Need a little advice on this detector please

[smoke63b]

I picked up a Micronta Discovery 2 at a pawn shop for $35 bucks today. I did a little research and found out it's an older Radio Shack model that I think was made by the Bounty Hunter guys for Radio Shack. When they used to carry this it went for $250 or so... I think. It was really hard to find any specific info on it.

Anyway, a few tests at home and it seems to work fine. I have a Tesoro Silver uMax on the way already and that will be my main detector. I kind of picked this one up cause I thought for 35 bucks why not. It will also give my cousin something to mess around with when we go out hunting together in another week.
Keep in mind I have NEVER owned a metal detector before and never done any detecting except on an old one my grandpa had when I was around 8 years old or something. The Tesoro Silver uMax was my choice after about a week of really solid research and seems like it will fit my specific needs quite well.

Back to the Discovery 2.

I'm posting a picture of the controls. It has a headphone jack and volume control on the bottom of the box you can't see. Also on the handle it has a button that reads "PUSH To tune for all metals." Not sure what that does but it seemed like when I pushed it, it would stop detecting that specific metal object completely. My main question is that it seems like I'm not using the manual ground balance right at all. I did dig up about 15 bottlecaps and scrap junk at a trashy site with it. I was only there for about 30 minutes just trying to figure out the ground balance. I had a hard time getting it to pick up a modern quarter at first and then messing with the knobs I finally got it going. After all my reading here I thought I knew what to do with all these knobs but I guess I'm just hardcore noob!
So I know what the ground balance is FOR, I just couldn't seem to figure out how to get it right in combination with the rest of the device. My goal is to hunt everything at first including trash. I had the discrimination almost as low as it would go, the sensitivity almost maxed and the ground balance I just turned toward normal until it stopped going nuts and beeping all over the place. I had left it on All Metal mode. When I click it into Disc mode it would beep a LOT and wouldn't pick up the quarter.

Also, the depth needle moves only a little bit left or right of where you see it in the picture. I think that part might be broken :/

Maybe I'm crazy or maybe this thing is broken? Probably just my noob showin.

Thanks for any help you can give me.
Smoke

 

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[Sandman]

I am sorry to tell you this, but don't waste anymore brain cells trying to figure this thing out. It could hardly find a garbage can lid under a newspaper when it was new. Read my signature line below. If you have a dumb brother in law, give it to him and laugh all the way home.

The Umax now you will have a lot of fun with.

 

[Montana Jim]

I am a huge proponent of BHs and believe they build many quality and affordable units - my finds over the last many years prove it.

But I do agree with Sandman on this unit... It's not a quality piece, although it is probably a piece of something.

Maybe you can find some instructions on line and figure it out and still have fun! Give it a shot, but please don't judge the hobby by this particular unit.

 

[smoke63b]

I found the modern version of it is the Tracker II. I understand these are not great metal detectors in the grand scheme of things but I do think that this detector CAN find stuff. I checked the online manual for the Tracker II and it's almost the same as this Discovery II. When reading the manual I started realizing everything I was doing wrong when I was messing with it. It was operator error out there today. My uMax will be here in less than a week so I'll keep messing with this thing until then and see if I can get it to find some stuff.

 

[Montana Jim]

Well... post any finds...

 

[smoke63b]

Will do. Currently at 7 bottlecaps

 

[Tom_in_CA]

The others are right. It's a toy.

 

[just-dig]

I've been using this same detector for the past 20 days. I can't help much with the ground balance issue as I've had the same problem. About the only way I could get it set to calm down that loud threshold was by turning it toward normal as you stated. I turn it just enough that you just barely get a hum. With it set this way it's just a little positive and seems to work ok in the disc mode. I've dug hundreds of holes with it over the past 20 days and I can say that when you get over a coin with it there's no mistaking it's a coin. The first time out I took it to my dads place where I had pounded the front yard this summer with a T2. First time out I got three nickels in an area where most of my coins from there have come from. The T2 absolutely missed these nickles and I was running it way below nickle, set just to where a three inch nail would crackle.
On another place I'd hammered with the T2 I scored a 36 Washington, then a 1920 buffalo last night.
I'm not comparing this thing with the T2 by any means but if there's a coin in the top five inches this little puppy will be all over it.
I run it with the disc at minimum and sensitivity cranked all the way up. It runs very quiet in nails until you get over a good target with it.
I found things at every site that I've hunted with other machines over the past year with it. Maybe I just never got the coil over those items before?
Warning, heavy use of this detector will result in the handle breaking down. First the handle came off, then after fixing that problem the bolt holes that hold the handle to the box broke off. It was not meant to see heavy use, that's for sure.
I like the tones on this detector, there seems to be four. A time or two I've switched it to all metal even though the ground is pretty much a solid blanket of nails. I used the button you mentioned to detune the all metal mode to a single beep just to see how it would react. It seems kinda goofy in all metal but a push of that button calms it down and lets you zero in in all metal without that annoying (and I mean really annoying) threshold.
I'm convinced after just a year of detecting, and using four different machines that you can take any detector, use it, learn it and make good finds with it. I'll try to make a group scan of things found over the past 20 days with this detector and make a post tomorrow.

