Bounty Hunter Bounty-Tracker IV
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Bounty Hunter Bounty-Tracker IV
Rtanweb Thu Nov 12, 2009 10:25 pm
First detector i bought, few years back, was a Bounty-Tracker IV . It was bought from American KellyCo company. I heard they could find shallow gold of 1 gram+ size. I spend a while with this toy before moving on to a real detector.
Anyway, local Australian distributor at www.treasureenterprises.com claims that his machines are re-calibrated for Australian conditions. I decided to take a peek inside the case to see if there was anything that could be adjusted.
I found that there is a trimmer-pot on the PC board inside. No indication as to what it does, however. Since i don't really care if this detector lives or dies i started fiddling with it, making air-tests after each adjustment. So far i found that this trimmer can increase sensitivity and depth a little (adds about an inch for the 5 cent coin, and seems to give a slightly louder signal on a flat 1.2 gram nugget.)
This machine already has knobs for decimation and sensitivity, so i think what this "hidden" trimmer does is change something about GB settings. Now i decided to take this "adjusted" detector out for a spin on my next day trip. Which i hope is tomorrow
) I strongly suspect that i basically stuffed up ground balance and it will start going off on random rocks, but i am taking screwdrivers with me and will be able to change settings on the spot (looking forward to taking it apart in the field:))
I think i will make a little test patch with 5 cent coin and some bullets and see if i can get more performance out of it. I promise i 'll post my results for anyone who cares to read them.
Unrelated to this,
i want to give a brief review of 4 inch and 10 inch coils that i got as extras. Both are concentric coils, and so require that target passes under the middle of the coil before giving a solid signal.
4 inch - probably a little more sensitive than stock 8 inch, but it's active middle part is only 1 inch in diameter. So it takes an eternity to scan just one square meter, or one mullock heap. If i could put it into perspective - you are moving at the same speed as if you are using a pin-pointer (probe coil) on an ML detector. Not worth it IMHO.
10 inch - has a much wider center than the stock 8 inch coil, so would cover more ground quickly. But it goes into "monkey chatter" when detector is running at full sensitivity, and needs to be turned down to about 2-3 o'clock before becoming quiet . But this also lowers it's depth, and so in my air tests i found that 8 inch coil beats 10 inch coil for depth, because it can be used with sensitivity at full. Not worth it!
If there are any BH4 owners out there that can tell me how to shut up the monkey that comes with 10 inch coil and not loose any depth i would greatly appreciate it
Cheers!
Anyway, local Australian distributor at www.treasureenterprises.com claims that his machines are re-calibrated for Australian conditions. I decided to take a peek inside the case to see if there was anything that could be adjusted.
I found that there is a trimmer-pot on the PC board inside. No indication as to what it does, however. Since i don't really care if this detector lives or dies i started fiddling with it, making air-tests after each adjustment. So far i found that this trimmer can increase sensitivity and depth a little (adds about an inch for the 5 cent coin, and seems to give a slightly louder signal on a flat 1.2 gram nugget.)
This machine already has knobs for decimation and sensitivity, so i think what this "hidden" trimmer does is change something about GB settings. Now i decided to take this "adjusted" detector out for a spin on my next day trip. Which i hope is tomorrow
) I strongly suspect that i basically stuffed up ground balance and it will start going off on random rocks, but i am taking screwdrivers with me and will be able to change settings on the spot (looking forward to taking it apart in the field:))I think i will make a little test patch with 5 cent coin and some bullets and see if i can get more performance out of it. I promise i 'll post my results for anyone who cares to read them.
Unrelated to this,
i want to give a brief review of 4 inch and 10 inch coils that i got as extras. Both are concentric coils, and so require that target passes under the middle of the coil before giving a solid signal.
4 inch - probably a little more sensitive than stock 8 inch, but it's active middle part is only 1 inch in diameter. So it takes an eternity to scan just one square meter, or one mullock heap. If i could put it into perspective - you are moving at the same speed as if you are using a pin-pointer (probe coil) on an ML detector. Not worth it IMHO.
10 inch - has a much wider center than the stock 8 inch coil, so would cover more ground quickly. But it goes into "monkey chatter" when detector is running at full sensitivity, and needs to be turned down to about 2-3 o'clock before becoming quiet . But this also lowers it's depth, and so in my air tests i found that 8 inch coil beats 10 inch coil for depth, because it can be used with sensitivity at full. Not worth it!
