My first day with the Delta

[Gorillajoe]

Well FedEx showed up early this morning with my new Delta and I had it assembled in 4 minutes!

First Impressions~

A plastic screw holds the coil on...don't really like it but I'm sure there is a reason why.
Am I missing the arm strap? Nope, turns out that's an optional accessory. Probably better without it, especially if your taking it off all time.

Wow the screen is bigger than I had imagined that's a plus in my book.
The screen doesn't pivot! that's ok because its position it perfect. I can reach all of the buttons with ease with either hand.

I feel like I've got 4-5 feet of wire to the coil, but only 3 feet of detector...id like to try a longer sweep distance as it was picking up the brass lace holes in my boots occasionally.

The thickness of the metal on the Delta was more than I had expected...makes me wonder how they keep it so light....all in all it feels built to last.

In the Field~

I fired the unit up in my back yard and immediately I was overwhelmed by the iron signals in all metals A1. A2 was better but even on a low sensitivity (6) I was getting false signals.
For my area discrimination is best 55 seems to keep things really quite yet still yields finds.

I put in a good couple hours today learning as i went...my finds are below...

big heavy iron steak probably used to split wood...
2 .22 shells....they hit hard right around 3 inches
Budweiser can from 90's....a solid foot down
olympia beer can nearly gone...7 inches
An old pulley block and hook....about 9 inches down read 99 on the Id found nails next to it in the hole.
1 1967 quarter
1 1989 nickle
9 penny's nothing older than 79
lid to neighbors septic tank....at least 18 inches deep...strong signal 2 feet easy
chain dog collar ....overload on this one
handful of bolts and nails from my gravel driveway
spark plug
rusty razor blade.....I wear gloves now
5 pulltabs
drill bit
dry wall screw in the street
aluminum fittings for A/C system

nothing too good, but i had fun

Its a little to early for me to judge the delta, but as of right now I like it.

gonna try and find some gold tomorrow...wish me luck!

 

[MickTwin]

Great review Gorillajoe! It reminds me of my first experience assembling and giving the Delta its' first try. It's amazing just how much trash accumulates in lawns across America! You sound like you have a great attitude - that really helps when learning the Delta (and perhaps any new metal detector). I found as I use mine more and more, it isn't necessarily WHAT you hear as much as WHAT SOUNDS TO IGNORE.

The Teknetics Delta 4000 is very sensitive and will let you know ALL that it's seeing... even staples, bb's or slivers of aluminum. It will chatter if too much EMI (Electromagnetic interference) is near. Sometimes it falses.. ALL THIS IS GOOD! It means the machine is very capable - you can lower the sensitivity and increase discrimination to deal with these problems and still find the good stuff!

Taking along that good attitude will help you when learning the Delta - and THAT - is the most important tip I have for ya... 2nd - Learn Your Machine! Dig Dig Dig! Play with different settings. Don't be afraid to set the Disc at 10 and hear the low grunts of iron, mid tones of nickles, and the high tones of quarters and dimes... you'll dig plenty of crap, crud 'n clad, but be prepared to find some pre-1965 silver coins, gold and silver rings and perhaps a cool relic too! On one of my first days with the Delta I found a coin spill of 6 old silver coins in one hole! A diamond gold earring another day! (OK the diamond was fake, but the gold was 14k)!

One more suggestion is be sure you have a good pinpointer... my Garrett Pro Pointer (just lost when I left it on my trucks' bumper after a hunt) proved invaluable.. Get one if you don't already - it makes recovering that target MUCH easier.

Good luck on your future hunts and keep us all posted! MickTwin

 

[Gorillajoe]

Right on Mark thanks for the advice!

I've got the pen pointer that came with the delta, just don't have a spare 9volt yet ill get one next week...should make retrieval a little easier.

Today is day 2 with the Delta, Check out my find today in the post titled Delta Saturday Night Special!

 

[MickTwin]

I read your post about the gun. I think I'd let the local police have it and show where you found it.. who knows, it may help them solve a case - even get you an "in" to other properties.

I'm assuming the pin pointer that came with your Delta is the Bounty Hunter/Fisher brand (it has an adjustable knob). While it is better than nothing, when I made the switch to the Garrett Pro Pointer, it made that one look like a piece of crap. (Can't wait for First Texas to come out with a better one) Get a GOOD one as soon as you can - either the Pro Pointer or the Pistol Probe or Uni-Probe.. I hear the Sun Ray inline probes are good too FX-1 but it doesn't look like he has one for the Teknetics line yet.

 

[Gorillajoe]

I've been thinking a bit about the gun...it's age and condition really and what kind of clues might be found...finger prints are out of the question, so is bullet matching as the years in the soil has taken its tole on the barrel. every part was rusted tight...Homemade left grip made extremely poorly...no notch in it for the safety. the right grip is missing making its trigger useless.
Judging from the value of the gun which might possibly be the cheapest pistol ever made and being without a clip and missing several parts. I believe it was simply thrown away 5-10 years ago or when the company went out of business in 2002 and parts where discontinued.
I wasn't buried just covered by pine needles and oak tree leaves and small pebbles from the above culvert pipe.
I'm thinking about running the serial numbers though BATF with the help of an FFl dealer. I think they charge 15 bucks to do it.
If it has any type of record I'll then contact the sheriff office see if they have any interest in it..
Where I found it is quite the hike don't really care for going back...

Thanks for the advice on the pin pointers , ill have to add one of those to my list along with a 5'' DD coil.

 

[Woodrow]

if you see any hint at all of a serial number, they can use acid to ecth out the number and make it readable. Sounds like the Delta is doing it's job