Dave Johnson has been designing leading-edge metal detectors for American companies for over 25 years. He has designed successful products in all three mainstream technologies—VLF. multi-frequency, and pulse induction. His platforms are the backbone of several company’s high-end product offerings today. If you own a high-performance metal detector made in the USA, there is a good chance it originated with Dave Johnson.

Eva Shea, First Texas Products Marketing Manager, recently interviewed Dave Johnson to get some perspective on his latest design, the Teknetics T2.

EVA: Dave, when did you design your first metal detector?

DAVE: That was in 1972. I was working for the State of California doing traffic census for transportation planning purposes. The vehicle detectors we used worked on the eddy current loss principle and were powered by two hundred pounds of lead-acid batteries.
I got tired of hauling and maintaining those batteries. My solution was a vehicle metal detector that ran on a single 9-volt transistor battery, employing the phase shift principle. It was my first metal detector design. The prototype was not stable enough for practical use, but to my surprise it discriminated between cars and trucks. I was transferred to another department and the project was abandoned.

EVA: So when did you get your start in consumer metal detectors?

DAVE: Back in 1981 Fisher was looking for a new lead design engineer and I took the job. About a year later we introduced the 1260-X, which was a revolutionary machine for its time. Since the mid-1990’s I have also worked for Tesoro, White’s, and Troy. I began doing consulting work for First Texas Products in 2002 and late that year they decided to put on the payroll on-premises in El Paso.

EVA: So how do you like First Texas Products and El Paso?

DAVE: I wanted to work for First Texas Products; the president actually listens to his employees and customers. When he bought the company several years ago the Bounty Hunter line was a real mess. He turned it around and now Bounty Hunter offers is quality products and great value for the price. I like the can do attitude at First Texas Products. As far as El Paso goes, it is my new home. Decent climate, friendly people, low crime rate, and good hiking trails. I have really enjoyed the multicultural environment.

EVA: Tell me how the Teknetics T2 came about. Do you feel like you fulfilled a dream?
Teknetics Logo

DAVE: For many years, I have sought to improve metal detectors on all fronts-lighter weight, better ergonomics, lower power consumption, deeper detection, deeper discrimination and target ID, and maximum user-friendliness. Of course I did not always get what I wanted-that’s how life is most of the time, eh?
When I came to First Texas three years ago, the company did not have any high-end detectors. That gave me a clean slate to work with-the whole product had to be designed from the ground up. For the first time in my career, I got to design the electronics enclosure. Years prior I had declared war on bad user interfaces; at First Texas I finally had permission to do it right. I convinced the president that whatever difficulties we might encounter striving for an open-frame DD coil, we had to bite the bullet and do it.

EVA: So how about the performance?

DAVE: A high-end metal detector absolutely must have major league performance. The really hot machines out there (many of which I had a hand in) air test well past 10-inches, but lose a lot of targets in the ground. So rather than go for broke on air test, we decided to make it merely ruthlessly competitive on air hots, and concentrated our efforts on pushing the state of the art performance on things that matter in the ground like target separation, iron rejection, and stable target ID.

EVA: I’ve been told that to detect gold nuggets, a metal detector has to be really sensitive, because most nuggets are tiny, and they’re usually found in highly mineralized ground. How is the Teknetics T2 on gold?

DAVE: Gold detection is my field of expertise. Most American gold machines are my designs. A machine designed for gold prospecting only, theoretically has an edge on a general purpose machine. But a well-done general-purpose machine designed with gold prospecting in mind, will beat a poorly done gold-prospecting-only machine. The Teknetics T2 is a general-purpose machine, but its 13-kHz operating frequency, highly engineered standard-size DD search coil, high sensitivity, excellent ground canceling, and quick-recovery motion all-metal mode add up to superb performance for gold prospecting.

EVA: And how about silver?

DAVE: When detectorists talk about silver, they’re talking about silver coinage. Silver coins are worth at least several times their face value in silver content alone, and many have collectible value far beyond that. Silver coins are typically found at greater depth than modern clad coins, so the detectorists who are looking for silver need a machine with really good sensitivity as well as superior ground penetrating ability and good discrimination. Ability to see a deep coin without its being masked by nearby iron trash is very important. Although some users and content to search strictly by ear, most insist on visual ID to minimize unnecessary digging. The Teknetics unit meets these requirements; according to most users it excels when it comes to unmasking coins in iron trash.

EVA: Where did the name Teknetics come from?

DAVE: We decided to call our new high-end machine Teknetics in honor of the original Teknetics designed in the mid-1980’s by the legendary George Payne. The company that manufactured it went out of business, but the detector itself set the performance standard for its time. That’s a heckuva reputation to have to live up to.
Most people don’t know it, but the visual ID system in most Bounty Hunter products is based on George Payne’s circuit designs. So awareness of the Teknetics legacy runs high around here.

EVA: You must be pretty proud of the Teknetics T2.

DAVE: The basic vision was pretty much mine, but it took a lot of other people to make it happen. John Gardiner, another one of our engineers, wrote most of the software that runs it. For me this was just another step forward in the high end market, but for everyone else in the company the high end was a whole new world. I’m prouder of them than I am of me.

EVA: If someone is thinking of buying a new high-end metal detector, how would you convince them to buy a Teknetics T2?

DAVE: The best sales pitch for the T2 is what people who already own them are saying. Most of them also own other high-end units, so they are well-informed and do not have much brand loyalty. I could tell you what they are saying, but I might be biased. I would suggest that you do an Internet search on Teknetics T2, sort out what you find there, and make up your own mind.

EVA: Thank you Dave and congratulations on seeing a dream come true

DAVE: My pleasure.

