My wife and I each have a Time Ranger. I've redone the battery clips, very cheaply made, and also installed a metal coil plug to replace the cheap plastic one that went bad. So, yes for 500+, they could at least spend some of the profits on better hardware.
But, we've had no other problems and don't baby the units. One important thing to note is the detector has "soft power on" which means at least a part of the circuit is always "on" and waiting for you to press power. I verified that with a multimeter in series with the batteries. So we remove one side of each battery clip and swing it aside to totally disable the power. Otherwise, it's enough to drain the batteries in a few week's time.
Each battery does its own thing in the circuit. One runs processing, the second runs the audio amp at least, maybe more. It won't work with only one installed, like my Gold Bug 1 will. If either is weak, it may sorta work, but misbehave. The audio battery runs down faster, so it's good to swap them from one side to the other after awhile. Doing that may get you a little more hunt time if one battery is weaker than the other.
If it turns on and shuts right down, yup, check your batteries. Not kidding this time!
We've had them long enough now that I could just add a switch and then we'd save a lot of wear and tear on the clips. I added a volume control to mine, which is nice in quiet neighborhoods and also saves on batteries.
I've read the newer TR that uses C-cell batteries cured a lot of the power issues.
The TR has fast response to a signal. For fun on the way back to the car, I have gone at full stride and swinging fast and wide, it'll still catch a signal. I've also whip-tested it to see how fast I can pass the coil over one spot and catch a target I know is there. It's faster than you'll ever care to swing.
Normally, though, I'm pretty slow and thorough. At one playground, I followed my wife, who tends to go on cruise a lot, and found several quarters she missed and a ring. In her case, it's more of taking too wide a step between sweeps and missing ground. Plus she doesn't hunt enough to recall the fine points of operating it.
I've read the T-2 is fast also, with separate circuits for VDI and audio, so the audio is not lagged by id functions. For all I know, the TR already has that feature. I want a T-2, but it's just too much money for the little hunting time we put in.
While you could operate a detector on tiny batteries, they wouldn't last long. They are pumping as many milliwatts as the FFC will allow into their coils. That is a major limiting factor for power and depth, since detectors are treated as radio transmitters by the FCC and restricted as to maximum power output, and it ain't much, baby. About the same as the old cordles phones, RC airplanes and kid's walkie-talkies, around 150-300 milliwatt.
Maybe those of us in the far-away spots could make like a Pirate CB-er and add a little "footwarmer" to our coils!
-Ed
Monty
