Some good advice there, go & see a dealer in your area, grab a couple of magazines,ie Eastern & western etc. Read through them,& set yourself a realistic budget, you dont need to buy a very expensive unit as a first machine.Any reputable dealer should let you try a machine first & will often lend a demonstator (especially if its a high end unit).Although you dont need to go for a high end unit,instead take a warrantied S/H unit from one of the more reputable manufacturers ie Whites, Tesoro,Fisher,Garrett, some of the older high end units from the last 5-10 yrs are still as usuable & are compatible performance-wise as a lot of the latest machines. (I still own & use a 20 yr old Fisher 1265X that I bought for $70 as well as owning several other high end detectors). Dont be suckered into spending more money than you can afford until you have experience of what you are getting into, one machine doesnt do everything & you can make very expensive mistakes by buying the wrong hardware. Get some good advice from a recommended dealer,have realistic expectations & above all enjoy yourself,& remember very few good T/h`ers are born that way,most had to learn the craft. Spike.HH