Coinstrike help!!!

[silverseeker 2]

Picked up a Coinstrike off the bay. Was advertised as new in box with
Sunray probe. Well I put slightly used batteries in her and she would come
on and Shut off right away. So I put fresh (9 volts) batteries in her and she fired up
and all was well. After about 45 minutes she shut down.Hit power button and
she flashed 8 volts now and shut right off.So my take is once she reaches 8 volts
this machine is rendered useless. Called Fisher and Felix recommended to
send her in. Totally P O'd. Who do you trust these days? Parts are limited
for the Coinstrike so I'll have to wait for the report and see if she can be
resurrected. The bad is after I put fresh batteries in her I figured all was fine
and left the Seller a Positive feedback. Well after I went to use her, it seems
the fresh batteries dropped from 9 volts to 8 volts in less than an hours time.
So the bottom line is LESSON LEARNED.No more flee-bay detectors.
By leaving a positive feedback right away I screwed myself from a Refund
on a Useless non-working detector. Just wondering if anyone here has had
this ISSUE with their Coinstrike? Any input is Truly appreciated. When fresh
batteries were put in though, she did run flawlessly.Seemed to perform
the way it was Designed to, but just won't stay on for more than an hour
with fresh batteries. This seller is advertising a few detectors as new
but they are not new. They have been slightly used but I must say the
Coinstrike I did receive was in pretty nice condition but not new hardly.
The lower rod was used much but machine was CLEAN... BEWARE
buying off the bay. I finally learned my lesson! !!!!!!!!!!!
silverseeker2

 

[silverseeker 2]

-- moved topic --

 

[Dan(NM)]

Even though you left positive feedback you can return that item through eBay they will guarantee that you get your money back. I wouldn't let leaving positive feedback stop me from sending that POS back. Make sure all of your correspondence or through the eBay website go to your purchases click on the menu hit return item and that starts the process rolling.

 

[vlad]

that had a similar problem+ when turned on would not shut off by hitting switch--to turn off had to remove batteries.
He sent it in & got it back in about a week.
Ebay has a money back guarantee you but you still need to be careful. Lot of dishonest people there.
Should you decide to return it & dealer is obstinate, file a case against him.

 

[trojdor]

SS2,

Sorry I didn't see this till just now....

I've got either 5 or 6 Coinstrikes. (I'd have to go in back of the shop and count.)

And, yes, one of them acted/acts exactly like you describe, with alkaline batteries.

My quick-and-dirty solution was to use the (more expensive) Energizer Lithium 9v batteries.
They run a higher voltage than alkalines, and hold a working voltage slightly over 9v for pretty much their full capacity.
That seems to do the trick....at least it's still working (so far).

I never did dig into it any further to find out what the real problem was.
I always suspected a weak electrolytic capacitor in the power-on circuit...

(Ironically, I think this one also came from eBay.)

Hopefully, you've got yours all sorted out by now, one way or another.
Good Luck,
mike

 

[Tony N (Michigan)]

Have you taken a fingernail file/emmory board and lightly gone over the contacts where the batteries contact?
Did you get only one coil?

Sorry you got taken. But if it can be repaired without too much cost, you might have a real top notch detector.

 

[MarkCZ]

The Coinstrike if its working right doesn't quit working at 8 volts!, also, they have a LOW battery alarm that rings something like a telephone.
Something else is wrong with it. It could be something as simple as a connection with one of the wires in the coil cable. The C$ when you first turn it on
test the coils circuit, if it doesn't get a feedback then it just shuts down.

Mark

 

[trojdor]

Mark,
If his is anything like mine, it's not the coil...I thought the same thing about the power on circuit, so I tried 3 or 4 other C$ coils with the same exact symptoms....
Also opened the control box up to see if any of the coil wires were 'iffy' on the internal connector.

It works just fine with the energizer lithium batteries, and detects deep just fine.
It will also power up with the lower voltage batteries if I've used it all day with the energizers.
(Only if it sits overnight will it then refuse to power on with alkalines...exactly as SS2 describes.)

I still think it's probably something in that power on sequence that's sucking down the battery too much...perhaps a bad electrolytic capacitor.
Some day (maybe early this winter) I'll pull it apart again on the bench and use my ESR capacitance meter on it. Then I'll know for sure.

Of course, even though we have the exact same symptoms, his could have an entirely different problem/cause...

mike

 

[MarkCZ]

They are supposed to low voltage alert @ around 5 volts! So, something is for sure out of wack for it to shut down at 8 volts.

Mark

 

[silverseeker 2]

Thanks to all for your INPUT as I appreciate it from all
you good seasoned hunters. Enjoy all your guys post
and knowledge. Again, THANKS.
silverseeker2