What was detecting like 50 years ago??? I just found out....

[Slingshot]

I started in 65 with a Fisher M-scope BFO and ditched it in 76 for a TR. The pull-tab is what really killed the BFO's as they increased mightly in number from the few of the 60's to the many of the 70's. I still keep a working BFO in my stable as sometimes they are the correct machine to use, even in 2020. They will discriminate iron by tone as it is a low tone sound, and you want a slow motorboat beat to be able to discriminate by tone. Your unit may need a tune-up as some component, like maybe a capacitor, is on it's last legs as that fast whirring is too high of an oscillation, and needs to be slowed down. My old Whites BFO I have now has a compression capacitor where the cable comes into the control box. It has a flathead screw that I have to turn when I change coil sizes. Your unit might be tuned for the big coil in the picture, and adjusting for the smaller coil on the unit could be a fix. Good luck with the BFO, and I hope you find something spectacular with it!

 

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[gunsil]

I always ran a pretty high buzz when machine was new. BFOs get better penetration with higher frequency which equals gain on other machines. I guarantee you get better depth the higher you turn up the buzz but some can't take the noise. I hardly ever take the BFO out since I got into Minelabs some years back. Nothing wrong with my old Garrett, coils toggle back and forth just fine with the switch. Maybe you are unfamiliar with the Garrett dual coil system. Capacitors do go bad on them, two friends have had to have theirs replaced but mine still works and it is fifty years old next month. I have only had to repair one battery connection.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Awesome trip down memory lane!

 

[gunsil]

A funny thing about those old Garrett Master Hunter BFOs, they would sometimes pick up police transmissions which you could hear clearly in your headphones. More than once while detecting school yards (never a problem back then) I would hear a call go out to a patrol car that there was strange activity going on at the school where I was hunting. Then I'd hear a radio car reply "on the way" and sure enough they'd show up and ask what the heck those machines were. They'd usually watch while one of us dug a target and walk off wishing us good luck. Then we'd hear "just some oddballs looking for change with some kind of electronic machine" as the radio car reported back. I had given one to my girlfriend and after the first summer one of my buddies got one and we all heard police radios occasionally. Maybe it was because we ran a higher beat frequency than most people (buzz rather than put-put). Any of you other dinosaurs who used BFOs pick up police transmissions?

 

[spyguy]

I was attempting to test out the 24" X 12" coil several days back when the wire popped loose from the spring coil. I tried to feed it back through and solder it, but now there's no sound coming from the machine at all. This may spell curtains for the old girl after the single outing you read about above....

Your stories have convinced me: The 1970's was indeed a 'Golden Era' of metal detecting. I'm also convinced that what we need isn't more and better metal detectors, but the ability to travel back in time to better places to use them. Just imagine the possibilities here.... Personally, I think my first stop would be back to the era of Jesse James and the Wild Bunch. After making my first $20 gold coin find I wouldn't bother dragging it back here to the present to make banner on T-net. Because if traveling back in time with our detectors was possible the banner finds here on T-net would break the internet. No, I'd head into the nearest saloon for a couple of cold ones. After that, I'd head for the best brothel in town. Whatever was left I'd spend foolishly.
HH
-spyguy