Bounty Hunter Big Bud Pro SED (special edition)

[Melbeta]

Have a problem again (second time), when in discriminate the machine is now erratic, is not erratic in all metal. I know that these machines are touchy when battery power runs low, it is not that. This is the second time this problem has surfaced. Last time, I had to send it in to First Texas to get it repaired.

Does anyone know what it is? Any people that work at First Texas here?

If so, I can enter it and fix it. I think maybe a part gets bad over the years, then goes erratic. I know how to replace parts, just need to know what part it is. This is the Big Bud Pro special edition, the red plastic machine, that came our just before christmas one year. I bought two of them, and they are favorites of mine to use.
Melbeta

 

[Willee - Texas]

Todays BH just dont measure up to the BIG BUD PRO series.

Willee

 

[GoGoGopher]

Could be electrical inside the box...Could be a bad coil...no telling without actually hooking it up to test equipment.

 

[Ed in SoDak]

I would go first to the controls and switches and give them a shot of contact cleaner. De-Oxit is a favored brand, but I use CRC brand with no problems and good results. Detectors use lots of capacitors. Electrolytic types can go bad, especially certain Chinese brands. Solder joints crystallize after many years, it may not hurt to renew them by reflowing the solder, but watch that you don't create more problems than you solve. Just do a few reflows or new capacitors at a time, then test. If you do only a few any change may be found sooner. If you do it all at once and there's a new problem, you don't know what to suspect.

It almost can't be the coil as it serves both AM and Disc. They'd both be erratic. However, coil wire failures are common. Also suspect battery connections and wires. Maybe you operate it differently in each mode and it may be traceable to specific coil motions you might make. Sweeping versus pinpointing, for instance.

Make like a Sherlock and mentally eliminate what it is not by thinking through the fault. Then attack the most likely causes and test afterwards to avoid creating new issues.

-Ed