A Review of the MPX Metal Detector

I recently had the honor of testing the MPX digital metal detector for Kellyco Metal Detector Superstore. One reason I was selected was due to the weather. Snow, sleet and cold had covered most of the U.S. while here in Florida we still had sunshine and mild weather.

I decided to really give the MPX a complete “shake-down.” I would work one week on the beach, a second week on land and the 3rd week on relic hunting.

Week 1 got me out of the house bright and early.

Sun was just coming up over the horizon and I was hoping to be one of the first people detecting on a favorite beach of mine near an inlet that I had been quite successful earlier in the year. As everyone knows, beaches have two to three “zones” to metal detect. The high and dry sandy beach away from the water is always easiest due to the fact that there is little to no mineralization to tune out. The second zone would be at water’s edge where the sand has been saturated with salt water and does have a mineral content. And the third of course is in shallow water where your detector experiences not only mineralization, but added pressure on the coil.

Setting up the MPX detector was extremely easy.

Coil connects to the lower rod, slide lower rod into upper rod, connect coil, turn on detector and I was in business. Slowly running the search coil over the sand produced a number of solid “hits.” My first recovery was a gold ring, followed by several (old) wheat pennies, followed by 2 silver rings. I found the MPX to be extremely well balanced and noted the difference between another detector I used to search the inlet beach earlier in the year that tired my arm out very quickly and I had to frequently stop to rest. With the MPX, I was able to hunt much longer and stop only when I wanted to (for water & snacks). I recommend lightweight detectors for a number of reasons, mainly to spend more time metal detecting.

The second week I went to several parks around Daytona Beach, Deland and Orlando, Florida.

Again the detector setup was quick and easy and tuning was simple. Since parks are notorious for being trashy, I ran my discriminator up to eliminate pull-tabs. Many detectors in pull-tab discrimination will lose targets including older thin dimes and small rings. I mention this because I did find several mercury dimes; one dated 1898 and one 1846 one cent coin. Once again the detector was proving to be extremely deep because among the many modern coins I was finding, I dug lots of wheat pennies, and 5 large One cent coins.

My last week of testing was Relic Hunting.

Few detectors really do well for Relic Hunting, especially when they are good coin detectors. This would be a good test for the MPX.

My research had discovered a small battle site from the Civil War not to far from where my farm was located. After setting up my detector I started my searching pattern and sure enough I started to get signals. I dug an old zipper, thankfully followed by a Navy Uniform Button indicating I was in the right area.

My next discovery was a gold tooth, showing that the MPX could also find gold! (I know the gold tooth was NOT from the Civil War) This area was mixed with modern metals as I found a round glass ball with silver holder from the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Lot’s of metal that would stop other detectors did not even slow down the MPX because my next find was “Pay Dirt.” I unearthed a Civil War bullet and about 10" under the bullet I recovered a U.S. Calvary belt buckle in pretty decent shape. Two things stand out in my mind as I was recovering the belt buckle. One was "never fill in a hole unless you have run your search coil over it again" - because many times there is a second or third find below the dug item. And the second thought is to "research any area before you hunt" so you can have some idea of what items should prove the site to be worth searching.

The MPX Digital Detector is a fantastic beginner unit and is a great metal detector for pros as well. It is easy-to-use, easy-to-tune and has great depth.

On the average, coins were found as shallow as one inch and as deep as 11.5 inches. The Civil War U.S. belt buckle was found 14" deep.

Target separation is great. No false signals on the beach in high mineralized soil.

Target Separation: I would rate the MPX as a “Pro” model.

Target Identification right on the money. MPX pinpoints every time in the center of the coil, so I had less digging saving me lot’s of time.

The 10" coil will get you more depth and covers more area in less time.

The MPX islightweight and can be used in both salt and fresh water.

Overall, for the money, the MPX Digital is as good as the higher priced detectors and you will have great results and lots of fun using this detector.

Thanks to Kellyco for letting me test this machine. I worked for Mr. “A.” and his Kellyco Staff for 3 years. I could not have found a better company to work for. They are honest and bend over backwards to get you the right detector at a price you can afford. Due to my health, I had to retire, but still keep active metal detecting and get to test metal detectors for them. I will honestly tell them (and you) exactly what I find, good or bad with each detector I test.

Sincerely
Glen H.

An Answer for Every Question: Titan 3000xd

Written by Monte V. B., Sr - A treasure hunter for the last 42 years.

Ever since I first got into metal detecting in the spring of 1965 I have encountered many questions. Here are several good examples what I get asked on a regular basis...

1. What would be a good 'budget' to mid-priced detector for coin hunting?
2. 
   
3. I have been using a low-end Tesoro model and think I would like to get a detector with Target ID, but I am on a limited budget. Do you have any suggestions?
4. 
   
5. I have been using a 'budget-priced' detector that requires coil motion all the time and I have a lot of difficulty pinpointing. Is there an 'affordable' detector that would have good pinpointing abilities?
6. 
   
7. I like the idea of Target Identification, but I am used to searching and just listening to the sounds when trying to find coins in local school and park playgrounds. Any reasonably priced models that have both audio tone and visual display that would help me 'hear' potential coins?
8. 
   
9. I have found more with my ten year old Bounty Hunter than my friends have with their very expensive models. Their detectors only have a two-year warranty and while I haven't had any major problems, is there a better warranty available?
10. 
    
11. What would be a good detector to get for the family to use just to have some fun?
12. 
    

Folks can get interested in this great hobby, but of the many who do, most seem to be on a more 'limited budget' than others. Logically, many would like to get into this outdoor sport with something that isn't bottom-end in order to see if it is something that interests them, and then down-the-road they might 'upgrade' if they get serious about metal detecting.

