New to the hobby

[AkroMan]

Hello , everyone , I am new to the hobby . I bought my first detector about 6 months ago through an army navy store , all they had were BH's so I picked up the Quick Draw II , only because they had a payment plan .

At first I was getting frustrated with having to dig and dig and only come up with a pull tab or a crushed can , but just the other night while the sun was going down I pulled out a 1925 s Wheatie my first kind of old coin , it was so neat! I have a little trouble however locating my target after I have dug the plug , sometimes I just fill it back in because I could never locate what was making the detector beep in the first place . I guess I just need more practice . Also my pinpointers speaker does not sound very loud anymore after I dropped it , so I am looking for another one .

I hope I fit in on this forum , metal detecting is so addictive . Talk to ya later!

 

[jjaddict]

Welcome to the forum!! I'm sure you will be able to find all the help you need here. On your disappearing signals, when it happens again, switch you machine over to "all metal", and you should be able to locate it in the plug that way. If still no luck, try the hole in "All Metal". Still no luck, take some more dirt out of the hole and see if you got it. When you dig a plug you might disturb the "halo" around the object, making it harder to find. Pinpointer is always a handy tool in assisting also, but I only bust it out as a last resort. Congrats on the old wheatie!! S mint marks are hard to find around my neck of the woods. Good luck and Happy Hunting!!

 

[Dustyroundup]

Howdy Akroman,
Welcome aboard.
You'll fit in just fine. Just keep posting.

jjaddict pretty much said it all, but I myself use my Pinpointer immediately,.
I was just thinking the other day, that it has become quite a crutch, and what would I do if it broke.

Sorry to hear about the speaker problem. But , what I'm wondering is , does it have a headphone jack ?
My BH 505 does, so I'm betting yours does too.
Alot of people use headphones, as do I. I do think I can hear better, and sometimes a detector will make a slight change in threshold sound, that cant really be heard from the speaker,
These slight changes in sound are from the machine noticing something deep, that it cant quite figure out what it is,

Just my thoughts, as a set of headphones would be cheaper than a new detector, adn when you do upgrade , you'll still have the headphones.

Good Luck there.
And keep on diggin

Dusty

 

[jjaddict]

Something that also sometimes happens is you hit the target with your digger and push it further down and out of range of your detector.

The full process that I go through until I locate it:

Dig the plug, flip it out. Scan the plug....scan the hole
Switch to All Metal: scan the plug...scan the hole (I think a lot of people bust out the pinpointer and scan the hole at this point, I usually wait)
Flip the plug over to expose the grass side: scan the grass side of plug (small bits of trash (aluminum/foil usually) close to the surface are the most common culprit of disappearing signals, for me)

Still nothing? woohoo, probably a good deep signal!!! Unless you were off on your pinpointing

At this point I will either bust out the pinpointer and probe the hole, or remove some dirt from the sides of the hole and make it a little deeper, and scan the new material.

Still nothing...this is where you have to decide whether or not to continue pursuing the target, if your getting too deep it will probably just be a large piece of crap or something huge a couple feet down.
It could also be a small piece of foil or aluminum that has turned on it's side and your detector won't pick it up anymore, until it's moved and the flat side exposed.
Deep iron will sometimes shoot off a sweet signal, square nails get me occasionally, I don't mind them though, they look cool, and show that the site has some good age.

The best thing is to just keep swinging away, the more you use your detector, the more you will get in tune with what it is telling you. A lot of trial and error is involved.

Good luck!

 

[AkroMan]

Hey guys , thanks for the greetings . I'll have to make my message brief because my back is aching . I am going to try all the new tips you guys gave me . Also it was actually the pin pointer that I had dropped , I was thinking of going to Radio Shack and getting another Piezo speaker for it to see if I can repair it .
I've got my eye on another pin pointer though because the one Ive got is getting kind of ragged , I am using one of those CEN-TEC ones.

I can't wait to get back out there and do some digging , it's a nice day today so maybe I will . There are a lot of ghost towns up in the mountains in my state I sure would like to go up to some of those and pull out some nice Morgan's or something man would that be nice . As far as headphones I've got a pair and they are pretty nice , and I use them allot . Well I'll talk with you guys later on . See ya!

