Ping ping honk ping.

[mwaynebennett]

Will a quarter always give a ping regardless of direction of swing and angular location of the swinger? When I get a ping ping honk ping, is not going to be a quarter? Today I got a super consistent ping ping ping ping with an occasional honk. BH said a quarter at 6 inches. It was sure to be a coin. But reality is reality and when I dug it, it was some partially rusted piece of steel at 6 inches.

My yard must have been the dump for the mansion that used to be across the street.

Mark
Elite 2200

 

[drummerman]

Mark

I know from my experience that depending on what the object is, how corroded it is and the what the soil is comprised of makes it harder to get an accurate hit sometimes. The microprocessor in today's MT's are great, but if an object has been in the ground for a long time, corrosion will fool the MT into thinking the object is something else. I have had it happen to me plenty of times.
When I first got my MT, I went into my backyard with different coins, bolts, nuts. all kinds of stuff, and dug holes all over the place and put in the objects, (my wife wasn't to happy) and covered them up to get a feel of my MT. It helped me allot however. they were all nice and clean. I thought at the time that metal detecting would be a breeze. I found out real quick that is not the case. Metal detecting is a continuous learning process.

Take old coins and stuff you find, don't clean them, leave them dirty and corroded and bury them in the ground under a controlled environment. Try putting in the coins flat, on edge, and an at different angles, even put totally different metal objects together in the same hole.
Oh. When you do this, (and even when you hunt) I have found that plastic golf tee's are great to mark spots. Having the tee right over the object also helps you to learn good pin-pointing habits, and doesn't affect the MT.

Here is a pretty nice site on metal detecting if you are interested.

metal detecting world dot com. (When I pasted the link, it didn't show up right. the link is one word. I had to space it to show up)

Check out the "Metal Detecting Secrets For Beginners" even if you are not a beginner. The part in there about "Halo Effect & Disappearance of A Good Signal" sure cleared up allot of questions I had when I got hits, dug and dug and didn't find anything.
I have had my MT for a couple of years and I am definitely not an expert. I still search the WEB on metal detecting for tips tricks and such. Plus. This forum has a great many of knowledgeable people are willing to help.

Happy hunting.

Oh. And lets us know if you try my suggestions and if if helps you any.

 

[mwaynebennett]

Hi Drummerman:

When I first got into this, I buried a 1950s US penny at 3"-4" flat, a 1950's US nickel at 3"-4" flat and the silver Canadian dime 3"-4" flat. My Elite detects them all as iron. If I discriminate out the iron, they show up as pull tabs. I understand the nickel showing up as a pull tab but not the copper penny and the silver dime.

No corrosion on these coins. I have been watering the spots where I buried them (they are all 24" from each other in known locations) and still the signal remains the same.

I get the feeling that this sport is 75% art and 25% science.

Mark
Elite 2200

 

[drummerman]

Mark

You may be correct about the 75%/25%.
I have dug up PLENTY of trash, and I have gotten frustrated plenty of times. But every once in a while you find something cool, and the excitement returns.

It's like the MT users have all ways said. "When in doubt. Dig it out."

Believe me. "Keep on Trucking." (how many of you out there remembers that phrase?) and the day will come when you will be glad you have a metal detector.

 

[mwaynebennett]

Drummerman:

I carry my MD with me where ever I go. I figure most parks have been searched fairly well, but I live in an area where the new highways (1970s) don't always exactly follow the old pioneer roads, and plan on checking along the old roads that sometimes are just a few yards from the newer ones. Heck, 100 years of use by sojourners and other travelers must have resulted in an occasional coin drop at camp sites or rest stops etc. Off the beaten track is the way to go if old coins are to be had.

Mark
Elite 2200

 

[drummerman]

Definitely! I have been wanting to get down to a part of a major street in my area has been torn up. It's a major road that passes under HWY 52 not far from St. Paul Mn. Can't seem to get the time to go there. Plus, I don't want to be there when they are working.
I have never searched (yet anyway) any torn up streets or sidewalks, but I have heard that sometimes people find some good stuff.
I have been trying to find old schools that are being torn down, or have been vacated. If a school has been around say 60 plus years, maybe I will find something cool. When you think, especially in old elementary schools, kids have lunch money and toys in their pockets so when go to play in the playground at recess. Logic dictates that there could be a lot of coins and stuff in old school grounds just waiting to be found.
Most of my hunts have been at camp grounds. I have a 5th wheel that my wife and I use for weekend get-aways. I bring my MT with me and search when ever I can. I find lots of trash, but I remove it and dispose it. Might as well help God's green earth when I can.

How about you? Where are your favorite areas?

 

[mwaynebennett]

Hi Drummerman:

I have only had my MD for a few weeks and I live 1 mile from a very buys public park. I have been practicing there as well as in my yard. I did go to a state run camp ground a few weeks ago and the campers must have either been drinking or changing cloths in the dark for there were many coins in the ground there. Only clad however. I did find a nice sterling silver ring last week at the local park. There is a nice strong always ping ping ping signal at about 3" there I want to get to, but with the warm weather, the park is inundated with folks. I need to to there at 8:00 AM.

I am presently researching old blockhouse forts used locally during the Indian wars of the 1850s. There are no historical markers where they were and don't appear on modern maps, so I'm going to have to check with the historical society etc. I am also researching old stagecoach lines and stage stops. I live about 1 mile from the Naches Trail, which as originally an Indian trail over the Cascade Mts. The US army used it to connect Fort Walla Walla to Fort Stillicoom and the immigrants used it for a a while to get over the mts. There were cattle drives from Yakima to Tacoma using that trail and I think that the buckaroos must have had to make camp every 15-20 miles. I can't imaging a steer walking more than about 20 miles in a day. Near me, most of the trail is not under a modern road. Some is, but not much.

I use the local park as a testing ground. There are many hundreds of consistent ping ping ping targets about 7+" down. There are either wonderful treasures or most likely aluminum cans. Once the soil gets wetter, I'll check on them.

Mark
Elite2200

 

[drummerman]

Sounds like your in for allot of fun!
In Minnesota, MT's are not allowed in state or city parks, or public property, and ya have to really be careful where you hunt. I have been told by people at schools that I cannot hunt there, so I have been researching to find schools that have either been vacated or demolished. If I find one that has been or is to be torn down, I race over there to search for as long as I can. Most of the time no one bothers me on those sites. But for the most part, I haven't found many.
I have asked permission and even printed out an agreement promising that I will respect the property I am searching, carefully dig and cover all my holes, and remove any trash I find. But most of the time I am refused, or they want me to give them my finds. I know that is part of a metal detectors honor code, but honestly. How much fun is it to find cool stuff and not be able to take any of it with you.
That's why I posted "Curious where everyone searches, or wants to search" on this forum. I am hoping to find more sites to search with out getting rejected.

Best of luck in your searches, and see ya on the ground!!