Cal, you'll probably do fine until you get into the really wet stuff. There, you'll probably have to drop the sensitivity a little and/or increase discrimination high enough to knock out aluminum foil. Remember to put a plastic bag (with a bit of scotch tape if necessary) over its head to keep the salt air away from the electronics, the slightest bit of corrosion ruins electronic stuff.
* * * * * * * warning, rambling essay coming up! * * * * * * * * *
Incidentally, when I first came to work for Bounty Hunter in early 2003, the Quicksilver (also known as Pioneer EX) was my first project. It got done quickly, and went into production with virtually no glitches. (I wish I could say that all my projects went that way!) It's the least expensive American-made metal detector with target ID. Not a powerhouse for that price, but within its limitations it does what it's designed to do quite well. I love designing low cost stuff at least as much as I do slogging away at the challenges of high end leading-edge products.
You picked the right place to post your query. In some other (non-BH) forums, you'd have guys swelled with pride over their over- $1,000 machines giving you a hard time for swinging a lowly BH. (The adult world is pretty much like junior high, only bigger, you may have noticed.) I'm a cheapskate myself, so I say have fun with your Quicksilver! If after while the hobby grows on you to where you want to put more money into it, by then you'll know a bit more about what you want to spend your money on. Of course having said that, it's my duty to point out that Bounty Hunter, Teknetics, and Fisher which were once different companies are now under one roof right here in El Paso, Texas, so we offer lots of choices all the way from about $60 to well over $1,000. It's our intent that each product offers good value in its price range.
And since I'm waxing enthusiastic about BH at the moment, I should take this opportunity to explain why an engineer whose name is normally associated with Fisher (and Teknetics and occasionally White's and Tesoro and Troy) would be happy to embrace BH. Here goes.
Most of the present BH line (and even the Fisher F2/4) traces its design origin to the legendary George Payne of "old Teknetics" fame. During the 1990's the earlier business arrangements fell apart, and for a while BH's were manufactured by a "certain company" who frankly manufactured crap. The designs were good but that couldn't make up for incompetent manufacturing. The present CEO bought out the BH operation in the late 90's realizing that what it needed was competent manufacturing, and over time he managed to turn it around. Early during that period the services of a local engineering firm, Sherwood Engineering, were engaged to assist in both revising designs for compatibility with more modern manufacturing techniques, and to design new products. Getting metal detectors right isn't easy, but Sherwood who were very good at electronics but had no prior background in metal detection proved themselves up to the task.
My own background in metal detection goes back to Fisher 1981 when I was hired to reinvent what a good metal detector was, and 16 months later we were shipping 1260-X's. I was hired by First Texas Products (manufacturer of BH) early 2003 and immediately set out to do major redesign on nearly all BH platforms to eliminate the remaining manufacturing problems. When we had that licked we went on to create a new Teknetics line, and then we acquired the failed Fisher and brought it back to life in El Paso with myself again as the chief design engineer.
A bad reputation is hard to overcome. The damage that the previous owners of BH did to the trademark is still not entirely repaired even though for a decade BH has probably been the most reliable metal detector on the market. And, you know what human nature is, the guys who found their personal best value at $1000 are going to sneer at the people who found their personal best value at a much lower price tag. .........I used to know a guy in Colorado with a lowly BH Tracker 4 who I would pit against anyone swing anything else no matter how expensive, in a tot lot or public park where digging with a shovel is a good way to get busted. He made a lot of enemies by following guys with $1,000 machines and embarrassing them.
In the BH lineup, you're not getting the engineering expertise of someone in China who didn't even know what a metal detector was a year ago. You're getting the combined expertise of George Payne, Sherwood Engineering, myself, John Gardiner who has been the BH guru for nearly 20 years, and Jorge Anton Saad who was the primary engineer on the BH Platinum and Gold. In the entire metal detector industry, no product line has the breadth of engineering expertise behind it that the Bounty Hunter product line has.
The Bounty Hunter line may have been an embarrassment 15 years ago, but nowadays it is a solid as a product line can be. Superb engineering, proven platforms, and economies of scale that make it possible to deliver excellent value in the lower price brackets.
--Dave J.
