Received Discovery 3300

[Silver Fox]

Yesterday I received a package that I didn't look like it could hold a metal detector but the label indicated that it did! After opening the box and sorting the contents it did contain the 3300 but not the rods and I thought they had forgotten to send them so I called and was told the rods were packed separately, something I couldn't understand why. But today the rods arrived and now I have a complete Discovery 3300 in very good shape.

I had read others' comments about the batteries fitting loose in their detectors and causing problems necessitating shims. My detector came with the 2 9V attached and they were in there! I had a difficult time removing them they were so well fitted.

I had read others' comments about the rod sections being ill-fitting and shimying around with the side to side movements. My rod sections fit very nice and I do not think that the minute space between the rods is going to be any problem so I'm not going to be calling BH for collars. BTW, would collars work with the rods that use spring clips in the various holes?

Yesterday I air-tested the detector in my building's basement laundry room and even though there was no metal in the vicinity of the coil it produced a lot of blips and blaps when I wasn't bringing anything near the coil. I cut the air test short because I wanted to wait until I took it to the park when the weather is better suited to the activity. My previous detector was the famed Teknetics Mark I Ltd and it never blipped or blapped, it was a solid performer, so I have one heck of a learning curve in front of me.

When I read the comparison between the Fisher F4 and the 3300 one of the comments was about the F4's 99 or 100 digit VDI versus the 3300's 199 and I thought I'd rather have more numbers because the number of hidden targets is definitely way beyond 99. But keeping track of up to 199 targets now sounds kind of out of reach. We'll see.

Have any of you written an online "manual" or user's tricks to perform certain functions better informed than available in the OWNERS MANUAL? Do you know of any videos featuring the 3300?
Etc.

Silver Fox

 

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[sherpa t]

You really won't have any trouble with the numbers , make a quick cheat sheet up.
On the Titan running the 8 inch coil a quick number review is as follows:
30 10k gold
32 nickel
33 - 34 pull tab
88 -89 dime
111 quarter
pennys will be 62 or 90 zinc or copper make up.

Silver will be a high tone and still fall in the above catagories. ( dime or Quarter )
A clad half will hit like a quarter but you will find quarters run 111 to 114 the newer ones will occasionally be a higher number.
Alum junk is 102 to 104 you will have to get a feel for that comes with use.
Silver rings have been a clean clear high tone with a 100 if fairly large.
If you listen you can hear a differance in the tone with a nickel, and the id at 32 is perfect this machine rocks on nickels !!!
Good luck
Mike

 

[Silver Fox]

You really won't have any trouble with the numbers , make a quick cheat sheet up.
On the Titan running the 8 inch coil a quick number review is as follows:
30 10k gold
32 nickel
33 - 34 pull tab
88 -89 dime
111 quarter
pennys will be 62 or 90 zinc or copper make up.

Silver will be a high tone and still fall in the above catagories. ( dime or Quarter )
A clad half will hit like a quarter but you will find quarters run 111 to 114 the newer ones will occasionally be a higher number.
Alum junk is 102 to 104 you will have to get a feel for that comes with use.
Silver rings have been a clean clear high tone with a 100 if fairly large.
If you listen you can hear a differance in the tone with a nickel, and the id at 32 is perfect this machine rocks on nickels !!!
Good luck
Mike

Thanks for the info, Mike, I appreciate it. Does your detector suffer from the ills I mentioned: loose batteries, loose rods? Does it go bananas?

BTW, my younger brother also lives in Ocala but he's not a THer.

 

[sherpa t]

No ,To my knowledge this machine was produced after First Texas brought in the new engineer and I read one of the first things he did was really tighten up on quality control. My rods are better quality than the unit I saw at radio shack. Never had any battery issue,(holders ) just size and a Duracell was not crimped well and got pretty stuck in there once. I feel they are much less hassle then the Tesoro to change.
Very stable running, only thing I have found is Fire truck radios or something around them seem to up set it.
Ocala is loaded with hunters, your brother must be that one guy with out the detector !!
Mike

 

[Silver Fox]

No ,To my knowledge this machine was produced after First Texas brought in the new engineer and I read one of the first things he did was really tighten up on quality control. My rods are better quality than the unit I saw at radio shack. Never had any battery issue,(holders ) just size and a Duracell was not crimped well and got pretty stuck in there once. I feel they are much less hassle then the Tesoro to change.
Very stable running, only thing I have found is Fire truck radios or something around them seem to up set it.
Ocala is loaded with hunters, your brother must be that one guy with out the detector !!
Mike

Because my battery compartment holds the batteries firmly in place and because the lower rod slips into the upper part like a well-fitting glove my detector may have been built after the new engineer was brought in. I'm looking forward to detecting weather but we're still getting very cool 30s and 40s and I've never been one of those THers that has to be out there in inclement weather so I'll just wait. I enjoy detecting but the weather is first and foremost in my decision to go.

BTW, for those who who felt it necessary to add a cardboard shim I think the battery problems could have been corrected by inserting an L-shaped tool into the cavity and bending out the metal contacts as they may have been simply flattened instead of having a resisting angle to them. That's the first thing I noticed when I removed the batteries from mine and, thankfully, I didn't have to touch the metal tabs. Of course, one has to be gentle when doing it.

My brother's lifestyle and family situation doesn't lend itself to THing but I will mention to him to watch from a distance and if he shows interest to approach the detectorist and inquire. One never knows.