I appreciate all the info & tips I was given. I decided to buy the Silver Umax. I don't know what I am doing yet but walked around some today. I went to a crowded park nearby They had just planted all new grass! So I would not dare dig in the grass. I went down into a shallow creek. The detector was indicating something was there but I could not figure out what it was telling me. When I dug a little in the rocky shallow water it got all muddy so I couldn't see thru the water. Obviously I have alot to learn! All I have so far is the detector, stereo headset which I did not use yet. I am so new at this do not know what the headsets will do for me. I was kind of sad after not finding anything today but I am sure after I learn more about using it & the headset I will start finding treasures like coins & jewelry. The 1st two things I found in my yard were coke cans that the builder had buried. I am looking forward to trying it at the beach several times a year. I am so thankful to have this helpful group to ask questions & share my new hobby. Cathy
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Bought Tesoro Silver Umax today
- Thread starter ccclontz
- Start date
Wecome to the wonderful world of "Metal Detecting". Some days it like that. But the more you get out and detect you will find plenty.Just takes time to learn your detector. As far as the Silver goes it's a great detector. It will not miss a thing if it's set right. Heres a few things that might help. If your looking for jewelry and coins on a beach then run discrimation at iron and your sensitivity as far as it will go without chattering. It will do fine in the dry sand but in the wet sand you will have to turn the sens way down. If your in a tot lot then same settings but turn down your sens. between 6-10. Tot lots are not deep and you need to get close to the steel poles. Coin shooting for silver and clad coins quarters and dimes set the disc. on max. If you want pennies also then on 1c/zinc. Now if you want nickles then you will have to set your disc. at foil. It will kick out foil but still get nickles and everything above that.Hope this helps. Also do an air test to learn the detector when you have down time. HH
My first few trips out detecting yielded only junk...then I found a coin and did not look back. If I could give only one tip to a beginner, it would be this: Dont have the sensitivity too high. I seldom have my Tesoros sensitivity above 4 or 5 (out of 10) in parks etc. If you were detecting at the beach or in an open field, then it would be different. If I copuld give two tips, the second one would be: Use your headphones, but keep the volume at a level that is soft and comfortable....that way you can pick up subtle differences in the audio response of your detector. HH
First, start out in minimum discriminate so you can learn all the quirks in the sounds of targets. Secondly, to pinpoint, you sweep the coil-after raising it to get a fainter signal-back and forth and find the east-west line. Mentally focus on that line. Then, you sweep the coil-still raised to a faint sound-north and south until you get a line where the target beeps. Where those two intersect is the target center. It's faster if you do it in short sweeps. Third, as you finish each sweep, move the coil in a line parallel to the previous sweep but with the inner edge of the coil slightly overlapping that sweep. Keep doing this until you HAVE to take a step. Pretty soon it will become natural. Most beginners start WALKING AND SWEEPING, causing them to miss as much as a foot every sweep. If you have a trashy area, Jack Gifford himself recommended to turn the discrimination to just reject a nickel and THEN lowering it just enough to get a good signal on the nickel. Now, most small foil and iron will not be picked up and you can still have a good chance at gold. Best of luck. The most fun is learning yourself-but it's good to know the basics to start out.
