Club fees

[cherringtonsm]

I’m interested in finding out how much the fee is to join your club. I live about an hour away and I’m looking for some group hunts to participate in. Will you be having any this year? Thank you!
Sam

 

[Steve1825]

I’m interested in finding out how much the fee is to join your club. I live about an hour away and I’m looking for some group hunts to participate in. Will you be having any this year? Thank you!
Sam

Sorry I'm late, just fixed computer, $25/year/ meet at Peoria North Library last Wed of month @6pm.

 

[MarineMettle]

Just found this group! How many members actually show up for the meetings? What does the membership fee get applied to? And is there an outing schedule for the new year? Thanks in advance for your time!

Ryan

 

[flinthunter]

Hi MarineMettle.

This is a fairly small group at the moment. We usually have 10 or 12 members at a meeting. Our membership fees are $25 for a single member and $35 for a family. A family membership consists of 2 spouses and up to 2 children. Additional family members are $10 per person. Membership fees go towards "Find Of The Month" prizes, "Find Of The Year" prizes, our fall silver hunt, Christmas dinner, the gold coin for our gold coin raffle. and any other miscellaneous expense. The new outing schedule will be handed out at our January meeting. You are welcome to come to the meeting and see who we are and what we are about and also get any other questions answered. We will be meeting at 6:00 PM on January 26 (we always meet on the last Wednesday of the month) at the North Branch Library in Peoria. We will be in one of the two meeting rooms. If you are interested in attending this meeting please check back to this thread. If the library would be closed due to covid I will notify you here. Thank you for your interest.

 

[MarineMettle]

Thanks for the reply! I was worried this was a dead forum.

I am braaaaaaand new to the hobby and literally starting from scratch. I’ve yet to meet anyone in my daily walks of life that does any detecting, so I’m looking forward to meeting you all!

Hopefully I’ll have the equipment I’ve been eyeballing by the time the ground thaws. More than likely I’m going to buy a NM Simplex+ as my first machine. I’m waiting a little bit to pull the trigger so I can see how the new NM Legend pans out for people. I’ll be purchasing a Garret AT as m pointer and a Gray Ghost finds bag. I am still debating a shovel. Any recommendations on that?

Thanks again!

 

[MarineMettle]

My name is Ryan btw and I live in Pekin. I’m an avid cyclist and a bass tournament angler. So I’m already being asked “when are you going to have time, and why do you need more stuff!?” Lol.

 

[flinthunter]

Hi Ryan.

Welcome to the detecting world. I imagine you will enjoy it.
\
As for this being a dead forum, the club doesn't use it much anymore for some reason. I try to monitor it in case someone asks about the club.

I'm not familiar with the NM simplex machines. The important thing to remember about any detector is that it's not how good the detector is, it's how well the detectorist knows his machine. Garrett pinpointers are very good. Most of us use a Lesche knife to dig public areas. Around Central Illinois, when people see someone digging a park or public area with a shovel they think we are destroying the property. Lesche and several other makers make great shovels for digging neat plugs when retrieving targets but we usually only use them in fields, wooded areas, or property with the owners permission. Also it's good to know the proper way to dig and replace a plug so it doesn't disfigure the yard/grassy area.

Our club members have many years of experience with several of us having been at it for 45 years or more. I should add that the club has three fun hunts a year where we all get together and go to an area picked by a member to hunt plus our seeded fall silver hunt. We also get a chance to attend the Iowa/Illinois club's annual seeded hunt.

Hope you can make it to the meeting, I think you will enjoy the club. Looking forward to seeing you there.
\
Daryl

 

[MarineMettle]

Won’t lie….I’m pretty excited about unearthing history. Been glued to the YouTube channels of the Quarter Hoarder and The Hoover Boys. I’ve made sure to watch how they dig plugs in fields as well as residential. I have a couple family farms to cut my teeth on. One here in Fulton County, but the one I’m looking forward to is our family farm in Iowa. It’s been in the family since the early 1800s. I’ve found where the old farm sites were and can’t wait to dig there. Although it’s not technically on the Oregon Trail, there was a lot of traffic from people cutting across Missouri to get tot the Trail. We also have knowledge of Indians being allowed to bivouac on the site! So I have a lot of ground to cover before I have to really worry about permissions and people.

 

[flinthunter]

I've been detecting for around 45 years and it never gets old. The Hoover Boys dig huge plugs. Around here on public ground it's a good idea to keep the plug diameter around 4 inches or less depending on how well your machine pinpoints. You can use google sites like Historic Map Work to bring up old plat maps that show houses, schools, and churches that were in your county and township. The oldest plat map for my township is from 1873. It even shows the layout of some small towns from that period and some towns that are no longer in existence. Once you get hooked on detecting I can get you hooked on gold prospecting, and yes there is glacial flour gold in Fulton County if you have access to creeks there.

