First detecting trip - long version

[Bowtie41]

Well,
Got back from Fla. safe and sound Sat.When we left weather channel called for rain all 7 days,glad they're not always right.Turned out about 50/50.After buying a CZ-20 for the trip,only got to spend about 3 hrs total MDing.Gotta keep family happy.This was our 1st time on the Atlantic side.Wasn't what I expected,but better than no beaches at all.It was HEAVILY sanded in,with almost no beach area to speak of where we stayed,and there were 2-4 ft waves and rips all week.When we arrived a week ago Sat. there were squalls,and later that day,I got out to try my new detector for about 45 min. and found a few caps,nails,tabs,and $0.35 !!! I was so excited.Sunday was my step-daughters birthday,and it was rainy,so we did what she wanted all day---shop!Monday drove to West Palm Beach to pickup her Grandma from her Dad's side.He's a deadbeat who doesn't pay support,call her on B'days or even X-mas but can't blame his parents for that,they are nice people so I try to get along.Tuesday was the wife's birthday,and the weather was nice for most of day,so we got up at 4am,and drove all the way to Key West.Loved the drive,but it was rough on back.Sightseed(is that a word?) all day,and we got in at midnight!!Wednesday G'ma had to fly home,so we got back up at 3:45am,went back to West Palm Beach,dropped her off,and came back to Jensen Beach,it was rainy,so we slept rest of day!Got out about 1/2 hr before storms came back and found only caps,nails.Thursday weather was nice,we got up and drove to Orlando because wifes cousins sent us free tickets to Universal they couldn't use,Bonus!Rode a couple rides till my back/neck killing me,watched the rest of the time.Boy I miss being able to ride coasters like I used to.Had to come back and rest back/neck rest of evening and 1/2 day Friday.Got out for about 1-1/2 hrs at a different beach up the road.They are still digging out in several areas and the dock that was on the postcards is no longer there.At our condo the beach is virtually nonexistant at high tide,and the beach is steep.If you go out only about 15 yards,it drops from waist deep to about 12 feet,not much fun.At the public beach we went to Fri.,there was about 50 ft. of beach then there were 2-3 ft cuts,then the steep dropoff.The hunt Fri turned up 30 caps,14 nails,1 old type tab,2 new tabs,2 cigarette packs,1 can,1 piece of swingset pipe,2 small unidentifiable pieces of iron,and $0.10,Yeah!! I was impressed with the CZ-20.It was easy to learn,and deep!One cap was literally elbow-deep,no lie.Hip mount helped back quite a bit,but MDing still makes me cramp after about 1/2 hr.Gotta live with it.Bought a chest harness but haven't tried it yet.I set it for all metal,hence the trash,but it helped me learn how to pinpoint,plus general learning.The wife used my friends Garrett GTI-1500.I set it up all-metal,salt elim,and it worked very well.She only hunted about an hour all week,but found several caps tabs,nails,but no coinage.All in all everyone was happy and looking forward to next year MDing,but probably back on Gulf side next time.Below are a few pics of the rough waters,and my $0.45 nut.Considering the only times I had available to hunt were all high-tide,Am I happy,You bet !!!!!

Kirk

 

[Steve and Bia]

Bowtie, Too bad about the beach. Better luck next time!

In 1986 was rear ended when a nurse drove her Honda Accord into the back of my motorcycle at a stop light. She was doing 40 and I hyper extended my neck when I went through her windshield. Lots of therapy soon followed! Then in 2000, I was rear ended by a semi who squashed me into the rear of another semi. What are the chances of that! That accident herniated my lumbar disk and paralyzed my left leg. I had to get an operation to correct it. Because of these injuries I understand what your saying when you talk about resting your neck and back. Swinging a detector around can be tuff but I found if you keep your chin off your chest and look around every once in a while, your neck will appreciate it. When I walk I usually look four feet in front of the coil until a target rings in. Another really good trick, ironically, is extending the shaft further so your coil is further out in front of you. When I swing the shaft I use my hips and lats instead of twisting my upper body. Do you understand what I mean?

 

[Bowtie41]

Steve,
We have similar stories and injuries.Was at a stop in traffic in 2001 and rear ended by a cab driver.Hyper extended my neck too,broke the seat,pushed bed into cab of truck(S-10 Extreme),left me with 2 ruptured discs in neck,one fractured vertabrae in middle of back,and 2 bulging discs in lumbar,sciatic.Went through 2 yrs of physical therapy,no help,but they said I shouldn't have all the pain I do from these injuries,they're not severe enough to warrant surgery,and just to quit working,and live with it.Used to be no more than 20 lbs lifting,now they cut it back to 10.They put me on 17 pills a day so far,nothing really works.They wouldn't put me on anything for pain till last month,and only because I threatened to find relief on the street.The pills haven't worked yet,I go back to Dr. today,hopefully will try somethin else.2 attornies later,and they still say I may never get enough for even the med. bills.Then they wonder why I'm depressed even after taking 2 pills for that.That's why my wife said I could spend all that money on a detector.To get me out of the house a little,and maybe walk off some of the weight I've gained due to no exercise since the accident.Sorry to whine,just helps when others have similar situations,cause we really understand what others don't always believe.
As far as extending the shaft,and looking farther ahead,I learned that the first trip out.I know the book said 1 foot in front but I couldnt look down either.Made a big difference.I did just like you said,looked ahead till I got a tone.Helped a lot.Thanks for the tips,and the support.


