Recommend a BFO detector?

whiteknight38 · Jan 1, 2009

Want to try a Beat Frequency Oscillator detector. BFO as opposed to VLF.
None of the manufacturer sites seem list their detectors as such, although I'm guessing that some of the less expensive units are of this older technology. The Bounty Hunter Tracker 4 and Quicksilver, for example are BFO's?

lamar · Jan 1, 2009

Dear whiteknight38;
Trust me, you do NOT want to use a BFO! The BFO does not have discrimination, but that is not the WORST thing about a BFO. They drift out of tune almost constantly, therefore you had better prepare yourself to almost constantly re-tuning it.
Your friend;LAMAR

Siegfried Schlagrule · Jan 1, 2009

I own and use BFOs. Care to tell us how to use a VLF along a chain link fence or to check the walls inside a metal barn or quonset hut? Explain how to coin shoot in cinders with your detector. There is NO SINGLE be-all end-all detector. Each has certain applications that it is best at. I will state that there has been more honest to gosh treasure found with BFOs than with any other type.
For anyone who wants to try the most recent versions of BFOs made in the United States they could start with the Bounty Hunter Outlaw BFO/TR hybrid circa 1974 or the Garrett Master Hunter BFO from the early 1970s. I also note that some of the recent chinese detectors are BFO but have not used them and have no opinion on whether they are worth owning or not. I'm told that BFOs are still used regularly in Europe and have been responsible for some of the nice medieval and roman finds. Check with the forign tnet members for brands.
Finally anyone who wishes to experiment with BFO detectors will be able to find them for $50 to $200. If you want to chase the latest bells and whistles in the VLF genre you're talking $500 to $1000 each for the top models. That's a high price to pay for coinshooters. exanimo, siegfried schlagrule

whiteknight38 · Jan 1, 2009

Thanks guys.
I did a quick search but neither of those two detectors that Siegfried mentioned came up for sale.
I found one Grand Master - 1981 version - from a Malaysian ebay seller, but it was a VLF.
I'll keep looking, but if anyone knows of the wherabouts of one in the meantime, please let me know.
Siegried, if I could prevail upon you for more details on the Chinese units you mentioned, or which Western companies are still selling making BFO's, I'd appreciate it.
I asked about the Quicksilver and the Tracker IV, because I saw them on Amazon for super cheap, (both under 100 bucks)
But, as I said, I'm not certain if they are in fact BFO, as the online manuals don't say.

Tom_in_CA · Jan 1, 2009

whiteknight38, no ..... none of the Bounty hunters, no matter how "low end", are BFO's. Your best bet is to find them on Ebay. They turn up now and then, d/t some were actually still being made into the early or even mid 1970s (although even by then, they were dinasours).

Siegfried, yes they (the 1960s detectors in general) probably did find more large treasures than all the modern power house coin machines we have nowadays. But that fact is not d/t any strength of BFOs. It's actually because of a weakness: They struggled to get a coin beyond a few inches, right? But they still blared off nicely on hubcabs and other such large items. So they made the perfect cache-hunting type detector, since their very nature made them inefficient at small things.

Think of all the "big junk" and overload signals we ALL pass up nowadays with our super-duper coin hunters. No doubt, a lot of us have walked over a cache at some point. But the machines of yesteryear, back when people were hitting virgin ghost towns, were a "natural" for cache-hunting. I suppose the same thing could be accomplished today by simply going to the absolute lowest sens. setting on our machines, and hold them 6" off the ground? ::)

bakergeol · Jan 1, 2009

Tom_in_CA said:
whiteknight38, no ..... none of the Bounty hunters, no matter how "low end", are BFO's. Your best bet is to find them on Ebay. They turn up now and then, d/t some were actually still being made into the early or even mid 1970s (although even by then, they were dinasours).

Siegfried, yes they (the 1960s detectors in general) probably did find more large treasures than all the modern power house coin machines we have nowadays. But that fact is not d/t any strength of BFOs. It's actually because of a weakness: They struggled to get a coin beyond a few inches, right? But they still blared off nicely on hubcabs and other such large items. So they made the perfect cache-hunting type detector, since their very nature made them inefficient at small things.

Think of all the "big junk" and overload signals we ALL pass up nowadays with our super-duper coin hunters. No doubt, a lot of us have walked over a cache at some point. But the machines of yesteryear, back when people were hitting virgin ghost towns, were a "natural" for cache-hunting. I suppose the same thing could be accomplished today by simply going to the absolute lowest sens. setting on our machines, and hold them 6" off the ground?

Siegfried is correct in that probably more treasure has been found with BFOs that all other types. However, it was a matter of timing or the "early bird" gets the worm. It was not also restricted to cache hunting but coin hunting as well. After all finding 3,000 silver coins in an old carnival site one summer in 1964 had more to do with detecting "virgin turf" than machine quality.

