Novice, qs about new detector plz!

[cosmicblu000]

Novice, q's about new detector plz!

Hello, my husband & I have just bought our first detector, an MP3 Pro digital detector from someone on Craigslist for $140. Said its a month old used once too heavy for small son.. So far we seem to have to have the sensitivity jacked all the way up to get any sort of hits, it beeps on .50 whenever it's bumped, it will hit on something then the next swipe it won't, it just seems very erratic? Seems like if its going to hit on something it should hit on every swipe across right?? If I'm wrong on this please correct me! But does it sound like we have a dud or just some random wholesale piece of junk? Or if anyone has any quick tips for these complains we certainly do appreciate it!! Very excited & looking forward to breaking this machine in good

 

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[cosmicblu000]

Ok.. Little reading on here I noticed about the coil cord, ours is wrapped loosely- will try that, I'm aware we pretty much got a basic basic starter machine at best but all pointers are appreciated!

*** ok ok I just read more reviews on this thing & -- plz don't laugh!! But oh well, still need to figure out how to get this thing to work at its best ability until we can upgrade

 

[Jay In NewKen]

Well, to be honest, never heard of that detector. Definitely wrap the cord tightly around the shaft. The sensitivity should only be as high as to keep the machine stable.

Set a few coins under a piece of paper a few feet a part from each other to test the unit. Then you could bury a few no more than 4-5 inches deep. Again test and see what happens

 

[wkrp43]

Is it gold and black? Abt 4 lbs?

 

[wkrp43]

Welcome to tnet by the way, from NC

 

[Irishgoldhound]

MP3 detector? Does it play music? Haha. I would've taken 140.00$$ and bought a brand new tesoro Compadre. Great little machine that finds everything. Lifetime warranty, easy to use, two knobs. It is a beginner machine but it will stand up to the higher end machines.

 

[cosmicblu000]

Yes, it is the gold & black, lightweight. We're in NC also, Harnett co. south of Raleigh! Will def do some tests on it tomorrow. Also, which it may just be a question for someone familiar with the brand, - only had it a cpl weeks so far- but just in our basic yard I seem to get a bunch of half dollar hits, husband a plumber so being careful as he knows where lines are ran underground , but I get no depth hit on most of them. But a few spots I have.. Should I always get a depth hit? So if I'm not could it be something with the soil? Just something that came to mind, may be nothing. Thank u for being patient with some obvious green users!

 

[cosmicblu000]

Thank u for the heads up on the brand Irish! This one is quite easy to use just a few buttons & can dial out junk nails n such, coil submersible, 5 yr warranty, not a bad start I guess.

 

[RotZorn]

Same story here.... Got one for my 10 year old and it was too heavy for him. It is Chinese made and fairly cheap on the build quality. I ended up selling it to a friend for what I got it for, on kellyco's BOGO deal- $80?!?!

It's not terrible but the shaft fits together poorly- so in addition to having a nice tight wrap on the cord, make sure to get the shaft tight at the joints to keep it from flopping around. The detector will go pretty deep with the big 10" coil and it does pinpoint very well, so those are pluses!

The most annoying thing about it was that the tones are "backwards" compared to other MD's, high tones are iron, mid tones are nickels/tabs, mid-low foil/jewelry, and low tones are silver/coins. My son found a brake pad in our side yard at about 16-17 inches. On coins and jewelry look to get a max depth of 8-9 inches at the most in ideal conditions- not bad!

It will get you guys started, for $140 it's ok. Better than the new price that Kellyco has it listed for- $299.

 

[wkrp43]

Good luck, guys...hang in there!

 

[rainyday101]

It is a made in China piece of crap. You will never know what you are missing until buy a name brand detector. The $160 Tesoro Compadre will walk circles around it. A Tesoro Silver uMax will eat it for lunch. All Tesoro's have a lifetime warranty. A Fisher F2, Teknetics Alpha and Eurotek, or Garret Ace will also do circles around it and be higher quality dependable detectors. My opinion- sell it and buy a name brand American made quality made detector that can get serviced if you ever need to. The MP3 is probably okay if you want to collect pulltabs!

