1980s Treasure Hunter Phantom

[Joe(TX)]

FYI: Richard Ray died earlier this year!

 

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[TXPIRATE]

RIP Mr.Ray

 

[KRay1026]

Yes we lost my grandfather last year. It was very sad to see him go. I hope to one day be an amazing treasure hunter like he was! RIP grandpa!

 

[Willgcm]

Questions

I recently bought one of the treasure hunter phantom metal detectors made by Richard ray the 1980s. Is there a owners manual for these or would you happen to know how it works?? Please contact me by email at [email protected]. Thank you for your time

 

[NO Saint]

I have a Phanton Treasure Hunter that I recently bought at an auction. This being my first plunge into metal detectors, I thought I would try my hand at it.

I didn't know anything about the Phantom when I got, but it seems to be a kind of rare item. It doesn't work and from what I can see right off is one of the leads to the battery has come off. Ther may be other issues with it that are beyond my capabilities.

 

[Madcat7]

I just found this site through searching about this Treasure Hunter metal detector. I bought my Phantom in the 1980's from Richard at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, where he had a booth selling them one year. He gave me some instructions and a demo of how to use it, along with a cassette tape with instructions on how to set to discriminate different types of metals and what tones it makes for each.

I used it for many years with some successful finds. My favorite was finding an old Timex watch near downtown Houston. It was about six inches deep & when I dug it up & winded it up, it still worked! I always thought about sending the story to Timex for their "Takes a Licking but Keeps on Ticking" ad campaign, but never did. I used the Phantom for several years until I took it to the beach & one of the potentiometers seized up afterwards from exposure to the salt air.

I still have the Phantom, manual and instruction cassette & after seeing how great it was compared to what is available now at a reasonable price, I want to repair it. Also, after seeing all of the praise folks have given it, I really want to get it functional again. Now that Richard is gone (RIP sir) along with his business, the "lifetime warranty" no longer exists, but I was planning on repairing it myself anyway, if possible.

If anyone knows of a good place to take it around the Houston area in the event that it needs repair beyond the potentiometer replacement, please let me know. Thanks & Happy Hunting!