i got a bounty hunter discovery 2200 any tips for it would be greatfull

[ivan salis]

ah the famous "ghost signals" look very closely at the soil as you dig --since you might have a item that was once there but no longer is there now , say a smallish iron item that has rusted to dust but since its still basically "intact" as a rust dust blob it rings up but once the rust dust soil is disturbed "poof" it disappears --look for rust in the soil it is a sure sign --3 other very important things to know * -- #1 some soils have natural "iron" (red clay esp,) and or other minerals in them and many detectors will read these as "metal" * so you need to "ground balance" your machine to the soil your searching in so it can run stable and not just go "beep --beep--beep" all the dang time , the is done by adjusting the ground balance if you have that ability, if not one must do it by adjusting ones power out put / sensitive level downward just until the machine is stable then stop . #2 being to close to a big time power source can often cause EMF (power bleed off from power lines and generators ) issues which will screw with the detectors coils electrical field it generates to find stuff --again adjust your machines sensivity level to smooth things out .#3 since metal detectors use an items "electrical conductivity level" to find metal in general and to try figger exactly which one its found --its very important to understand that some items of different metal make ups can read almost exactly the same -- like a nickle coin , a aluminum pull tab and a gold ring --all ring up very closely --but bounty hunters when properly adjusted discrimination wise tend to give clear sharp tones for gold and nickel while the pull tabs will sound "crackly or less than sharp"--the ears are the key to not digging butt loads pull tabs with the bounty hunters.--to properly train your ears will take time maybe 50 to 100 hours of actual in the field use

 

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[Armorer73]

I have one and found a few quirks with operating it granted i also just bought the machine and have only logged about 10 hours on it but this is what i've found so far..



1. Do not wrap the coil cord to tight around the shaft it doesnt have to be super loose but being to tightly coiled gave me a TON of ghost signals chattering at me almost constantly.
2. Sweep the coil smooth and steady no sudden jerking at the end of the sweep or it will hit at the end of your sweep almost everytime.
3. take your time pinpointing hit the target at all the angles you can maybe it was just me but it seemed like i was digging just off of my target constantly when i first got the machine.

as a disclaimer i will say that i am very green to the hobby and only have the tracker 4 to compare the 2200 to but i can say that i have gone over ground that i have hit hard with the tracker and came up with more coins and other targets with my 2200 and i absolutely love the discrimination on the 2200 over the tracker its saved me a lot of digging time on the quick hunts that i do just before work when i dont want to dig every pull tab in the park

It's funny that you mentioned a hit at the end of your sweep. I was out today and it started to happen to me. It turns out that once you get down to two bars on the battery indicator it will start to give false hits at the end of a sweep. After about a half hour it dropped to one bar on the display. I swaped out my batteries and it didn't happen again.

 

[ivan salis]

often the end of swing beep * is caused by the coil "jiggling" about inside coil's casing -- often its a sign your swinging way too fast and too hard * -- slow down your swing and do it "softer" (by doing it slower your machine will get a better chance to "read" the ground and hopefully hit a few deeper good targets as well) - keep the coil about 1 inch off the ground - flat to the ground and "sweep it slowly side to side * count 1001,1002,1003 (to get the proper "swing" timing) do not do the rapid "golf club" arc swing as the coil will lose contact with the soil giving you a very small detection zone "dead center" of your swing .

 

[Joe1944]

I have an older 2200 that works amazingly! I found a Standing Liberty quarter and an 1848 Large Cent within the first few weeks of seriously using it, starting a month or so ago. An AWESOME detector!! I LOVE IT!!

 

[Bob 1959]

Has anybody tried the 4" gold coil with the Discovery 2200,and the batteries are murder to get in.....I'm afraid to break the tabs off the MT when I change them. Any tips......

 

[the bone]

ahh yeah those tabs are terrible! I've found that energizer fits the best so far. I was also scared of breaking the tab off. But then I ended

 

[the bone]

Up breaking my whole detector instead! long story short left the tector leaning on my bumper was busy ebeing excited about the silcer washington and merc I had just found and hopped in the truck threw it in reverse and CRUNCH ran right over the control box! succksss big time been 3 weeks without a detector now and am about to start pawning my guns to get a new one I'm so desperate!