 

[kajunman]

Thanks for the reply! I was worried this was a dead forum.

I am braaaaaaand new to the hobby and literally starting from scratch. I’ve yet to meet anyone in my daily walks of life that does any detecting, so I’m looking forward to meeting you all!

Hopefully I’ll have the equipment I’ve been eyeballing by the time the ground thaws. More than likely I’m going to buy a NM Simplex+ as my first machine. I’m waiting a little bit to pull the trigger so I can see how the new NM Legend pans out for people. I’ll be purchasing a Garret AT as m pointer and a Gray Ghost finds bag. I am still debating a shovel. Any recommendations on that?

Thanks again!

Grave Digger, Nemesis or Predator Tools, Hurricane. Either of those shovels dig great plugs and both are sturdy. It would require a bulldozer to damage a Grave Digger shovel.

 

[MarineMettle]

I've been detecting for around 45 years and it never gets old. The Hoover Boys dig huge plugs. Around here on public ground it's a good idea to keep the plug diameter around 4 inches or less depending on how well your machine pinpoints. You can use google sites like Historic Map Work to bring up old plat maps that show houses, schools, and churches that were in your county and township. The oldest plat map for my township is from 1873. It even shows the layout of some small towns from that period and some towns that are no longer in existence. Once you get hooked on detecting I can get you hooked on gold prospecting, and yes there is glacial flour gold in Fulton County if you have access to creeks there.

Glacial flour?!?!. I’ve never heard that term before. Lol.

And yes, we have a couple creeks running in the timber on the back and side of the property…

 

[MarineMettle]

Glacial flour?!?!. I’ve never heard that term before. Lol.

And yes, we have a couple creeks running in the timber on the back and side of the property…

Grave Digger, Nemesis or Predator Tools, Hurricane. Either of those shovels dig great plugs and both are sturdy. It would require a bulldozer to damage a Grave Digger shovel.

Thanks for the info! I have looked at the grave digger and was leaning towards it.

 

[flinthunter]

MarineMettle said:
Glacial flour?!?!. I’ve never heard that term before. Lol.

It's glacial flour gold and is gold the glacier brought down from Canada that has been ground down into tiny pieces. Sometimes we find bigger pieces that are called pickers. We can pick those up with our fingers.

 

[MarineMettle]

I just completed a across country bicycle ride this Spring. Along the way I stopped at a buddy’s house I served in the Corps with for a couple “rest” days. He lives at the base of the Superstition Mountains in Arizona. He had told me he bought detectors for his boys when they were young. They would spend weekends riding out on horseback panning creeks for gold and detecting. The kids ended up finding all kinds of artifacts and some “flour” through their high school years. I wish I would’ve had this interest then and could’ve picked HIS brain!

 

[flinthunter]

Hi Ryan

Just a note to let you know that tomorrows meeting has been canceled due to weather conditions.

Daryl

 

[MarineMettle]

Bummer. Thanks for the heads up though!

I’m ready for the ground to thaw. I now have a new Garrett Pin Pointer and a Nokta Makro Simplex at the ready!

 

[flinthunter]

Hi Ryan

The PATH Club monthly meeting is scheduled for Wednesday evening, 6:00 PM, at the Peoria Public Library North Branch. We will be in one of the two library meeting rooms (not sure which one yet). If the meeting time changes I will let you know.

Daryl

 

[MarineMettle]

Well…this turned out to be more difficult than I expected! Lol. Took my first couple swings tonight after work and realized I have so much to learn about the “sweet spot” on my coil.

My first “beep” was basically a top find. Used my hand digger to go about a half inch down. Sadly, my first ever dig resulted in can slaw.

On my second swing I registered a deep 95 on my simplex….dug my first ever plug….and couldn’t pin point anything. (On a good note….it was a beautiful plug, and it went right back into place without looking like I was even there. So that’s a plus!)

I’ll hafta take a few swings after work tomorrow and see what I can do. I hate rookie status. Lol

 

[Odanscoils]

Well…this turned out to be more difficult than I expected! Lol. Took my first couple swings tonight after work and realized I have so much to learn about the “sweet spot” on my coil.

My first “beep” was basically a top find. Used my hand digger to go about a half inch down. Sadly, my first ever dig resulted in can slaw.

On my second swing I registered a deep 95 on my simplex….dug my first ever plug….and couldn’t pin point anything. (On a good note….it was a beautiful plug, and it went right back into place without looking like I was even there. So that’s a plus!)

