MD-3010ii

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BigSam

Samuel
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Jan 2, 2014
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So I got this MD 3010 ii for cheap and am cruising the parks digging up everything I detect (using until I can afford a decent detector).
I got tired of the bottle caps and pull tabs so I decided to use the discriminate function.

Here the problem, I can eliminate the pull tabs and bottle tops but then it won't detect silver coins....
Can I do anything about it or is it just because it's a cheap detector?

Any help will be greatly appreciated!
BigSam
 
Unfortunately sometimes you have to dig most targets if you are chasing after certain metals like gold and silver, maybe with just iron and foil notched or discriminated out. Although I would have thought silver would be a lot higher in the range than pull tabs, but things like the depth of the target, soil type, and orientation of the target can also prove troublesome for accurate discrimination on some detectors.

Another thing to remember is that a lot of detectors are set up to dicriminate out the old style pull tabs, not the modern ones that are meant to stay attached to the cans - damn those things! Some detectors may also be calibrated differently with regards to discrimination out targets, not to say you have a bad machine, just might take a bit more fiddling around with the settings.

If I were looking for gold or silver items, I think that I would put up with digging pull tabs, at least iron and more annoying items like bits of foil will still be discriminated out. If you don't dig all pull tab targets, I reckon you may be missing out on some good finds. :)
 
Hi,

Not familiar with that machine.

If its got a discriminator start testing it and block out the pull tabs but you will also block out the rings.

Screw caps are nasty and most machines simply love them.

Joe
 
G'day guys and gals,
I own and md 3010ii cheap detector, and I went out last night in the park and was having dramas finding actual targets, Ive used it many times before and this has basically only ever happened on the beach but no where near as bad,
I was swinging away low and slow (not touching the ground tho) and it was chirping off its guts, I would then go to pin point the "target" and it would give it usual sound but it was giving it everywhere on the ground, I lifted the coil 1m in the air and still on a full strength pin point, I had the sensitivity set on 2/8 also, played around a bit but still no luck,
Only thing I can think of is because the ground was wet, could this be the problem?
It has a waterproof coil also,

I tested it on a coin on the same ground and it was fine but when in the bark of the playground and on the wet grass it would start carrying on again.
It has nothing in the Manual about it only says that if giving false reading turn sensitivity right down and try again...

So basically was wondering if the wet grass and bark on the playgrounds effect metal detectors,
Thanks guys..
Sam
 
Wet grass can have an effect on some detectors / coil configurations, especially if if the grass is quite long. The first thing I'd be doing though is changing the batteries (with new quality batteries) and checking over the connections. Also check the manual for a reset function and let us know how you get on with it.

A last minute thought before I hit the submit button, you weren't by any chance wearing steel capped boots?
 
G'day nugget, thanks for the suggestions, I will change battery's and give it a good look at before hitting the park tonight, and no I was not wearing steelies just me pluggers, I'll report back afterwards,
Thanks again nugget
 
No worries. I've seen a few reports of detectors playing up when using cheap and nasty batteries from bargain shops etc, a simple fix if that is the problem.
 
Nugget, looks like it was the coil cable (half undone) up into the control box, this detectors cable runs up the centre of the shaft so had to pull it apart a bit, I'm thinking that with a fast swift movement it was touching the inside of the shaft giving false readings! Will wrap in sparky tape tomorrow for added precaution.
20min at the park got a $2,$1,5c and a 1c ohh and 3 pull tabs!
Many thanks for the advice again Nugget!
 
I got a pile of cheap AA batteries from a supermarket on special, $1.99 per 10 pack. They worked fine in wet sand for about maybe 2 hours in my White's GMZ, then I got very similar false readings to what you describe. Changed over to rechargeable Duracell's, problem solvered.
 
Today walking past a second hand shop something caught my eye....leaning through the doorway I had a clearer vision... the shape I saw was a shape I could not ignore... overpowered by a reaching arm I grasp, then clasped it in my hand... unfamiliar to me it was.... but when I saw the price tag I knew it was destined to be mine.
Casting my eye along its length no blemish could be seen .. a protective coat was still on its screen .. It had a familiar shape but lived by the name of MD-3010ii.

At home this afternoon I powered it up..played with a few of its control buttons...all seemed to function well... but the test will be to see what it can do!!

Ive been wanting a cheap little unit, just for fun, beside the sea... at $45 would you have walked past it ?

As soon as I can have a bit of a play with it I will leave a post.
 
