Tracker IV Depth Test - Sanity Check Today

[DeepThought]

I buried a nickel about 4" deep in the ground: the BH could only detect it in "all metal". Tone never flagged it as nickel, but would chirp if I turned sensitivity all the way up. I repeated with a quarter & received a little stronger return. This was with fresh batteries and the standard 8" coil.

....I don't know where the 8" came from people cite, but it seems it is more limited to 4-5". Forget the "3 feet"

Am I missing something here, folks?

 

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[MrSchulz]

What was your sensitivity at? I always run mine at sensitivity at 3/4, disc at 1/2 and on Tone. Just until I upgrade to my Ace 250 in 2 weeks

 

[Bucketfreak68]

Well deep thought welcome to the wonderful world of liars the bounty hunter box says made in america also and I can assure that's another american lie as well apparently the definition of "made in america" is someone who lives here illegally putting something manufactured in China into a cardboard box that was produced in India that has the words made in america printed on it?
With all of that off my chest I just purchased the bounty hunter quick draw II,I spent weeks on end researching detectors and taking notes on on hits and depth of targets that others were hitting on youtube and I was researching high end detectors not the bounty hunter brand and guess what...?
The high end detectors were just as good at giving false depth readouts and false signals for different denominations of coins so its six of one and a half dozen of the other your never going to hit a quarter signal at three foot my quick draw was giving me a reading of .50 to $1.00,then finally a quarter read out today on a quarter that I buried exactly 8 inches deep to test it did jump from 6 to 8 inches as I did my sweep in all the modes but it registered more times in the 8 inch readout so mine is somewhat accurate.
The story is completely different with trash hits not only will it jump all over the coin denomination read out but will jump all over in the depth read out now I might add here the discrepancies in the denomination read out were happening with the quarter laying flat in the bottom of the hole I buried it in I'd hate to think of what you would get if a coin was buried on end.
And contrary to what you think you don't have an eight inch coil its only four inches in diameter take a coin and pass it to the outside edge of your so called eight inch coil and you'll find it will register nothing,I'm not trying to be a jerk here I'm just being what first Texas products hasn't been and that's honest.
I've not had my bounty hunter that long but have had enough time to put it through some test as it sounds like you have done I feel I got a better deal than what Garrett had to offer on the Ace250 and I got a carry bag and a pin pointer which seems pretty accurate though it feels sort of cheapish,one thing I'll add here is to use headphones your signal on a good hit is well defined with headphones.
I wish you well with your detecting but keep in mind you can't detect something that isn't there I've dug nothing but junk with mine so far but have some old homestead spots and unused parks that I'll be hitting soon I'm not for or against any certain brand this is what I could afford as a beginners detector.

 

[GibH]

It's been a long while since I've had a Tracker IV, but if you want to see it hit something deep, turn your disc all the down and run it over an old piece of iron. The Tracker IV loves iron. As for coins, you will find that it will hit coins that have been buried for a while deeper than what it will a fresh buried coin. Some people say it's because of the ground matrix and other will say it's because of the halo effect. I don't know which if either is correct, but I know it's true.

 

[woof!]

Well deep thought welcome to the wonderful world of liars the bounty hunter box says made in america also and I can assure that's another american lie as well apparently the definition of "made in america" is someone who lives here illegally putting something manufactured in China into a cardboard box that was produced in India that has the words made in america printed on it?

??

The BH Junior and its variants are manufactured both here and in China to the same specifications: the box will indicate where the unit was manufactured. The new VLF is manufactured to our specifications in China, and is based on the BH Junior circuit. All other Bounty Hunters are manufactured in the USA, as indicated on the box.

To my knowledge India is not an exporter of cardboard.

The 8 inch searchcoil is an 8 inch searchcoil. We offer a 4 inch accessory coil available if you'd like one, they're really nice working in trash because of their superior target separation.

--Dave J.

 

[DeepThought]

Dave

when you say "our specifications" I assume you are affiliated somehow with Bounty Hunter? If so, why does BH not include - our have a mod available - a range/sensitivity switch for the meter to keep it from pegging all the time and be of some use? A simple voltage divider and a multi-pole switch would make it easy

 

[woof!]

I'm the Chief Designer for Fisher, Teknetics, and Bounty Hunter.

In general I don't comment on why we do or don't do certain things. However in the case of the BH machines that have the meter, those are analog machines designed to hunt by sound, and there's not much that could be easily done to the meter to make it much more than a hood ornament. Our products that have microprocessors use LCD readouts.

--Dave J.

 

[Dbersh]

I purchased the Tracker IV just 2 weeks ago. I thought this would be a hobby I wanted to do but wasn't sure, so based on reviews for inexpensive machines I decided on the IV figured if it was something I didn't enjoy i wouldn't be out too much money. As it turns out I am hooked. I have had a lot of fun with this machine. I have only had a chance to search my backyard so far, learning the machine and tones as well as how to dig plugs properly. I have found 73 coins various demonenations so far. From coins on the surface down to 7" that I actually measured. As for metal, I found a broken piece of a law mower blade that was at 18" (measured that too). At this point in time I can say I am not disappointed with the machine. I knew going in it had limitations but so far it has been a great little machine to learn on in my opinion.

