Tandy Discovery2 User manual

TABLE

OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION

Welcome

to the

fascinating

and

rewarding

world

of

Treasure

Hunting!

Now, with

Discovery 2,

you

and

your

whole family

can open

up a whole new world

of

fun

and

excitement

as

you go

prospecting

and beachcombing.

It is said that

almost all

money

lost

or

hidden

in the world has

yet

to be

discovered.

Relics,

jewelry,

silver,

gold...vduables

can be found

just

about any-

wherel You'll

be amazed at what

you

may find

beneath the

ground

where

you

live.

So,

in

the true spirit

of adventure, Happy Treasure

O Tandy

Corpomtion.

All Rights

Reserved.

Radio

Shack is

a

registered

trademark

used by Tandy

Corporation.

ASSEMBLY

The Discovery2 Metal Detector is

easy to assemble and requires no

special

tools.

Follow

these steps to assemble

your

metal detector.

1. Insert

the

lower

stem into the upper stem.

2. Press

the adjustment

button on the

lower

stem as

you push

the

lower stem into

the

upper stem.

The

adjustment button

clicks

into

place

as

it reaches

an adjustment

hole.

Ad-

just

the

stem of the detector to a

length

that

enables

you

to

maintain

a comfortable upright

posture. (You

should be able to

hold

the

detector with

your

arm

relaxed

at

your

side,)

As

you

adjust the

length

of the stem, keep in

mind

that the searchcoil should be approxi-

mately

llz

lo

2 inches

above the

ground.

3. After

you

set

the adjustment,

wind

the

searchcoil cable around

the

stem. Be sure

to

provide

enough slack in the cable to accom-

modate

angle adjustments.

4. Place

the searchcoil

plug (which

does the

detection) into

the

plug

connection at the

base of

the control

housing. Be sure

the

holes

and

pins

line

up correctly.

Push

the

plug

in

untilthe

plug

is

secure.

Caution: Do not force the

plug

or

you

may

damage

it.

Note: When

disassembly is required, remove

the

plug

by

pulling

at the connection

point.

THE

SEARCHCOIL

Adjust

the searchcoil so it is level with

the

ground.

Tighten

the knob at the end

of the sear-

chcoil

to keep

the searchcoil

from

rotating

or

wobbling.

The

searchcoil

is waterproof. You

can

put

it in

fresh

or

saltwater

up to the control

housing.

After

you

use the

searchcoil

in

saltwater,

rinse

it

with

fresh

water

to

prevent

corrosion of the me-

tal

parts.

INSTALLING

THE BATTERIES

Your metal detector requires

two 9-Volt

bat-

teries.

We

recommend

alkaline batteries such

as

Radio

Shack Cat. No. 23-553.

Follow

these steps to

installthe

batteries.

1. Press

the battery compartment

covers

in

the

direction of the arrows.

2.

Snap one battery

into

each of the

terminals.

Place

the batteries inside

the bailery compad-

ments.

3.

Replace

the battery compartment

covers.

Notes:

r

lf

the

Low Battery

indicator flashes momen-

tarily

when

you

turn ofi POWER,

you

know

it is

working

properly

and the batteries

are

good.

'-""tdis

L<

3-*..3

.

lf the Low Battery

indicator lights

and

stays on, replace

the

batteries.

.

Approximately

90% of

metal

detector

problems

are caused

by

weak,

dead or

improperly

connected

batteries. lf

the unit does not

come

on, comes

on but

has weak volume,

will not

tune

properly,

or

has

erratic operation

or drifts, re-

place

the batteries.

.

When

you

install a fresh

set of 9-Volt

alkaline batteries,

keep

track

of

your

operating

time.

After

about

four

or five hours

of

use, switch

the batteries.

Put

the left

battery

into

the right

compartment,

and the right

battery into

the left

compartment. The

audio draws

one battery

down slightly faster

than

the oth-

er, and switching them helps insure

equal drain.

.

You

can extend battery life

by using headphones,

which require

less

power.

.