However, Tom I feel you have underestimated the BFO coin hunting abilities. The 60's produced a lot of dud detectors but there were a few that were effective beyond a "few inches" . My "Little Monster" designed by Karl Von Mueller and built by Whites was effective to 6 inches on dimes. In addition, a competent BFO operator could distinguish rusted iron by tonal responses.

However, BFOs are indeed dinosaurs- After using a modern detector who would have the discipline to dig everything at a park? Who would you find to repair it? coils? They were poorly designed and my hand was usually shaking with fatigue after an afternoon of solid detecting.

George

Tom_in_CA · Jan 1, 2009

George, thanx for the reminisces. I've heard those kind of "virgin amusement park" stories too

And yes, I was exaggerating about the "few inches". Some did indeed go up to perhaps 6" on a coin. But you'll be the first to admit you really had to know your machine, and listen veerryyy carefully for those "deepies". I hunted side by side with a BFO user in the mid 1970s (I had a 66TR). We found that the TR was more sensitive for coins, while his was more suited to scanning for larger items like cans, axe-heads, etc..... Yes it would find coins too, but not as easily as the 66TR did it. I don't recall what make of BFO he had. I think it was some sort of hobby-shop kit thing.

Adrian SS · Jan 1, 2009

Yeah BFOs are a bit of a done dinner these days, however I never go into the gold fields without one for the sole purpose of ore sampling, you cannot beat them for being able to tell you if there is gold or other metal in the rocks around ore dumps and they are handy for scanning the walls of mines.
I have ore samples here that drive my VLF hard below threshold but they contain heaps of fine gold and my BFO tells me so.
I have owned 4 BFOs, one I built myself a zillion years ago, two Garretts and one Jetco which I obtained just recently; The only one that drifted in tune was the home built job, the others hold a rock steady threshold.
I know that Garrett made BFOs that could discriminate, they pop up on ebay occasionally.
Cheers,

whiteknight38 · Jan 4, 2009

Well, I’m not finding anything viable so far.
I’m ebay searching vintage, old, and antique detectors, as well as BFO detectors, but no joy. I heard a rumor about a Costco child’s detector for around $15.00 that was probably BFO, but not up here in Toronto land, or online.
Where are all the Chinese, patent-infiringing, el-cheapo, knock-off producing, manufacturer elves when you need them?
Any tips or leads will be appreciated, here or private message.
I do see a couple of TR machines, however, which warranted another quest for info.
I gather that TRs were the forerunners of VLF machines, the earliest ones worked in non-motion mode, in the lower frequency range, wouldn't go very deep, no good for gold, over sensitive to iron, and poor performers on mineralized ground. Would that sum them up as a quick soundbite?
I heard that the Micronta 3001 was TR.
I see a couple of later version Micronta machines (4001 - 4003) I’ll grab one if anyone knows that they are actually TR.

BuckleBoy · Jan 4, 2009

I think the name of the game in finding a Big Freakin Object detector on ebay... is patience.

whiteknight38 · Jan 4, 2009

Thanks SWO
That's a cool site. I love the sort of people who'll tear apart expensive technology in the hope of making it better.
I registered and posted a "wanted"

Siegfried Schlagrule · Jan 6, 2009

whiteknight38 said:
Thanks guys.
I did a quick search but neither of those two detectors that Siegfried mentioned came up for sale.
I found one Grand Master - 1981 version - from a Malaysian ebay seller, but it was a VLF.
I'll keep looking, but if anyone knows of the wherabouts of one in the meantime, please let me know.
Siegried, if I could prevail upon you for more details on the Chinese units you mentioned, or which Western companies are still selling making BFO's, I'd appreciate it.
I asked about the Quicksilver and the Tracker IV, because I saw them on Amazon for super cheap, (both under 100 bucks)
But, as I said, I'm not certain if they are in fact BFO, as the online manuals don't say.

I don't know of any BFOs currently manufactured in the US. It is possible that some of the custom manufacturers would make you one to meet your requirements. That would be very expensive but i would really be tempted the next time i hit big to get a total custom machine. I would probably spring for three identical machines in that case. They don't break down and are not replaced every year so the manufacturers have little incentive to keep making them. There may be current manufacturers in Europe. The chinese jobs are showing up at radio shack and in some of the mail order catalogs. I've not wanted to waste money examining them. If I found a cheap used one at a flea market i might be tempted to grab one. There are sometimes used BFOS on ebay so search for "metal detector BFO" to find them. The Garret Master hunter began as a BFO, then became a TR and is now a VLF. good luck to you, siegfried schlagrule