During a recreational metal detector seminar I conducted, questions like those were quite typical of what I fielded. At the time I was able to offer a few suggestions that might be within the budget of most folks. But I was curious about what may be out available at the time or up-and-coming in the future.

A friend who is in management at a local store had asked me on an earlier visit what I thought about the metal detectors they carried, noting that they had some 'new models.' I had the liberty of taking the three offerings out for some evaluation and was impressed with the two upper-end models they now have, made for them by First Texas. I was somewhat impressed with their top-end unit except for the difficult-to-see target references on the faceplate decal. With my eyes keeping up with the rest of my age I found it difficult to see them clearly. But I was inspired by what I got to toy with outside and decided that maybe a closer look was in order.

The next day, while checking some online dealers, I saw the new Titan series offered by Kellyco. These First Texas models caught my eye for several reasons:

1. The new physical package had a very bold red, white and blue theme to the decals, and the target ID references on the control faceplate were very clear and easy to see.
2. 
   
3. They are priced very competitively, and they have a 5 Year warranty!
4. 
   
5. The ample TID (Target Identification) info available to satisfy anyone who might make use of this detector.

I have been looking for a modestly priced detector with a lot of features that remained easy to use, and this appeared to be it. I figured I ought to get my hands on a Titan 3000-XD and see if it met my needs. Yes, I know it is a First Texas detector, which most folks simply refer to as a Bounty Hunter, but I have had some decent success with various Bounty Hunter models through the years and felt this one might work out.

Why have I felt a need for a mid-line model with all the added functions?

I hunt a lot of different sites and often find them located on private property. Long ago I found that having an easy-to-use detector that I could let a property owner help me use would gain welcome access to their land. Then, too, there are many times when I have an opportunity to introduce newcomers to this great sport. When they see that I am usually using a top-end model with the visual Target ID they naturally feel that it is something they just have to have. Well, a 'loaner' unit with a lot of target info is one way to introduce the curious to the fun of metal detecting!

While I make use of my MXT and XL Pro for most of my serious hunting, I still need to have a unit for 'fun' hunting in parks, playgrounds, school yards, etc. I want to use a lightweight model that has reasonably good visual Target ID, slow-motion operation with quick response & recovery, and handy discrimination to deal with the typical small junk, such as nail clippers and files, bobby pins, cheap hair clips, foil, and other fairly common trash. It's also nice to have good ID separation of some of the higher-conductive litter, too, such as pull tabs and screw caps.

So here is what the Titan-3000XD can give you:

No False Signals

I decided to test the Titan 3000 XD against another similarly priced detector. I felt it was fair to consider the features, prices, claims, etc. I continued with my side-by-side evaluations of the new Titan 3000 XD, the Prizm IV I had purchased, and a couple of Garrett GTAx models. Soon I noted that in the ground where I started my evaluations (which reads between 78 and 85 ground phase), I was having trouble with the GTAx 750 and GTAx 1250 due to their set ground balance. The Prizm IV could be operated in the same area without any trouble, but only if I rejected the first of a number of discrimination segments. The Titan 3000 XD, however, operated without any problems. I attributed this to the external, user-set ground balance.

Loaded With Features For a Low Price

The 3000 XD has a Ground Balance adjustment control that has 'Preset' marker. It is a simple, 1-turn GB control knob that increases the GB setting with a counter-clockwise adjustment, and has the word "Preset" at the left-most position. The nice thing about this control is that it adjusts the GB for BOTH the All Metal and Discriminate modes, something even many detectors at double the price do not do! After initial comparisons with the 3000 XD in the 'preset' setting I then adjusted the GB to be just slightly positive for some of the worst ground in my area. Once set I just left it there and haven't had any problems with it bumping out of adjustment.

Since the vast majority of treasure hunters search in a motion discriminate mode, this is where I gave the most attention. The 3000 XD has 11 discrimination TID segments, and the user can adjust the first seven of them as desired. The All Metal mode, which is a motion-based, all metal accept default mode when the detector is turned on, allows for full-range user adjustment of the discriminate settings. There is a mode change touchpad that lets the operator switch between the All Metal accept motion discriminate mode and a more 'traditional' Discriminate mode. In the Discriminate mode the first three TID segments are automatically rejected, allowing the operator to reject any of the next four conductive segments as desired. This provides ample iron trash rejection for most users. If used in the All Metal mode, the detectorist can reject just those lower settings they feel handles their iron discrimination needs.

In either the All Metal or Discrimination modes the Notch discrimination touchpad can be used to accept or reject any of the allowable user settings. To make it even easier to reject an annoying segment of trash, the 3000 XD has a touchpad marked ITD, for Instant Target Discrimination. This neat feature lets you immediately reject any of the 7 rejection segments that responds. If there is one particular type of annoying trash you do not want, then after it is detected and the TID pointer prompt points at that segment, simply press the ITD touchpad and an 'R' (for Rejected) appears under that segment.

Personally, I like to reject only the first two of eleven segments most of the time, using the All Metal motion mode and a custom setting, but those I have welcomed to try out the 3000 XD simply opted for the Discriminate mode with the automatic Iron Zone rejection (the first 3 segments).

I also noted that most of my friends and family who have used the 3000 XD were comfortable with the factory Sensitivity setting, with a few of them increasing it to maximum sensitivity. When turned on, the 3000 XD is set at four (4) sensitivity level bars registered, but the user can increase it with the touchpads to a level of six (6), or reduce it to a level of one (1). I found the turn-on sensitivity level to work 'OK' for most applications, but when I hunted near the metal pipes and playground structures, I was able to quickly reduce the sensitivity level to one or two bars and that improved the performance closer to the offending large metal.

