prohunter test

Discovery Treasure Baron Field-Test

Notes & Comments

by Joe Patrick

After more than a year of seeing and hearing about Discovery Electronics modular Treasure Baron detector, I finally held one in my hands. I had heard pros & cons about it from many of my friends and associates and I had wondered about its performance myself...at last, it was now my turn to check one out--a week earlier Ron Shearer of Discover Electronics phoned to inform me that a Treasure Baron was on the way to me and asked if I could give it a "workout".

My initial reaction, on first examination of the Treasure Baron, was "this detector is built like a tank!" Its rugged, heavy-constructed, die-cast metal control housing is solid--although it does increase the overall detector weight. The coil and mounting ears are also very well constructed and should hold up with use. The search coil cable is likewise durable, but somewhat stiff--I prefer a somewhat softer, more flexible cable.

Upon examining the Pro Hunter and Gold Trax modules, one thing became very apparent...they are assembled and constructed using above average quality methods and components. 1/16" glass-epoxy printed circuit boards are used and the layout and construction are first rate...with several years of printed circuit board design under my belt...I feel I am somewhat qualified to comment about this aspect of the Treasure Baron's design.

All controls, switches and panel features are of similar quality--overall, the Treasure Baron and its various plug-in modules embody first-rate quality and durability!

One aspect of the Baron's design which I had prejudged to be "old technology" came back to prove me totally wrong. When I first saw a Treasure Baron advertisement, over one year ago, I was not impressed with the light emitting diode (LED) depth display and iron indication features. I felt that this was a critical flaw in its design and that Discovery was not keeping up with current technology--LED electronic equipment is considered somewhat of a "dinosaur" by most people. The truth, however, after actually using the Treasure Baron with its BRIGHT & EASY TO SEE LED indicators is that I now actually prefer this type of visual indication. After having used all types of metered and visual displays, I have not viewed any that have been this simple to interpret or as intensely illuminated. You just can't miss seeing those bright red LED's, regardless of lighting conditions--I'll have a bit more on this farther into this field-test.

The Pro Hunter Module

On my first detecting trip into the field, I opted for the Pro Hunter module. I did this because I was not yet familiar with the Gold Trax Module and because the site I was detecting could have pull tabs, which I could easily notch out with the Pro Hunter. I also wanted the ability to manually ground balance the detector, as this is usually the way I prefer to detect.

Installing the Pro Hunter module was fast and simple, although care had to be taken to insure that the connecting ribbon-cable properly folded beneath the Pro Hunter module as it was inserted into the Treasure Baron's control housing.

The site detected that particular day was heavily wooded, with steep hillsides to maneuver. My detecting partners, Rick & Scott, split up and started searching in slightly different directions from me. I began by ground balancing the Baron to the site's somewhat mineralized ground. This took a few minutes, due to the somewhat "touchy" single-turn ground balance control. I found that just a very slight rotational increment would shift the ground balance point considerably. A "light touch" was needed to get it set correctly, but once this was accomplished, it canceled the ground very well.

After searching for several hours, we got together to compare finds. Rick and Scott had some wheat cents and some Boy Scout neckerchief slides, but I was the only one with silver--a 1916 Merc and two silver Roosevelt dimes. Not spectacular, but it proved to me that the Baron works. The 1916-S Merc was only a few inches deep, but it was in fill-dirt that was mostly mineralized slag from a nearby steel mill. For those who have not detected in this type of ground, it is a composition of slag, very fine iron particles and various size pieces of molten steel globules...very nasty to detect, but somewhat common in and around many detecting sites near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

I would like to comment here about the Treasure Baron's smooth operation and minimal response to mineralized ground. Using the standard 8" concentric coil, its stability was excellent with few false signals. Some large, heavily-rusted iron and hot rocks (coal cinders, coke) would occasionally give a good solid response, but not very often (Note: The use of the wide scan coil should eliminate the response to hot rocks).

The Treasure Baron's two-tone ID system performed well, but I would prefer to be able to turn off the audio response to rejected targets if needed. Presently, all conductive targets, rejected and non-rejected, (except those notched out) are heard and are identified by either a low or high tone whose reference point is set with the variable discrimination control. This method of audio tone ID works well for relic hunting or sites with minimal trash, but at locations that are heavily trashed, the continual bombardment of hearing ALL signals becomes annoying, promotes inattentiveness and reduces detecting concentration--especially after many hours of hearing all targets.

