An old Radio Shack Micronta 4003!!!

[Wily Dunk]

A friend of mine brought this over for me to solder new battery end caps where the three 9 volt batteries plug into.. I told him I'd do it just to see how it worked..

 

[Calvin.Coin]

That thing is kinda cool looking with all the knobs and the massive meter! Hope it works after you fix it...

peace,
cc

 

[Wily Dunk]

Hi Calvin.Coin... Yeah, me too.. I'm just want to see how good it does work and play with all the buttons...

 

[nsdq]

had one just like it werked wonders

 

[Calvin.Coin]

If you don't already have it, here is some info on that particular model, seems like a good one!

Radio Shack 63-3003 Micronta 4003 VLF

enjoy the hunt,
cc

 

[nsdq]

most of the burned coins you guys may have seen in some of my post where found with a md just like this one , so i hope it works

 

[Wily Dunk]

Thanks guys.. Gonna get the battery caps and new batteries tomorrow and get it soldered and give it a workout and see what happenes.. And Calvin.Coin, thanks for the link.. Gonna save that too so I'll have a clue to how it's supposed to work..

 

[Jason in Enid]

Holy crap! I started out with one of those peices of sh!t! They are ok for hunting tot lots and shallow clad. I paid mine off with finds the first year. I would love to have one just so I could have the satisfaction of smashing it against a tree for all the headaches it gave me!

Have fun with it!

 

[Wily Dunk]

LOL..... . . Jason in Enid... Maybe I can use it to help get the trash and then I can find the good stuff with a good MD... Oh well, It's gotta be better than nothing at all

 

[Calvin.Coin]

The cool thing is now you have use of a metal detector, and there is plenty of good stuff hidden just below the surface. Finding it with any machine is possible. I'm going to follow Jason's route and when I've found enough to cover upgrade costs I will, but the Ace I'm using has already found it's way into my heart so I'm not worried if it takes a year or two...

peace,
cc

 

[Jason in Enid]

LOL..... . . Jason in Enid... Maybe I can use it to help get the trash and then I can find the good stuff with a good MD... Oh well, It's gotta be better than nothing at all

If it's all you got, then go hunt with that bad boy! Save up everything you dig, including the trash. Turn in the aluminum, brass and copper for scrap at the end of a year. When you save up enough to upgrade, there are several good detectors at low prices.

 

[nsdq]

yes fix the batt and test it for at least a year to make sure it werks

 

[LuckyThirteen08]

when ppl say surface coins,Ive saw silver coins plucked from the ground at 3 inches or less,If its all ya got,its all ya got,Use that beast!!

HH John

 

[Wily Dunk]

Yeah, I'm saving up for the Garrett AT Pro..Just about there, maybe by November.. Till then I got this 4003 and an old BH 202 borrowed from a friend but he wants us to go check out a spot of virgin (undetected) land where some old homes used to be, supposedly some silver buried there and I really want/need a good MD, so we shall see.. Thanks all and happy hunting..

 

[Robert2300]

How much money did that thing set you back?

Are there any pawn shops near you. Many times you can find a decent detector there.

 

[Wily Dunk]

Robert2300... It's not mine, it's a friend that wants me to fix it.. It needs the battery caps that the 9 volt batteries snap into to make contact... I'm buying myself the Garrett AT Pro in a few weeks... Yeah I thought about pawn shops but the few that are close to me either don't have any or want a new price for a used one... Happy Hunting All....

 

[Calvin.Coin]

Wily, don't know if you got the detector working or not but if you did then make sure the coil cable is wrapped securely around the stem (the pic shows it loose). On some machines an unsecured coil cable can cause erratic behavior. Also, if you go over the stem, rather than under the stem for the first wrap then there is less likelihood of the cable snagging on rough terrain.

cheers,
cc

 

[Wily Dunk]

Thanks Calvin, yeah I got the cable coming straight up the stem and not wrapped and secured with plastic cable ties. Haven't got a chance to do anything with it yet, been running around for the last couple of days to hearings and court and such at the SSA.. Does it really make a difference if the cable is wrapped or just pulled up straight along the stem??

 

[Calvin.Coin]

I don't think it makes much difference if the cable is wrapped or run straight. Since the coil cables are usually longer than a straight run up the stem allow, most people wrap. Wrapping it tight requires no twist ties etc., but some people still tape or velcro the bottom foot or so. The important thing is that it is secure and not loose and flapping about. That can cause a ton of false signals as the detector picks up the wiggling wire.

peace,
cc

 

[Jason in Enid]

I don't think it makes much difference if the cable is wrapped or run straight. Since the coil cables are usually longer than a straight run up the stem allow, most people wrap. Wrapping it tight requires no twist ties etc., but some people still tape or velcro the bottom foot or so. The important thing is that it is secure and not loose and flapping about. That can cause a ton of false signals as the detector picks up the wiggling wire.

peace,
cc

Some people feel that if the cable is coiled too much around the bottom of the shaft it can create flase signals, or degrade the ability to see faint targets. There is a basis for the idea. Any time you wrap a wire into a coil and pass current through it, it creates it's own EM field (exactly like the search coil does). Metal shafts increase this effect. So some people prefer to run the cable straight up the shaft for the first 12 inches or so.