Kirk

 

[Steve and Bia]

I don't know what doctor you had but I hope your attorney made up for it enough to keep you $$ happy. I had an MRI days after my semi truck accident that showed a slight bulging disc and they sent me to thereapy. A month later I couldn't walk right and 6 months later my leg was paralyzed. I was in so much pain that I couldn't sleep. I had been awake for 3 days straight. Anyway, my doctor wouldn't give me pain meds. He said, "I dont want you to get addicted to them." I drove to his office, crawled into the lobby and yelled....

"If you don't f'n give me something for this f'n pain I'm going to jump out your f'n window!"

They gave me a hip shot of morphine on the spot and said, "If the pain is really that bad then somethings really wrong."

They sent me to get another MRI and saw a herniated disk... the same disc that was bulging earlier. My neurosurgeon couldn't believe my doctor wouldn't give me meds and said...

"Thats what they're for so if you need any again just let me know!"

So, maybe you should get a second opinion.

 

[Bottomfeeder]

#!@&*!. What do ya think that disc knob is??? Set it to 1, and you won't break your spine digging all that junk!! You'll still get your good stuff.
If you wanted an all metal detector, I'd have gotten a PI Pro.
There, hope I didn't offend you, but you were making my back hurt with the description of your medical problems, and the junk yard you were digging up.
Seriously, use the disc at one, even two, and you will actually find a lot more stuff. Why??
SHHHHH... don't tell anyone, but that way you don't waste all that time digging trash. Have a good one.

 

[ocbob]

Hi Bowtie:

Looks like the weather was not he best on your Florida trip sometimes that can be good, very good, but at other times a storm can sand-in a beach making it difficult to find the good stuff. I've used a CZ-20 for many years with outstanding results. The machine is very sensitive and deep seeing.

I mostly hunt the beaches of Ocean City, Maryland, and Fenwick Island, Delaware. As far as actually operating the machine, after thousands of hours of use and trying many settings I find hunting in auto tone until a target is located, then switching to (1) on the disc. control, (this will give you your tone separation and allow you to dig the good stuff and ignore the bad. A buzz tone is usually not desirable unless you are looking for ferris metal shipwreck items.

I would suggest taking several metal objects, such as, an aluminum can, nail, gold ring, silver earring, and other metal items to see how your machine reacts to each item.

I'm sure you will have very good luck using your CZ-20 in the future

Good luck,
ocbob

 

[Bowtie41]

Okay you 2(BF & oc),I get your point....
I'm not offended at all,and if I wasn't at the beach for the 1st time with it,I wouldn't have been in all metal.I would have at least been at 1 on disc.I was just afraid I may miss something good even if it wasn't gold.What I didn't mention in the post was other than the 1st bottlecap I found at elbow-deep which I dug,all the rest of the objects were dug either by my NEW teenager(just turned 13 yr old{thinks she's 23} stepdaughter)she loves the new sandscoop I bought,or by my wife.What killed my back was having anything of weight in my outstretched hand,er,the shaft.Having the box on my hip(actually swung around where wallet would be)unless I was PP helped immensely.I also had problems with the headphones on my head after awhile(due to me looking down all the time at 1st....Bad Boy),so I just hung them around my neck and cranked volume to 10,which helped.When the wind got so bad it was hard to hear,I put them on head,and just looked straight out till I got a signal,then they would dig it for me,which also helped.I definately wasn't disappointed with the experience,and the wife said I looked like a kid in a candy store smiling even though I was in pain.Even walking through stores causes grief,so I usually rent a scooter(like at Universal) for that,or at least lean on a cart which really helps.The day before I left I tried it in yard with a few clad,a couple silvers I've had for years,a gold ring,and a $5 gold piece(protected of course)my brother-in -law gave me.I found it wasn't too hard to distinguish the tones.As I said this is my first "real" detector.What I also found was my yard is so full of stuff(including high tones,which will get checked later),it was difficult to get a clean area to even GB,guess that's a good thing.Love my new detector,just gotta be sensible with it.I learned alot with it in only 3 hrs of use,such as extending it out helps,don't look down,keep one of my 3 teenagers handy Maybe I can drill a hole in them and hang them around my belt with a rope.............Nah the girls already have pierced ears,the son will surely follow.
See ya'll in Stockton!
HH
Kirk

 

[Bowtie41]

Well Steve,neither lawyer got me squat.Hired another just to get my SS 3 yrs after wreck,didn't even get truck fixed yet even tho my insurance said they would.I feel the dam cab co. should pay for it.Dr. is now rechecking all my meds and sending me to another pain management Dr. in a couple weeks,hopefully it helps.These Darvocets aren't cutting it.

 

[Lee - MI - MI]

[attachment 9139 THCodger.gif]After two back surgeries and another visit to the doctor scheduled for next week I guess that even though I am uncomfortable, I don't have it as bad as either of you do. Thank God for that!

When I am doing the wet sand with my sun glasses and big grin as I walk along with my head up and just lolling about, my wife says that I look like Stevie Wonder. I might look blind but with a MD, who has to see. ( I actually have seen coins on top of the sand though.)

Welcome back Kirk. As I said earlier, even though you are having fun, it is a humbling experience as you find how much you still do not know.

Funny thing about experience. It takes time to get it.

 

[Jim Pa]

You don't have to describe what you said to the Dr

 

[BEACH HUNTER]

n/t