C SCOPE VLF770 DETECTOR

[john williams]

I have a VLF770 detector come discriminator which I would like it to be more sensitive to finding gold or silver is this possible.Does anyone have a diagram for this model.I bought this when I was 11 or 12 years of age im now 45 it has been stored away for years but only recently have decided to take up the hobby again.My wife says im an anorak and I should get a life, ive told her im going to buy her her new dream home in the Florida sun like the Villa we hired out at Davenport in Florida last year.She says yea yea yea dream on, well we all never know do we look at the Guy who lives a stone throw from me Terry Herbert he is now 1.6million pound richer so is his mate Fred Johnson it worked for him it could work for me to but first I must modify my detector so come on guys help me out I promise I will buy you all some beer when ive found the gold.

[Cyclonite]

Hi john,

Well then don't be such an anorak, and get into gear to a new and exiting hobby of treasure hunting. No insult intended, but you ought to synchronize with time man, and beef-up to a more modern, and better metal detector. One day you may find yourself standing over that long craved treasure, and your VLF770 metal detector telling you; nope john. there's nothing here. Lucky for you that you will never know what you had just stepped over, and mist out on. Unless someone (maybe even someone who you don't even like very much) with a more up-to-date detector, finds a treasure on exactly the same spot where you stood with your antique VLF770. Buying a cheap gun, may do the job for you then



Now I am no expert in this field, but there are many members here who can give you excellent advice on which metal detector to buy or build, that would suit your needs best. Someone I know, just recently bought a MineLab metal detector for $450, and already had a handful of 17th century coins to show me. He had gone hunting with someone who knew just the right spots to search in.

Antique VLF770 Metal Detector for Sale! (with small Chinaman inside!)



C-SCOPE VLF770 METAL DETECTOR for £85:
http://www.wightbay.com/XCClassified...asp?ID=2037278

C Scope VLF.TR 770 D Metal Detector for only £35.50:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/C-Scope-VLF-TR...-/370341166359

Regards,

Robert

[Qiaozhi]

I have a VLF770 detector come discriminator which I would like it to be more sensitive to finding gold or silver is this possible.Does anyone have a diagram for this model.I bought this when I was 11 or 12 years of age im now 45 it has been stored away for years but only recently have decided to take up the hobby again.My wife says im an anorak and I should get a life, ive told her im going to buy her her new dream home in the Florida sun like the Villa we hired out at Davenport in Florida last year.She says yea yea yea dream on, well we all never know do we look at the Guy who lives a stone throw from me Terry Herbert he is now 1.6million pound richer so is his mate Fred Johnson it worked for him it could work for me to but first I must modify my detector so come on guys help me out I promise I will buy you all some beer when ive found the gold.

In the documentary of the Saxon Hoard, the farmer said he had told Terry that two other detectorists had been over the field just recently, and found nothing. Luckily, he decided to carry on anyway.

I agree with Cyclonite ... get a better detector.
As you live in Birmingham, I would suggest paying a visit to Regton (http://www.regton.com/) who have a large range of new and secondhand detectors.

[technos]

I have a VLF770 detector come discriminator which I would like it to be more sensitive to finding gold or silver is this possible.Does anyone have a diagram for this model.I bought this when I was 11 or 12 years of age im now 45 it has been stored away for years but only recently have decided to take up the hobby again.My wife says im an anorak and I should get a life, ive told her im going to buy her her new dream home in the Florida sun like the Villa we hired out at Davenport in Florida last year.She says yea yea yea dream on, well we all never know do we look at the Guy who lives a stone throw from me Terry Herbert he is now 1.6million pound richer so is his mate Fred Johnson it worked for him it could work for me to but first I must modify my detector so come on guys help me out I promise I will buy you all some beer when ive found the gold.

First John, you and I are in the same boat, though I did not start with the same detector, we started at the same age! You were fortunate to find a VLF back then, as most everything a kid could get his hands at that time was an BFO unit (what I had). Even the very simplest of the VLF machines can beat many of those early BFOs.

I politely disagree with cylconite on this one though - You can make very good finds with this detector;
http://www.csmetaldetectors.com/repo...elticMount.pdf
Though the VLF2000 is more advanced, your machine has much the same capability except for the ground balance.

The interesting thing about the Terry Herbert find is that it was not really the quality of his machine. The fact is there was so much of that hoard that *any* BFO could have found that treasure. I hope you got to see the National Geographic special. It was very enlightening, and tells you a bit about Terry's success.