I’ll hafta take a few swings after work tomorrow and see what I can do. I hate rookie status. Lol

Aluminum,pull tabs,pullrings and deep iron are a nemesis to any machine. Simplex is a sweet machine.
Make a test plot of good targets and junk at your home.
4-6" is deep enough to learn. At least a foot apart. Don't want signals inter mixing.
The longer items are in the ground in your test garden. The better the response from your machine.
The Simplex is not a beep and dig machine.
By listening to the sounds you'll get better.
The VDI numbers are more of a guide as to what the machine is thinking.
95 and up can be iron wrap around.
Look it up.
Disappearing targets can be iron Halo.
Or a very nice diamond earring.
As iron decomposes in the ground.
It creates a crystal bubble around the iron.
Most often a dissolved nail.
Makes a beautiful sounding target.
Most visible in sand. You'll see the black to orangy red as it grows away from the center of the iron.
When you dig you break this crystal matrix.
And the signal all but vanishes.
A simple long 1/4" screw driver pushed in next to the target and wiggled around a bit will usually break the bubble. A second swing then will usually reveal a good or vanished target.
Sometimes just a good heel stomp over the target will do for iron halo break-up.
With practice
Sounds=scratchy, trailing off ,blips peeps at end of swing, lifting coil to judge size and depth,width of signal.
Yes you have much to learn young paddyone.
Sorry I don't live nearby,Ohio. Oldest son lives in Peoria. Why this post caught my eye.
Practice practice practice.
Dig everything.
Noticing sounds and VDI's.
Watch Simplex users.
Curb Strip Chaos on YoTub is fantastic with the Simplex.
Good Luck
And Enjoy your new addiction !!!

 

[MarineMettle]

Aluminum,pull tabs,pullrings and deep iron are a nemesis to any machine. Simplex is a sweet machine.
Make a test plot of good targets and junk at your home.
4-6" is deep enough to learn. At least a foot apart. Don't want signals inter mixing.
The longer items are in the ground in your test garden. The better the response from your machine.
The Simplex is not a beep and dig machine.
By listening to the sounds you'll get better.
The VDI numbers are more of a guide as to what the machine is thinking.
95 and up can be iron wrap around.
Look it up.
Disappearing targets can be iron Halo.
Or a very nice diamond earring.
As iron decomposes in the ground.
It creates a crystal bubble around the iron.
Most often a dissolved nail.
Makes a beautiful sounding target.
Most visible in sand. You'll see the black to orangy red as it grows away from the center of the iron.
When you dig you break this crystal matrix.
And the signal all but vanishes.
A simple long 1/4" screw driver pushed in next to the target and wiggled around a bit will usually break the bubble. A second swing then will usually reveal a good or vanished target.
Sometimes just a good heel stomp over the target will do for iron halo break-up.
With practice
Sounds=scratchy, trailing off ,blips peeps at end of swing, lifting coil to judge size and depth,width of signal.
Yes you have much to learn young paddyone.
Sorry I don't live nearby,Ohio. Oldest son lives in Peoria. Why this post caught my eye.
Practice practice practice.
Dig everything.
Noticing sounds and VDI's.
Watch Simplex users.
Curb Strip Chaos on YoTub is fantastic with the Simplex.
Good Luck
And Enjoy your new addiction !!!

Aluminum,pull tabs,pullrings and deep iron are a nemesis to any machine. Simplex is a sweet machine.
Make a test plot of good targets and junk at your home.
4-6" is deep enough to learn. At least a foot apart. Don't want signals inter mixing.
The longer items are in the ground in your test garden. The better the response from your machine.
The Simplex is not a beep and dig machine.
By listening to the sounds you'll get better.
The VDI numbers are more of a guide as to what the machine is thinking.
95 and up can be iron wrap around.
Look it up.
Disappearing targets can be iron Halo.
Or a very nice diamond earring.
As iron decomposes in the ground.
It creates a crystal bubble around the iron.
Most often a dissolved nail.
Makes a beautiful sounding target.
Most visible in sand. You'll see the black to orangy red as it grows away from the center of the iron.
When you dig you break this crystal matrix.
And the signal all but vanishes.
A simple long 1/4" screw driver pushed in next to the target and wiggled around a bit will usually break the bubble. A second swing then will usually reveal a good or vanished target.
Sometimes just a good heel stomp over the target will do for iron halo break-up.
With practice
Sounds=scratchy, trailing off ,blips peeps at end of swing, lifting coil to judge size and depth,width of signal.
Yes you have much to learn young paddyone.
Sorry I don't live nearby,Ohio. Oldest son lives in Peoria. Why this post caught my eye.
Practice practice practice.
Dig everything.
Noticing sounds and VDI's.
Watch Simplex users.
Curb Strip Chaos on YoTub is fantastic with the Simplex.
Good Luck
And Enjoy your new addiction !!!

Yes…much to learn! Iron halo isn’t a term I’ve heard anywhere yet.