Tracker IV

alexie90 · Jun 29, 2015

Hi All

My son and I have a BH Tracker IV. Only used it a few times so far. Great at finding nails. but when we took it to the beach, we dropped a penny in the sand and didnt bury it but the Tracker couldnt find it at all. Tried a 2nd penny and same thing. Is the Tracker only good for land, like soil and only small depths?

Thanks

ivan salis · Jun 29, 2015

ah I can help you a lot ... I have used the old tracker IV a lot ... you have 3 modes on the tracker IV ... and they are controlled by the toggle switch... the first is all metal .. in this mode all metals will ring up the same ..it is the most powerful but culls out nothing ..it finds all metals (iron nails ,pulltabs ,and coins, and gold) its useful for find say property stakes made of iron.. ....the next setting is tones ---it allows for finding most items but culls tiny small iron somewhat .. it gives two different tones that are very different ....and the last is disc (discrimate) * this adjustable mode allows for unwanted things to be blocked out from detecting --so that you only find good things (like coins and jewelry)

now at the beach you might have to deal with "high background" minerals ..which can make your machine act nuts..beep ,beep,beep all the time ..to smooth it out you must up the discrimation level in disc mode until it no longer picks up the "background" minerals ..but you must do so very slowly and stop as soon as it becomes stable... if you go too high .. you will lose detection depth and the high your disc goes the more metals you "lose"..the cents you dropped are likely modern zinc cents which drop out of detection rather easy ..the 1982 cents and earlier are real copper and ring up better..

adamBomb · Jun 30, 2015

The tracker IV will work on the dry sand. I have found things around 2-3 inches down with it, maybe up to 5 inches or so. It will not work on wet sand at all, at least where I live. Most machines only work on the dry sand unless you buy a multiple frequency machine like the excal II/fisher cz21 or a PI machine that work in wet salty sand.

Opie · Jun 30, 2015

The Tracker IV will work and will hit at about 3-4" coin target in heavy salt water. I have one I have modified for just this type of search area around the Great Salt Lake, the lake is 5-27% (depends on location and level) more salinity than the ocean.
I use a NEL hunter DD Coil on it. Toggle to the middle. (All Metal mode) Sensitivity as high as the chatter will allow.
The Tracker IV has auto Ground Track. This is a type of ground balance feature, so the secret is to go slow and allow the unit to adjust to the ground settings around you.
Dry sand and wet sand have different ground balances and values. So too does salt and salt water, and the temperature can effects this in some ways.
Also the water depth effects ground balance too as the volume of mineralized content becomes greater.
If you are having issue in water locating a target, check the coil for cracks and don't get the control box wet.
Water in the coil frame causes all kinds of problems.
Good luck.

Opie · Jun 30, 2015

If using the machine in water, turn the machine on while its in the water. This helps the ground track balance the machine.
The machine is as much Digital as it is analog, so it is a happy blend and one thats been around for a while.
Dave Johnson once told me they won't let him mess with an update to that machine.
People luv this little guy.

alexie90 · Jul 2, 2015

Thanks for the ideas and info. Appreciate it. It was dry sand we were in. was surprised when we literally dropped into the sand and couldnt find it right after wards... kinda funny. here where I live in Roseville, within the city, we actually have to have a $3 license to do any metal detecting.

adamBomb · Jul 3, 2015

alexie90 said:
Thanks for the ideas and info. Appreciate it. It was dry sand we were in. was surprised when we literally dropped into the sand and couldnt find it right after wards... kinda funny. here where I live in Roseville, within the city, we actually have to have a $3 license to do any metal detecting.

I wouldn't be upset out the license (although I hate government interference at all but anyway). I actually think its a good thing. It tells you that the gov recognizes MD and isn't banning it

captbo · Mar 7, 2016

I would like to thank you all as well ! I have the same machine and its my first one so all the "talk" is new to me,, !

ejmolitor37 · Mar 9, 2016

I have just received one of these same machines for Christmas, I found on youtube a great setting for coins/jewelry. I run mine in tone mode with the disc. knob just past the 12o clock position and the sens. knob at about the same location. I have found quarters, dimes and pennies no problem in sand and dirt. The only thing I don't like is with it set this way pull tabs, pop can and such make the same tone as a nickel. Hope maybe this helps I am new to this and this is what I have found works best for me so far. Best of luck

Phantasman · Mar 10, 2016

Nickels and pulltabs show up the same on ALL detectors. A pulltab without the tail gives the same conductivity reading as a gold ring, and depending on the tail gives the same conductivity reading as a flat nickel. A TID machine displaying conductivity from 0-99 can sometimes break the difference down to a flat nickel as one common number and a pulltab just a few numbers higher. But since nickels can be in different angles, and pulltabs being in different shapes, the numbers can overlap each other. The same with bottle caps and dimes. Flattened beer cans and quarters. Tesoros (a lot like the Tracker IV) can use broken sound to tell the difference, a circuitry you won't find on a less expensive Bounty Hunter. Your Tracker is a true beep and dig detector. When it beeps, you dig, no matter the disc setting.

Jacksparrow1985 · Apr 9, 2016

Can't understand why your tracker iv is not responding, have you got the discrimination turned right up?
I noticed you said you tested it with pennies, I think US pennies have a steel core now and are probably rejected, try it with some silver coins like nickel or dime a ring etc, it may be the pennies, a few of our coins here in the u.k now have a steel core and can give poor to no signal . Hope this is of some use, best wishes....Paul in England
Ps I use a fastracker which is a rung lower than the iv on the ladder and it works ok on wet sand, just have to turn it down a bit til it settles, your tracker iv should find stuff in the wet and clean up in the dry. Happy hunting

Phantasman · Apr 10, 2016

US pennies now have a zinc core. Registers just below silver/copper.

blueskyminer · Apr 16, 2016

I have a Tracker lV (Pioneer 101). Yesterday I was in the La Jolla area and had a couple of hours to spare, I used my Tracker at the beach for the first time. Here is my take on how it worked for me. Dry sand is no problem, even the areas that had streaks of black sand. Damp sand was also no problem, dug a copper cent and a clad dime at 5+ inches. Really wet sand, as in when you put your foot down and water comes up.....too many false signals, it would work as long as the coil never touched the sand.. In the water, no chance for me, I am not set up to hunt the surf and it went off like a banshee. I hunt in all metal, no disc or tone. I did not try turning it on in the water, I did not try discriminating out the salt affect. I feel that it will get close to the water as long as you are careful in the very wet sand. My take, your mileage may vary. Oh..fish hooks,rusty nails and clad. If there had been any jewelry under the coil it would have got it.

Phantasman · Apr 17, 2016

Don't be fooled by the term "auto track". It just means preset ground balance. It doesn't adjust automatically for ground conditions like a Whites. I know of no auto track detectors from FTP and if they were an option, you'd see it on F75s and T2. The Time Ranger had "SmartTrac" which didn't auto track, it just was a prelude to the GroundGrab auto balancing system. You still had to pump the coil to get a ground reading then set the GB.