Two Vintage Detectors: Garrett Fortune Hunter TR and Garrett PB Groundhog

cjfellows

Greenie
Mar 23, 2014
13
6
Detector(s) used
White's MXT
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
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DeepseekerADS

Gold Member
Mar 3, 2013
14,880
21,725
SW, VA - Bull Mountain
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CTX, Excal II, EQ800, Fisher 1260X, Tesoro Royal Sabre, Tejon, Garrett ADSIII, Carrot, Stealth 920iX, Keene A52
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When I was using my Garrett DeepseekerADS III, I bought my ex wife a Groundhog ~ '81.. She actually did very well with the Groundhog, found lot's of silver...

I hadn't heard the sound of that in years. Thanks for posting the video!!!
 

Tom_in_CA

Gold Member
Mar 23, 2007
13,837
10,360
Salinas, CA
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Explorer II, Compass 77b, Tesoro shadow X2
The garrett "fortune hunter" TR discriminator predates the "Groundhog" by a few years. You say "1977", for that fortune-hunter, but I'd say more like about '75 or so. And by then, there WAS already ground cancel (all-metal ground cancel at least). Whites had had that (aka "GEB") by 1974. Perhaps Garrett was a little slower to adapt, or buy into the patent, or whatever. The Groundhog dates to about 1978 or '79, and was, as you say, similar in the TR disc. to the fortune hunter. Except that it had VLF all-metal as an option on it.

The both were good machines for their era. Except that by the time the Ground-hog had come out, TR disc. days were ALREADY numbered. Because by then, motion disc, (aka GEB disc) had already hit the scene. And those that got those (Red baron, 6000d, etc...) in 1977 to '78-ish, were quickly spanking those with TR disc. About the only exception might have been in trashy spots. Because the early motion discriminators were extremely fast swing, thus prone to masking. That was perhaps the *only* advantage that a TR disc. might have had. But by the early '80s, the swing speed had been slowed way down, and TR's days were over.

As far as the comparative VLF/TR's, that Groundhog was probably at the top of the game. Like if you were to compare it to the 5000D series I, it was much better.
 

Tom_in_CA

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Mar 23, 2007
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looking closer at your showing of the "groundhog", I see it was an earlier type of the Groundhog. The Groundhog I am familiar with (that I got in '79 or '80-ish) had a toggle switch on the end of the handle. Not a pushbutton. Also I recall them having a needle, whereas the one in your video has nothing but a Garrett Logo and "fortune hunter" decal in that spot ? So either you have the "little sister" to the Groundhog, or something that was between the fortune-hunter and Groundhog, date/evolution-wise ?
 

roaddust66

Hero Member
Sep 22, 2013
608
342
Chattanooga Tennessee
Detector(s) used
Impact , Tejon . Fisher F75, Vaquero, uMaxSilver, Cibola , Delta 4000, F2, Ace350 , original Bandido
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
Brings back fond memories. i had a Compass 77b Yukon and then moved to a ADS1 Deepseeker. My partner had a Groundhog. He tore up a bunch of Fisher boys one year after they cut the soybean fields between Shiloh and Corrinth. The Fisher 441s , 553s and 555ds lost out that day because they made my friend mad by making fun of the Groundhog !
 

U.K. Brian

Bronze Member
Oct 11, 2005
1,629
153
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XLT, Whites D.F., Treasure Baron, Deepstar, Goldquest, Beachscan, T.D.I., Sovereign, 2x Nautilus, various Arado's, Ixcus Diver, Altek Quadtone, T2, Beach Hunter I.D, GS 5 pulse, Searchman 2 ,V3i
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
PB....Push Button, ADS... Automatic Detection System which just saved having to use your other hand to switch between all metal and discrim. You did get a longer battery life and a small improvement in sensitivity with the later model but in Europe it didn't take long for a switch to be added to allow a drop down to the sensitivity of the original PB which was necessary on Roman and Medieval sites with small wanted items mixed with loads of iron.
 

cudamark

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Mar 16, 2011
13,173
14,463
San Diego
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XP Deus 2, Equinox 800/900, Fisher Impulse AQ, E-Trac, 3 Excal 1000's, White's TM808, VibraProbe, 15" NEL Attack, Mi6, Steath 920ix and 720i scoops, TRX, etc....
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Thank goodness those days are over! Miserable machines compared to today's models. Some people only remember the good finds they made (and I made my share too) and not the frustration trying to get them stable or the lack of depth in sketchy ground. Find a place on the wall for them and enjoy what you can buy today.
 

U.K. Brian

Bronze Member
Oct 11, 2005
1,629
153
Detector(s) used
XLT, Whites D.F., Treasure Baron, Deepstar, Goldquest, Beachscan, T.D.I., Sovereign, 2x Nautilus, various Arado's, Ixcus Diver, Altek Quadtone, T2, Beach Hunter I.D, GS 5 pulse, Searchman 2 ,V3i
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Some of the older machines still deserve their reputation as classics apart from wet sand use where great improvements have been made in recent years. By the time of CJ's Garretts several companies had introduced their own versions of "zero drift" circuitry.
 

cudamark

Gold Member
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Mar 16, 2011
13,173
14,463
San Diego
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1
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3
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XP Deus 2, Equinox 800/900, Fisher Impulse AQ, E-Trac, 3 Excal 1000's, White's TM808, VibraProbe, 15" NEL Attack, Mi6, Steath 920ix and 720i scoops, TRX, etc....
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
No argument from me....they WERE classics for sure. State of the art in their day, but, so were muskets. I wouldn't hunt with either one this day and age.
 

lastleg

Silver Member
Feb 3, 2008
2,876
657
I think I got one of the prototype Groundhogs because I took it up to far north Texas and couldn't
find a $%#^ thing with it. Took it by Garretts and Charles came out and told me to scrub the
ground with it. LOL I later swapped for a Master Hunter but not before nearly getting into a
fist fight with Darien who sold it to me. My old hunting buddy saw an ad for the ADS and allowed
"I know what that stands for - All Dumb Suckers"
 

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