While I was also able to reduce the sensitivity of the Prizm IV that I had purchased to allow operation close to pipes and get similar performance with their standard coils, the 3000 XD had another strong point in its favor which helped in my decision making. That is the ability to mount a small 4" search coil to hunt very close to metal structures & pipes, as well as handle the densest trash conditions. The Prizm series does have interchangeable coil capability, but there isn't a smaller-than-stock coil offered for it. With a 4" coil available through Kellyco for just $40 with the purchase of a new Titan 3000 XD, it puts a definite bold checkmark in the favorable column of the Titan.

Visual Target Indicator

One other feature some will like is a numeric VDI readout. For newcomers, TID is visual Target Identification. They are letters such as 'Zn' or 'Cu', words such as 'Iron', or other descriptive terms such as 'Nickel' or 5¢. VDI stands for Visual Discrimination Indicator which is a numeric reference the operator can use to have a better idea of what a potential target might be. With my XL Pro the numbers are printed on the analog display and range from 0-100. The Titan 3000 XD also has the very bold, easy-to-see digital readout with a numeric range running from 0 to 199. It is best to use this info along with the TID response as well as the audio response to master ANY detector.

Titan's Pinpointer Is One Of The Best!

Finally, I cannot let it go unmentioned that the Titan's Pinpoint function is one of the best I have used on many, many detectors. There is no auto-tune, and this allows the user to detune for a very precise pinpoint. It also makes it superior to fast auto tuning designs when it comes to sizing and shaping a detected target.

If you have any questions which are similar to those examples I gave at the start of this evaluation review, then you might want to take a good look at the Titan 3000 XD. A lightweight detector, easy-to-use, ample operator control for a variety of applications, good sizes of accessory coils, a 5-Year warranty, and all at a very affordable price.

Here are two photos to give you an idea of what kind of fun I had while working with the Titan 3000-XD this past six weeks!

What you see are both cleaned and unclean pennies, a pile of both cleaned and unclean nickels, dimes & quarters. As well as four of the six $1.00 coins I found. Also there was one Kennedy half in the cleaned 'clad' pile.

So what were the total finds I got to cash in after hunting wood chip playgrounds and other sites with the Titan 3000 XD?

6 - 1 Dollar coins , 1- Half Dollar, 174 - Quarters, 278 - Dimes, 130- Nickels and 1007- Pennies. That's 1596 coins with a face value of $91.87!

This beautiful, 14k gold ring with three outstanding Amethyst stones set in individual prongs is one of the many rewards we get from hunting those playgrounds. Many valuable gold rings, with diamonds and other precious jewels, are being found everyday wherever people have congregated.

Experiences with the Infinium LS Metal Detector

Written by Bob W.

I received my Infinium LS metal detector from Kellyco last August. In a flash, I put the detector together after lightly reading the instructions. The pocket size manual was well laid out and informative. I was planning to use the Infinium LS while hunting in parks with the control box attached to the handle, and while hunting in the surf with the control box attached to my belt.

Once at the beach I ground balanced the Infinium LS in the dry sand by pumping the coil until the noise settled down almost disappeared. I forgot to turn the knob to "lock" and started swinging only to find out that a lot of noise was present. I re-pumped and then set the knob to "lock."

Within a few swings I got my first target indication with a loud sound. I pinpointed by slowly moving the coil from right to the left. I did not need to zero in on the target. I was using my one gallon long handle digger scoop to dig all my targets. It took 2 full scoops, about 1.5’ deep, to remove the pull tab from the sand. "Great," I said to myself. I had never dug so deep before for such a tiny object.

The second target came 10’ from the first. This time the Auto Response screamed and I removed the coil away from the target. An echo occurred and then disappeared. I than tried the reverse discrimination method to tell if the target was iron. I turned the discrimination up slowly to max. The sound stayed loud, which indicated the target was iron. Well, I dug it up anyway to check. I dug a good 2 feet to find my first of many rusty nails.

Once I got to the wet sand, I turned the detector off and then back on, balanced it on fast and locked it. I was planning to hunt up and down the tide slope and slightly into the surf. The Infinium LS seemed not to respond to the salt content as the waves passed over the coil. I had the settings of the threshold at MIN the Discrimination up to three and got little salt interference.

My average depth for digging targets was two feet. This was mostly from iron targets. I found many bobby pins, nails, pieces of wire, tokens, and miscellaneous pieces of junk. The first few hours of hunting I had the control box on the handle. I had to switch swing arms many times. This metal detector is very heavy to swing with the control box attached to the handle. Saturday morning, found me waking up to rain. "No Problem, my new unit is waterproof!" I headed back to the beach this time with the control box attached to my belt, for less swing weight.

I hunted again with the MIN settings and very slow swings. I was now hoping to get some of the New Jersey gold (rings and necklaces). At every target I would do an iron check. The detector had a 100% correctness in detecting iron. I noticed that the loud echo only occurred when I detected iron targets near the surface. Once a quarter near the surface caused the echo.
Several times in the four hour hunt I had small crowds of bathers gather around me while I dug over two feet deep. They wanted to see my treasures.

On one target I dug 30 inches for a double battery. I decided to detect across the dry sand to the surf. It was now low tide. Perfect! I balanced the detector on the wet sand and locked the balance in. I started to hunt into the waves. The detector was now acting as it was not balanced by giving loud sounds as I swung it. The noise stopped when I would stop swinging. I turned the detector off and back on while the detector's coil was in waist deep salt water. I balanced it in Fast Mode and locked it. I turned the discrimination up to three. Still too much noise when I swung it and a different tone when I swung in the other direction. I then set the discrimination to five and then to seven - still a lot of noise. I could detect (hear) targets. I only hunted like this a short while and found only iron targets. I decided to give up the water hunt and the noise for a quiet walk on the wet sand. While hunting, I did hear different types of tones but I still can not identify any tone ID's for sure.

