Explorer II and Dry ground, what gives?

[mastereagle22]

Iron

I know what you mean about selling and buying used. I really hate to think there is something wrong with this thing again! It cost me almost $100.00 a little over 6 months ago to have it shipped and repaired. I am not WILLING to put another $100 into it!

So I will keep trying it and see what happens. The only thing I haven't done is remove the Sunray so it's next on my list. That is how I was taught to troubleshoot, eliminate one thing at a time. Just hope I don't end up eliminating the EX II before the problem is solved.....

 

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[warsawdaddy]

ME I talked to a dealer and he said he has heard the same complaints.He said what was recommended was to keep adjusting the sensitivity down.If it goes too far down you gotta go back up,he said it's a real fine line.Otherwise,carry a gallon of water to wet the dirt(ha,ha).

 

[SamsSon]

Maybe an XT70?

ME22...

Get a Sovereign GT w/ Sunray S-1 probe ... Don't worry bout the meters ~ Bells & butt scrapers...

I agree.

My GT pulled the goodies up in places I never got a beep from before. It's depth even with just the standard coil is hard to believe.

 

[Ron B]

Hello Larry!
Are you still bitshing about that Explorer II? Lol!

If you have a friend with Minelab's new Pro coil, you may want to give the coil a shot on your Explorer II before parting with your machine.
It's the best coil IMO Minelab has made. Rock steady, light weight, and easy to pinpoint with. If the new coil doesn't solve
your problem, chances are it is time to go ahead and buy the SE you've been wanting for a good while now.

One question:
How does SMARTFIND display can slaw/foil?

***I came back to ask an additional question:
Are you still using a nylon nut/bolt on the lower rod and not a metal one?

I'm with the others;
disconnecting the X-1 probe probably won't make any difference but what have you got to lose?

Good luck my young friend,
GRB

 

[Ricardo_NY1]

Larry, the Explorer does lose a little punch in dry ground conditions, but I've never seen anything close to what you are describing. I would start out with changes to the settings..........Default settings/Conduct and a reasonable sens setting at around 19. Do check to see that you or the kids didn't change something and forgot about it. If that doesn't do it, do a little process of elimination starting with the probe. It just could be, and it only takes a second to do.
Make sure you do these things outdoors to buddy, you may not tell the difference in change inside with all the interference. Another suggestion is for you to make sure your coil covers are clean. That dirt that gets trapped in there can do nasty things. Also, see if you notice any difference when in manual or auto sens. Does BB also have an Explorer? If not, ask someone who does to try your coils or even probe. Let us know what happens.

 

[mastereagle22]

No BB won't convert over to Minelab, he's still using his XLT. But he finds some great stuff with it so I can't say anything bad about it.

I am on vacation for the week and the wife "convinced" me to leave all my machines at home so I will not get out to check it our until next week. I did get a really nice flier in the mail today on the SE Pro, HMMMMMMMMMMMMM

 

[Jack(IN)]

Yes I have restarted the machine about 20 times. I have pulled the battery out and let it sit for a few hours as well.

It happens no matter what coil I am using. My next step is going to be to take the Sunray out of the equation and see what happens. It seems to only happen when the ground is really dry....

Iron Patch, I've been thinking it may be time to buy the SE Pro!

You might want to have BB find a deep target and when acting up try bot with and without the probe. I had a similar problem a couple years ago and found out the probe was sometimes bad?? Sent it in and they stated the probe was bad, fixed it, sent it back and haven't had any problem since!! Good Luck!!

 

[mastereagle22]

You might want to have BB find a deep target and when acting up try bot with and without the probe.

Yeah I've been waiting for him to find anything deeper than 2 inches with his XLT but it hasn't happened yet.....

Just kidding. I have been having him help me out a lot lately and he gets a little frustrated at times with that and I can't blame him. When I get home next week I am going on a hunt without the probe and we will see what happens.

Thanks for all the advice and input.

 

[rebelLT]

Mastereagle. I think you are right. It's time for you to give up the EX II and move on to the pro or the SE. I agree to take that pesky old explorer II off your hands for that 100 dollars that you dont want to spend on it again

 

[mastereagle22]

Well even though I received a LOT of input from various people, removing the Sunray DID improve the situation GREATLY!

The only problem is I have come to depend on my Sunray and now that it is gone I am missing it bad!

I am trying to work on getting it serviced but I have been told by a few people that it might be cheaper to buy a whole new probe. Now something is VERY wrong with that picture! There cannot be that much inside that little black box and there is now way that repairing it should cost as much as a whole new system.

I may not want to buy another on if that is the case, so what do I do then? Any suggestions?

 

[Ron B]

Hello my friend!
Since I originally sold you your probe I feel somewhat guilty for your dilemma!
But, as you said it did serve you well for over a year.
And, there is really no replacement for the SR probe once you've used one.

One suggestion:
Find others who have had to replace their SR probes. I'm sure most of them will give you their old one. Capt. Dan replaced his recently. Maybe the parts could help you get yours up and running. And, who knows; you may find yourself with another hobby, repairing ailing SunRay Probes! Old Ralph (owner of SunRay) is really in the business of selling "new" equipment; not repairments.

Good luck!
GRB

 

[mastereagle22]

Hello my friend!
Since I originally sold you your probe I feel somewhat guilty for your dilemma!
But, as you said it did serve you well for over a year.
And, there is really no replacement for the SR probe once you've used one.

