I've used. No false signals and not even a click on rejected targets. Hopefully, they made some changes that corrected the "warts".
Ed in SoDak
Member
Hi JB, Wasn't that some time ago when you tested the Time Ranger? You may have tried a prototype or earlier version of what is now referred to as the V4? I've read your review of it, but would have to go back to refresh my memory.
I agree the preset ID segments could use some fine-tuning and I always felt the sniff and early-version blanker modes were too broad as well. I tend to ignore the Disc options P1 through P3, and choose P4 motion all-metal from the presets. I use the Disc Target custom mode to fine-tune the iron-disc level as you get 4 levels of iron disc in that mode.
But to be truthful, I usually don't use any disc at all and swap between the three modes of no-motion, P4, or Disc Target with all segments accepted. That amounts to three different modes that I run with no disc.I hit a target, then if I feel a need, I check on-screen ID in disc and decide myself to dig or not. I want to hear all signals to help handle coil-edge falsing, multiple targets and other effects. Besides, in the rugged mining country I tend to hunt in, iron or bullet signals can be just as interesting as the really rare coin signal. Hunting for nuggets also means I want to hear it all.
When coinshooting the local schoolyard, I often find a lot of really rusty, sharp and nasty-looking iron bits along with the coins and trash. So again I tend to hunt with no disc there too, and even if I skunk on coins, I feel like I did some kid a favor by removing things that can cause injury. I'm not a Nurse Jenny, but I'm glad to do that sort of thing the few times I might happen to hunt there.
I haven't seen where settings are reverted to a default setting when switching modes on the v4 Time Ranger. I can pop between all three modes and all my settings are kept. I'll try to duplicate what you observed and see how mine behaves.
Seek out the older "V2" Time Ranger for another take on this venerable detector. That older version provides full ID in no-motion and has a continuously variable sensitivity in that mode that is separate from the disc mode sensitivity setting. There is no "P4" mode, and the GB control behaves differently as well. I prefer the older V2, but that's just the way I like to roll. The last-offered "v4" Time Ranger is also good, for its own reasons. Forced to choose between V2 or V4, I'd take the V2, mostly for the threshold sensitivity and ID in no-motion.
Now all this has got me wondering about the Titan and what's been changed in it!
-Ed
I agree the preset ID segments could use some fine-tuning and I always felt the sniff and early-version blanker modes were too broad as well. I tend to ignore the Disc options P1 through P3, and choose P4 motion all-metal from the presets. I use the Disc Target custom mode to fine-tune the iron-disc level as you get 4 levels of iron disc in that mode.
But to be truthful, I usually don't use any disc at all and swap between the three modes of no-motion, P4, or Disc Target with all segments accepted. That amounts to three different modes that I run with no disc.I hit a target, then if I feel a need, I check on-screen ID in disc and decide myself to dig or not. I want to hear all signals to help handle coil-edge falsing, multiple targets and other effects. Besides, in the rugged mining country I tend to hunt in, iron or bullet signals can be just as interesting as the really rare coin signal. Hunting for nuggets also means I want to hear it all.
When coinshooting the local schoolyard, I often find a lot of really rusty, sharp and nasty-looking iron bits along with the coins and trash. So again I tend to hunt with no disc there too, and even if I skunk on coins, I feel like I did some kid a favor by removing things that can cause injury. I'm not a Nurse Jenny, but I'm glad to do that sort of thing the few times I might happen to hunt there.
I haven't seen where settings are reverted to a default setting when switching modes on the v4 Time Ranger. I can pop between all three modes and all my settings are kept. I'll try to duplicate what you observed and see how mine behaves.
Seek out the older "V2" Time Ranger for another take on this venerable detector. That older version provides full ID in no-motion and has a continuously variable sensitivity in that mode that is separate from the disc mode sensitivity setting. There is no "P4" mode, and the GB control behaves differently as well. I prefer the older V2, but that's just the way I like to roll. The last-offered "v4" Time Ranger is also good, for its own reasons. Forced to choose between V2 or V4, I'd take the V2, mostly for the threshold sensitivity and ID in no-motion.
