BH Quick Draw 2 --- HELP!

[spyguy]

I picked this up on Ebay as a backup detector and it's given me nothing but problems. As soon as I turn it on and try to use it the thing starts beeping erratically --- think R2-D2 on crystal meth. I read the guide thoroughly, played with different settings and modes in different environments and even sent it to the Bounty Hunter Repairs Dept. They sent it back a few weeks later with a letter saying that they had re-calibrated it (with no positive results). Is there some specific setting on this thing that works best It seems oversensitive & erratic to the point that zeroing in on an ACTUAL target in the ground is impossible. In air tests it consistently identified modern pull tabs as nickels no matter what the setting. I'm about ready to play metal detector baseball with the nearest tree!
Any experienced QD2 users out there...?
HH
-spyguy

 

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[PullTabSlayer]

My first detector was a pioneer 505 and I found alot of good stuff with it, yours looks similar so you may be able to set it up the same as I did mine. I also almost wrapped mine around a tree because of all the erratic noise, these settings helped reduce all the noise. Turn it on with both knobs set around the 1:00 position then press the disc button. Mine set this way would reduce most of the random noise of the all metal mode.

 

[jsulateskee]

You're going to want to lower the sensitivity, make sure your 'disc/all metal' button is engaged so that you are in 'discrimination mode' and turn it up to around the 12:00-1:00 position. Can I ask what types of areas you have tried it in? It could be the ground or it could be interference from nearby power lines, electrical boxes, etc...Also, have you tried any other detectors in the same area and have experienced similar or different issues?It could simply be due the area that you are in and what's around it. Hope this helps. Let us know....

 

[YukonCornelius61]

I had trouble with mine, kept finding hot rocks, so I got the small 4 inch coil, worked a lot better... we have a lot of quartz/iron around here.

 

[Bill Sayre]

It could be the connection for the coil, where it plugs into the main housing. I had read that dirt and gunk can get inside the socket and cause it to behave erratically. What you can do is unplug the coil and make sure there's no dirt or anything in the plug housing. On the control box, there's two screws that hold these two pieces of a plastic "bracket" (for lack of a better term) that holds the socket in place. Remove those, and you can pull out the socket. If it was anything like mine on my Pioneer 202, you'll have dirt and dust caked in between the metal contacts. Clean that, and plug the coil back into the socket before putting the brackets back in place, as they help keep the plug plugged in snuggly, and you have to move it around a bit to ensure a tight connection between the two. It'll make sense when you're looking at everything.
While mine wasn't as bad as yours, doing that certainly made a big difference. That, and also making sure the cable is wrapped so that there's no slack that can wiggle while you're swinging the coil back and forth, since that can apparently cause false beeps. That, and also make sure you're using good quality alkaline batteries, that don't say "heavy duty" on them, as those can affect performance.
Good luck.

 

[DiamondDan]

There's something wrong with either your coil or machine. I never had any problem with my qd2 like the one you're describing.

 

[Loco-Digger]

Does the coil have a coil cover on it? If yes, please remove and clean.

 

[Sand-duner]

Fresh batteries. These machines go nuts when the batteries get low. Other than that, I’d second all the others saying to check the connections for dirt, and make sure you aren’t trying to use it near saltwater, or highly mineralized dirt. They don’t like it.