I have limited knowledge about Cue Electronics. While I was a Compass metal detector dealer, they decided to invade the large store market, and deciding not to anger the dealers, they came up with the Cue line of plastic body detectors, so they could sell them at J. C. Pennys and other large chain stores. However, it did anger me.
They had BFO's (BFO-50 model), and TR's (TR-100, TR-200, TR-300, TR-400, TR-500 and TR-1000) models. Since I quit selling the Cue detectors, I was not aware of a TR-501 model.
I bought a few of them, to see what they were, and they were not as good a machine as the standard green metal body Compass detectors. I was glad when I sold the last one of them.
What really angered me was they gave me a "higher" price for the Cue machines, then they gave to the chain stores, so that I could not compete on the Cue detectors with the chain stores. I guess you can now guess, that was the death knell for Compass??? Dealers felt like myself, that they had "stuck it to us", and we started to quit selling Compass detectors, and going with the brands that did not "stick it to us".
Cue Electronics is no longer in business, it was run right out of Compass manufacturing building. Same people, just cheaper machines, to market to the chain stores, and compete with the normal Compass dealers!!! That is my view of Cue Electronics...
So today, the brands that did not "stick it to us", are still in business, and the brands that "stuck it to us" are no longer in business. Lesson should be learned and remembered by today's manufacturers. Also, Compass and Cue, never gave us any schematics or let us buy parts and make our own repairs. Another lesson to today's metal detector manufacturers.
The TR-500 and TR-1000 detectors, were advertised as "discrimination operation with scaled control on Cue models TR-500 and TR-1000. With this control the operator can pre-select the trash items he desires to eliminate, such as tin foil, botttle caps and pull tabs. Some loss in sensitivity occurs in the higher discrimination setting (when set to eliminate pull tabs, rings and U.S. nickels will not be detected). In any case, the operator has his choice of STANDARD (essential for artifact hunting) or DISCRIMINATE modes of operation!" Sounds just like the normal TR metal detectors of those days, doesn't it? Except they were cheaper machines, and not as good as the Compass metal detectors.
Now if Cadillac who makes nice Cadillac cars, suddendly started building some junk car, made of plastic, that was not as good as Cadillac, and had a price fairly close to Cadillac, what do you think would happen to Cadillac? Yes, that is right, it would be the death knell for Cadillac.
I have the TR-500 marked $229.95, it has been so long ago, I think this was the retail price, not my dealer cost.
By June 1981, many of these models were gone, and there were some new models, some of them VLF models. Later on, Cue was gone, then they had the same kind of plastic case models (just would not quit on trying to sell these detectors) and they were now called Gold Star detectors. Then they came up with plastic case Liberty detectors, and I have a schematic for the Liberty 150 model, it had 4 I.C.'s in it, NE5532, CD4066, LF444, and LF442. I do not know if those are the I.C.'s that you have, but you can check them out.
The plastic case detectors, still were junk in my mind, and all I sold were the standard green metal case Compass detectors, which were very very good machines. And eventually Compass wised up, and came out with newer and better machines, and even the Gold Star detectors were gone!
Now as far as repairing them, if Keith Wills cannot, then I think it is a parts box, unless you can sit down and draw up a schematic yourself. I used to work on the defective Compass detectors myself, and most of the time, it was bad battery packs or bad battery connectors, and sometimes loose wiring. So check that out, start with the power supply sections, and go from there. Remember, electrolytic capacitors, had an inside of wrapped aluminum foil, the wrappings were separated by a insulating grease, and over time, and from over heating, these capacitors go bad, so I would begin by replace every one of the electrolytic capacitors. By then I think you will have the detector working again....
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