Attention Old Timers!!! I need your help!!!

[BigWaveDave]

I met a guy in my local coin club, he's like 70.. and we started talking about tectin...

He tells me about the 4 machines that he has, but his favorite, best ever detector needs to be either overhauled, or repaired. He tells me that the name of the machine is a "Jersey Skeeter" He has had the unit 30 or 40 years, swears its the best detector ever invented. So there I go, telling him that I would prolly find something online that would point him in the right direction...NOT! I cant find anything other than a baseball team.

The $64,000 question....Has anyone ever heard of this Jersey Skeeter? I got his number, but I don't yet want to tell him that I need to see it to get more specific info.

Anyone able to help?

 

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[G.A.P.metal]

Sorry Dave
I never herd of the "Jersey Skeeter" cool name !
Gary

 

[BigWaveDave]

I am gonna let this thread sit for a few days.. I am thinking that its a homemade machine, and what he needs is an old tv repair man to tinker with it, but I haven't a clue where to go from there.

 

[StBarbara]

Ah, now you know some of us newbies will see that shout out to "Old Timers" and we just have to be nosey.

Maybe this info about the "Super Skeeter" is related to the "Jersey Skeeter" you're seeking, from an article about vintage MDs:



Note the last paragraph of the article -- Sherando Corporation had its address in Haddonfield, NJ:


.



(images shown with permission from www.silysavg.com )

 

[Tom_in_CA]

good sleuthing work St.-barbara.

Big-wave-Dave: A machine from the early 1970s is going to be a "dinasour" compared to machines today. The guy may happen to like it for personal reasons, but no, it's not going to beat today's machines, not the "best ever invented" etc...

 

[SeabeeRon]

I am gonna let this thread sit for a few days.. I am thinking that its a homemade machine, and what he needs is an old tv repair man to tinker with it, but I haven't a clue where to go from there.

"...old tv repair man..", this made think, maybe he needs to replace the vacuum tubes!!

 

[cudamark]

good sleuthing work St.-barbara.

Big-wave-Dave: A machine from the early 1970s is going to be a "dinasour" compared to machines today. The guy may happen to like it for personal reasons, but no, it's not going to beat today's machines, not the "best ever invented" etc...

I started detecting in 1970 myself and believe me, those machines can't compare to today's models in any way. Might be interesting as a wall hanger, but, don't even think about spending a crusty zinc to get it "repaired".

 

[StBarbara]

Thank you, thank you. Have Internet, will travel ...

 

[BigWaveDave]

The way this fella was waxing poetic about the "Jersey Skeeter", he would have made anyone think that it was in fact, the best ever tector. Chances are this isn't gonna pan out for him getting it fixed, but the help from StBarbara is most appreciated. I'll look a little harder on my end to get him in the right direction, but at the end of the day, if I get him to tap into our Tnet, and get him to upgrade through our vendors, that would be ideal.

Thanks folks, much obliged.

 

[kingskid1611]

What? You didn't ask to see his finds from when he detected. The envy of all detectorist is the cool finds and stories. Each detectorist is familiar with their machine and thinks its the greatest so his finds are the greatest. Pick his brain for some hunt sites he no longer uses too.

 

[BigWaveDave]

I just met him. He is a newbie in my coin club, and from what I understand, he is a snowbird from PA... He asked if I was a treasure hunter, Yes, I said, as I showed him my tattoo...() He says.."Well I am a treasure hunter too!" So I guess he could be a kindred spirit, along with being a crazy uncle.

 

[mrwilburino]

It was the sites that kicked butt back then....... not those puny TR's and BFO's.

 

[cudamark]

Yup, can you imagine using one of today's top of the line detectors back then?

 

[whammy]

Heehee, be careful SeabeeRon, vacuum tubes ? Oh never mind, you probably read about them in history class. I did.

 

[sandchip]

Super Skeeter? Sounds more like a porn star than a metal detector.

 

[SeabeeRon]

Heehee, be careful SeabeeRon, vacuum tubes ? Oh never mind, you probably read about them in history class. I did.

I am afraid to admit I actually remember them and even going to the drug store where they had these tester units you could use to see if the tubes were still good!

 

[mdaddict]

So I had a Jersery Skeeter, well my father and I. We had a family friend who actually worked for the manufacturer. The company/manufacturer was located in the Pennsauken Industrial Park area across from Cooper River. We owned the machine for several years. If anything I can say I was able to pick coins out of littered areas better then other folks back then with more expensive machines (white's and Garrett's) back in the day (1970s). It did decent I thought for depth also. I can say my newest machine, a 1990ish White's Eagle Spectrum is certainly much better.

 

[BigWaveDave]

Wow...thanks guys, mdaddict... Very cool...
Turns out, never saw the guy again....hope he is still swinging somewhere....

 

[therewolf]

I lived in Collingswood, NJ, back in the 70s. Right next to Pennsauken.

Got my first Bounty Hunter at "Sherandos".

IIRC, they had a retail store in Haddonfield, NJ, somewhere near King's Highway and Haddon Ave.

Upstairs, small showroom, pretty much a hole-in-the-wall.

I was in high school, and couldn't afford one, but the Jersey Skeeters were pretty nice,

at the time. They featured, as I recall, 2 TR modes, BFO, a "discriminator", a thin, rectangular coil,

light weight, a solid forearm balance support, ergonomic handle(for those days)

and solid state circuitry. I always wondered what happened to them...

 

[jadocs]

So the Jersey Skeeter is actually a thing? I thought it might have been his pet name for his detector.