Now all this has got me wondering about the Titan and what's been changed in it!
-Ed
Ed in SoDak
Member
I spent $550 apiece on a pair for Sandy and myself back in 2001 and still feel it's the best money I spent on a detector yet. We both love 'em and we have very different hunting styles. I'm the techno-nerd, always analyzing, while she hunts turn-on and go. She usually bests my finds just because she digs more and frets less, lol. But I can follow behind her and locate the targets she gave up on. It's good to have a multi-purpose machine like the Time Ranger that suits our very different styles.
Its quiet-running is a great positive. If it's cackling at you, it means there's lots of targets beneath. I think that technology has surpassed it in speed of response in the disc modes and probably in raw depth as well, but when you limit that to capturing a solid ID, maybe depth is not all that much different. The no-motion mode discloses all targets as the coil hits 'em, so the lack of processor speed is not so much of a factor in that mode.
My soil runs from variable to bad and the Time Ranger seems to handle it. If I run into odd patches that sound off everywhere, dragging a magnet in the soil finds the bits of iron or rusty clay that causes it. It sure has its limits in some situations, but they can be dealt with or least interpreted for what they are. In my location, these are in small pocket, not pervasive and might relate to gold deposits, so I'm happy to be able to identify them when I come across iron-rich soils. Any VLF machine will show similar ID shifts and the other problems of detecting these areas.
I also own a T2 and I find I am so familiar with my Time Ranger I still tend to chose it first. The T2 is a hot machine, and I'm learning to like it more as I learn it. I've been playing around with a lot of detectors this year, just scratching an old itch, you might say. My basis of comparison for performance and features is always my Time Ranger and it hasn't been toppled yet.
My bias is showing and I happily admit it!
-Ed
Its quiet-running is a great positive. If it's cackling at you, it means there's lots of targets beneath. I think that technology has surpassed it in speed of response in the disc modes and probably in raw depth as well, but when you limit that to capturing a solid ID, maybe depth is not all that much different. The no-motion mode discloses all targets as the coil hits 'em, so the lack of processor speed is not so much of a factor in that mode.
My soil runs from variable to bad and the Time Ranger seems to handle it. If I run into odd patches that sound off everywhere, dragging a magnet in the soil finds the bits of iron or rusty clay that causes it. It sure has its limits in some situations, but they can be dealt with or least interpreted for what they are. In my location, these are in small pocket, not pervasive and might relate to gold deposits, so I'm happy to be able to identify them when I come across iron-rich soils. Any VLF machine will show similar ID shifts and the other problems of detecting these areas.
I also own a T2 and I find I am so familiar with my Time Ranger I still tend to chose it first. The T2 is a hot machine, and I'm learning to like it more as I learn it. I've been playing around with a lot of detectors this year, just scratching an old itch, you might say. My basis of comparison for performance and features is always my Time Ranger and it hasn't been toppled yet.
My bias is showing and I happily admit it!
-Ed
Ed in SoDak
Member
I did a quick test tonight on my V4 Time Ranger. I can set up no-motion all metal (pinpoint mode), any of the P1 through P4 Preset modes and the customized Disc Target mode and swap freely between them with no resetting just by pushing the appropriate button once. Each mode has its own button, and the screen helps keep track of which you've chosen. Hitting one or another of the buttons a second time or holding it down, in the case of the Smart Trac button, might engage the next option in the list, reset custom programming or perform a fresh ground balance.
For casual hunting, once you've set up the three modes, one button press moves between them and remembers your settings as you swap. Personally, I like the ability to swap modes, but it does tend to lead to more button-pressing. To get ID, you have to be in the proper mode, as an example. You may have to switch back and forth from no-motion to disc if you want to hunt in no-motion but still get an ID on your targets.
