BFO Guy: said:
Hey Folks,
I’m new to the forum and glad to be here.
'Welcome' to Friendly Metal Detecting Forums. There are Forums many here but this is the only one I visit. You should get some good help from participants here.
BFO Guy: said:
I recently acquired an old Garrett Hunter from around 1969 or 1970 in excellent condition. It’s one of their early BFO types and it still works. And pretty good I might add, picking up a wheat penny at 7 1/2 to 8 inches in an air test using the small coil. I also picked up a like new 1977 Master Hunter TR. This same unit also went by the name Coin Master in ‘77.
I have my old Garrett Hunter BFO, still in good working condition, that I use in my seminars and demonstrations. I also have a Master Hunter TR-Disc. from '76 with the two standard DD coils, and a Money Hunter TR-Disc. from '77 with just the single coil. All working and on-hand for the same uses.
You are correct on the two model names of Master Hunter and Coin Hunter. Back then, Garrett Electronics had a lot of models, some with minor differences. The name 'Master Hunter' referred to a top-end model that came standard with two
(2) search coils. The Coin Hunter was, as you noted, the exact same detector, except for the side decal
(model name) and it came with only one search coil.
Just to clarify, your '77 Master Hunter is a TR-Disc. model and not the VLF/TR-Disc. Master Hunter, correct?
BFO Guy: said:
I’d like to get some feedback on these units if anyone has anything interesting to share. In particular I’m waiting on a battery tray for the Master Hunter and I’m eager to learn the capabilities of this unit. What is the expected range for various coins? Any quirks or special instructions from an experienced user of this model?
Thanks.
A quick question here is, how long have you been metal detecting, and what makes/models detectors have you used or do you currently own ....
other than these vintage Garrett's?
That helps me, and others, to know what helpful suggestions we might have that are going to be counter to what you might currently be using. There are definite differences in operating technique and end-performance due to significant differences in operating frequency, circuitry design, etc. If these Garrett's happen to be your only detectors as you are getting started, well, life will be interesting.
Capabilities? Well, for one thing, these old TR-Disc. models have a more true-progressive range of Discrimination than most modern detectors. For example, turn the Disc. 'Off' to the 'standard' setting and they will basically ignore most common iron nails.
Expected range for various coins? By that do you mean a typical anticipated depth-of-detection? Those are generalities and will be dependent on the proper settings, search coil size and type and working search coil height, and the intensity of ground mineralization. As a rule, in most 'average' Coin Hunting environments, most coins will be located from surface to ±4" or 5". Any deeper than that and you are getting into a deep-coin depth region.
From personal experience back then, and when I grab one on occasion to play around today, I have found most coins at 5" or less depth, but have recovered some ... a small percentage ... down to 7" and 8" in the mineralized ground conditions I have to deal with.
Any 'quirks' or 'special instructions' for the old models? Yes, be patient when learning and using them. The conventional TR's and TR-Disc. model lack ground cancelling capability. Therefore, adjust the Tuner control to hear a slight audio hum referred to as a Threshold setting. Establish that Threshold audio with the search coil at a proper operating height, such as about 1" to 2" off the ground surface.
Then, as you slowly sweep the coil left-and-right, back-and-forth, you have to maintain a uniform coil-to-ground relationship. If you don't then you will get an audio increase when the coil is lifted away from the ground, or a nulling of the audio if the coil is lower closer to the ground. The operator then has to restore the proper Threshold hum and that's best done by correcting the coil-to-ground operating height.
Best detection depth and easier operation are achieved with the control set at 'standard' w/o using variable Discrimination. If you access the Disc. settings, the falsing operation will be more pronounced as the Discrimination level is increased. This is especially true if you are searching a more highly mineralized ground condition.
As you use them, you'll probably ask more specific questions. If you have any incidental questions you are also welcome to drop me an e-mail. You can also refer to Sven's 'Treasurelinx' site to get more product description from the Owner Manuals.
Monte