Detector Pro Headhunter Wader
John Castle
Preamble
At first sight, Headhunter might seem an odd name for a range of metal detectors. But no, the controls on these units are all in one of the headphones! Not that there are that many, just three in fact and yet another product of modern micro electronics which makes such innovations possible.
The Headhunter series is made by Detector Pro, an American outfit that specialises in submersible detectors plus a range of high-quality plug-in headphones for land use.
The foregoing is not meant to imply that their detectors are aimed solely at detector users who hunt wholly or mostly in water, in fact they are just as suited to land use as any other motion detector and it is their motion detectors, or rather one of them, which is the subject of this test.
Diver or Wader?
There are two versions of the Headhunter motion detector, the Diver and the Wader. Both are identical in configuration and control functions. The differences are in the degree af submersibility and their colours.
The Diver is yellow and is submersible to 100 feet (30 meters) while the Wader is blue and maximum submersible depth is limited to six feet (two meters). We will now leave the Diver and concentrate on the Wader, even though my comments will apply to the Diver too.
Advantages
The Headhunter Wader is a modern motion detector designed to be perfectly functional in all weathers and on all types of site which include wet and dry sea beaches, inland and fresh and salt water to a depth of six feet. Wading and snorkelling to shallow depths is thus perfectly feasible. The headphone controls obviate the need for a control box, which would increase resistance to sweeping under water. Fatigue is thus lessened.
The controls are in one headphone cup only which means you can have them on the side you prefer, equally accessible whether you are right or left handed in other words. Adjust by feel only of course, but you soon get used to that and there are only three which won’t need readjustment very often once set for whatever site you’re on. Two PP3 batteries in the other cup balances the weight. Sounds good so far, lets look closer!
A Quality Product
The first thing that struck me on handling the Wader was quality. Everything looks strong, durable and well-made. The stem-coil assembly isn’t as light as you’d expect, although light enough, signifying a heavy-duty strong shaft which will help the coil to be neutrally buoyant under water. It is blue as I said earlier and is three-piece, of anodised aluminium with the lower part of black plastic. The usual lazy S configuration with foam hand grip and two-position stainless arm-rest with rubber pads and arm-strap.
The coil and headphone cables are heavy-duty too, the former a braided type which I haven’t seen before. Velcro strips are provided to hold the coil cable along the stem.
The headphones are, as you’d expect, a bit heavier than those I normally use but no heavier than a really high quality pair, which these are. Remember Detector Pro make the best headphones I have seen. They are very comfortable and are adjustable via a ratchet inside both ends of the padded headband.
The coil is an 8 inch spider, coloured black.
A detector with only three controls doesn’t need a wordy handbook and that for the Wader is just 12 medium-format pages. It is comprehensive enough though and tells and illustrates all you need to know.
 |
 |
| Insert coin in slot & twist to open battery cup | Two PP3s are all you need |
Controls and Other Things
The usual spring-buttons attach and adjust the stems for length and there is a rubber O-ring between the top and middle ones. The cable is not wound round the coil just brought straight up and help with two velcros leave a bit of slack at the bottom and don’t strain the joints at either end, both of which have cable protectors by the way.
To insert replacement batteries, turn a coin in the slot at the base of the cup which lacks the controls and it will open up. Carbon zinc and rechargeable types are o.k. but alkalines or lithiums are better as their much longer life will reduce the number of times you have to open the cup. This is especially important if you intend to search in the rain or submerge the headset whilst wading as there is a rubber O-ring inside the cup which must be kept clean and in good condition. Clean and lubricate it from time to time very sparingly with silicone grease ONLY. DO NOT USE VASELINE! Clean the grooves it sits in plus the mating cup halves too. Ensure the battery wires cannot get trapped, align the O-ring and snap the halves together.
There are just three controls, all rotary. DISC (discrimination) is at the top and is the normal reject type. I am right handed so I would have the control on my left side, my right hand holding the stem of course. VOL then becomes the forward one of the other two which switches the unit on and off and is used to adjust the target signal volume. The unit is silent running otherwise of course. SENS increases or reduces the sensitivity of the unit.
Those who are left handed might prefer the controls on their right ears. In this case it is the SENS control which will be the forward one.
All the controls are very resistant to being turned accidentally, essential as you can’t see them! In addition, both DISC and SENS have ten “clicks” which correspond with the marked 0 to 10 around them. This is to enable you to know how high they’re set without taking the ‘phones off your head. For example, if you want to start at disc 3 turn DISC from zero until three clicks are felt. This is not segmented discrimination (or sensitivity) as the controls are variable between clicks. VOL does not have this feature because you can obviously hear if the unit is too loud or otherwise.
I like the look of this – to the beach!
Hunting with the Wader
I can honestly say at once that this is a very good beach detector and is very easy to use – what else, with only three controls! I set disc. at a level which was just below ring-pull reject and sensitivity to 8. The Wader coped with wet sand very well as I expected it would and depths were as good as I have ever got here.
The usual boring fishing weights and decimal but it’s always nice to be beside the seaside! The Wader thus joins the ranks of those units which can be regarded as top beach hunters.
I have noticed that some detectors which give excellent inland performance do not like wet sea beaches, but this is not true the other way round. By that I mean those detectors calibrated for beaches work well inland too and the Wader was no exception. On the common I usually go to it was very quiet, no spits, clicks or chatter at all! Depths were pretty good and a piece of a threepenny bit, doubtless chopped by a mowing machine, was the first target that indicated good sensitivity to small finds. I left the setting as they had been on the beach by the way, Sens. 8 and Disc. just under ring-pull reject. I dug all targets and ended up with just what you’d expect, a good selection of junk and decimal with the odd pre-decimal coin thrown in. A very pleasant unit to use, no chatter and very little falsing on part-rejected junk – probably larger iron.
I noticed the same quietness on farm fields. Amazingly quiet in fact. With no manual ground adjust I expected some chatter, but I got none at all and was able to leave sensitivity at 8. The usual anonymous bits of non-ferrous including a keyhole escutcheon and a very small buckle. One part isn’t ploughed and is used by dog walkers. This produced the odd coin, a badly damaged silver ring and a whistle. This is small and is screwed internally at one end and still gives a piercing blast when blown!
A real surprise was a Nazi submariner’s badge. But it felt too heavy when I picked it up and I found I could easily bend it. Made of lead and a fake. These mostly date from the 1960’s, doubtless somebody just threw it away when he found he’d been duped. That was my last find with the wader.
 |
 |
| A few items found during the field test. | |
The Headhunter Wader is an excellent beach unit which easily copes with the wettest sand and is no slouch when it comes to inland sites. It has to be said that it’s excellent beach depths are somewhat reduced on land, but it’s lack of chatter on them is impressive. An all-weather unit which can be submerged to six feet (100 feet on the Diver version) and only three controls to worry – or rather not worry – about has got to appeal to those hardy wet and windy hunters who refuse to allow inclement weather to keep them indoors.
A man of all seasons/sites who wants a teccy to match? you got it!
The Detector Pro Headhunter Wader is available from Joan Allen Electronics Ltd, 190 Main Road, Biggin Hill, Kent TN16 3BB, UK. Telephone: 01959 571255, Fax: 01959 576014, E-mail: sales@joanallen.co.uk. Order online by credit or charge card at Joan Allen's main Detector Pro product pages by clicking here!
Visit the Joan Allen web site at http://www.joanallen.co.uk.
© Reproduced with kind permission of The Searcher magazine.