Famous Trails MD7030

[gwcdragon]

<Longtime viewer, First time poster>... I bought a Famous Trails MD7030 off craigslist from someone, brand new, never been opened. I brought it home and assembled it according to the instructions and also zero'ed it out and such. So I did an air test inside the house with a few items..(penny, quarter, some jewelry.)
I know that this detector isn't top of the line or even mid-range but I had to put the target basically directly on the coil itself before it made any noise. I fiddled with the settings and still couldn't get any detection further than 1/4". I brought it outside to test the penny. The penny was on top of the ground and I had to put the coil directly on the penny. Even then I would only get a signal half the time.

Am I doing something wrong with the settings?
What can I do to make it see deeper?
Do I need a better/different coil?
Can I modify this detector to see deeper?
And last but not least...Why is it that I can not find a step-by-step guide on how to build one myself??!! (Very frustrating)

Thank you in advance if I do not respond quickly.

[Carl-NC]

You have a cheap Chinese-made detector. But even it should detect farther than 1/4", so I'm guessing there is something wrong with it. These detectors are throw-away, there is no service or repair for them, nor any accessory coils available.

If you're interested in building one, you only need to look in the right place. That place is www.geotech1.com, where I have numerous construction projects and a discussion forum for folks who build their own.

- Carl