 

[Silver Wendigo]

I just used my Discovery 2200 for the first time today in my backyard today too. What you said about the ghost signals makes so much sense. I would dig, find rust, assumed I had found something, look through the dirt chunks and find nothing. I got so mad I almost gave up for the day! But, alas, I did succeed in finding 10 nails, 2 drill bits, a pull tab, and a Coca-Cola can. I had a pretty good time (when I wasn't being led on!). lol

 

[Garrett424]

I also have the BH Disco 2200. I too being a noob needed time to get the feel of it all. However I have to agree you may find that in pinpointing you target it seems to be a little off from where you may think it is. A true pinpointer unit maybe very helpful. I also found that I will get a beep on my sweep on the right side. Could be from the coil cable hitting against the coil pole. If I sweep slower it stops. The depth I have to still get a better feel for. I will be trying Postal Two's method and post my findings.

A second note: After having this unit for 3 months and almost 10 hunts, I had to return it to FTP for repairs. It started acting weird, with unexplained beeps/detectings, tried shutting down the unit, but it would not turn off, although readout display was faded. Eventually, it shut off when I pulled the batteries. When replacing them with fresh ones unit no longer turned on. Any input on this would be grateful.

Despite the malfunction, I was really liking the unit as my first MDor.

In the future, keep a close eye on that push on connector. They can (and often DO) get loose and/or dirty and can definitely make the unit go completely crazy if you don't have a good, solid connection. You'll get strong signals and wind up digging targets when there's nothing in the hole at all. It happened to me with my BH Pioneer 202.

It was so bad that was ready to trash that machine but a fellow T'Net member suggested I check out that connector. I took it apart and there was dirt packed in there. It was also kinda' loose. I cleaned it with electrical contact cleaner and a soft rag then re seated the connector with the plug IN to keep it well centered while SNUGGING up the screws. Be sure you don't over tighten those little screws because you can break the plastic. After that easy fix it was like new again.

I also taped up the battery wires with black electrical tape. I never liked the way they just flop around in there. I taped both wires together on each side and made it nice and neat. It also improved the overall performance. Also, be VERY careful removing the batteries. You can pull those wires right out if you're not careful. ALWAYS hold the battery and gently disconnect the terminals when you're switching them out.

I don't use that machine anymore but it still works just fine. I found one of my oldest coins with it.

The older style BH machines are not depth monsters but they'll definitely locate treasure. They are also FANTASTIC machines to learn on. I used three different BH's and found treasure with all of them; not to mention tons of trash but that's a given in this hobby; especially if you're hunting for gold. The main reason I upgraded is because I always had that nagging, gut feeling that I was leaving treasure behind.

That did turn out to be true when I went back to the same sites with my Delta. I had been passing right over some deeper targets and many coins that were sideways in the ground with the BH. It just wasn't seeing them. It's just not designed to hit really deep but it did a pretty good job overall with the more shallow targets. Also, once in a while it may surprise you. If the conditions are just right they sometimes will pick up deeper targets but not always consistently. For the money they will do the job and again, you'll learn a great deal about this hobby.

Good luck with it. If you become a true believer/addict you'll know when you've outgrown your current BH detector and are ready for an upgrade. Plus you'll still have a decent backup unit for a friend or whatever.

Oh yeah, a pinpointer is definitely a HUGE help. Don't waste your money on a cheapy if you don't have to. Trust me. I started out with a modified Cen-Tech hand held unit from Harbor Freight. I have to admit it worked and still does after my modifications. It was definitely worth the whopping 17 bucks I shelled out for it and is a great second unit for when I take some kids hunting but it's not a good, solid pinpointer for the long term.

But, since upgrading to a Deteknix XPointer, I would never be without a solid pinpointer on a hunt. I highly recommend it. It will NEVER false, works extremely well and costs about 40 bucks less than the Garrett Pro Pointer. Oh, and the Garrett is also an excellent pinpointer. The important thing is to get the equipment that suits YOU and your individual hunting style.

Good Luck & HH....

 

[Garrett424]

I just used my Discovery 2200 for the first time today in my backyard today too. What you said about the ghost signals makes so much sense. I would dig, find rust, assumed I had found something, look through the dirt chunks and find nothing. I got so mad I almost gave up for the day! But, alas, I did succeed in finding 10 nails, 2 drill bits, a pull tab, and a Coca-Cola can. I had a pretty good time (when I wasn't being led on!). lol

See the above post. Those ghost signals could be due to a poor coil connection.

 

[ivan salis]

note he said ..he would dig and find RUST ...thus the famous 'ghost" item --a former iron item that has rusted into iron dust basically but since it was basically intact as a iron blob it rang up as a target -- but once the rust blob pocket gets busted up by the digging---poof --its gone...

 

[Phantasman]

note he said ..he would dig and find RUST ...thus the famous 'ghost" item --a former iron item that has rusted into iron dust basically but since it was basically intact as a iron blob it rang up as a target -- but once the rust blob pocket gets busted up by the digging---poof --its gone...

