Hello everybody, I just wanted to know if I made a mistake by purchasing a Minelab Explorer SE. I am BRAND NEW to this hobby and know absolutely nothing. After two days of research and making phone calls to a few different businesses, I've come to the conclusion that this unit is one of the best. I hope it isn't hard to operate (and learn). Just to let you know I live in central Ohio and frequent NE PA and N KY. Hopefully after a few years of hunting I'll be able to find enough to cover the high price of the detector. Any comments or suggestions are appreciated. Thank you.
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Did I make a mistake?
- Thread starter Banzai
- Start date
Chris(SoCenWI)
Well-known member
to want to wrap the machine around a tree a few times. If you keep at it you will learn.
As far as paying for the machine, you will pay for it faster by walking roadsides collecting aluminum cans. Coins really aren't worth as much as people think, finding rare date coins doesn't happen very often. It is a hobby, enjoy it, you might break even some day but don't approach it that way.
Chris
As far as paying for the machine, you will pay for it faster by walking roadsides collecting aluminum cans. Coins really aren't worth as much as people think, finding rare date coins doesn't happen very often. It is a hobby, enjoy it, you might break even some day but don't approach it that way.
Chris
Thanks for the reply Chris... I don't have the SE yet, it'll be here prob next Tues. I'm looking forward to learning ALL I can and even more excited about finding my first "Find". Hopefully I'll find something nice (so I can give it to my wife, and prove to her it was a good idea to buy the SE). It was either this or a new motorcycle. I've read SOOO many articles/postings for the past two days, I'll have a headache for a week... and I'll still have the manual to read when I get it. Hope I'm not too OLD to start hunting for stuff like this. Everyone I've spoke to has been doing it for at least 20 years. Thanks again & HH ! !
Why wait fo rit to show up to read the manual? Download it from Minelab and read it while you are waiting.
http://minelab.com/consumer/page.php?section=272&id=4&pId=5&pNm=Explorer%20SE
You can also find the old Exploring the Explorer video on youtube (it's in 2 parts). It isn't specifict to the SE, but it does go over basic Explorer info.
http://minelab.com/consumer/page.php?section=272&id=4&pId=5&pNm=Explorer%20SE
You can also find the old Exploring the Explorer video on youtube (it's in 2 parts). It isn't specifict to the SE, but it does go over basic Explorer info.
The reason being.. you have no previous experience. I know that may sound weird but it mean's that you have no experience with a different detector that could make you think the SE is not as good as the other one. You are a blank slate and as such you will be able to learn the SE.
Just get out and use it. That is the main thing. Don't be afraid to experiment with it. I have a new one too and it is different from other machines but what does that matter to you? Nothing!!!! That is great news for you!
Do this. Plant a small test garden in your yard, not too deep, maybe two inches. Not too elaborate. A quarter, dime, nickel, bronxe penny, zinc penny. Then a small piece of aluminum can, a larger one, a whole crushed can. Several types of pulltabs, A few old nails. A larger piece of iron.
Mark the targets with colored golf tees and make a legend on paper for when you forget what is where. Practice on it. If you wear jeans, carry a silver quaters, a newer dime, a nickel, and a bronxe and zinc penny in your watch pocket so when you are in the field you can toss one down and refresh your memory as to how they sound and read.
Go to the local park or soccer field and hunt shallow coins but don't be afraid to hunt for relics and such whereever you think they may be. I will not go into a fenced area or a posted property but if it is not fenced or posted and there is no house there I will hunt it. Especially vacant lots in older parts of town. You will find cool stuff in old vacant lots.
You can learn a bit on the boards but really, there is no teacher other than experience. Don't rely on the screen too much, use it bur dig. The digging tool is the best discriminator. That is how you will learn.
Learn to dig a neat, small hole. Try to never cut all four sides, leave at least one side connected and it will help the grass to not die but if it is really dry you will leave a broen ring in the lawn. Remember that if you get permission to hunt a nice lawn. In a nice lawn you may want to wait until it is the rainy season so you will not mess up someone's lawn. You will get good sites to hunt by asking. Ask whoever you know and ask anyone, the worst they can do is say no. Never carry a shovel into a park or someone's lawn, get a Lesche tool.
Always ALWAYS fill your holes, even in the woods. Try to leave your holes so that no one can tell you have been there. Respread the mulch or the leaves.
That is all of my advice except for this: have fun!
