Bounty Hunter Pioneer 202 Metal Detector
Personal Notes On The Bounty Hunter Pioneer 202
I started out reading the Pioneer 202 owner's manual several times (cover to cover) in order to learn proper use of this equipment as well as avoiding the frustrations other users had dealt with. To make sure I was familiar with basic operation, I placed the unit on my counter top and began doing some testing with it, as suggested in the manual (most Bounty Hunter detectors follow a similar testing procedure).
The search depth is controlled by the Sensitivity knob. With sensitivity set on max, you're able to locate items deeper than 10 inches -- if you're making making effective use of the headphones,
The Bounty Hunter Pioneer 202 does not register unstable noise or oscillations. When turned ON initially... it will default to it's ALL METAL mode (two beeps) without any filters being enabled. When you use this mode you'll be able to detect all kinds of metals - treasure or trash.
Bounty Hunter Pioneer 202 Discrimination Settings
If your goal is finding coins and other valuables, the best setting for you is NOTCH (three beeps). NOTCH will enable a filter that will suppress iron, but nothing else, if you set the DISCRIMINATION knob all the way counter clockwise.
If you want to create more suppression of trash, like pull-tabs, ensure to turn the DISCRIMINATION knob clockwise until you can wave trash in front of the search coil until it fails to detect the pull-tab.
I discovered when I set the DISCRIMINATION knob to the 1 o'clock position it worked terrific for ignoring most trash type items, and still focused on finding any and all coins. Keep in mind the DISCRIMINATION knob acts as a variable suppression filter, so -- for quality metal detecting finds -- less is definitely better.
Pioneer 202 Field Results
I made my first test run with it on a church playground nearby, and came up with 2 nickels, 3 dimes, and 5 pennies in just 45 minutes. Once I figured out how the depth indicator actually works, I discovered it's a very accurate metal detector.
However, the manual doesn't talk about how to read the depth gauge accurately. An example would be a coin shown as 6" deep means you need to factor in how far the search coil is above the surface of the dirt For example, if the coil is 2" above the soil, you will have to dig 4" to find the treasure.
If you pay attention and follow the directions given in the manual, the Bounty Hunter Pioneer 202 detector does a terrific job at pinpointing a location.
Remember: it's the center of the search coil that's acts as the area of the bulls eye. When you want to pinpoint the item's location you'll want to move that search coil slowly from left to right, shortening your swing each time till the target is center point.
Next you'll want to move to a 90 degree angle to the target area and keep repeating the process to find the center again. Then you'll just dig to the depth it shows, less the distance between the ground and the search coil, to find the treasure.
Conclusions
I can honestly say I'm happy with both the unit and the price I paid for it. It has definitely exceeded all my expectations AND didn't blow my budget!
You'll be thrilled with the regular accuracy and performance of the Pioneer 202 if you'll just take the time to familiarize yourself with how it operates and follow the directions.
I would not recommend the Pioneer 202 as a children's detector due to the necessary attention to detail... however, if you've "been around the block" several times, you cannot go wrong.
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