 

[smoke63b]

Thanks JustDig.
Yeah what you described sounds exactly like what I had going on. I think I figured out how to square it away as well and you're right, you KNOW when it's a coin of some kind. I threw all manner of coins on the ground just to check it out and it's a very recognizable sound compared to everything else. I think I'll be able to find some stuff with it. Just something to play with really until my Tesoro gets here. I didn't expect this thing to be amazing obviously. If you look at the Bounty Hunter Tracker II, it's basically the same detector. The Tracker II is much more refined now with a couple of extra functions and runs about 80 to 100 bucks I think. I'm going to get this thing out to a site without so much trash everywhere and see if I can pull up a few coins. It's still fun, regardless of whether it's a toy or not
I hope no other metal detecting pros see me out there with it

 

[Woodland Detectors]

Maybe I'm crazy or maybe this thing is broken? Probably just my noob showin. Smiley


I think your'e crazy! lol I'm just kidding.

Hey, if your finding bottle caps....it's doing what it's supposed to do! Detecting metal.Good luck and post what you find with it.

 

[smoke63b]

Yeah. I had read other people's experiences with some of the cheaper detectors and how they had issues with pinpointing. Every time I got a solid, repeatable signal and tried to pinpoint before digging, I thought for sure it would be off. To my surprise it was always directly below right where I started digging and it WAS something every time. I guess that's a good sign hahah.

 

[backitup83]

Ive used this unit for years, I bought it from Radio Shack new in the box, paid 129 dollars plus tax. I was frustrated with it when i first got it and put it down for some time. when I picked it back up I went on line to find some info on it and even that took a while to do. I found out the unit does not have a pin point feature. I should of guessed that when I chased a small piece of buck shot for a good bit of time before i finally found it. The main reason i picked it back up was that the Buck shot was deep,yes it took me a while to find, but deep. I've over come the issue of pin pointing, I use a hand help pointer, and I've went to a smaller coil. The discovery goes deeper than my XLT, and over the years Ive been over joyed more than a few times that I didnt write the unit off as a toy. Like most things the more you use something the better you are at it or useing it. Yes it is a low end unit, not top of the line,or even the middle,,but time and time again it has proven its worth in my line up of detectors.
Further more arent they all just toys-that pay for them selves, but toys. As we get older our toys seem to cost more. I also have the mind set of dont give up until the--- well the lady sings. And im glad i didnt give up on this unit. I use this unit all the time and I dont care who see's me,,,
Michael Raney Chesapeake va

 

[cillosis]

Maybe you can find enough pop tabs and misc junk with it to conglomerate all together with a mess of solder into an abstract art piece and sell it for millions! Call it "Truth in Treasure". LOL

 

[backitup83]

Some of you guys are Brutal. LoL -that is what makes this country so great. Freedom of Speech. Its all good and I can take it in stride. How about a small pole--- Who has used one of these units --and could not figure out how to use it --bottom line who all has owned one??
Michael.

 

[Goodyguy]

Some of you guys are Brutal. LoL -that is what makes this country so great. Freedom of Speech. Its all good and I can take it in stride. How about a small pole--- Who has used one of these units --and could not figure out how to use it --bottom line who all has owned one??
Michael.

I owned the Tracker II, bought it at a flea market for $20 and taught my grandson and grandaughter to use it. I would not call it a toy, just an inexpensive metal detector. I loaned it out to a friend of mine and he liked it so well that I gave it to him and he uses it a lot and likes it.

I also have three Tracker IV's and although a lot of folks may call them toys, I see them as powerful detectors, capable of finding targets nearly as deep as detectors costing hundreds more.


GG~

 

[backitup83]

Thank you GoodyGuy for your input--- I think you pretty much sumed it up, an inexpensive detector. I was reading some other post this afternoon. The person was asking to the point of begging for some one to give him a free detector,,,,except he declined the bounty hunter models before he was even offerd anything. I didnt say anything in that post,,,but some of the other people did.
I like my machine, i guess because i put so much time in trying to figure out why i could not get it to work properly. Im stubbern and at times it was stubbern,,my turning point was when i found out it does not pin point and the big turning point was when I put the smaller coil on it.
Its not my main machine to hunt with, but it gets as much use as the XLT. This is America, some one ask a view on a machine and i gave mine. Ive gotten my investment money back that i put into it----
If you dont like digging pull tabs go somewhere where there are none, ive often wondered, would a recycle center buy just pulltabs, what would 50 pounds of pull tabs fetch....instead of tossing them back,
Michael Chesapeake va

 

[Goodyguy]

Right now 50 lbs of pull tabs would bring $33.50 @ .67 a LB.

GG~

 

[backitup83]

Thank you, LOL that should elavate the status of the pull tab..
I guess my pole didnt get off the ground to well.
Mike