Remove

the batteries if

you

do not

plan

to use the

detector for

a

week

or

more.

USING

HEADPHONES

Using

headphones with

your

Discovery2

Metal Detector will not

only

increase

the

life of

your

batteries,

it will increase

your

ability to

identify

subtle changes

in

the

threshold tones

for

better detection

results.

To use

headphones with

your

detector,

insert

the

headphones's

1i+-inch

plug

into

the

headphone

jack

located

at the top of the control

housing. Then

proceed

with

your

search.

Hearing

Comfort and

Your Health

To

protect your

hearing,

follow

these

guidelines

when

you

use

headphones.

.

Set the volume to the

lowest

setting before

you

begin

listening. After

you

be-

gin

listening, adjust the

volume

to a comfortable

level.

.

Do not

listen

at extremely

high volume levels. Extended high-volume listening

can

lead

to

permanent

hearing loss.

.

Once

you

set

the volume, do

not

increase

it.

Over time,

your

ears adapt to the

volume level, so a volume level that does

not

cause discomfort

might

still dam-

age

your

hearing.

OPERATION

warning:

Do

not wear headphones

while

operating

your

detector

in

traffic

areas. This

can

create a traffic

hazard.

Even

though

some headphones

are

designed

to let

you

hear

some

outside

sounds when listening

at normal

volume

levels,

they

still

present

a traffic ha-

zard.

HOW

TO

USE YOUR

METAL

DETECTOR

Now

that

your

metal

detector is

assembled,

it's

time to learn how

to use it. The

steps in

this

section

explain

each control

on the

control hous-

ing

and handle,

and how

to use

your

metal

detector. Take

a

moment

to become

familiar

with

the

position

and

use of

the controls

before

using

your

metal

detector.

The Viewmeter

is

located

at

the top of

the con-

trol housing

and measures

the

approximate

depth

of coin-sized

objects, in

inches.

The

Viewmeter

only registers

depth measurements

when

ALL METAL

is

used.

Volumo Control

10

11

Turning

On

Your

Detector

Hold the

detector

in

a

position

comfortable for

you,

then

turn

it

on by

rotating

SETTING to ALL

METAL.

Setting the Controls

The detector is now

set to

ALL METAL. This

set-

ting has the

greatest

detection level

and

has no

discrimination between different types

of

metals.

GROUND adjusts detection balances between

elements normally found in

the

ground

and

me-

tal objects.

Follow

these steps to set GROUND.

1. Rotate VOLUME

two{hirds of the way

toward

MAX.

2. Hold

the searchcoil

at

least waist high

and

ro-

tate GROUND toward NORM.

3. Push and immediately release TUNE.

You

should barely hear

a threshhold tone.

I

t

Adjusting

the Controls

in

the

Field

The

tuning skills

you

will learn while

preparing

your

detector will

be

put

to

good

use during

your

actual search. You will know how

each control works so

you

can

fine-tune

your

detector

quickly.

lf

you

wish

to test the accuracy of

your

tuning at

your

current

location in

the

field,

take a few

samples of different

kinds

of metal with

you.

Note

that some

metals,

when

left exposed

to the elements, become corroded.

So

it is

always

wise

to

carry along a

piece

of corroded metal.

BALAI{CE

12

13

4. Drop

the searchcoil

to within

1/z

inch

of

the

ground.

lf

you

correcily

set

GROUND,

the threshold

tone

should not

change

significantly.

lf it

does

change,

either

gaining

or

losing

tone,

repeat

the steps

above

until

you

find

a

setting where

the sound

does not vary

significantly

when held

from

1/z-inch

to

1-inch

above the

ground.

Note:

Setting

GROUND may

take

a

little

time,

but it is

critical for

accurate

opera-

tion.

when

you

are satisfied

that GRoUND is

set for

peak

performance,

there is no

need

to reset it

until

the detector is

used

at a

different site.

Setting

the Saltwater

Balance

To

balance

the effects

of saltwater,

use

the same

general

procedures

as used

for

ground

balancing,

but slowly rotate

cRouND

toward

sALT

in

step 2

under

"Setting

the Controls."