Good point, Ivan.

If he had iron disced out, would he still find rust as a ghost signal. I have had ghosts in the higher gold range, even lower silver, that show nothing on a dig.

I guess the question would be "can rust dust travel up the conductivity scale?"

Dan

 

[ivan salis]

a lot depends up the size of the rusted item --big iron items are hard to disc out ( as are larger sized rusted to bit items) -- small stuff like a nail can be but a large item not so easily ... oddly many old iron items lose their draw to a magnet as they age and leech out ..causing a halo effect into the soil around them..

 

[PostalTwo]

Good point, Ivan.

If he had iron disced out, would he still find rust as a ghost signal. I have had ghosts in the higher gold range, even lower silver, that show nothing on a dig.

I guess the question would be "can rust dust travel up the conductivity scale?"

Dan

Absolutely . It's called wrap around the item is so ferrous it actually wraps into the high positive side . The vdi scale is like a compus with 1 degree being high conductive and 359 being high ferrous . If the item is very ferrous the vdi can wrap past 0 into the high conductive zone.

The other thing that happens is if the iron is very large . Type of material is only one piece of the equation . Mass is the other factor. If the target has a large mass it will show as conductive on all machines,

 

[dugndeep]

I can't wait till warm weather again because I have the fever again after a 20 year absence.My dad bought his first detector back in the 70's,a White,then he bought a Garrett and I was 7 or 8 years old and we would go out detecting and I loved it,treasure hunt.I bought my 2200 about a year ago this time of the year.This detector has never let me down,I trust it and am probably over confident but I always find something whether it be clad or whatever.I found my first silver less than a week of owning it,a dime.I have recently acquired the knowledge of an old stage coach road and am biting at the bit to go detecting.My dad brought his back out after I got mine,his are just so finicky to get set where as mine I just literally turn it on and go,I discriminate as I go if I start finding alot of junk.I'm just posting to vouch for the 2200,I haven't had a bit of trouble out of mine and truly trust it on finding treasure.

 

[PostalTwo]

I can't wait till warm weather again because I have the fever again after a 20 year absence.My dad bought his first detector back in the 70's,a White,then he bought a Garrett and I was 7 or 8 years old and we would go out detecting and I loved it,treasure hunt.I bought my 2200 about a year ago this time of the year.This detector has never let me down,I trust it and am probably over confident but I always find something whether it be clad or whatever.I found my first silver less than a week of owning it,a dime.I have recently acquired the knowledge of an old stage coach road and am biting at the bit to go detecting.My dad brought his back out after I got mine,his are just so finicky to get set where as mine I just literally turn it on and go,I discriminate as I go if I start finding alot of junk.I'm just posting to vouch for the 2200,I haven't had a bit of trouble out of mine and truly trust it on finding treasure.

Yes solid little machine for sure I found many silver with mine. Large cents ,Indians and gold rings too. The BH sure can hunt

 

[Garrett424]

Absolutely . It's called wrap around the item is so ferrous it actually wraps into the high positive side . The vdi scale is like a compus with 1 degree being high conductive and 359 being high ferrous . If the item is very ferrous the vdi can wrap past 0 into the high conductive zone.

The other thing that happens is if the iron is very large . Type of material is only one piece of the equation . Mass is the other factor. If the target has a large mass it will show as conductive on all machines,

Yup. I've dug many really old (say 2 centuries) highly oxidized nails that have rung up in the lower silver range. In one particular spot it's happened many times.

It's just another metal detecting phenomenon to learn from . The more you learn the more you know....

 

[PostalTwo]

Yup. I've dug many really old (say 2 centuries) highly oxidized nails that have rung up in the lower silver range. In one particular spot it's happened many times.

It's just another metal detecting phenomenon to learn from . The more you learn the more you know....

Square nails are particularly difficult to reject because there not pure iron like today's nails. Lots of tin, lead ,Nickel and other various metals found in the ground

 

[Garrett424]

Square nails are particularly difficult to reject because there not pure iron like today's nails. Lots of tin, lead ,Nickel and other various metals found in the ground

Most of the above mentioned nails were indeed square nails so it just goes to show you....

 

[Phantasman]

Since the advent of Ramset and Hilti type powdered drivers, galvanized iron nails have been replaced by zinc coated steel nail shots. When wood would get damp, the older type nails would bend, crack and rust, therefore breaking. Zinc/steel shots can be used even in iron beams. I used them almost daily for years.

I guess what I'm getting at is that once we clean up the square nails, they'll all but be gone.