From these hunts I found about $21 dollars in quarters, several dimes, nickels and pennies. The one Susan B. was only a 1/2 foot under and the Infinium LS almost took my hearing from me when it responded to it. I also found some silver bracelets, a worn gold ring, 2 silver rings, a gold earring, a steel earring, and many iron nails, bottle caps, pull tabs and pieces of junk. All are treasures to me!

Areas of Improvement for the Infinium LS:

1. Be able to hunt in salt water with lower settings and no noise.
2. 
   
3. Improve on the loose arm cup. I lost 1 bolt, 2 nuts and washers. Hand tighten them enough to stay put.
4. 
   
5. I need to eliminate the undoing of the cable. I have been thinking of putting in a zipper in the belt pouch.
6. 
   
7. Replace the plastic bolts with quick release buttons like the one on the lower shaft.
8. 
   
9. It would be nice to have an IRON Check button, instead of turning the knob every time I got a a target reading.
10. 
    
11. It would also be nice to have a loud target response noise eliminator. About 1/3 second or less, that would save my hearing.

I can not wait to find time to test the Infinium LS on a small nugget that I have. Also, to hunt in my favorite parks for very deep treasures.

In conclusion I would like to thank the people who air tested a nickel at Kellyco for me. 16” is also what I got when I air tested a nickel. Also, thank you for a great package price!

Sincerely yours,
Bob W.

Testing the Trident in Water

Written by Andy Sabisch

Searching for valuables lost in the water has been a passion of mine for more than 30 years and it is truly one of the last forms of treasure hunting where valuable targets are continually being replenished in areas that are searched on a regular basis.

After all, if a Civil War campsite or old picnic grove is hunted by experienced detectorists, the number of finds will continue to drop until there is really nothing left to find. On the other hand, a popular beach will have a new “crop” of coins and jewelry deposited after every warm weekend, providing water hunters with more “keepers” to search for and recover.

So, with my avid interest in water hunting, ranging from shallow-water wading to deep diving, I was extremely interested in seeing how a new low-cost addition to the list of detectors capable of searching in the water performed in the field.

Features

The Viper Trident, distributed by Kellyco, was designed to be an all purpose metal detector unaffected by adverse weather conditions or even being submerged underwater at depths exceeding 100 feet. It is a “turn-on-and-go” VLF detector that operates at 12.5 kHz with a full range discrimination circuit. The Viper uses the conventional S-handle shaft design which keeps the controls accessible and balances the weight which comes in at 4.2 pounds.

For any detector that will spend at least part of its life in the water, the obvious “Achilles Heel” is how well the electronics are sealed to ensure no water reaches them. The Viper addresses this by using double O-rings on both the control knobs and the battery compartment door, s well as with hardwired connections for the search coil and headphone cables. As a result, the Viper is rated for full submergence at depths of 130+ feet. Having used underwater detectors since their inception decades ago, I’m used to the heavy, robust headphones used for that application. The Viper’s headphones at first glance appear to be similar in construction to most standard land models; however, the specs assure that they are waterproof to the same depth rating as the unit itself, which both cuts down on the weight of the detector and improves the comfort when used for long periods of time (which finding a gold ring or two will tend to make you want to do!)

Simplicity in operation was one of the key design requirements and, with only two controls on the faceplate, the Viper couldn’t be easier to set up and use. Both knobs actually serve a dual function. The knob on the left side turns the Viper on and off and is used to adjust the sensitivity level. The other knob is used to select the search mode—All Metal or Discriminate - and, when in the Discriminate mode, the level of discrimination desired. In the center of the face of the control housing is a target light that illuminates when a target is detected in addition to producing an audible response heard through the waterproof head phones. This is a useful feature when diving (in case you miss a signal due to bubbles from the regulator) or searching a beach in the evening after the crowds have left (if you opt to not use the headphones for personnel safety reasons).

The Viper is powered by a single 9V battery that provides ~25 hours of operation. When the battery voltage drops below the point at which the detector can operate effectively, a continuous tone will be heard through the headphones alerting the user that replacement is needed. Rechargeable batteries can be used with no loss of performance and you can pick up a pair of NiMH batteries and a charger for under $20, making it quite economical to operate.

Field Test

While one of the main reasons people will look at the Viper is for its ability to be used in the water, I find it advantageous to first test a water machine on land in order to familiarize myself with the settings, target response and pinpointing “quirks.”

A quick bench testing session let me get used to the response received from various targets as well as the points where they were rejected as the discrimination control was increased from the fully counter-clockwise position (All Metal) to the fully clockwise position (High Zone). It should be noted that even at MAX, the Viper will not reject silver jewelry or clad and silver coins. The faceplate has preset marks on both the Sensitivity and Discrimination controls selected to provide users with 1) stable operation, and 2) assurance that nickels and gold jewelry are not inadvertently rejected. Coins and jewelry test items all

produced clear, easily discernible signals at depths commensurate with the performance one would expect from a detector in this price range.

Ready to give it a try in the field, I packed up and went to a local park with a large sandy playground and several benches mounted in beds of woodchips. Setting the controls at PRESET, I started out across the first sandy section. It was quickly apparent that this site had not been hunted in a few months, as targets were fairly plentiful. With the Discrimination set at the PRESET mark, pull-tabs were still detected and, after recovering more than 20 in quick succession, I increased the control until they dropped out. I realized that nickels and small gold items would also be rejected, but based on the slim likelihood of finding a gold ring at this location, the time saved not recovering trash was worth the trade-off. Despite not having a non-motion pinpoint mode, pinpointing targets was fairly straightforward. Since only a small amount of coil movement is needed to produce a signal, I found that by “X-ing” the area of the target and then wiggling the coil slightly, zeroing in on targets with a fair degree of accuracy was possible after a little practice.