 

[RotZorn]

It is a made in China piece of crap. You will never know what you are missing until buy a name brand detector. The $160 Tesoro Compadre will walk circles around it. A Tesoro Silver uMax will eat it for lunch. All Tesoro's have a lifetime warranty. A Fisher F2, Teknetics Alpha and Eurotek, or Garret Ace will also do circles around it and be higher quality dependable detectors. My opinion- sell it and buy a name brand American made quality made detector that can get serviced if you ever need to. The MP3 is probably okay if you want to collect pulltabs!

Wow, make her feel bad about what her and her hubby picked out together why don't you?

You ever used one of these?

I did have some dislikes about it, but go easy man?!?!

It's not Satan's metal detector or anything?!?!

 

[RotZorn]

Yes, it is the gold & black, lightweight. We're in NC also, Harnett co. south of Raleigh! Will def do some tests on it tomorrow. Also, which it may just be a question for someone familiar with the brand, - only had it a cpl weeks so far- but just in our basic yard I seem to get a bunch of half dollar hits, husband a plumber so being careful as he knows where lines are ran underground , but I get no depth hit on most of them. But a few spots I have.. Should I always get a depth hit? So if I'm not could it be something with the soil? Just something that came to mind, may be nothing. Thank u for being patient with some obvious green users!

Lol it's pretty heavy compared to other stuff out there, but you guys will be fine with it for a while. You'll get really good at the basics in no time even with this machine- it's really not that bad.

The random hits could be EMI (interference) but you can adjust for that some by dialing down the sensitivity. Big power lines, wiring in walls, etc. will all effect performance of the machine somewhat.

The hits you're getting that fall into the $.50 range are likely false or ghost hits- unless they are repeatable; ie every time you swing you get the same tone. If you are getting a repeatable $.50 hit it could be a Quarter or larger coin (.50 or $) but, most detectors are calibrated for coin /jewelry sized objects.

What this means for you the detectorist, is that often times larger than coin sized objects, even if made of aluminum, iron, etc- will often read as a quarter/ half dollar/dollar.

We've all had hits like that. The detector either by screen, or tone, or both, tell us it's a coin at X inches down (please remember depth is approximated by your detector too) only to open the hole up to find nothing at that depth. You scan over the hole again and the signal is still in there. You will usually end up digging a soda can, or possibly an iron object of considerable size at a depth way over what you expected.

Set it up on a table and wave random metal objects from your household under the coil- not just coins- and at various distances. You'll learn a lot doing this and it'll help you get the feel I mentioned before. You'll notice that big objects like a skillet or metal briefcase, will set it off very far away from the coil.

Practice a lot and you'll get a feel for what the machine is trying to tell you before you open the hole!

 

[rainyday101]

Sorry RotZorn, the company I work for was just bought by China. Kiss it goodbye in about 2-3 years, they are already here learning our jobs. They already own us and shortly we will answer to them. These are the same people that knock off our American made detectors and Minelab detectors. I am just saying if they can sell it and get a fair price like what they paid, they will be better off buying a name brand detector. I don't think anyone can argue that.

 

[RotZorn]

Sorry RotZorn, the company I work for was just bought by China. Kiss it goodbye in about 2-3 years, they are already here learning our jobs. They already own us and shortly we will answer to them. These are the same people that knock off our American made detectors and Minelab detectors. I am just saying if they can sell it and get a fair price like what they paid, they will be better off buying a name brand detector. I don't think anyone can argue that.

I'm all for buying American. I didn't know where the MP3 was made when I got it.... I should have checked around and that's my fault.

Her situation is different, sure she could have checked around and done some research as well but it sounds to me like they saw an add on CL and called the person and bought it- second hand too. So "the Chinese" didn't really get any money from that deal.

They didn't know, now they do. No reason to make someone else feel like crap about what they purchased.

