BH Pioneer 101 / BH Quiclsilver

[blueskyminer]

I am a complete newbie to MD'ing. Recently picked up a Pioneer 101 at a local swapmeet for $10. The next week the vendor told me he had another one that was new in the box. It is a BH Quicksilver and appeared to be a Wal Mart return, bought it for $25. Both work fine. Have about 3 hours total between both machines. Any tips from users of these detectors would be appreciated.I am l earning not to chase what seems to be false readings from heavy alkali /mineral streaks. Bought a pair of used $4 radio shack headphones today at the swapmeet and went out today with the Quicksilver...what a difference those things made. I am pleased with todays find and I think I am hooked.

 

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[Phantasman]

Hello.........hello................Earth to HunterGT.

Hunter can help you out after he gets done cleaning his garage.

That is an awesome price for both detectors. Both command 6"+ in the ground. If you are running into high mineralization, your depth won't be there. Learn what you have and the depth it gives you. If it's your thing, you will eventually need a detector with ground balance to get the deeper stuff.

 

[TheHunterGT]

That garage is waiting until April.

Kudos on the detectors. I recently hit the SS2 and LSP under my avatar for $20 and $30 respectively. Both unopened. Gotta love days like those.


The Quicksilver...AKA the Pioneer EX

It is a bit of a weird one. It has 3 tones and only 4 ID categories...2 of those 4 ID'S paired up double as......"aluminum(AL) zinc(ZN)"....and..."aluminum(AL) 5 cents(5C)
The AL on the left paired with ZN will be smaller aluminum like foil.
The AL on the right paired with 5C will be larger aluminum like pull-tabs.

The "Depth Select" button will be the sensitivity. 3 bars will be full strength...1 bar low.

The X that pops up when hitting the "Target X Reject" button means that category is discriminated or "notched out" .....meaning it will either grunt or be silent when you pass the coil over objects in that category.

So if you X out the first 3X categories....it will be a great 10c/25c/50c/1$ coin shooter and beep high for any high conductor type coins....but will grunt low or not at all for iron/aluminum/5C. Keep in mind the gold falls in those 2 middle ranges. Xing them out will mean you dig less trash...but will never find gold rings. You must dig aluminum trash to find gold.

Here is a good video for the Quicksilver
https://youtu.be/LmilPv7_N_U

And the manual in .pdf format.....http://www.detecting.com/manuals/MQSI (Quick Silver) REV 4 10.07.13 - Reader.pdf

The Pioneer 101...AKA the Tracker IV.

The left knob will be sensitivity. 12 noon will be 50% power and turned complete right at 5-6 o'clock will be 100% power.
The right knob will be discrimination or a "tone notch" of sorts depending on mode. Turn it to about 9-10 o'clock to disc out iron....10-12 o'clock for aluminum foil and 5C range....then 2pm to 6pm will be screw cap and zinc range.

Run item over the coil and play with the discrimination knob to see exactly where it disappears.

The red switch will give you the 3X modes.

Left is DISC mode....meaning items will disappear or break up according to the right discrimination knob setting.
Middle is All Metal mode....meaning all metals show up. The right disc knob does nothing in this mode as all metals are detected and none discriminated out. This mode is best for pinpointing or finding smaller objects. Depth will usually be greatest in all metal mode as well.
Right is TONE mode....giving you 2X tones with a "break point" according to the right discrimination knob. If the right disc knob is set at 12 noon in TONE mode....all items left of 12 will be a low tone....and items to the right of 12 will be high tone. As stated...that break point from high to low tone can be adjusted via the right disc knob.

Here is a video for the 101 (Tracker 4)...excuse the music....
https://youtu.be/oW84mk_fVbs

And the manual in .pdf format....http://www.detecting.com/manuals/Treasure Hunter) REV 2 10.03.12 - Reader.pdf

Happy hunting and best of luck!

 

[blueskyminer]

Thanks for the reply. I have been running the AL 5 mode on the outside chance of a ring....only pull tabs so far, no nickels yet. I have been running the sens on low/single bar. It seems to work better for me with less false signals. Thanks again, I will keep reading and going out detecting in the afternoon when possible.

 

[Garrett424]

You found silver right out of the gate with 35 bucks worth of detector. I would say you're doing really great. Looks like you have a great spot too. I didn't dig my first silver coin until maybe 5 weeks into the hobby.
So congrats, welcome to T"Net and welcome to the addiction. It only gets worse once you've a little dug silver, gold or a cool old coin.

I started out with a used, 30 dollar BH Tracker IV from Craigslist and found an old 10K band on my first short hunt. I've been hooked ever since.
If you stick with the hobby you'll probably outgrow your BH detectors sooner or later but they're' EXCELLENT machines to learn and hone your skills with. You'll probably want a decent pinpointer too. The upside is, there are some great detectors out there that won't cost you an arm and a leg.

And as you've proven once again, BH detectors DO find treasure. The main drawback is that they don't hit very deep overall. Then again, not all treasure is deep; not by a long shot.

 

[blueskyminer]

Thanks,
I probably have 20 hours detecting time on the QS. I am working on the oldest ball field in my small town, dates back to pre WWII. It appears that it has not been worked over. I do notice I rarely get a reliable signal for anything over 5 inches in depth. Only using the coin mode as the field grass is WALL TO WALL aluminum tabs, probably wouldn't be prudent to dig so many holes in the search for jewelry/gold rings. At this point I have found a hundred plus clad coins,only 1 nickel as it was found with some other coins buried together.