With a Silver umax-you don't! Especially since they quit making the 4" coil-and the 5.75" coil isn't much better. You just have to get as close as possible, working PARALELL to the target and not to and fro towards it. You can get a tiny bit closer by slowing the sweep speed to almost nil-but even then it's hard. Fortunately, this is a good sign, as it shows the sensitivity of the detector.ccclontz said:When I went to the school play area & got near the swingset poles & monkey bar poles etc it always beeped I was assuming from the metal poles. How do you hear metal near the pole without it being the pole itself? Cathy
learn the Tesoro shake and only dig the repeatable targets that are crisp and clean,,,, if they are scratchy or broken it is junk. Put a few coins , nails, bottle caps, foril etc on the grond about 18 inches apart and learn the different sounds it makes.... I really like my Silver and it will treat you well HH
DiggerDug,
What is the reason for setting it on Iron for sand? Do the 12.95 plastic sand scoops work ok for dry sand? I want one of the stainless steel scoops with a handle but need to wait until I can pay for it with my treasure finds! I have used it 3 times. The UTUBE videos make it look so easy to scoop up coins on the beach. Is it really that easy? Can you find much in the winter when people arent all over the beach? My aunt lives in Jacksonville Fla so I might have to go visit her soon! And I am curious why are the poles good places at tot lots? Is there a way to set it so the metal pole would sound different from coins? All the poles made a sound at the school playground. I had the silver umax set on nickel & 2. Cathy
What is the reason for setting it on Iron for sand? Do the 12.95 plastic sand scoops work ok for dry sand? I want one of the stainless steel scoops with a handle but need to wait until I can pay for it with my treasure finds! I have used it 3 times. The UTUBE videos make it look so easy to scoop up coins on the beach. Is it really that easy? Can you find much in the winter when people arent all over the beach? My aunt lives in Jacksonville Fla so I might have to go visit her soon! And I am curious why are the poles good places at tot lots? Is there a way to set it so the metal pole would sound different from coins? All the poles made a sound at the school playground. I had the silver umax set on nickel & 2. Cathy
ccclontz said:DiggerDug,
What is the reason for setting it on Iron for sand? Do the 12.95 plastic sand scoops work ok for dry sand? I want one of the stainless steel scoops with a handle but need to wait until I can pay for it with my treasure finds! I have used it 3 times. The UTUBE videos make it look so easy to scoop up coins on the beach. Is it really that easy? Can you find much in the winter when people arent all over the beach? My aunt lives in Jacksonville Fla so I might have to go visit her soon! And I am curious why are the poles good places at tot lots? Is there a way to set it so the metal pole would sound different from coins? All the poles made a sound at the school playground. I had the silver umax set on nickel & 2. Cathy
If you set it at iron for beach and tot lot hunting then you can find the smallest of gold. But still discriminate out most nails, tacks, and hairpins. Some small gold can fall in the iron range also. But most times it would be tiny gold nuggets or very fine chains. Plasic scoops work but I prefer the mesh type for dry sand. They sift very quickly and aren't very expensive. No matter which one you use get at least a 24" handle so your back and knees don't suffer. Winter time is a good time to hunt because of the storms that cut up the beach. Realy the best time to go is when lots of people go too. Better odds of stuff being lost but the sands change constantly so any chance to go I would take it. I use to fish at the Jax fishing pier. Good beach to detect. Just dodge all the surfers. Well tot lots are a very good place to detect. Just like beaches you can find gold and coins. And give a little time in between hunts and the tot lot will replenish it's self. I normaly give one a month before I go back. Just depends on how active it is. As far as the poles go they do make a different sound then coins but first you have to learn what sound coins make. It takes time but you wil get it. Also slow down around poles and you can hear the dead space between the pole and a coin. If your not looking for gold then cherry pick with higher disc. settings. But most would agree if you want gold also then you will have to dig your fair share of trash. Hope this helps. HH
Howdy, my .02 cents as well, just my opinions follow...
That Silver is one fun machine and it does the job, real nicely. I have had mine now for about two years, and tend to hunt fairly regularly. Night hunt mainly, but here in AZ, too hot for me during the day, plus I like the quiet at night. Of course am not suggesting anyone night hunt, always kind of gotta watch your back etc.
Anyways, back to the Silver, mine has found me plenty of Gold and Silver
That Silver is one fun machine and it does the job, real nicely. I have had mine now for about two years, and tend to hunt fairly regularly. Night hunt mainly, but here in AZ, too hot for me during the day, plus I like the quiet at night. Of course am not suggesting anyone night hunt, always kind of gotta watch your back etc.
Anyways, back to the Silver, mine has found me plenty of Gold and Silver
I just got Silver for my son, and will probably have him hunting in discriminate mode for a bit, but when he gets used to it, the All metal hunting and then swtiching back over to check in discriminate mode seems to be a good way to hunt the non-trashy dry sand spots we are going to hit, for gold jewelry.