14

15

Sensitivity

To

get

the

best

results

in

your

detection

efforts,

you

need

to

adjust SENSITIV|TY.

SENStTtVtTy is

used in

the ALL METAL,

DISC,

and PULL

TAB

REJECT

settings.

(See

"Fine

Tuning"

for

infor-

mation

on

the

DISC

and PULL TAB

REJECT

con-

trols.)

To

adjust

the searchcoil's

ability

to detect lower

level

signals, rotate

sENstilvtry in

a clockwise

direction, from Low

to HtcH. For

maximum

performance,

set sENstilvtry

as

high

as

possible.

lf

the detector

makes

a

"chattering"

noise,

decrease

SENSITIVITY

untilthe

"chatter"

stops.

Sweeping

Hints

Keep

the searchcoil

in

a

constant

parallel position

to the

ground

throughout the

sweep.

Move

the searchcoil

slowly from side to side, covering about a 3-foot

area, overlapping

each sweep.

The

threshold

tone should

peak

as

you pass

the

target center.

(Hurrying

will

cause

you

to miss targets.)

Note:

The searchcoil

will not

detect

without motion.

A@

Be

careful

not

to swing

the searchcoil upward at the end of each sweep.

The

swing

up can cause the detector to emit

false

signals.

Keep

the searchcoil

paral-

lel

to the

ground

at all

times but don't touch the

ground.

Hitting

the

ground

may

cause a

false

signal.

16

't7

Detection

Hints

No detector is 100

percent

accurate. Various

conditions

and objects may

ad-

versely

influence metal

detection.

lts reaction

depends on

a

number

of things:

.

the angle at which

the object rests in

the

ground

.

the size

of the object

.

the amount

of

iron in

the

object

It is helpful

to hunt

areas

twice; the second

time,

go

at

right

angles

to the

first

time, making

an

"X"

pattern.

Note:

The

target

will

be

directly beJ.ow

the

"X"

at the

point

of the

loudest

response.

This

allows

you

to detect

some targets

that

were hidden

the first

time due to the

sweep direction. lf

trash in an

area

is

so heavy

that

you

are

getting

false

signals,

slow

your

sweep

speed and use

shorter sweeps.

Notes:

.

A

good

detection

has

a consistent rise

and drop of threshold

tone.

A

poor

detection has irregular highs

and

lows in

threshold

tones.

lf

the metal is in

the

shape of a circle, like a watch

or

loop

of wire, opposite reactions may

occur.

.

There

are

ways

to tell whether

threshold tones are

good

deep signals or trash.

A

good

target

response repeats

as

you

swing the searchcoil over the

suspect-

ed target. Trash-induced

signals tend to not repeat.

.

Recently

buried coins might not respond

the

same as coins buried

for

a long

period

of time.

.

Some nails, nuts,

bolts, and other iron

objects

(such

as old

bottle caps) oxidize

and create

a

halo

effect around these

objects.

A

halo

effect

is

caused by a

mixture

of natural

elements

in

the

ground

and the

oxidization

created by different

metals.

Because

of the

metal

mixtures,

target

signals

may not

be in a

"fixed"

position.

This

effect makes

these objects very

hard

to

reject.

(See

"Fine

Tuning.")

18

19

FINE

TUNING

Once

you

become familiar with

how

your

metal

detector works,

you

can fine-tune

it to be more

selective in what it

finds. You

can make it

tune out undesirable

ob-

jects

and

tune

in

precious

metals.

For

example,

you

can set

it

to distinguish

between iron

and

gold.

With

the

D|SCRIMINATE

and PULL TAB REJECT

SETTTNG

controls,

you

can determine

an even

greater

distinction

between these metals.

Discriminate

DISCRIMINATE

distinguishes

between

junk

and

valuable metal

objects,

and automatically

rejects

nails

and

most

iron. To

adjust D|SCRIM|NATE,

rotate

SETTING to DISC. Then.

rotate DISCRIM-

INATE from

LOW

to

HlcH.