 

[Bev]

I normally use Garrett and have 2 AT Pros but I was given a BH Tracker IV recently. I've read the manual but hoping to hear some good things about how you set it for coins and jewelry to get maximum depth. 3" deep and barely getting a signal is a disheartening but Dbersh seems to have had some good luck.

 

[DeepThought]

I have to wonder about some of these claimswhich don't appear to pass the sanity test. And as far as depth is a trade-off (I assume) between how deep (and often) you are willing to dig vs. the relative value & frequency of items dug up. I mean what is the % of coinage found below the top 2-3%? Differently put, I'm sure we would all like to say our hardware can detect dimes down to 10" but just how many of us are willing to dig it up after the first 5 10" holes and 10 tabs? And what of the guy who takes his brand new detector out to the yard and immediately finds a Rolex watch, 2 gold rings and $30 in some odd coinage. So far my yard has yielded 2 pennies, 1 belt buckle and 2 nails. My backyard has so far yielded 2 cents, 1 belt buckle and 2 nails...all in the 3" tops range (...granted a function of the detector's ability - but just how much do you really think is below that point?). Fun just the same; something to keep my mind from thinking about more stressful matters. Just asking myself some hard questions...thanks

 

[DeepThought]

Dave - just what is the actual Trkr IV performance envelope & just how much does battery life affect it? I just started & realize I got a steal..with no high expectations of the device at that price point...but would like to know actuals to avoid wasting time. Like I say..I get about 4" detection in our Alabama red clay / dirt. You can or cannot answer.

thanks in advance

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Fresh buried targets is hard for most detectors to see...... I can bury a gold ring and maybe see it 4-6 inches, but I can recover lost rings that have been in the ground at 12+ inches...........

 

[Sandman]

Bounty Hunter brand is seen as a toy to most detectorists and wrongly so. They are not made with the same features of the $$$ detectors that some guys claim finding gold rings at 3 foot. BH's are perfectly good machines and match with the lower cost ones from major manufactures. You get what you pay for holds true for detectors the same as it does for most things except women.

 

[MickeyMaguire]

When Mickey Cochran was with BH (rest his soul), I did a lot of writing for BH. I reviewed the Tracker IV, among other machines, and I answered a lot of questions in the forums for BH-- thanks to Mickey. I found live ammo at a depth of ten inches with the Tracker IV in moist soil along the Darby Creek National Scenic River in Mid Ohio. I also found lots of relics up to eight inches deep in rich bottom-land. I found lots of great relics with the Land Star and the Discovery 3000 while reviewing those machines.

Your Tracker IV should be a great little machine for you. Get used to the two-tone target ID and play around with the sensitivity in varying soil conditions. Coins that have been in the ground longer are easier to find at greater depth.

 

[DeepThought]

I generally leave it in all-metal until I detect something. Then i switch it to tone and adjust the discriminator to see if I get a high/low tone. This has worked pretty well for me....with one exception. It seems I either dig up nails, various metal objects, etc OR I find pennies. No hits for nickels or dimes. While it's possible there aren't any nickels or dimes present, I find it odd that folks have dropped only pennies. Do I need to change my procedure?

 

[Ed in SoDak]

Bucketfreak, it sounds like you simply need more practice. I was rather overwhelmed with my Time Ranger and all the signals and sometimes lack of them until I got onto it. I always "bench-test" a new machine. Remove the stem with coil attached and get it propped up away from metal so you can easily wave targets past the coil. Place the detector brainbox so you can adjust controls as you test. Gather as many test items as you can get your hands on and wave by the coil. Fast, slow, sideways, with other objects, whatever. Twist knobs and see for yourself what to expect when you use it. It really helped me familiarize myself with it. The manual usually has a similar test, but I make it better by removing the stem so both coil face and controls are easy to reach. Next you can try stuff in the same way on the ground. Burying items is good, but I've found you can just put it on the surface and simply raise the coil up to see how far away it detects. And don't neglect the possibility of internal tuning variations or other problems. It may benefit from a trip to the factory if performance doesn't seem up to snuff. But try to eliminate other factors first so you don't send it in needlessly. -Ed

 

[Trackerman]

Ive run all sorts of detectors and the Tracker IV is my favorite by far. Maybe its not the deepest machine out there about 4 to 5 inches average. But ive yet to find a machine that hits coins jewelry and rings like it does.

 

[mrmrsbenoit]

I just bought a BH Discovery 1100... it pick up cion pretty good just in my first two days a hit 2 quaters 4 dimes and 5 pennys oldest is a 1964 dime... that 1964 hit real good and it was 4 to 5" deep. but i still wounder what a have past over hit alot a nails near the house stopped digging them and just went with high tone to try to get better locating. I did get high and med range pitch on one of the dimes. But the 1100 only pings when it hits.
i am stll woundering if it would be wourth getting a 10" coil from the BH web site does any one know if it will fit the 1100... or does the 8" only change out with the 1100.

 

[Kah]

Tracker IV a good one for your 1st metal detector?I am in the se missouri.

 

[Kah]

Hi..where you get ur bh at? ty