I'd presume the Titan 9000 to follow that method of switching between modes. My early V2 machine behaves in a somewhat similar fashion, though it only has two basic modes to chose from, not three like the V4 machine has. But it has ID in no-motion, so I can hunt in just that mode and still enjoy ID, though without any disc. Hey, it works for me! Visit my Time Ranger page to get into the nitty-gritty of the differences between the several versions. http://www.whiteriverprep.com/vintage/timeranger/timeranger.html
-Ed
For casual hunting, once you've set up the three modes, one button press moves between them and remembers your settings as you swap. Personally, I like the ability to swap modes, but it does tend to lead to more button-pressing. To get ID, you have to be in the proper mode, as an example. You may have to switch back and forth from no-motion to disc if you want to hunt in no-motion but still get an ID on your targets.
I'd presume the Titan 9000 to follow that method of switching between modes. My early V2 machine behaves in a somewhat similar fashion, though it only has two basic modes to chose from, not three like the V4 machine has. But it has ID in no-motion, so I can hunt in just that mode and still enjoy ID, though without any disc. Hey, it works for me! Visit my Time Ranger page to get into the nitty-gritty of the differences between the several versions. http://www.whiteriverprep.com/vintage/timeranger/timeranger.html
-Ed
Bucksport
Active member
Ed, great info and insight as usual 
I have enjoyed reading about The Time Ranger from you and a few others since around 03. That was on the old Bounty Hunter forum on their website. Sure wish we could get ahold of some of the old posts on that site. Pineapple, you, and a few others sure had some great info about the TR.
I have enjoyed reading about The Time Ranger from you and a few others since around 03. That was on the old Bounty Hunter forum on their website. Sure wish we could get ahold of some of the old posts on that site. Pineapple, you, and a few others sure had some great info about the TR.That test was done 9 years ago, about this time of the month in November of 2003. I've used a 505 and several other BH models since then, but not another Time Ranger and wondered if any changes were made in the production models. From what you said in your post it appears changes were made, either that or the one I tested had a problem because regardless of which mode was used it always reverted back to the turn on preset settings if pinpoint was used.
Ed in SoDak
Member
Hi JB,
That resetting to default would be frustrating to say the least. Might be they were trying out different software or something or maybe a glitch crept in on your test unit. I'm glad they omitted that "feature" in the final version.
Hi Buck,
Yeah I was camped out at the original BH forum for quite awhile. I wished I would have saved off some of the old threads. For quite awhile, you could still find some parts of the forum still active and I would go there from time to time to steer the lost souls to the replacements forums. It never was quite the same after the forum got stomped on by spammers and drive-by malicious posts. Pineapple still keeps his website up with detector reports, he hasn't been posting much for years, but I think he reads the forums sometimes.
-Ed
That resetting to default would be frustrating to say the least. Might be they were trying out different software or something or maybe a glitch crept in on your test unit. I'm glad they omitted that "feature" in the final version.
Hi Buck,
Yeah I was camped out at the original BH forum for quite awhile. I wished I would have saved off some of the old threads. For quite awhile, you could still find some parts of the forum still active and I would go there from time to time to steer the lost souls to the replacements forums. It never was quite the same after the forum got stomped on by spammers and drive-by malicious posts. Pineapple still keeps his website up with detector reports, he hasn't been posting much for years, but I think he reads the forums sometimes.
-Ed
Ed in SoDak
Member
I'm going to bump this old post back to the top since there's some new questions about the Time Ranger and the old BH forum that this post addresses.
-Ed
-Ed
nick hunter
New member
I bought a 2nd hand V4 Time Ranger a few years ago, and I like it very much.
A "new" feature of the V4 (vs former versions) is that the TID range has been brought back to 165, instead of 299.
As a side-effect, 99% of all the pulltabs and ringpulls (beaver tails) fall into the "5c" range.
This makes the "tab" range very questionable if you are looking for gold rings.
The TID will lock on to one or two digits on regular-shaped targets (coins, rings) up to 6" depth, so it is very easy to ID a target before unearthing it.
