1st trip cut short b/c rain but I learned a lot

[ATLfun]

I got about about 3 hours in today, in a light rain. Man, I learned a lot. First, I got over my stage fright at being watched. I had two park employees come by to empty trash and they were like twenty feet away and said nothing. Nothing posted at the parks or on the website, so I went with it. As far as my set up, I went with S-70, D-39, and Tone- 1. I am so glad that I went with Tone-1 on my first trip. I tried 2+ and did find it kind of overwhelming to a total newbie. With tone 1, all I had to do is listen and look at the screen. My very first find was a pull tab and my second find was 1968 penny. I quickly learned some ID lessons as I dug an aluminum can and a couple of pull tabs. In regards to the aluminum can, I had visions of the aluminum can being a mason jar full of coins.

Overall I had 15 quality finds: 1 quarter and 14 pennies. About half of my finds were within the first three inches, and the other half between 3 and 6.


Big Lesson #1: I would quit this hobby without the Garrett Pro Pointer. It was much harder to see those coins than one would think.

Big Lesson#2: I will probably never be a nickel hunter. With nickels fluctuating between foil and pull tab, they are doomed not to be dug.

Big Lesson#3: Always re-scan your hole. I found three pennies in one hole. I put the plug back after the first one.

Big Lesson#4: I absolutely love my sheath that holds both my Pro Pointer and my Digger on my belt. It was convenient and effortless to carry.


Super Big Lesson: I love my T2 SE. Unbelievable weight and feel. It almost feels like your just swinging your arm. I have a lot of room to grow with this machine.
It more than satisfied my expectations for ease of use and results. I learned to do a cross over my target. If I could get the signal to lock in both directions, I would never dig up trash. I realize that my basic settings probably left some coin in the ground, but it was nice to have like a 75% successful dig rate on the first trip. I have a lot to learn, and look forward to it.



Brian

 

[woodchiphustler]

Good for you. I love to figure a detector out on my own at first. Plenty of help here if you need it.

 

[Flattop67]

Much like you, I am learning all over again after switching to the T2 SE.

I found just shy of a $ 1 in my 3.5 hours on my first hunt. So, if I can get another 898 trips in with the same success, it will be paid for.

There are two absolute truths in detecting.

1. If you don't go somewhere and turn the machine on, you will not find anything.

2. You have to swing over it before you will ever have the chance to hear it and recover it.

Some people would disagree, but if you dig every signal you hear, and make mental or paper notes of depth, soil type, location and now visual screen display, you will learn as many of us have over the years, that the sound or pitch, will help you decide on whether you want to dig or not.

When I first started in the 80's, the group of older guys I went with did not dig bullets as a general rule, they knew what a bullet sounded like and walked on and almost always left their Schlitz/PBR cans at the bottom of any hole they dug.

Don't forget to Ground Balance often especially when changing locations and soil types.

Happy hunting and take lots of pictures of your finds.

 

[ATLfun]

Good for you. I love to figure a detector out on my own at first. Plenty of help here if you need it.

I have tried hard to prepare myself for modest success. I have read hundreds of threads and read the manual about a dozen times. I am thrilled at finding about 3-4 coins an hour my first time out and I probably only dug about 1-2 trash items an hour. Of course, I was kind of cherry picking my first time out, but that made my initial outing more fun. I think it is cool that the sound and visual discrimination are independent systems on the T2. I look forward to slowly understanding how the sound can paint a picture on its own about what is under the ground. But right now, I just enjoyed being outdoors and pulling up more good stuff than bad stuff.


Brian

 

[ATLfun]

Much like you, I am learning all over again after switching to the T2 SE.

I found just shy of a $ 1 in my 3.5 hours on my first hunt. So, if I can get another 898 trips in with the same success, it will be paid for.

That was much better than my 39 cent output on my first trip. But it was fun digging up about 14 different clad targets in 3 hours. What I am excited about is that my attitude stayed positive throughout the hunt, and that I really enjoyed spending time outdoors. It was kind of like golf, in the sense I that was walking and repairing my divots. It was kind of like yardwork, in the sense that I was outdoors and playing in the dirt. But it was totally different because I was treasure hunting.


Brian