Alpha 2000 Problem - Not sensing quarters or dimes! Help?

[Typhlix]

Hey everybody, I'm Justin. I'm pretty new to metal detecting, but I've gotten to know my first detector pretty well, which happens to be the Alpha 2000.

What is making me sad is that it's been six months since I got the thing, and I never realized until now that my machine is / maybe has not been detecting quarters or dimes of any sort!

Does anybody know of anything related to this problem? It performs well on every other metal I've checked it with or dug up, but for some reason there hasn't been a single reading on any of the quarters or dimes I've swiped in front of it.
I've played around with all the settings I can find, and I am usually set to detect all metals at all sensitivities!

I would be extra pleased to know if anyone has any input or solutions to this problem! I want to get back out in the field asap!

- Justin

 

[azsh07]

First off you cannot set the discrimination so high that it won't detect silver or dimes and quarters....so there is no reasonable reason for it not to.

I will assume you have tested it at home using a quarter or dime passing it in front of the coil....verses in the ground.

I have answered this same question to an F5 user who had the exact same issue and had to send it in to First texas.

Now when the Gold Bug first came out we had this same issue and it was due to someone in final test or assembly setting the ground balance setpoint wrong and it effectively caused high VDI numbers...ie silver or quarters and up to actually move up and out of the VDI upper range and effectively wrapped around into the ground balance range.
We could not even detect a silver dollar passed right in front of the coil.

Now not all did it just the ones calibrated wrong.

It is possible a similar issue is happening here and I would call First texas and talk to them.

Again the discrimination range does not go high enough that you could set it to not respond to silver etc.

try a half dollar and silver dollar if you have them...probably won't respond to them either.

 

[Typhlix]

That sounds about right in relation to the problem I'm having. I'm not entirely positive why it would do that, but I sort of figured something was up with it when stuff like aluminum pie plates were registering under solid half dollar signatures.

Here's an update which bewilders me, but regardless...

I swiped a silver dollar and two half dollars in front of the coil, which suddenly registered precisely in the 50C+ range, and right after that I swiped a modern quarter and a dime in front of it... they both registered solid QTR and DIME on the detector!


This is very strange that it would do that, and why it left out quarters and dimes before I swiped a silver under the coil is beyond me... But thank you for suggesting to try a half and a silver! That seems to have been the solution!

 

[Bucksport]

Aluminum that large will register as a coin.

 

[azsh07]

..use a soda can crushed. If what I described is it you won't get a good response on them either

 

[azsh07]

Hmmmm....swiping the silver across the coil was not intended to fix it but hey.....if it worked...well.....

Another issue on other machines is if the GB is wayoff it can move the VDI on targets but I don't think on Teknetics this is much of a factor from my testing.

However I would keep an eye on it and keep a quarter in your pocket when you are detecting and just test it from time to time until you feel it works reliable.

I realy can't think of anything you could do wrong to make this happen and I tried on my Omega and F70 a while back to see if I could duplicate this when the F5 user was having same issue.

 

[Monte]

Refer to age 12 in the Alpha Owner's Manual.

Increase the Volume t the maximum setting of '9' on the Alpha and go hunting.

The worst design feature on the Alpha, delta and Gamma was using that nutty "Volume" function. If you have a hearing problem, use quality headphones with a volume control. On the three models mentioned, I suggest setting ALL OF THEM to he maximum Volume right from the start, then go hunting.

When you reduce that setting to 3 or 2 or 1 of 0, you will lose responsiveness to big silver dollars, then halves, then quarters and maybe even dimes.

Monte

 

[Typhlix]

Thanks a lot Monte! I am pretty sure that was the cause of my problem, because I reduced the volume to the lowest setting so I could check the response to certain coins inside my house without bothering anybody. When I eventually turned the machine on without adjusting the volume, it detected quarters with no problem! Perhaps I should have done that earlier...

I appreciate the help everyone, you guys are very resourceful! Hopefully I will find my way back here with some success stories in the future


Happy hunting!

 

[Monte]

that I have been using Teknetics models, I have often come across people who have experienced a loss in performance on higher-conductive targets using the Alpha, Delta and Gamma. My customers get a hands-on explanation about that menu adjustment and a caution to keep it at the maximum volume level and simply reply of adjustable headphones, but so many either buy off the internet or from a dealer who might not know about it, and then I might get a call or read a post about poor performance on dollars, halves, quarters an even dimes .... so this is the easy help.

The Volume adjustment design on those models is, to me, one function that I would definitely eliminate as there is absolutely no need for it! It's also one reason why I like the Omega, because it doesn't have that adjustment feature.

Glad things are working okay for you now.

Monte

 

[supertraq]

I like my little alpha 2000 and it works well in the trash,but why the volume works to disc out higher conductivity targets is beyound me,its supposed to be a volume,not a reverse disc that eliminates silver..
Somebody was on the crack pipe that day..

 

[Monte]

the Omega. The so-called "Volume" control on the Alpha, Delta and Gamma was, in my opinion, one goofy and bad design. That was eliminated on the Omega. I enjoy the Omega out of the rest of the Teknetics line, and I use high-quality headphones, all of which have their own separate volume controls for each earpiece. My oldest son has a delta and Alpha in his arsenal for his wife and kids, but he knows to leave that control at the highest setting.

Maybe future model replacements will omit that nutty and wrong design function? I sure hope so.

Monte