Julien
Just get out and use it. That is the main thing. Don't be afraid to experiment with it. I have a new one too and it is different from other machines but what does that matter to you? Nothing!!!! That is great news for you!
Do this. Plant a small test garden in your yard, not too deep, maybe two inches. Not too elaborate. A quarter, dime, nickel, bronxe penny, zinc penny. Then a small piece of aluminum can, a larger one, a whole crushed can. Several types of pulltabs, A few old nails. A larger piece of iron.
Mark the targets with colored golf tees and make a legend on paper for when you forget what is where. Practice on it. If you wear jeans, carry a silver quaters, a newer dime, a nickel, and a bronxe and zinc penny in your watch pocket so when you are in the field you can toss one down and refresh your memory as to how they sound and read.
Go to the local park or soccer field and hunt shallow coins but don't be afraid to hunt for relics and such whereever you think they may be. I will not go into a fenced area or a posted property but if it is not fenced or posted and there is no house there I will hunt it. Especially vacant lots in older parts of town. You will find cool stuff in old vacant lots.
You can learn a bit on the boards but really, there is no teacher other than experience. Don't rely on the screen too much, use it bur dig. The digging tool is the best discriminator. That is how you will learn.
Learn to dig a neat, small hole. Try to never cut all four sides, leave at least one side connected and it will help the grass to not die but if it is really dry you will leave a broen ring in the lawn. Remember that if you get permission to hunt a nice lawn. In a nice lawn you may want to wait until it is the rainy season so you will not mess up someone's lawn. You will get good sites to hunt by asking. Ask whoever you know and ask anyone, the worst they can do is say no. Never carry a shovel into a park or someone's lawn, get a Lesche tool.
Always ALWAYS fill your holes, even in the woods. Try to leave your holes so that no one can tell you have been there. Respread the mulch or the leaves.
That is all of my advice except for this: have fun!
Julien
Chris(SoCenWI)
Well-known member
I've seen too many people that do a sloppy job of digging. If the ground is dry you will cause brown spots, no matter how careful you are. Yes they come back the next year but you can piss people off in the meantime. I only hunt construction sites when it is dry.
Chris(SoCenWI)
Well-known member
n/t
WOW!! What excellent replies!! I really appreciate everyones advice. I surely didn't know "NOT" to dig all four sides of a hole... I'll be sure to make it somewhat like a horseshoe.(thanks jbow!) As for filling all the holes, that I plan on keeping a bucket to put all the dirt in (except the top horseshoe part) then replacing all the dirt directly back in the hole. Also, I am now aware of not to dig when it'sdry(good advice!!) I visit NE PA in the Bradford Co. area DukeOBass (that's where the "Inlaws" reside.) I do plan on hitting some beaches (the lakes & creeks around Columbus) and some areas that I know where people hang out at non-park beaches. Once again, THANKS to all of you who replied!! I'll keep my eyes open for more advice, and let you know when I get the SE. OH! I almost forgot, I just found out today that I have to work another week at this job 7 days a week and 12 hours a day!!(that makes 4 weeks straight of work!!) (I'll surely be able to pay for the SE now!) So it'll be at least another week before I can go hunting... what a bummer.
You should of bought two, that way, in a week or two, when you're completely frustrated, you'll know that since both machines are doing the same exact things, they both can't be broken, so it's you that is going to have to buckle down and learn what the machine is trying to tell you. The sooner you realize that, the sooner you will come to love this machine and tap into it's full capabilities. Read, Read, Read, Swing, Swing, Swing.......REPEAT.
Forget the bucket and carry a dish towel, it's much easier. Just pile the dirt on it and dump it back in the hole. Bury rocks deep, if you put them at the top of the hole they may come up and cause a problem to a lawn mower. For shallow coins in a nice lawn you can cut a slit in the grass and pop the coin up with a screwdriver. Clad is new coins, (quarters and dimes), with the copper sandwiched in the middle.
J
J
Great advice on the dish towel jbow... maybe I'll use a regular bath towel to give more room. How big of a hole should I dig?? about 8" in diameter, or the same size as the coil?? Also, good idea to bury the rocks deep, never thought of that. I do plan on keeping a trash bag to dispose of all trash I pick (which I expect ALOT for a long while). More than likely I'll dig up all that I can until I figure out how to tell what's really junk... but then I'll have in my mind, "What IF??". I wonder if that happens to anybody else? As for talking my wife into swingin'... that's a whole different...hobby. 