Falcon Gold Tracker MD20 Owner's Manual

The Falcon Gold Tracker model MD20 is a unique metal detector designed to
find gold, even extremely small pieces of gold. Built upon the technology of
the MD10SP, the MD20 has increased probe sensitivity and the controls have
linear enhancements to provide ease and precision of setting. The MD20 has
a waterproof probe on a 5 foot cable. Threading the cable through the op­tional handle allows the user to search standing up. Operating at 300 KHz
and using High Q components, the Falcon has superior sensitivity to all
other probes.

To be found with your Falcon, a metal or mineral target must exist in an elec­trically conductive form and in sufficient concentration. Gold, silver, and
other metals are found in such form both in nature and man made objects. The
Falcon responds to all metals. Its ability to detect and pinpoint small nuggets
have given it the label GOLD TRACKER. While the Falcon does not dis­criminate between metals, it gives separate responses to minerals vs. metals.

The Falcon may even respond to the electro magnetic field of the earth as
seen by waving the probe in the air with the sensitivity at maximum. This
effect will be minimal during normal use. The Falcon is a motion detector
and needs to be moved slowly over the target for maximum sensitivity.

1

INTRODUCTION

Speaker

ON/ OFF and
Sensitivity Knob

Auto Ground Balance Knob

Head Phone
Jack

Waterproof Probe
On 5 foot cable

Two 9v batteries are accessible
by removing these 4 screws
and removing the side plate.

Red Band, Black Band, Copper Sensitivity Ring

2

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ........................................................ 1

MD 20 ILLUSTRATION ............................................. 2

INSTALLING BATTERIES ........................................ 3

CONTROLS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS.................... 3

MODES OF OPERATION........................................... 4

OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS.................................. 5

TIPS .............................................................................. 6

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE RESPONSES............... 7

CAUTIONS .................................................................. 8

SPECIFICATIONS....................................................... 9

WARRANTY ............................................................. 10

Copyright © 2003, Falcon Metal Detectors
All Rights Reserved

OWNER’S MANUAL

MD20

GOLD TRACKER

To install batteries, remove four screws on the side panel of the electronics case
and install two 9v batteries. Alkaline batteries are recommended because their
superior discharge characteristics give longer and more consistent operation. Be
careful not to disturb the electronics when changing batteries. Always replace
both batteries. One battery drives the sensing electronics while the other drives
the audio signaling.

AUTOMATIC GROUND BALANCE KNOB: This control provides for coarse
sensitivity setting and enables the detector to adjust automatically for changing
ground mineralization. See Operating Instructions.
SENSITIVITY CONTROL KNOB: This control is used to fine tune the Ground
Balance control. Adjusting the sensitivity too high may cause unstable operation.
See Operating Instructions.
SEARCH PROBE: The probe is a highly efficient shielded search coil. It is
much smaller and lighter than conventional search coils and gives ultra sensitiv­ity to tiny objects such as placer deposit, tiny nuggets, and pockets of black sand.
SENSITIVITY RING: The copper sensitivity ring on the probe is used to in­crease or decrease the sensitivity and focus. See Modes of Operation.

3

INSTALLING BATTERIES

CONTROLS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS

4

Normal Mode (Black Band)
The Copper Sensitivity Ring should be placed behind the black band for
normal operation. This setting will allow the sensitivity to be adjusted easier
and the unit will be more stable. This mode is recommended for pinpoint­ing coins, jewelry, and relics.

Enhanced Sensitivity Mode (Red Band)
The Copper Sensitivity Ring may be moved forward to the rear edge of the
red band to increase sensitivity. Moving the Copper ring beyond the red
band will result in unstable operation and continuous sounding. Note, in
this mode the probe will be more susceptible to interference and may need
occasional readjustment of the sensitivity knob. This mode is generally pre­ferred for detecting tiny specs of gold.

MODES OF OPERATION

1) Advance the Ground Balance knob to the 1 o’clock position.

2) Adjust Sensitivity Ring for desired mode. ( See Modes of Operation)

3) Turn unit on using the Sensitivity knob and advance it to the 1 o’clock posi-

tion.

4) Make sure that no metals are near the probe tip. Advance the Ground Bal-
ance knob until the alert tone sounds then back it up slightly until the alert
tone stops.

5) Advance the Sensitivity knob until the unit barely sounds. Just a slight hum
or mosquito sound will give maximum sensitivity. The unit may be operated
in the silent mode (no hum) and still be very sensitive. Remember the more
sensitive you have adjusted your unit, the more false signals may occur.
Experience will make this adjustment easier.

6) As the unit warms and stabilizes (1 to 2 minutes) the knobs may need to be
readjusted using steps 4 and 5..

7) Should the alert tone sound continuously, back the Ground Balance knob
and the Sensitivity knobs counterclockwise until alert stops. Should the unit
continue to sound with the two knobs fully counter clockwise, back the Sen-
sitivity Ring away from the rings and probe tip. If the sound cannot be
stopped without turning the unit off, call your dealer or the factory.

OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS

5

6

TIPS

The Falcon probe can be used in the NORMAL mode for pin pointing coins,
jewelry, relics, or other targets without touching them. Using metal probes
to locate targets can damage the surface of the target, the Falcon will not.

The larger the target the deeper it can be found with the Falcon. Small
sounds may indicate a small target near the surface or a large target down
deep. Use headphones to hear the small “whimpers” that may yield big re­wards. When headphones are plugged in, the speaker is turned off.

Metal targets buried in the ground for a long time will have an oxidation
layer “halo” around them. This layer is electrically conductive with the tar­get and may create a virtual target much larger than the piece of metal creat­ing it. Once the target is dug up the oxidation layer is destroyed. Many
times small targets are “lost” because the signal becomes too small for the
traditional detector to sense. The Falcon can help locate those “lost” targets.

Remember the Falcon sounds on all metal targets, not just gold.