I got a jaycar detector for $60 at xmas time last year. hadn't been hunting for 8 months since I had the m/l 305. has a ground balance/tune set up, descrim. and a vu target meter, adjustable threshold,and volume control. was ok for 2 months then it wouldn't pick up targets. took it back got a replacement under the one year warranty.
again, about 3 months and the tune/ground bal. goes out, no targets. jeeez. could take it back again, but won't bother.
good when they work. about 4 inch depth, quite accurate on targets. the meter shows conductivity and good as a pin pointer as it changes with movement. prob. 20 hours a week use with both of them. had a look inside the coil, it has a circuit board in there and the control housing electronics look quite substantial. reliability is the issue. same as the ebay $ 59 specials.
 
Great score for $45!
It is a great coin and jewellery machine, I've put a good 40 hours into it and it has rewarded me well, payed for itself many times over. 40 hours later and I'm only just starting to know what it's telling me, I have dug everything in this time and these are the settings that get the coins (see photo) both decimal and pre decimal (copper and silver), jewellery (gold and silver) will show up in the first descrimination that is "un checked" in the photo below, and the 1 and 2c peices will bounce between the 1st and 2nd, pre decimal copper coins seem to stay in the 1st notch, but can bounce between depending on the way it's laying I guess, it's response time in not spot on so you many want to pin point once you hit a signal to know exactly where it is and then scan it again to identify it, usually a 1sec delay. But if swinging quite fast to cover a lot of ground that can equate to 1+m.
Let me know if you have dramas with it, if it gives false signals just turn the sensitivity down ;)
1404459060_image.jpg
 
G'day BigSam,
great hearing from you, I was informed that you also had a MD 3010ii and its great getting your feedback about the detector, I am still waiting to take mine out on a stroll, when that will be I am unsure as my current time is being spent getting ready for another trip towards Dunolly next week for a fortnight.

G'day to you too Gcause ... I hear what you say about the MD-3010 and Garretts ACE 250... I would have to disagree about MD being a copy of the 250 there are vague similarities only.
 
The backlit screen is a bloody good idea, pity they didn't have enough nouse to fit such a feature on the Ace. What's battery life on yours Bigsam, just wondering how much power the screen uses?
 
Hi Goldpick, saw your question to BigSam but thought I would add a note.. backlights are great in the dark if you prospect after dark like two guys I run into once at Tiboobarra, their philosophy was "the only gold left was in the places you can't go".... hence their detecting by moonlight in off limit National Parks.
The down side to any back lighting is a greater power drain over non backlite products. Additionally by my opinion any screen, digital or analog is a pain in the butt if it needs to be viewed while detecting, the greatest asset to any detector is good variations in tones or even a pitch vibrator.

One of the most unusal modifications I have seen was similar to a sun visor that had rib of LED's that illuminated a intenseness accordingly to the object under the coil.

Cheers Peter.
 
I'm not really partial to screens myself, I am a bit of a tone man too. I pretty much never look at the screen of the Ace, just to check initial settings and to check that I hadn't accidently notched something out. Most of my detecting is at night, so I've learnt to go on just tones, also like to keep my nightvision.

Had a Whites Coinmaster GT, its screen was pretty bright and also sucked the juice, hence it stayed off most of the time.

As it is, the Ace will last over week for me on one set of batteries, it's extremely frugal.

Still, to include that feature on a cheapy is pretty good, most backlit screens are usually set aside for premium models.
 
Goldpick ... Great to hear your feedback, as soon as I put some info together about the pro's and cons of the MD3010 I'll post them ... in saying that I wish one day we could as a club organise a meeting place where we have set up a test bed, then under test conditions compile a comparitive data sheet, where manufacturer verse manufacturer and even test a few machines of the same make against each other.
So many dodgee tests out there that you don't know what to believe so it would be good to have a test bed.

Cheers Peter
 
Dreamwalking said:
G'day BigSam,
great hearing from you, I was informed that you also had a MD 3010ii and its great getting your feedback about the detector, I am still waiting to take mine out on a stroll, when that will be I am unsure as my current time is being spent getting ready for another trip towards Dunolly next week for a fortnight.

G'day to you too Gcause ... I hear what you say about the MD-3010 and Garretts ACE 250... I would have to disagree about MD being a copy of the 250 there are vague similarities only.
Hey Dreamwalking,

The China Ace-250 is what the MD-3010 is commonly referred to as on all the metal detecting forums I have been on.

Here's a good example which has some good photos of it and it's technical specs:

http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=96543

Hope it does well for you, by all accounts it's a great beach and park detector. :D

Cheers,

Grant
 

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