The next site I took the Viper to was an informal swimming spot on the lake near my house. The bottom drops off quickly, so I focused on the 15 foot-wide section that paralleled the shore that I could reach up to chest deep. Hoping to find a piece of jewelry, I dropped the discrimination control to just below the PRESET mark and, since I knew it had been hunted previously, I bumped the sensitivity towards its upper range. Suiting up into my wetsuit, I grabbed a long-handled scoop and waded out into the 54F water – sort of wish these water machine field tests would be timed better! While not a virgin site, signals were detected on a regular basis. Using the same technique I had in the playground, pinpointing and recovering targets was quite simple. Criss-crossing the area, the approximately location was quickly found. Then, placing my left foot against the right-hand edge of the coil, I would remove the coil and place the scoop against the outer edge of my foot….a quick swipe and the target was usually in the bucket of the scoop. An hour netted me a few dollars in change, two Avon-style rings and a gold-plated charm torn from a necklace.

Unfortunately, with the water temperature in the low-50’s, and having just gotten over the flu, I was somewhat reluctant to spend hours diving in one of the lakes in the area, but to test the Viper I felt obligated to at least give it a quick test. Grabbing a friend with a boat, I loaded up the Viper and my dive gear and we headed out to a spot where I found some relics from the 1800’s in the past – remnants of what the land had been used for before the dam was built in the early 1900’s, creating the lake. Sliding over the side, I slid down the anchor rope to the bottom about 30 feet below. Visibility was its typical “near-zero” so after shooting a compass bearing, I turned the viper on and started searching. I found a few targets over the next 30 minutes, including a pair of horseshoes, wagon parts and some mystery objects that will need some cleaning to ID. There were two comments I had after surfacing. First, the Viper does not collapse far enough to make it the right size for diving; however, cutting down a spare lower rod would solve that point. Secondly, the volume was a tad low to be heard over regulator bubbles, which required skip-breathing to ensure signals were not missed.

Summary

The Viper Trident was designed to be a lightweight, easy-to-operate, affordable option for treasure hunters looking to try their hand at beach and shallow water hunting, or simply looking for a detector that is not affected by the weather and, in these regards, it meets that goal. The Viper was not intended to replace or even compete with the high-end underwater metal detectors on the market, but for those that may not be sure water hunting is for them, or only get to a beach occasionally on vacation, this might just be what you’ve been looking for. Chattering will be experienced when searching salt-water beaches, especially those containing black sand; however, with the exception of more expensive multi-frequency VLF or pulse detectors, most other VLF-based detectors are also challenged under these conditions. On the other hand, the Viper will handle the majority of fresh water sites or land locations with no complicated adjustments and, just as importantly, without breaking the family budget!

The Viper, equipped with the 10-inch searchcoil, arm cuff strap, waterproof headphones and a 5-year limited warranty, sells for $299.95. Kellyco typically offers accessory packages with their detectors, so if you are looking at a Viper, check out their website or call for what specials may be currently available.

A Users Review of the Surfmaster P.I. Metal Detector

Written by Andy Sabisch

Reprinted with permission from Lost Treasures
From page 36 of the October 1993 issue of Lost Treasure magazine.

Dumping my sifter out on the grass, I picked out 13 coins, all modern, a set of car keys, and two rings -- unfortunately both of them were gold plated.

White's Electronics was one of the first companies to produce a fully-submersible metal detector called the Surfmaster TR back in the 1970s. In 1981 they released the PI- 1000, their first pulse type detector, which quickly became the "detector-of-choice" for shallow water hunters and divers around the world. Its pulse circuitry was able to ignore adverse ground conditions such as black sand and salt water while responding to metal objects at exceptional depths. Reports of "worked-out" sites producing literally thousands of silver coins and pieces of gold jewelry were received by the factory on almost a daily basis. Over the years, White's has continued to improve on the design and performance of their pulse circuit and their current line of waterproof detectors contains both the PI-3000 and the new Surfmaster P.I., as well as a detector featuring a VLF circuit -- the Surfmaster II.

FEATURES

The Surfmaster P.I. utilizes a pulse circuit which results in maximum detection depth under virtually all ground conditions. Unlike VLF or TR-type detectors which may require frequent adjustments when searching areas such as salt-water beaches or soil with rapidly changing mineral content, the Surfmaster P.I. automatically ignores these "ground effects" resulting in more time spent recovering targets and less time making complicated adjustments.

Unlike most other pulse detectors currently available, the Surfmaster P.I. features a form of discrimination that allows users to ignore certain types of non-ferrous targets such as tinfoil and pull tabs. This discrimination is accomplished through a circuit called "PULSE DELAY" which varies the signal transmission rate and is controlled by a knob on the front of the case.

Maximum target detection depth is achieved when the PULSE DELAY control is set at the minimum position; however, all metal objects will produce a signal. As the PULSE DELAY control is turned in the clockwise direction, specific nonferrous targets will be rejected; however, a noticeable loss of detection depth will occur. As with any detector, it is advisable to use as little discrimination as possible in order to avoid missing a deeply-buried target or a small piece of gold jewelry.

The electronics of Surfmaster P.I. are mounted inside of a case made of heavy-gauge acrylic plastic similar to that used on underwater cameras and other electronic devices used by divers. Two metal clamps hold the lid/O-ring assembly securely in place, and the case is certified leak proof to a depth of 30 feet.