I happen to own that very same detector Terry Herbert used to find that treasure. I also have a box filled with "gold finds" - except that it really is filled with rather rusty tin cans - that the detector "falsed" on. But there is a very common themes for those that find treasure, and I have read about a number of them. And if you look carefully, you will find out what they are;

1. They know their machines. Terry managed to program his machine to the point where he could tell the difference between a gold signal and a silver signal. No small feat, and probably only one of a few spectrum owners that could do so. But this applies to any detector. They can recognize that "faint" signal for what it is. However, it should be noted that it is not really necessary to be able to tell the difference between gold and silver, as they are both high value targets that you would dig. For Terry's find, the thing that may have mattered is discrimination against iron targets, such as nails - if he was using any discrimination.
2. Corollary to #1 - they forget the meter. Most always good finds are found by sound, not what the meter may/may not say. So much so that some brands don't even have a meter. They are in most instances, over-rated.
3. They use very little discrimination, if any. It must be remembered what discrimination should be used for, and that is very difficult environments that have a lot of trash. It should not be used so much to knock out all trash, because then you might be missing high value targets. The interesting thing about the Terry Herbert find is that there had been other detectorists in farmer Fred's field. Which can only mean that they did not know their machines and used too much discrimination that they missed the hoard before Terry.
4. A corollary to #3 is that those that find a lot, dig a lot. Many of them dig everything. Real treasure hunting can be very hard work. In this case you wouldn't need more discrimination than your machine already has!
5. This is bit of a generalization, but I think it carries some weight for various reasons. Many people who have had good success with detectors got their machines used, specifically are second owners. Part of it may be that they aren't distracted by the new OOB (out of box) experience to the point that they aren't paying attention to what they are looking for and they tend to not get disappointed so readily. Either in their machine or what they are finding or not finding. And part of this will be that they would not have spent as much on that machine.

There are a couple of other things, but as they relate to machines, these are the most important.

In case you lost it here is a manual for your machine;
http://www.csmetaldetectors.com/repo...ual/770man.pdf

However I could not find a schematic for your machine, and there may not be one available, which would prevent most of us here recommending possible modifications that would actually work. That said, I wonder what would be gained from it in your situation anyway - outside of decent ground balance. But the push button tuning on your machine may ameliorate that a bit anyway. Also, following what I listed above, I suggest finding an inexpensive silver coin in a coin shop and burying that at different depths along with trash and nails to see how far down your machine will go and what those things sound like.

I do think that you are on the right track on keeping costs down (i.g. modifying your machine) rather than buying, and it's wise to make a detector pay for itself which can be very difficult for the expensive machines. But I do not suggest modifying this one, as without a circuit (and careful analysis) you possibly could do more harm than good.

I'm quite sure there are a number of us who are interested in this 70's era VLF machine, and there are a couple of wonderful techs on here who can pull out a schematic from it. So if you did decide to upgrade perhaps you could send it to one of us (like Ivconic - if he is willing). Perhaps you can find enough in the ground with this machine that you could use that to upgrade to something better! Maybe there is someone on here that would trade you for something else more to your liking. I looked at the honorable Qiazho's link and I did not see an inexpensive detector there! You may have better luck on ebay or other classified.

I have always wanted to come visit that wonderful town of yours, Birmingham, where I believe there is that art gallery with the Pre-Raphaelites? Perhaps I could come visit and help you find that hoard. I think you should hold on to that dream, as you would not need to find as much as Terry did to be able to buy a small villa in Florida! I hope you stay in touch on the boards and let us know how it goes with your searching, you are very fortunate to live so close to so much history!

[ApBerg]

… a simple cheap detector out in the field, finds more then an expensive one in the barn…

Have fun in what you are doing …
Best regards
Ap

[Cyclonite]

First John, you and I are in the same boat, though I did not start with the same detector, we started at the same age! You were fortunate to find a VLF back then, as most everything a kid could get his hands at that time was an BFO unit (what I had). Even the very simplest of the VLF machines can beat many of those early BFOs.

I politely disagree with cylconite on this one though - You can make very good finds with this detector;
http://www.csmetaldetectors.com/repo...elticMount.pdf
Though the VLF2000 is more advanced, your machine has much the same capability except for the ground balance. ...

Those who can work with this machine, are likely to be miles ahead of those who can't work with an even far more sophisticated machine. And I very much agree with you @technos, for the price of a machine dose not at all have to correlate with success ratio. John would probably find much more in his historically rich surroundings, than others will with much more sophisticated machines in historically poor surroundings.

Besides that, I should be the last to comment on old stuff, for I love working with old equipment, and then getting the most out of things. It just somehow gives me that little extra push in satisfaction. Too often have I seen those with too much money bragging about there new stuff, which they don't even know how to use, let alone enjoy. They buy status with there money, and so they think, only to find out later that they are unable match up to those of us who have mastered the tight-rope-walk by using far less sophisticated machinery in doing so. John will probably have many enjoyable hours by using this machine. It will take him back in time to when he was that little 11-12 year old boy, and with exactly the same machine too. Now, who would want to miss out on this one, just for old time sakes, ... I certainly would not!

John, please keep us posted, for there will be many more here who would like to read about your adventures.

Happy hunting!

