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Newbie Question On Gb Pro/ Headphone Jack Size/ Fake?


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Howdy from Montana Newbie,

I am in the market for a GB Pro. Going to Arizona and escape these brutal Montana winters for 4 months. Have a buddy down there who is a snow bird also. He explores abandoned mine shafts and old mining operations.  Figured I might as well swing a detector while exploring the area. Amazon had a GB Pro 5" coil as "used with box damaged" for $470.00. I decided to pull the trigger and see what was in the box. The unit looked good...but...I could only find the single 1/4" headphone jack, need the 3.5mm jack for the headphones I am going to use. The manual stated this as well, only 1/4" jack. Didn't turn it on, just reboxed it and returned it immediately for full credit + $85.00 additional credit to buy a new unit with dual headphone jacks from Amazon at $549.00. Any thoughts? Thanks. 

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Considering you are shopping on Amazon instead of a dealer you should also read this thread if you haven't

 

 

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My Fisher Gold Bug Pro only has the 1/4" jack, even though the company literature at the time I bought it (4 years ago) said it comes with both (that is, also the 3.5 mm).  I don't know if they originally supplied only the 1/4" and switched to both, vice versa, or just mistakenly only had the single 1/4" on some units going out the door.  I wouldn't use it as a fake/not indicator.

 

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Update: Apparently both designs have existed over the years, see my next posts for details.

It’s key to keep in mind that numerous models use the this basic design, some with both jacks and some not, and FT may have done some mixing due to part shortages along the way. I would also not use it as an item in determining if the model is fake or not.

Buy from reputable dealers and avoid the headache. Many of them sell through Amazon. They key determination is that if the price is advertised too low, it’s probably a fake. Manufacturers have restrictions on advertised prices and that’s what you see at the reputable dealers. There are a couple fake dealers selling fake product right now that for some reason are not getting shut down very quickly.

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Yeah...they started out with dual jacks, then cut down to just the 1/4".    My first Gold Bug Pro version 2.9 had both the 1/8" and the 1/4" headphone jacks.   They replaced the 1/8" headphone jack with the rubber headphone jack seal.   All current Gold Bug Pro detector come with the 1/4" headphone jack and rubber seal.

HH
Mike

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Or....maybe....I just thought this...maybe the rubber jack seal is universal and you unplug the end you are going to use?????? 

I dunno...just a thought.

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Here's a link to the Fisher website current add.  Note that it says "Dual Headphone Jacks":

http://www.fisherlab.com/hobby/fisher-goldbug-pro-metal-detector.htm

 

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From todays' Fisher website owner's manuals:

Basic Gold Bug 2/9/15 "The Gold Bug® is equipped with a 1/4” headphone jack."

Gold Bug Pro 2015 Rev 8 "The Gold Bug® Pro is equipped with a 1/4” headphone jack."

Gold Bug DP 8/21/13 "The Gold Bug™ DP is equipped with both a 1/4” and 1/8” headphone jack."

Fisher F19 2/10/15 "The F19™ is equipped with a 1/4” headphone jack."

Teknetics manuals:

G2 2019 Rev 10 "The G2 is equipped with 1/4” headphone jack."

G2+ Rev 2 "The G2+ is equipped with a 1/4” headphone jack."

So going by the manuals, which truthfully do not keep up too well, the 2013 Gold Bug DP (7" x 11" coil) had dual jacks. The Fisher 2014 catalog page below shows all versions having dual jacks. I would not doubt other early models did. Then all the 2105 manuals showed 1/4" only. The 2016 catalog shows dual jacks with rubber plugs. The earlier models were just bare plugs. And now they are being advertised as having dual jacks but no doubt many in the system with 1/4" only. Long story short, if this is important to you, inquire from the dealer before purchase to be sure what you are getting. Lots of sites copy and paste and something like this can easily slip through the cracks.

I have to believe now the Gold Bug Pros I owned had dual jacks and I simply paid no attention to the 1/8" jack. None of mine had the rubber plug. But there does appear to be a time frame around 2015 where they were all 1/4" if you can trust the manuals... which is not a great bet.

Great question, I learned a little on that one.

fisher-gold-bug-pro-headphone-jacks-1-4-1-8.jpg

fisher-gold-bug-2014-catalog-page.jpg

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    1st of all, a big thank you goes out to all who responded  to my starting post, taking so much time to research this minor but perplexing issue with the GB P. Being a newbie on any forum site can be sometimes a bit intimidating pertaining to certain subject matter. Honestly I am not terribly surprised by the genuine and warm welcome from your group. There just seems to be something about "Detectorists" that is more relaxed and easy going than some other subjects. In my estimation it is generally due to the nature of the hobby or sometimes venture itself. I guess our pace is somewhat slower and calming, possibly even I may go as far as to say therapeutic.

    With that said, I have been lurking around your forum, others, YouTube, manufacturer's websites, seller's websites gathering as much information as possible of late, trying to get caught back up on technology. You guys do a great job on your content and the passion for detecting and prospecting shows through clearly. 

   I started detecting way back..early 1980s....back when Tesaro had exploded on the scene going full blast with new revolutionary lightweight, sensitive and easy to use uMax machines. Minelab was then the dream machine, heavy but great and still is over my pay grade. White's was right there at the time as well with the new ID display for relics. Bounty Hunter seemed to be a generic relic tool with a Cadillac muffler style component housing, overweight and under powered.

   My 1st machine was a Tesaro Bandido uMicromax 12Khz with the 5" coil. Back then $439.00 was quite a chunk of change. My x wife was not too pleased about that buy. I loved the sleek and just plain cool look and feel of the uMax machine. I had some great memories and a few nice finds around the Montana Gold belt, Virgina City, Alder Gulch, Bannack area here just west of Yellowstone.

  Time went by and life went in different directions, I ended up in the Fireworks business, retail  sales then full public display operator. A few years ago a  young fellow stopped by my retail outlet to get his yearly pyro fix and offered me more than I paid for the Bandido and without thinking.... I sold the complete set, brown case, apron with 2 coils. I regret that mistake to this day. So here I am....slowing down on fireworks as much as I love the business, starting over on detecting. Times have changed for certain technologically speaking, along with everything else. I don't believe anyone had a cell phone......back then...humm...

   After being offered by my adventurist younger buddy now in Hope Arizona, to get the heck out of this bitter cold  wilderness and have some fun in wintertime instead of freezing to death, I am starting over on detecting.

   As far as i can tell the GB P is a nice machine for Gold, aside from a few minor details as the no backlit display and layout. Possibly replacing the famous GB II, with it's weight and power supply drawbacks. Gold is the main mission along with Meteorites on this adventure. My price range for a Gold machine is $550.00 tops, so that puts me in the Fisher  GB P category. That is unless anyone on here has a better suggestion. One thing I have learned about electronics and technology is "Now Is The Best Time To Wait". 

                                                                     Thanks Again For Your Help,

                                                                                           P.S.

.

 

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It might be a good idea to start a thread laying out exactly what you would like to do with the detector,  not just this trip but in general. As in do you coin/jewelry hunt sometimes or focused only on nugget hunting.

Also think about and decide if there is any wiggle room in the max budget. Going up not too much brings in some of the most popular/highly recommended detectors like the Gold Monster, equinox,  goldmaster 24k, etc. If there is no wiggle room in max budget clearly state that so all the advice will be under it, although you are also in the range of used prices on those machines,  something to consider. Also include where you plan to hunt and how mineralized the soil is if you know.

Anyway, if you clearly state your needs I'm sure you will get lots of advice.  Buried in this thread it might get overlooked though.

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