There are currently two versions of the Surfmaster P.I. available with the only difference being in the search coil that comes with the unit. For those treasure hunters that plan on spending most of their time on dry land, the non-weighted 9.5 inch coil is recommended. Whit it does have a tendency to float when submerged, it is lighter in weight and more suited for extended searching on the beach. The weighted 9.5 inch coil is designed for divers as well as TH'ers that spend most of their time wading in shallow water. The weight of the entire detector with the buoyant coil is 4 pounds 8 ounces, and the weighted coil adds an additional 10 ounces. For those people that need the heavier loop but find the weight and overall balance of the detector to be uncomfortable for land use, there are two solutions. First, the control housing can be easily hip mounted by depressing a pair of spring clips and removing it from the shaft. The second option is to remove the control housing from its normal location in front of the hand grip and reinstall it on the section of the shaft between the arm cup and the grip. Spring clips are included for this purpose and it will greatly improve the "feel" of the unit - particularly when searching for extended periods of time.

The Surfmaster P.I.'s operation is controlled through two knobs located on the front of the control housing and an internal variable resistor. The knob labeled "PULSE DELAY" serves a dual function. It turns the unit on and varies the pulse rate of the signal as discussed previously. The knob next to it labeled "TUNER" also provides two functions. It is used to adjust the threshold signal heard through the headphones and, when turned fully counter clockwise, tests the strength of the batteries. The battery condition will be indicated by the volume of the tone produced when the knob is placed in BAT CHECK position. When the tone is barely audible, the batteries should be replaced. Releasing the two metal snaps and removing the lid of the control housing reveals the circuit board. There is an adjustment screw located on the lower left-hand corner of the circuit boardjust above the battery compartment which allows the user to adjust the volume of the signal heard through the headphone. It has sufficient adjustment range to provide the desired volume for both waders and divers alike. An interesting note in the manual states that due to the Surfmaster' s circuit design, increasing the volume has no affect on the life of the batteries which is unlike most other detectors.

Another feature that has been incorporated into the Surfmaster P.I.'s circuit is the Self Adjusting Threshold or S.A.T as it is commonly known. This feature shows that the engineers at the White's took the time to design a detector with the end-user in mind. Once the audio threshold has been adjusted for one's personnel preference, the S.A.T. circuitry will automatically maintain that setting even as the ground mineralization changes. By enabling treasure hunters to search from the dry sand to the wet sand and finally into the surf without requiring any adjustments to the detector, more time will be available to locate targets resulting in more "goodies" in your pouch at the end of the day.

The Surfmaster P.I. is powered by eight AA penlight batteries which are replaced by opening the control housing and removing the plastic holder. The detector comes equipped with standard carbon batteries; however, the manual recommends using high quality alkaline batteries for optimum operation. The carbon batteries supplied with the unit will result in 10 to 15 hours of use and alkalines will boost that time an additional 15 to 20 hours. An optional 10-cell Nicad rechargeable battery pack is available, however it will only last 10 hours between charges and the battery test feature will not provide you with an indication of the battery pack's strength.

A small packet containing silica gel is packed inside of the control housing and is designed to absorb any moisture that might find its way inside of the case. While it will not protect the circuitry from a major leak, it can remove the dampness introduced by a few drops of water or extremely humid air. The pack should be periodically dried out in accordance with the directions specified in the manual.

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS

After assembling the Surfmaster P.I. and reading over the instruction manual, I was interested in seeing how well it responded to various targets.

Laying out several items including a few gold and silver rings, coins, a pull tab, tin foil, and a rusted nail, I proceeded to air-test the unit with both the TUNER and PULSE DELAY controls at the preset marks. The first aspect that quickly became apparent was that the response to the various targets was remarkably similar to that of a standard VLF-type detector rather than the "oscillating" or "clicking" sound found on many pulse units. I also noticed that unlike previous pulse detectors, objects would produce a solid signal even when passed in front of the coil at a rapid rate.

On most pulse detectors the loop must be swept very slowly in order for a noticeable response to be obtained. This shortfall has been completely eliminated in the new Surfmaster P.I.

With the PULSE DELAY set at the minimum setting I was able to get repeatable signals on all of the targets at depths of up 7 inches. As I began to increase the pulse delay, I found that the tin foil was rejected while still responding to the larger gold rings. It should be noted that the PULSE DELAY control has no affect on the signal produced by ferrous targets such as nails, hair pins, screws, etc.

At the maximum position the pull tab gave only a broken signal; however, all of the gold rings were rejected and the overall detection depth was less than half of what it had been at the preset mark. As mentioned previously, one can see why very little discrimination, if any at all, should be used to ensure valuable targets are not overlooked.

Taking the Surfmaster P.I. out to my test garden, I received signals on most of the targets buried with the exception of a deeply buried dime and a pair of Civil War bullets at almost 9 inches. As with the air test, I found that by increasing the PULSE DELAY a significant loss of detection depth occurred and at the maximum setting, even some of the shallow targets would only produce an intermittent response.

Pinpointing was a little more difficult than with a conventional detector; however, by checking the target from several different directions and listening for the loudest audio signal, I was able to get within an inch or two of the target center.

The first site that I took the Surfmaster P.I. to was an older, well used beach located in central Alabama. This would be my first visit to the area; however, several fellow treasure hunters had told me that they had made some interesting finds there over the years.

