LRP repair

[tjarrett]

Wondering how you go about sending one to get repaired under warranty. Thanks for any info

 

[Loco-Digger]

Call the company and get a return authorization, they will walk you through the process.

 

[tjarrett]

Thanks loco

 

[TheHunterGT]

Mind if I ask what happened?

 

[tjarrett]

The pinpoint button has been off even with the little cabinet door sticky pad.. Stopped hunting for about a month cause of the heat. Tried to get back out and turned it on and the volume was acting crazy. Giving negative numbers, finally got that cleared. Then I could hit the pinpoint button and the volume or sensitivity would increase. So there's definitely something wrong with insides.

 

[Loco-Digger]

Was it stored inside in a dry climate controlled area or in a humid shed, garage, or other area? I think moisture got into the circuit board. My F4 got damp once and I had issues. I simply removed the batteries, kept the cover off and let it sit in the sun on a hot dry day. It worked like a champ once it was completely dry.

 

[N5XTR]

Sounds like a shorted membrane switch. I think the pin point button is a design flaw anyways.

 

[tjarrett]

It was stored indoors. Removing the battery and putting a new one in helped with the volume issue but the pin point issue is bad.

 

[Skrimps]

I think the pinpoint goes bad on all of them... I will send mine in for repair one of these days.

 

[N5XTR]

I think the pinpoint goes bad on all of them... I will send mine in for repair one of these days.

I think I will disassemble the control head and piggyback the pinpoint button on the ribbon cable and put an SPST button and put it on the grip. I think a trigger button for pinpointing is more ergonomic than using my thumb. Also I would imagine that ANY button I install will be better than the membrane switch button.
While I have it apart adding some LED backlighting wouldn't be a bad idea either.

 

[TheHunterGT]

IDK if I would call it a design flaw. I think they just got a bad batch of buttons for the LRP. I want to say a rep chimed in about it on some forum...a member copy/pasted an email reply or something of the sort.

The membrane buttons on other First Texas machines I have tried have been good to go (Gold Bug...F44...Lone Star Pro...SS2) That being said, I also agree...trigger > membrane is my preference.

 

[N5XTR]

IDK if I would call it a design flaw. I think they just got a bad batch of buttons for the LRP. I want to say a rep chimed in about it on some forum...a member copy/pasted an email reply or something of the sort.

The membrane buttons on other First Texas machines I have tried have been good to go (Gold Bug...F44...Lone Star Pro...SS2) That being said, I also agree...trigger > membrane is my preference.

Maybe design flaw was a little harsh. In my industry, membrane switches go bad all the time. So in turn I am changing them very frequently, but the amount of pressure I have to use it very frustrating and when my son uses the LRP, pinpointing is not even possible. Rather than sending back to FT, I will mod it the way I think it should have been designed with the pinpoint button in the grip. It should be very easy to do.

 

[tjarrett]

Thanks everyone.. Sent it off now the wait is on

 

[Loco-Digger]

Glad to see that you sent it off, that's what warranties are for.

 

[tjarrett]

Just got a call back.. Detector has been repaired and recalibrated. Had a bad switch

 

[TheHunterGT]

Glad to see First Texas took care of you.

 

[beerguy]

Great reason for having a backup machine.

 

[Loco-Digger]

Great reason for having a backup machine.

eeeeeeexxxxxxxactly.

 

[tjarrett]

Haven't been detecting long enough to earn a back up yet.. Lol

 

[beerguy]

Haven't been detecting long enough to earn a back up yet.. Lol

Get yourself a clad jar on the fridge and hit it hard.

A Cibola is only a few hundred, right?

I have one on the fridge, called "Daddy's CTX Fund".

I gave up after 4 months and just bought one, best decision ever!