How do I get it to work? (RadioShack 1000 / Tracker IV)

[helmbiene]

Hello,

I've recently purchased my first metal detectore, a RadioShack 1000, off ebay, which is the same as the Bounty Hunter Tracker IV, if I understand correctly.

Now, how do I get the thing to work? I've put in new Alkaline batteries, but other than the thing going wild when I turn sensitivity to high in any setting, I don't get any replies from it. I've tried different pieces of metal, coins etc. - waving them under the coil or moving the coil above them. Both inside and outside the house.

Could it be that the thing is broken? Could it be the coil? Should I open it and check for corrosion?

Thanks for any input!

Helm

 

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[goldentruth]

Helm: I would 1st: notify the ebay seller about "Non Operation of the MD & let him know you are going to check it further.
2nd: I would walk this MD into a local Radio shack and ask them if they could look at it or compair it to one in the store. (They might not want to take one out of the box which is their right but this is about their product and they might stand behind their product.) My experience is to make sure the batterys are installed right, one look at the where the batterys make contact should be bare metal with out any corrosion. Lightly wire brush/score & bermish the metal contact points. Look for any broken/loose wire. If you find a loose wire Boken/not connected I would contact the seller. Ebay DOES guarantee money back including shipping if seller does not give you refund. Good luck... All metal Detectors should respond to any metal scanned. They should pick up a signal, if you turn on the MD and put all settings "FULL" you should get a big sound until you adjust and lower the dial settings. Good Luck Friend.

 

[Ziggurat]

Make sure that little switch is in the ALL METAL mode or the TONE mode. I have a regular Tracker IV and the ALL METAL position is with the switch in the center, while the TONE mode is with the switch to the right.

 

[goldentruth]

Helm: I would 1st: notify the ebay seller about "Non Operation of the MD & let him know you are going to check it further.
2nd: I would walk this MD into a local Radio shack and ask them if they could look at it or compair it to one in the store. (They might not want to take one out of the box which is their right but this is about their product and they might stand behind their product.) My experience is to make sure the batterys are installed right, one look at the where the batterys make contact should be bare metal with out any corrosion. Lightly wire brush/score & bermish the metal contact points. Look for any broken/loose wire. If you find a loose wire Boken/not connected I would contact the seller. Ebay DOES guarantee money back including shipping if seller does not give you refund. Good luck... All metal Detectors should respond to any metal scanned. They should pick up a signal, if you turn on the MD and put all settings "FULL" you should get a big sound until you adjust and lower the dial settings. Good Luck Friend.

I had a famous Trails "Radio shack" Model, If yours has a display meter with needle, turn every thing half way and see it the needle moves when you move it over a coin. If not "It's dead",then check contacts,then notify seller.

 

[helmbiene]

goldentruth, Ziggurat, thank you for your replies! I'm actually based in the UK, so there's no RadioShack to walk in. However, for some reason, after trying once more it suddenly worked.
I don't know what I've done differently this time, but now it picks up coins and other metal objects when waving them under the coil. I'm very happy about that and looking forward to my first hour of hunting later today.

 

[Sandman]

Since the MD seems to work now it had to be a connection Or you did not cuss it out properly.

 

[helmbiene]

haha, yeah I probably should have been a bit more rude. the only thing I did was to unplug and re-plug the coil, maybe it just had a bad connection indeed. I'll keep on watching it...

 

[helmbiene]

just tried again, and got the same problem again - no reaction. found that the coil's plug must have a loose connection, as wiggling the plug solves the problem. I've checked the part in the box, which is fine. so there must be a problem within the plug, or bad contact between the two connectors. anyway, now I know why it wasn't working. a replacement coil may be the solution - and would give me the benefit of having a different size coil (7" at the moment).

 

[mfitzy111]

no offense to your purchase- but if i were you I'd contact ebay and return it- I had a $250 bounty hunter- and the place where the coil plugs in is the systems weak point- check to see if it has a little plastic washer looking thing with two screws in it around the plug- if it's broke your coil won't stay plugged in. my issue with mine was it fell over in the car and broke that little plug holder deal- It would power up- but when you would run the coil over 5 coins -you'd only see two. this is a device flaw in how it's made- I contacted bounty hunter via phone and email and they never responded to me. so I ended up bringing the detector back to the store and returning it- (again no offense to people who like them and use them, as when it worked it was ok) but in that condition you should start looking for something like a garret or Fishers on the low end - you'll pay a little more even on e-bay, but you'll have something that will work for you!
I picked up an Ace 350 for a little more then the bounty hunter ($300) and found all kinds of good stuff with it. I've been right where you are and was so frustrated with that machine I just stopped- you can't trust what it is telling you to even dig a coin. yeah man. totally contact ebay and get your money back if you can.