Arriving at the beach I put on my wet suit, set the controls on the detector to the preset marks, and waded out from the shore. With the threshold signal just discernible, I began searching in about two feet of water. Almost immediately l received aloud signal, and after dumping a scoop of sand into the sifter, I picked up my first coin of the day - a clad quarter. It was soon apparent that no one had hunted this beach recently because clad coins were quite common. Over the next two and a half hours I recovered almost 30 clad coins and memorial pennies along with a number of pull tabs, bobby pins, and other pieces of trash so common to swimming sites. Despite my success I was a little surprised that I had not found any jewelry.

Hoping my "luck" would improve if I tried the deeper section of the beach, I headed out until the water was up to the middle of my chest. There were fewer signals in this area and it took several minutes before I located my first target. While attempting to recover the target, the desirability of the weighted search coil quickly became quite obvious to me. As I released the pressure I had been exerting on the rod of the detector, the loop floated towards the surface and the control housing, being heavier, sank towards the bottom. After struggling with the detector and long-handled scoop for several minutes, I found a way to work with the buoyant coil. Once I pinpointed the target and placed my foot next to the coil, I would move the coil to the side and gently place my other foot on top of it to keep it from floating to the surface. Another more durable solution would be to purchase a coil weight that clamps onto the detectors shaft from your local dealer and install it when searching in water any deeper than your waist (or buy a Surfmaster P.I. with a weighted loop initially).

Surprisingly, many of the signals that I received in the deeper water turned out to be pieces of tinfoil from cigarette packages. In order to avoid digging these pesky targets, I increased the PULSE DELAY control until they produced a "scratchy" signal and continued hunting. I realized that I would be sacrificing some detection depth and might miss some smaller pieces of gold jewelry; however, the number of good targets I would recover would increase by not wasting time on the foil. After nearly an hour hunting the deeper area, I headed into shore to see what I had recovered.

Dumping my sifter out on the grass, I picked out 13 coins, all modern, a set of car keys, and two rings -- unfortunately both of them were gold plated.

As I walked around in the sun trying to warm up, I looked down the length of the beach and saw a diving board at the end of the pier sticking out from shore. I felt fairly certain that the area underneath the diving board had not been worked previously so I pulled my SCUBA gear from the back of the truck and headed towards the pier. Shortening the Surfmaster P.I.'s shaft as much as possible, I put the regulator in my mouth and dropped to the bottom. As I approached the area near the diving board I received nearly a constant signal. Hoping that it meant a solid layer of coins and other valuables, I reached into the mud below the loop and immediately felt several beer and soda cans. Not willing to give up completely, I attempted to clear a small area and then work it with the Surfmaster.

After nearly 30 minutes of picking up cans and piling them on the edge of the pier I was ready to try searching the bottom. This time I was plagued by smaller pieces of trash such as tin foil and pull tabs so I increased the PULSE DELAY to maximum and rechecked the area. Despite the loss of detection depth caused by this adjustment, I was able to ignore nearly all of the non-ferrous trash and with the last 40 minutes of air in my tank, recovered 11 coins including a 1954 silver quarter and three wheat cents from the 1940s and 1950s. I found it difficult to maneuver the detector underwater due to the length of the rod; however, the factory indicated that the optional Divers Rod was designed to alleviate this concern.

The instruction manual states that the Surfmaster P.I. can be used for relic hunting "due to its inherent sensitivity to gold, copper-nickel alloys and lead." Since I spend a fair amount of time searching for Civil War relics from the Atlanta Campaign that was fought near my home, I decided to see how well it performed in this application.

One of the battle sites near Kennesaw Mountain contains extremely mineralized ground, and even the best detectors available have a difficult time handling these conditions. Hoping that the Surfmaster P.I. would be able to ignore the mineralization, I packed my equipment in the truck and drove over to the site.

Hiking up the hill to an old Confederate trench line, I set the PULSE DELAY at the preset mark and adjusted the TUNER until a faint threshold came through the headphones. After only a few sweeps I received a loud signal. Centering the coil over the target I began to remove several inches of dirt. When the detector indicated the target was out of the hole, I spread out the loose dirt and came up with a small piece of barbed wire that had been buried about 4 inches deep.

Over the next few minutes I recovered several more pieces of wire from the top edge of the trench and began to get somewhat frustrated. Walking about 30 feet further down the hill, I began searching again. Almost 20 minutes went by before I received my first signal. After several minutes of digging in the hard clay, I saw something white laying on the pile of dirt. Wiping it against my leg, I saw it was a dropped .58 caliber Minnie ball. Considering that it had been almost 5 inches deep, I was hoping that possible additional relics other treasure hunters had missed might still be in the area.

Carefully searching the immediate area produced three more Minnie balls and a small artillery shell fragment. Continuing down the hill Iran into more barbed wire and handfuls of rusted nails. Due to the inability of the Surfmaster P.I.'s circuit to ignore ferrous items I decided to call it a day and head back to the truck.

While I was not able to work this site as thoroughly as I would have liked due to the amount of trash present, the detector had ignored the mineralized ground which had caused problems for virtually all other detectors in the past. If there had been fewer iron objects in the ground the Surfmaster P.I. would have probably produced artifacts others had passed over.

SUMMARY

The Surfmaster P.I. has been designed to provide treasure hunters with a simple-to-use detector which is unaffected by adverse ground conditions. I found that once the threshold level was set, the detector operated without requiring any further adjustments. Precise pinpointing was somewhat difficult primarily due to the size of the search coil; however, since recovering targets from a beach or in the water is relatively easy, this should not be a major concern. Overall, the Surfmaster P.I. functioned well in the various sites I searched with it.

Since the Surfmaster P.I. will be used primarily on the beach, a coil cover is highly recommended to prevent damaging the coil. Another option worth buying if you plan on doing any diving with the detector is the Diver Rod Kit which allows the shaft to be shortened to a convenient length needed for one-hand operation.