Your work- "the company I work for was bought by China" - yeah probably not. China as a country, or their government did not buy your company, and so what if they did?

Think about it, who's fault is that? "China's" for taking the deal they were offered?..... Or the rich 1% in control of your company who decided to sell it to them, and you along with it? The problem is here not in China.

The country is inside out on this matter, and I'll admit that refraining from purchasing things made in china, if practiced by the whole of the population would bring back American jobs. But the problem isn't the little guys like us shopping at Walmart...

It's the people at the top who are gleaming it, sitting on billions, and they could care less who they sold your company to... All they care about is the fact they got their money.

 

[rainyday101]

Okay Rotzorn, I'll agree with you on the China deal.

My intention was not to make them feel bad.

I simply feel they made an impulse purchase on a detector not knowing much about them. We are all guilty of that in one way or another at some point in our lives, me included.

I still say though that if they think that they want to pursue metal detecting they should sell the MP3 for as much as they can get and go with a Compadre, F2, Alpha, Eurotek, or Ace 150. I don't think that is trying to make anybody feel bad it is just solid advice to get a better detector that will yield them more success.

 

[RotZorn]

Okay Rotzorn, I'll agree with you on the China deal.

My intention was not to make them feel bad.

I simply feel they made an impulse purchase on a detector not knowing much about them. We are all guilty of that in one way or another at some point in our lives, me included.

I still say though that if they think that they want to pursue metal detecting they should sell the MP3 for as much as they can get and go with a Compadre, F2, Alpha, Eurotek, or Ace 150. I don't think that is trying to make anybody feel bad it is just solid advice to get a better detector that will yield them more success.

Fair enough, I'll go with that! In the meantime they could get a handle on the basics though. Like you said before, when they upgrade to something made here, they'll be in for a good treat!

 

[cosmicblu000]

Haha ok yes agreed on china, we know pretty much this one is only going to take us so far so I guess I can say we're satisfied with it costing us only half of what it would have new. Busy week but I've had a lotta fun inside & outside the house with it. Found a ton of coal in the backyard (not literally or I would have $200 in my pocket in stead!) but house being built early 1900's so I'm not surprised. Yes, it was a tad of an impulse buy but if I don't let him get it out ill never hear the end of it & this one I could live with-- actually I was quite excited about buying a new metal hand shovel just for myself! But thank you for all the advice & pointers it's really appreciated!

 

[rainyday101]

Good! I hope that impulse buy got you hooked on the great hobby of metal detecting. When you feel the need to upgrade be sure to ask us some questions on the forum! Like RotZorn said the detector you have will be a great aid to get a handle on things and will let you learn pinpointing and recovery technique.

PLEASE whatever you do learn proper recovery technique and do not take a shovel to a public place/park with your metal detector! Get a small garden trowel. Learn to pinpoint. Cut a U-shaped slit in the sod. Flip the sod back. Place any removed soil on a drop cloth. Recover target. Dump dirt back into hole. Flip the U-shaped sod flap back into place. Stomp the sod back into place. Look at your filled hole. There should be no sign that you dug there.

When your budget can handle it get a Garrett Pro Pointer to help you with your target recovery. Once you pin point mentally mark the spot. Set the detector off to the side. Check the pin point spot with the probe. If it sounds off you know you have a shallow target and exactly where your target is. In this situation your u-shaped slit in the sod should be 2" wide or less. If the pin pointer does not sound off cut the u-shaped slit in the sod like 5" inches wide. Flip the sod back. Check the hole for target. If you still don't find the target dig about 2" of soil out placing removed soil on the drop cloth and check again. Keep going until you find the target. The Pro Pointer will cut down your recovery time and keep the digging to a minimum.

 

[cosmicblu000]

Lol sorry I actually did mean a small hand shovel! Used a cruddy plastic one to dig up all that coal- metal is much nicer in all situations rt? those are awesome detailed techniques thank you again rainyday. Been looking at small handheld pointers, really wish I had one now to aid in the seemingly vagueness of this machine sometimes lol. I will def keep updated on our progress.