I found gold rings with it with locked TID's at numbers I do not see very often (21 in the 5c range, 39 & 44, this last number several times, in the tab range).
In fact I can't remember finding a beaver tail in the Tab range.
This unit is a sleeper as far as gold rings are concerned. Plus I conducted some interesting tests using the "deep target" indicator, finding coins & trinkets at above-average depth
A very underrated detector at its time, The Titan 9000 seems to share the same guts,(same user manual), and should be preferred to many other detectors in that price range if you consider finding gold rings with reliable TID info.
HH
Nick
A "new" feature of the V4 (vs former versions) is that the TID range has been brought back to 165, instead of 299.
As a side-effect, 99% of all the pulltabs and ringpulls (beaver tails) fall into the "5c" range.
This makes the "tab" range very questionable if you are looking for gold rings.
The TID will lock on to one or two digits on regular-shaped targets (coins, rings) up to 6" depth, so it is very easy to ID a target before unearthing it.
I found gold rings with it with locked TID's at numbers I do not see very often (21 in the 5c range, 39 & 44, this last number several times, in the tab range).
In fact I can't remember finding a beaver tail in the Tab range.
This unit is a sleeper as far as gold rings are concerned. Plus I conducted some interesting tests using the "deep target" indicator, finding coins & trinkets at above-average depth
A very underrated detector at its time, The Titan 9000 seems to share the same guts,(same user manual), and should be preferred to many other detectors in that price range if you consider finding gold rings with reliable TID info.
HH
Nick
Ed in SoDak
Member
Hi Nick,
Interesting comments! Especially about a 165 upper limit on numeric ID. I wish there was a way to track internal software revisions on the Time Ranger like we see on the T2 and other First Texas detectors. I take the credit (or blame) when many years ago I narrowed down the many minor or internal TR revisions to just four basic flavors; V1 through V4. Most of these upgrades were made with little to no fanfare or publicity. In the case of the radical dropping of maximum ID that you report, they can be dramatic in how one machine might perform when compared to another. Does your manual take this change into account?
My V4 unit still reads 299 for a maximum ID, so it must be older than yours. It's "build date" sticker in the battery box says December, 2012. Unless you simply haven't encountered anything higher than 165 in your own hunts, which seems unlikely. In my own hunting, this is essentially a "wrap-around" effect of large or rusty objects from the bottom of the iron range to the top. Rusted, decomposing tin cans and aluminum pop cans have a 299 ID. Large silver coins come in quite a bit below this. Maybe they lopped this "trash" signal off the top and reduced the top of the numeric range to something better related to a good, dig-worthy target.
If your manual doesn't address the reduced ID range as the new norm, it's possible your machine is a bit out of whack. The shifting of other target segments seems to say that's a possibility. On mine tabs read as tabs for the most part, considering the wide variety of them and their respective age and years in the ground. But yes, it pays to note those IDs that are simply "different" than the ones you've been seeing when digging tabs. I found a small platinum ring on a beach this way. It was close to a pulltab, but just enough below and different to dig instead of ignore.
I'm following the recent news about the buried hoard of uncirculated gold coins found in Kalifornia, and all the various gubmints stepping up to claim their share. To a detector, these would read as merely a large rusty iron object. A detector would probably not signal any gold content at all!
If I dig one of those "299" signals here, yeah, that's what I get: a flat, corroded rusty can and dirt. Some people get all the luck, but having the IRS and whoever else breathing down my neck wanting to take it from me, well, I can skip all that!
-Ed
Interesting comments! Especially about a 165 upper limit on numeric ID. I wish there was a way to track internal software revisions on the Time Ranger like we see on the T2 and other First Texas detectors. I take the credit (or blame) when many years ago I narrowed down the many minor or internal TR revisions to just four basic flavors; V1 through V4. Most of these upgrades were made with little to no fanfare or publicity. In the case of the radical dropping of maximum ID that you report, they can be dramatic in how one machine might perform when compared to another. Does your manual take this change into account?