If there are any BH4 owners out there that can tell me how to shut up the monkey that comes with 10 inch coil and not loose any depth i would greatly appreciate it
Cheers!
Rtanweb- Seasoned Contributor
- Number of posts : 177
Age : 46
Registration date : 2009-10-28
Re: Bounty Hunter Bounty-Tracker IV
Narrawa Fri Nov 13, 2009 3:06 pm
I have the Land Star, found it unable to perform all that well on hot ground.
But the recalibration i think came in the form of a bit of paper stating where our currency fell against the visual ID of the yanks currency, not from an internal adjustment.
But interested in your findings.
claims that his machines are re-calibrated for Australian conditions.
But the recalibration i think came in the form of a bit of paper stating where our currency fell against the visual ID of the yanks currency, not from an internal adjustment.
But interested in your findings.
claims that his machines are re-calibrated for Australian conditions.
Narrawa- Contributor Plus
- Number of posts : 1885
Age : 56
Registration date : 2008-10-22 -
Re: Bounty Hunter Bounty-Tracker IV
Rtanweb Sun Nov 15, 2009 2:06 am
Hi Narrawa
I took my old BH4 for a day trip today. Took it over a small patch i worked with a 35, so there was no chance for gold. But this is some of the worst ground i had ever detected on in Victoria. My gp3500 with a Mono gives me false signals there A LOT. So i thought its a good place for a test.
I took 8 inch and 10 inch coils with me. And buried a larger bullet at about 4-5 inches as a test target.
As i think i mentioned earlier, when trimmer pot is set to full counter-clockwise it gives me best performance in the bench air test.
But as it turned out it basically disables GB. Both coils would pick up 3-5-10 targets on each swing. Any rock that had even tiny ammount of iron to it was giving a strong beep.
I brought a set of screwdrivers with me, so i opened the detector up and kept on adjusting that pot and re-testing the machine. At the end i just turned the trimmer to the maximum clock-wise direction. It was picking up the test target easy enough, and only 3 false targets for the rest of the day. I went wondering outside of the patch area to see if i find anything interesting and got lots of rusted crap, few 9mm shels and 4 bits of lead - 2 bullets and 2 larger shot gun balls. If they were gold i recon i would have heard it. So thats it really, back into the closet went BH, i am not really into "relic hunting".
Cheers!
I took my old BH4 for a day trip today. Took it over a small patch i worked with a 35, so there was no chance for gold. But this is some of the worst ground i had ever detected on in Victoria. My gp3500 with a Mono gives me false signals there A LOT. So i thought its a good place for a test.
I took 8 inch and 10 inch coils with me. And buried a larger bullet at about 4-5 inches as a test target.
As i think i mentioned earlier, when trimmer pot is set to full counter-clockwise it gives me best performance in the bench air test.
But as it turned out it basically disables GB. Both coils would pick up 3-5-10 targets on each swing. Any rock that had even tiny ammount of iron to it was giving a strong beep.
I brought a set of screwdrivers with me, so i opened the detector up and kept on adjusting that pot and re-testing the machine. At the end i just turned the trimmer to the maximum clock-wise direction. It was picking up the test target easy enough, and only 3 false targets for the rest of the day. I went wondering outside of the patch area to see if i find anything interesting and got lots of rusted crap, few 9mm shels and 4 bits of lead - 2 bullets and 2 larger shot gun balls. If they were gold i recon i would have heard it. So thats it really, back into the closet went BH, i am not really into "relic hunting".
Cheers!
Rtanweb- Seasoned Contributor
- Number of posts : 177
Age : 46
Registration date : 2009-10-28
Re: Bounty Hunter Bounty-Tracker IV
Narrawa Mon Nov 16, 2009 2:24 am
I paid $600 for the thing a few years ago now, but must have got back about $300 in coins and God knows how much in rings & things.
Still use is now & then, but mostly for the kids.
I will do a test on it now you have me interested, on a few of my nuggets to see how it go's.
Have only the 8" concentric coil but from memory dug some good holes for a few old coins.
Still use is now & then, but mostly for the kids.
I will do a test on it now you have me interested, on a few of my nuggets to see how it go's.
Have only the 8" concentric coil but from memory dug some good holes for a few old coins.
Narrawa- Contributor Plus
- Number of posts : 1885
Age : 56
Registration date : 2008-10-22 -
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