Don't feel bad for a second! You did nothing wrong. The probe you sold me has been a GREAT addition. I miss it terribly. I'm still not sure my Explorer isn't sick. I looked at the probe closer last night and I know it only has four screws on the bottom of the box so if the news I get from Ray isn't good, then I'm going to do some exporative surgery on it. It CANNOT be that involved. So I will keep you posted.

 

[Juanmoretime]

MasterEagle,

If you know someone with a UniProbe you could try out, I don't think you would go back to the Sunray. I own both and wouldn't leave home without my UniProbe. Best of luck with solving your problem.

Steve

 

[mastereagle22]

My problems with the uni-probe are:


1. Cost, I think they are rather expensive
2. Seperate headphones, already have one pair for my machine. How do you keep from having to switch phones?
3. Carrying a seperate item. The sunray attaches directly to my machine.


I am not against having a goo pinpointing option and if I have to replace my Sunray I would prefer not to buy another one given how EXPENSIVE they are to get serviced/repaired. So sell me on the Uni-probe. What makes it so good

 

[Ron B]

Hello Larry!
I once owned the UniProbe and it's not bad although I opted to sell mine.
It doesn't discriminate like your SUNRAY being it's Pulse Induction.
The depth is amazing, far exceeding your SR. It does connect to your headphone jack and has a switch (on the headset) much like your Sunray to switch between your detector and the probe. Personally, I found the headphones a tad heavy and not very comfortable. You can find the UniProbe used for about what you'll pay for a new SR. Here's a link telling you more if you wish to read it ---
http://www.kellycodetectors.com/accessories/pinpointers.htm

GRB

 

[Juanmoretime]

MasterEagle.

There are two versions of the UniPro. One like I have that is a separate unit independent of your metal detector ( Pocket UniProbe). This means you can use it with any metal detector on the market no matter what. Compare that to any Sunray units. Sunrays are built for each make and model of detector. That one feature alone should be enough to convince you to try one. Any detectors you own or will own in the future and ones that haven't even been designed yet will work. Enough said on that one point.

Second, they make a headphone unit with the PI detector built into it. Once again it will work with any metal detector made. As far as the headphones being cheaply made, the are made by Gray Ghost which I don't consider a cheap headphone. I have them and love them and they aren't junk units for sure. When you locate your target with your metal detector, you flip one switch on the headphone and it turns on the UniProbe. Use the small probe to locate the item you've found. It will quickly let you know where the target is much faster than the Sunray. It saves time digging around with a large probe and is much more accurate. Remember, I own both units so its been real easy for me to compare.

Three, expensive, yes they are. They cost more that alot of peoples detectors but not everybody has an expensive detector either. Their budgets won't allow for it or they have other reasons. I have an Exp II and a DFX to use and since I've made the decision to chunk a bunch of money at this hobby, one more great piece of gear doesn't bother me. I get tickled at people using high end detectors and having a probe that wouldn't locate a gold bar from an inch away. I think you get my drift.

I can easily locate a BB size object with the tip of the probe and I can't do that with a Sunray. The list goes on and on. Sunray makes a good product, I own one on my DFX. It was the best thing since sliced bread until I got the Pocket UniProbe. It's just up to you to try whats out there to see if there's something that might suit you better. I did and you need to do the same so you'll be happy. I'd just strongly suggest you find someone that has one and compare it yourself.

Here's a link to DetectorPro's website: http://www.detectorpro.com/uniprobes.htm

Hope this helps!
Steve

 

[Ron B]

Good points Steve!
I never used the Pocket UniProbe but the gent that purchased my UniProbe had used the Pocket Probe; which, he promptly sold. So, my guess is like most things it's whatever you get use to useing.

One thing more I personally didn't like about the UniProbe were the toggle switches. I don't know if most wear gloves MD'ing but I do. I found the small size of the toggles a little ackward to work with my gloves on.

Anyway, good hunting regardless of what probe you use!
GRB

 

[Juanmoretime]

GoldenRoyBoy,

Thanks for the comments. My Pocket UniProbe only has one toggle switch on the side and two adjustment knobs on the front. Not sure which one you had that used more than one toggle switch. Maybe the headphone model!? I guess it's just what you like or what you get use to. That's why I suggested he try it out. Unfortunately, there never is a place where we can test all the metal detecting toys out so we can compare. I guess thats good for some manufacturers. Lol !!

Bottom line, do a little research into what you are looking for and ask a lot of questions. It will usually pay off in the long run. Have a great night!!

Steve

 

[warsawdaddy]

Hey Steve.At the CTH I would like to see the uniprobe.I was set to get one,but a uniprobe dealer said I should probably get the sunray which I did.The sunray worked great for the one detector.He,the dealer,said that everytime you go to use the uniprobe,you had to zero in the adjustments again as they went away when you shut it off each time.I have since sold the sunray as I no longer have the detector I bought it for.The dealer I refer to is in Colorado where the soil changes often. Ron

 

[Juanmoretime]

Warsawdaddy,

I think he gave you some bad information for some reason. I don't have to readjust anything and its so easy to do, its just no big deal at all. What he told you is not accurate in the least and he probably had another reason for wanting you to buy a Sunray. Sunrays are great, don't get me wrong. The UniProbe goes deeper without any doubt. It a PI detector by itself and the Sunray operates off your detector. Its apples and oranges.

You're welcome to try mine and see what you think anytime. I just think people should get whatever they think is best or affordable so they'll be happy with it. I'm not trying to sell one over the other, just sharing my experience with both.

Steve