My V4 unit still reads 299 for a maximum ID, so it must be older than yours. It's "build date" sticker in the battery box says December, 2012. Unless you simply haven't encountered anything higher than 165 in your own hunts, which seems unlikely. In my own hunting, this is essentially a "wrap-around" effect of large or rusty objects from the bottom of the iron range to the top. Rusted, decomposing tin cans and aluminum pop cans have a 299 ID. Large silver coins come in quite a bit below this. Maybe they lopped this "trash" signal off the top and reduced the top of the numeric range to something better related to a good, dig-worthy target.
If your manual doesn't address the reduced ID range as the new norm, it's possible your machine is a bit out of whack. The shifting of other target segments seems to say that's a possibility. On mine tabs read as tabs for the most part, considering the wide variety of them and their respective age and years in the ground. But yes, it pays to note those IDs that are simply "different" than the ones you've been seeing when digging tabs. I found a small platinum ring on a beach this way. It was close to a pulltab, but just enough below and different to dig instead of ignore.
I'm following the recent news about the buried hoard of uncirculated gold coins found in Kalifornia, and all the various gubmints stepping up to claim their share. To a detector, these would read as merely a large rusty iron object. A detector would probably not signal any gold content at all!
If I dig one of those "299" signals here, yeah, that's what I get: a flat, corroded rusty can and dirt. Some people get all the luck, but having the IRS and whoever else breathing down my neck wanting to take it from me, well, I can skip all that!
-Ed
Ed in SoDak
Member
I dug out my V4 manual and there's a listing of typical numeric IDs. The list tops out at 165, but the Time Ranger's actual range is larger than this list shows. That must be where the confusion arises. The manual for my V2 machine doesn't even have a numeric cheat sheet, back then we were expected to make our own list, which we did!
-Ed
-Ed
[size=large]Hi all new here, nice forum,
this post is really intended for Ed in SoDak, because I just bought a newer version of the titan 9000 pro, and need some input as the manual doesn't really have a good way using the MD
if you have a link or have a sec, could you give me some tips on this MD, waiting for it in the mail, bought this and a MPX digital, but this has a lot of functions and not sure when it is best to use each function, complete greenhorn!
Thanks
will be searching forum for more info
thanks again
cHz[/size]
this post is really intended for Ed in SoDak, because I just bought a newer version of the titan 9000 pro, and need some input as the manual doesn't really have a good way using the MD
if you have a link or have a sec, could you give me some tips on this MD, waiting for it in the mail, bought this and a MPX digital, but this has a lot of functions and not sure when it is best to use each function, complete greenhorn!
Thanks
will be searching forum for more info
thanks again
cHz[/size]
Ed in SoDak
Member
Hi cHz,
Sorry for the long delay in replying. That post back in 2014 was my last visit here for awhile! I hope you've learned some things since your post back in late November. It's still too frozen here to get out, but not to learn!
I have a page on the Time Ranger. The "V4" unit I own and tested is similar enough to yours. I make many comparisons to the older version. There's some older user/tester reviews online. A lot of the old info still applies, but your model has some more advanced features as well.
Here's a link to my Time Ranger page. It's a start anyway! Report back if you have any questions and tell us what you've been doing with your Titan, and I hope you're still around to see my late reply!
http://www.whiteriverprep.com/vintage/timeranger/timeranger.html
-Ed
Sorry for the long delay in replying. That post back in 2014 was my last visit here for awhile! I hope you've learned some things since your post back in late November. It's still too frozen here to get out, but not to learn!
I have a page on the Time Ranger. The "V4" unit I own and tested is similar enough to yours. I make many comparisons to the older version. There's some older user/tester reviews online. A lot of the old info still applies, but your model has some more advanced features as well.
Here's a link to my Time Ranger page. It's a start anyway! Report back if you have any questions and tell us what you've been doing with your Titan, and I hope you're still around to see my late reply!
http://www.whiteriverprep.com/vintage/timeranger/timeranger.html
-Ed