Regards,

Robert

[Qiaozhi]

I looked at the honorable Qiazho's link and I did not see an inexpensive detector there! You may have better luck on ebay or other classified.

The CScope 770Bs tend to fetch a good price on eBay, although I fail to see the reason. Firstly, it is a T/R type detector with all the usual ground effect problems, such as having to keep the search coil level with the ground, which is very difficult to achieve in a ploughed field. Secondly, it has the old style of detector shaft, without an arm cup, that makes it very unwieldy.

Regarding Regtons ... I don't think they show their whole range of secondhand detectors on the website. They are located in the north of Birmingham and are well worth a visit. But be aware that they are a Garrett dealer, and will tend to push you in that direction. There's nothing wrong with Garrett - in fact, I have a GTAx1000 in my collection - but you should decide for yourself what suits you best. As Technos quite rightly says, the meter is not really necessary to make good finds, it's just provides additional information to help you decide whether to dig or not. If in doubt ... dig!

Also, be careful with eBay. There's a lot of cheap rubbish advertised there, pretending to be the latest and greatest technology, when in fact they are modified copies of older detectors.

[technos]

The CScope 770Bs tend to fetch a good price on eBay, although I fail to see the reason.

I think they pay far a lot things in the UK more than elsewhere because they are on an island! That said, many consider cscope a good name.

such as having to keep the search coil level with the ground, which is very difficult to achieve in a ploughed field.

While this detector may be more sensitive to uneven ground than one that adjusts for ground effect, a sloppy swing can affect any detectorist. I think the most well known for this would be the "meteorite men."
http://science.discovery.com/tv/meteorite-men/

Perhaps because they are chasing meteorites on the surface it is not so critical. But I do know that some detectorists swing their machines so wildly about that they might as well stay in the car and wave at their treasure in the field from the car! I can't help but wonder if the other prior dectectorists in farmer Fred's field was guilty of this as well! I liked how the CScope manual (posted above) pointed this out, along with an interesting criss-cross search pattern to (re)cover areas that might normally be missed in detector search pattern.

Secondly, it has the old style of detector shaft, without an arm cup, that makes it very unwieldy.

I think you touched upon the one area where John might could make a useful (and effective) modification if he was so inclined. He might could convert this unit to either a hip mount or have it on a shoulder sling, and change the upper part of the shaft possibly with an arm cup. I believe Terry Herbert's machine was converted to a hip mount too (Whites sold a kit for this). He might would need to splice on a length of cable to extend the length of the coil cord. This could be very effective in preventing fatigue and hence a sloppy swing that loses targets.

There's a lot of cheap rubbish advertised there, pretending to be the latest and greatest technology, when in fact they are modified copies of older detectors.

Especially detectors that are variations upon that MD3006 Chinese board that some of us like to talk about every so often!

[Sean_Goddard]

Hmmmm Regton, NO.. Avoid like the plague..

Give the DESERVED business to someone like Detecnicks. IMHO FAR better service and you'll get a better deal, after all SOMEONE has to pay for all the advertising Regton do AND the business rates on their "Largest showroom in UK".. Erm...that would be THEIR CUSTOMERS then.

15 Years ago I WOULD have advised Regton, but now.. I'd rather drown in pig s@*t!

There's a guy on eBay selling CS3MX's at silly prices. His eBay ID is "siliquaesid". A friend of mine bought one and got a FREE Sherlock probe, Mini spade AND headphones thrown in FREE, though another also bought and just got the basic machine. Looks like he throws them in (sometimes) as a surprise for good customers.

[maddogchilli]

i love my 770d ive got a WHITES TR-2D 'DOUBLET' coil on mine. and i modified it so its all metal all the time so no gubbings for the discrim dial as i removed it it made it to unstable and disconected the needle gauge. i turn it up so theres a faint threshold tone and away to go. its mega deep ill tell ya iv had hammered with it and medievil spindle whorls too. i love my 770d.

[john williams]

770

Thanks for your reply to the 770 thread but I have since purchased three metal detectors the last one being is where I will stop for a while this being a minelab SE PRO and I considered it would take some getting used to because it uses multi frequency tones and we all know that various ferrous and non ferrous metals work differently depending on frequencies they are hit with.I always wondered as to how they managed to work the minelab with using different frequencies then the answer came like a bat out of hell.What Minelab do is simple really forget the processor control but look at the basic design of the oscillator stage, on most metal detector design such as CScope types the coil was an integral part of the oscillator without the coil it would just sit and do nothing.However supprisingly it was very stable well on the minlab design it uses an oscillator stage that has multi transmit references from one chip and because it transmits all these down one coil assembly bingo.The main super idea about this is also that it remains stable with no drift from the oscillator because it is a stable processor, and do I love it of course I do.

[satdaveuk]

VLF 990D

Hi
I have the 990D and it works as good as the day I had it, still take it out now and then, they work better than they look

Dave