Thanks Ron,
I need all the help I can get! I went out today for 1/2 hour in an old homeplace driveway. Found only nails & old big bolts & screws. I experimented & changed the settings when I would hear each beep but it kept sounding the same to me when I changed the settings. It was always a clear beep but I didn't think it sounded like a quarter. I read a tip about making a scoop out of a plastic pitcher. Went to Salvation Army & bought a Rubbermaid pitcher. My husband drilled 1/2 " holes in it & it seems pretty strong. I am hoping it will serve as a sand scoop until I am ready to invest in a metal beach scoop. I am wondering if I could use the same concept & use wire mesh instead. I have spent so much this month-trying to hold off for awhile on any more equipment. Cathy in NC
I need all the help I can get! I went out today for 1/2 hour in an old homeplace driveway. Found only nails & old big bolts & screws. I experimented & changed the settings when I would hear each beep but it kept sounding the same to me when I changed the settings. It was always a clear beep but I didn't think it sounded like a quarter. I read a tip about making a scoop out of a plastic pitcher. Went to Salvation Army & bought a Rubbermaid pitcher. My husband drilled 1/2 " holes in it & it seems pretty strong. I am hoping it will serve as a sand scoop until I am ready to invest in a metal beach scoop. I am wondering if I could use the same concept & use wire mesh instead. I have spent so much this month-trying to hold off for awhile on any more equipment. Cathy in NC
AZWIP said:Howdy, my .02 cents as well, just my opinions follow...
That Silver is one fun machine and it does the job, real nicely. I have had mine now for about two years, and tend to hunt fairly regularly. Night hunt mainly, but here in AZ, too hot for me during the day, plus I like the quiet at night. Of course am not suggesting anyone night hunt, always kind of gotta watch your back etc.
Anyways, back to the Silver, mine has found me plenty of Gold and Silver
Howdy again. Sounds like you are having a good time, thats what its about. That strainer looks great! Looking forward to your finds. And be sure to hang in there... yup, it sounds the same.... in the beginning... but that will change, takes some time, but if you stick with it... you'll get that eureeka moment. Lol. Took me a while... and I kept saying that folks on the BB were nuts... it all sounds the same... then, it happens and it all starts to click. Hang in there.
Another thing that I found with mine, is that I usually hunt with my thumb on the toggle switch... I have gotten to the point where not only does it indeed "talk" to you, but the "hits" I feel in my thumb also begin to talk to you. Remmeber too, that big iron, even in some of the Disc settings... may still ring in a bit, but may start to sound blippy. Keep on doing what you are doing. Again, looking forward to your finds. You got a great machine there. Other thing is, if you are hunting jewelry and coins, if thats a goal... may want to skip some og the larger hits... this too comes in time.... to really know what I mean.... I mean the signal is just for a bigger item... instead of the softball/golfball size signals.... of course if you are relic hunting and/or cache hunting... then yup... go after 'em. I know in the beginning... I sure dug my share of coke cans etc.... until I figured it out... sure, I may lose some nice big score item... but for me, for now, I usually leave em... but again only if dramatically larger signal... keep using it, it'll make sense. have fun!!! Happy hunting!
Ron
Another thing that I found with mine, is that I usually hunt with my thumb on the toggle switch... I have gotten to the point where not only does it indeed "talk" to you, but the "hits" I feel in my thumb also begin to talk to you. Remmeber too, that big iron, even in some of the Disc settings... may still ring in a bit, but may start to sound blippy. Keep on doing what you are doing. Again, looking forward to your finds. You got a great machine there. Other thing is, if you are hunting jewelry and coins, if thats a goal... may want to skip some og the larger hits... this too comes in time.... to really know what I mean.... I mean the signal is just for a bigger item... instead of the softball/golfball size signals.... of course if you are relic hunting and/or cache hunting... then yup... go after 'em. I know in the beginning... I sure dug my share of coke cans etc.... until I figured it out... sure, I may lose some nice big score item... but for me, for now, I usually leave em... but again only if dramatically larger signal... keep using it, it'll make sense. have fun!!! Happy hunting!
Ron