As

you

rotate

DISCRIMINATE

in

a clockwise

direction, the

detector

progressively

rejects

other iron, foil,

nickels,

pennies

and dimes. The range

from

LOW

to

HlcH

changes the frequency

of

your

detector, which

allows the

detector to reject

these metals.

The higher

you

tune

DISCRIMINATE,

the higher is

the

possibility

that a tiny

piece

of

precious

metal might

also

go

undetected.

Don't

adjust DISCRIMINATE

so

high

that small valuable

pieces

are

overlooked.

Note: Because

ground

elements affect

detection,

wait

until

you

are

in

the field to

decide the degree of discrimination

you

wish to

use.

Each

expedition

presents

new

challenges.

Pull Tab Reject

Setting

The PULL TAB REJECT

setting automatically re-

jects

most iron

and smallfoil.

Since

many

types of

gold

are

rejected

along with

nickel, it is

often desirable to eliminate

pull

tabs

without rejecting nickels. To

adjust

PULL

TAB

REJECT, Totate

SETTING to PULL TAB REJECT.

Then

adjust SENSlTlvlTY.

(See

"Sensitivity.")

The

SENSITIVITY adjustments

let

you

block

out

the

more

erratic signals of

junk

metal.

Notes:

.

You will need

to determine the

DISCRIMINATE

and

PULL TAB REJECT

SETTING

levels

that

work

best

for

each

individual

site.

.

Although

pull

tabs or tab

pieces

have nearly the same

detection

properties

as

nickels

and some

gold

rings, there will be differences that

only time

and ex-

perience

with

your

detector

will

uncover.

.

lf

you

have detection

problems,

see

"Setting

the Controls" and

follow

the

steps for

setting GROUND.

lf

you

still have

problems

and

feel

your

detector

may need

service, contact

your

local Radio Shack store for

assistance.

TONE

VARIATIONS

Three

Tone ATI ldentification

The Discovery2 Auto Target ldentification

(ATl)

system automatically classifies

detected metal

objects

into

three audio

(sound)

categories. When operating in

the DISC

or

PULL TAB REJECT

SETTINGS, detected targets sound three distinct

tone identifications, low, medium

and

high, for

quick

and easy classification of

the detected metal.

21

Resoonse

Lry

Threshold

Tones

rone

The

threshold

tone

may vary

slightly

while

you

search

due to soil changes. This

does not

usually

affect the sensitivity

of the

unit and should not require

further

adjustment.

lf

the threshold

tone changes significantly,

you

might

need

to

readjust

GROUND.

Sometimes

the

change

in

threshold

tone is

due to

reasons

other than

ground

conditions

and

can be easily

corrected by

a simple

procedure.

Raise

the

searchcoil

one

foot from

the

ground

and

push

TUNE.

Lower

the searchcoil

to the

ground

again. lf

this does not

correct

the

problem,

repeat

the full

procedure

to

set GROUND.

(See

"Setting

the Controls.") lf

you

continue to have

problems,

contact

your

local Radio

Shack store for

assistance.

22

23

CARE

AND

MAINTENANCE

Your

Discovery2 Metal

Detector is

an

example of

superior'design

and craftsman-

ship. The following

suggestions will

help

you

care for

your

metal

detector

so

you

can

enjoy it for

years.

Handle

the

metaldetector

gently

and carefully.

Dropping

it can

dam-

age circuit boards

and cases and

can cause

the metal

detector to

work

improperly.

Use and

store the metal

detector

only

in

normal

temperature

en-

vironments.

Temperature

extremes

can shorten

the

life

of electronic

devices

and distort

or

melt

plastic parts.

Keep

the metal

detector

away

from

dust and

dirt,

which

can

cause

premature

wear

of

parts.

Wipe

the metal

detector with

a damp cloth

occasionally

to

keep

it

looking

new.

Do not

use harsh

chemicals,

cleaning

solvents, or

strong

detergents

to clean the metal

detector.

@

Tandy Discovery2 User manual

Tandy Discovery2 User manual

Other documents