I was surprised and amazed to discover that several of the Treasure Baron's controls and switches have multiple functions incorporated into them. Momentarily pressing in on the Ground Balance control toggles the All-metal Auto-tuning either on or off. Pressing in on the Notch Control turns it either on or off. Likewise, pressing the Discrimination Control turns the Iron Elimination on or off. By holding the Mode Switch to the retune position, battery status is accurately indicated on the LED Depth Meter display(Note: These functions can vary with different modules).

Another item worth mentioning is the Power/Audio Range control of the Treasure Baron. This control facilitates either a modulated or amplified (compressed) audio signal. By setting the control low, weak signals sound soft and strong signals sound loud. Turning this control up to the pre-set mark or farther, makes weak signals sound as loud as surface targets. This makes it very easy to hear deep, weak targets--but difficult to judge depth by audio intensity alone. I usually "ran" this control at around the 9-o'clock position and obtained the benefits of both extremes.

The Power/Audio Range Control also sets the minimum signal level needed to produce a strong audio output signal. At low settings, the ground mineral noise (which can sometimes mimic a good target) will not produce full output audio. It is important not to "push" this control too high when detecting in severely mineralized ground. Even at reduced settings, desirable targets will still produce a strong, repeatable signal while ground mineral-chatter will not.

The Gold Trax Module

Discovery's introduction of the Gold Trax module has been very successful, and it did not take me long to discover why! THIS MODULE WORKS WELL! It does present one obstacle however...it is somewhat confusing to understand and remember all of its keypad-accessible functions, and it currently has no ability to store or recall any edited settings. Once the unit is powered off, then back on, all settings revert back to a factory-preset program.

Although I typically do not use detectors at factory-presets, I did use the Gold Trax this way and its performance was VERY GOOD. It operated smoothly and I was impressed with its depth, "hit intensity" and "exceptional" sensitivity to small non-ferrous targets. At one old park site, I uncovered a large ornate solid sterling silver walking cane grip and a 1902 Barber dime from some bad trash-infested gravel and cider-laden ground. I believe it was the Gold Trax module that made these recoveries possible--of the four detectorists that day, I was the only one to uncover a Barber coin.

I am especially impressed by, and VERY much like, the visual LED iron indicator. It is easy to see and its iron processing/driving circuitry is almost 100% accurate. I noticed that all iron targets encountered would either illuminate the LED to full intensity or cause it to flutter somewhat. However, every time I swept across a non-ferrous target it wouldn't flinch--not a hint of illumination could be seen. By listening to the audio tone and repeatability of the target, and by looking at the Iron LED indicator, I could accurately tell if the target was worth digging. The final step before digging was switching to all-metal and listening to the signal intensity. By the end of my first day a field with the Baron and Gold Trax module I had this technique fairly well mastered and was retrieving good items while bypassing most ferrous items.

CLOSING NOTES

Living in Pennsylvania, I did not have an opportunity to use the Gold Trax module for prospecting, so I cannot comment on this aspect of it. I have heard from detecting friends, and other sources, that it works very well. Likewise, I did not test the Deep Hunter or Black Sand modules--I have confidence that they perform equally well.

The addition of a Target ID module should make many Treasure Baron coin hunters VERY happy--one should be available in the near future. The ID Module will most likely be used by coin hunters, and many coin hunting locations are trashy...I hope Discover considers my comment about eliminating the audio signal from rejected targets. This one "deficiency" alone is enough to make me leave my Treasure Baron at home and use a different detector when detecting trash-filled sites. I would love to see this feature available on the Gold Trax and Pro Hunter as well--perhaps it can be incorporated into the base so that it would be available with any discriminating module used.

SUMMARY

Although the Treasure Baron can use some improvements (which detector can't?) I find it to be an EXCEPTIONAL PERFORMING DETECTOR! It definitely has more pros than cons. It is very well constructed...very functional and versatile...it provides above average depth, sensitivity and stability and its audio discrimination and iron elimination are accurate.

At first, the Treasure Baron can be somewhat intimidating and confusing to understand...with its many optional modules, multi-functional controls and somewhat non-standard concept and design. To some detectorists, it might first appear to be an "old technology" detector, but after using one I totally disagree with that interpretation! It didn't take too long to prove itself (in the field where it counts) and convince me of its ultimate potential.

If purchasing a Treasure Baron, I recommend with the base unit and only one module (unless you are an experienced detectorist), then when you fully comprehend and master that combination...add others. My module of choice, even with its somewhat complicated multi-sequence keypad operation, is definitely the Gold Trax module. Don't let the name fool you...it is also a SUPER performing coin and relic module.

To me, the true acceptance and endorsement for any detector is when I decide to add it to my own personal detector arsenal. The Treasure Baron made the "cut" and is a detector that I plan on keeping and using for some time. The bottom line is...it works for me...VERY WELL!