 

[BDCC13]

Hey AkroMan welcome to the forum!! These guys pretty much covered the recovery process. I use the CenTech pinpointers too, I had the same problem with my speaker. Just resolder the wires and your good to go. The contacts inside the switch get dirty also. There is a modification you can do also that will increase the range to about 2" on dimes adjustable down to 1/2". Let me know if you want to do it and I'll send ya the info. HH.

 

[AkroMan]

Thanks BDCC13 for the greeting . Yes ! I would like the info for the mod on the CEN-TEC , thank you . Whelp I went out this evening dug three plugs found the end of a coat hanger , two pull tabs , then I started to practice the probing technique where you push a long screwdriver into the ground and probe around but I didn't hit anything , the dirt was real moist and packed and thick , I use a shovel to dig a plug , you have to dig with a shovel around here because the dirt is so compact . I keep digging allot of the old style pull tabs so I know the park has some history , it is also the park where I pulled out that wheatie , however I think I would like to find some other location , as this one is getting a little old . I can't wait to dig up some silver .

The CET-TEC wasn't working so good after 20 minutes it would barely pick up anything , I think I should open it up and start checking connections . As far as tot-lots go I can never really find anything at them , occasionally I do but most of the time I dig a deep hole and never find the target . Quick target recovery is what I am working on right now , I really want to get that target out of that hole fast . I did go to a tot-lot the other day and my first target was a ring but it was a toy ring it said "made in china" and it had a plastic gem in it , but when I first pulled it out of there I was pretty excited , however, that day I did find all my targets in the tot-lot , I just need to keep practicing . Take care guys .

BDCC13 did you need my Email to send me the info? it's REDEYEFLIGHT99@yahoo.com

 

[BDCC13]

I'll email you the info, let me know how it turns out.

 

[debratownsend62]

Treasure hunting is such a fine hobby that offers great excitement particular when you start to find something. Those findings will trigger yourself to engage more in the hobby. Having this hobby is a bit expensive especially when you're just starting. But those expenses will be paid off with the results of such endeavor.

Metal detectors plays a very vital role in this kind of hobby. That's the reason why we should acquire a good detector that could satisfy our exploration. There are lots of metal detectors to choose from. One of them is Bounty Hunter Detector which comes in differen model and styles and its ranges from $50 to $650.

 

[gourdy]

Welcome Akroman!
Next time you lose your target after digging, scrape the dirt or mud off you shovel and scan over that area. You may find that it stuck to your shovel. It's happened to me me than once. Much success to you.

 

[AkroMan]

I'll try that Gourdy , thanks.

 

[jjaddict]

Good call Bonnie! Pull-tabs are notorious for doing that. I've been dooped by that one a lot, at least every couple of hunts. When I'm dumbfounded by a really stong signal that disappeared, that's usually what has happened.

 

[ICEROUGE]

Hi every one. I am also brand new to the hobby. I have alway had a passion to relic hunt but never had the money to invest in the equptment. Well I had a bunch of credit card points saved up so I dished out $349 worth of them to buy a cabelas sharp shooter ultra mag. I am very confused by all the "motion" and "non-motion" "all metal" "disc" and "notch" modes. LOL I just want to go out and find cool old stuff. Any advice for a newbie with a passion for history would be greatly appreaseated.

 

[AkroMan]

Well ICROUGE I will give you the quick and dirty version , "motion" means you have to move the coil over the target for the detector to sound off , "non-motion" means you can move the coil over the ground and when it gets closer and closer to a target it gives a solid continuous sound , instead of just a beep , the closer you approach the target the louder the sound gets . "All-Metal" means it will detect all metals including iron,gold,silver,tin foil,ect... "disc" means discriminate , which means you can get rid of unwanted metals such as iron , but gold falls in that side of the detectors scale to so as you are getting rid of iron you are also getting rid of gold so you have to make a choice when you are in the field . And finally "notch" I am not to familiar with but I know that you can notch out a certain metal without getting rid of the precious metals such as gold and silver , while still getting rid of things for example like iron while still keeping your good metals like gold and silver . Hope this helps , gotta go.

 

[TerraDigger]

Not to be a downer....but Cabela's way over-charges for their metal detectors. Contact a forum dealer here at Findmall first (they will give you honest advice), or a local dealer in your area. Or even Fee-Bay if you want. You will get more for your money. Just my opinion.