Not a bad choice for a first detector. Some suggestions:
- Buy a set of White's Royal GT headphones. They work well, are fairly light, and have a very long cord.
- Go to Radio Shack and get a headphone splitter. This will allow you to both listen to the targets at the same time while one swings and the other digs. Let the digger wear the Royals, since he will be moving around more.
- Boy scout camps are great to hunt, I've pulled lots of silver out of them. Look for the camping area. Not the cabins, but the tent area. There was always a fire that was gathered 'round. Start at the fire pit and spiral outward.
- Look for water spigots near the camping area. Scouts formed lines to get water, and kids in line are fidgety. Fidgety kids drop stuff!
- Look for an assembly area and search the path you would have walked between the camping area and the assembly area.
All areas are likely to produce. These areas will produce more.
Unlike the Spectrum XLT and DFX, the Eagle Spectrum presets are fairly hot out of the box. You can still tweak them up a bit for more depth, though. Read the manual thoroughly to gain an understanding of how the various settings work and increase them incrementally. A good ground balance is key. Without that, the hottest settings in the world are ineffective.
When you decide to move to a newer detector, I suggest an M6 or MXT. Their higher frequency will allow you to hunt together with minimal mutual interference.
Have fun!