With the tuning control and the handle mounted pushbutton, it looks like a TR. That would make more sense.
Right, the tuner feature is always bad news. That's the way many old TR units were made as you suggest.
The tuner machines were for the most part--a royal pain. Constant tuning is a sure way to not have fun. Oh how I remember constantly having to push that handle button!
This is what cracks me up; today many are paying big prices for old obsolete TR machines offered on ebay when for about the same money they could have a new auto ground balance VLF machine with greatly superior coil design.
The Ace 250, Tesoro Compadre or Silver uMax, many Bounty Hunter models, etc., are superior to those old lunch box beepers. But there are forums and individuals who live in the past who are pushing this old technology off as superior to modern technology. Even the companies that made them say NOT!
Oh well, whatever makes one happy.
The $50 Chinese machine (with free shipping) I posted the link to was just to show that electronic components really aren't as expensive as we're being led to believe. Lets be real, who is really making our detectors? I mean who is making almost all the parts inside where it counts? Yep, China and other such countries (not the US). So we can rattle on forever about American made but today they're ain't no such animal in detectorville.
Why are the major brands usually better than the cheap Chinese units?
1. Better quality control (quality soldering and fewer issues)
2. Higher quality EXTERNAL parts (works big time on the mind)
3. And a vastly superior marketing (same as above)
I just bought a new underwater cam for just over $100 brand new off ebay. That cam has 10 times the component parts and technology of the average metal detector today that costs over $500. Somebody is getting ripped off.
