I need some expert advice

bushido

Greenie
Feb 14, 2007
17
0
Detector(s) used
DFX
Hi everybody... My name is Paul and I am fairly new to MD'ing. About a month ago I bought an inexpensive machine and fell in love. Next I purchased a DFX from a local dealer. I have been hunting several times and here is my question. What do you do when you find a good target? By this I mean do you set your machine down, take off your head phones or do you just unplug them. I have tried both ways and when I left the head phones I got tangled, when I unplugged them I would forget to plug them back in. Another thing is that I am right handed and hold my machine with my right hand but it is a pain to dig and scrape with my left hand. I'm just trying to get some " on the job " advice from all you old timers out there so as to save me time with my learning curve. All info will be appreciated, tried and tested. Thanks guys, take care...Paul
 

Charlie P. (NY)

Gold Member
Feb 3, 2006
13,003
17,106
South Central Upstate NY in the foothills of the h
Detector(s) used
Minelab Musketeer Advantage Pro w/8" & 10" DD coils/Fisher F75se(Upgraded to LTD2) w/11" DD, 6.5" concentric & 9.5" NEL Sharpshooter DD coils/Sunray FX-1 Probe & F-Point/Black Widows/Rattler headphone
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I'm right handed & run the headphone cord behind my back. When I knee or squat I set my detector down off to my right and slightly behind so the cord is away and off behind me.

You don't want to be unplugging the headphone for every target. It will eventually wear out the contacts! Especially if it gets gritty while loose.
 

T

treasurejack

Guest
Charlie P. (NY) said:
I'm right handed & run the headphone cord behind my back. When I knee or squat I set my detector down off to my right and slightly behind so the cord is away and off behind me.

You don't want to be unplugging the headphone for every target. It will eventually wear out the contacts! Especially if it gets gritty while loose.

Ditto! I also set my detector off to the side a fair distance from where I will be digging so my digger won't set if off evey time it gets too close to the coil. However, I always make sure it's close enough that I can sweep the dirt in my hand over the coil to see if the target is in that handful of dirt.
 

hollowpointred

Gold Member
Mar 12, 2005
6,871
56
Detector(s) used
Minelab Explorer SE/Garrett GTI 2500/ Ace 250
i leave my phones on and just set the machine down beside me. the cable on the phones usued to drive me nuts but i got used to it after a while. :)
 

Nashoba

Bronze Member
Sep 20, 2006
1,400
17
Washington and Oregon
Detector(s) used
Garret Ace250/Prospecter Bounty hunter(Backup)
treasurejack said:
Charlie P. (NY) said:
I'm right handed & run the headphone cord behind my back. When I knee or squat I set my detector down off to my right and slightly behind so the cord is away and off behind me.

You don't want to be unplugging the headphone for every target. It will eventually wear out the contacts! Especially if it gets gritty while loose.

Ditto! I also set my detector off to the side a fair distance from where I will be digging so my digger won't set if off evey time it gets too close to the coil. However, I always make sure it's close enough that I can sweep the dirt in my hand over the coil to see if the target is in that handful of dirt.

Double Ditto!

~Nash~
 

Jeffro

Silver Member
Dec 6, 2005
4,095
143
Eugene, Oregon
Detector(s) used
Fisher CZ5, White's GM VSat
I run my cord down the front, but its a coiled cord so it shrinks up, never gets in the way. My detector goes in my lap as I kneel, with the coil to my left side. I dig with my right hand, and plop it into my left, easy to get to the coil to see if I'm holding the target. Works for me!
 

T

treasurejack

Guest
Jeffro said:
I run my cord down the front, but its a coiled cord so it shrinks up, never gets in the way. My detector goes in my lap as I kneel, with the coil to my left side. I dig with my right hand, and plop it into my left, easy to get to the coil to see if I'm holding the target. Works for me!

Yep! A "coiled cord" is a HUGE plus!
 

paul1410

Hero Member
Feb 6, 2007
643
2
Land of the Cheese Steak
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Eldorado, White's Spectrum XLT
Hi Bush. Welcome to Tnet. A lot of good ideas previously posted here.

Another source you may want to check out is youtube. Just type in "detecting", there is a whole bunch of detecting videos to see.

HH
 

beavis

Sr. Member
Mar 11, 2007
279
4
Detector(s) used
Garrett Ace 250
Hey bushido!!!! Welcome ;D ;D I"m pretty new at MDing also, and i learned a valuable lesson. MAKE SURE YOU DON"T TEST A HANDFUL OF DIRT WITH A WEDDING BAND ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It took me a few looooong seconds to figure out why a target was there in my hand. but not when i spread the dirt out on the ground?????? I should be embarressed about that, but i'm to old to worry or care. Have fun Mding man!!!!!!! ;D ;D ;D
 

Dick from IA

Sr. Member
Nov 21, 2005
439
1
Fort Dodge Iowa & Aransas Pass Texas
Detector(s) used
Ace 250
Jeffro said:
I run my cord down the front, but its a coiled cord so it shrinks up, never gets in the way. My detector goes in my lap as I kneel, with the coil to my left side. I dig with my right hand, and plop it into my left, easy to get to the coil to see if I'm holding the target. Works for me!

First of all, Welcome Bushido. This is a great place to learn and make some friends, too.

Next, I got a tip here from Jeffro. Never thought about the detector across the lap. I'm a lefty so just have to do it in reverse. Thanks Jeffro
 

Sandman

Gold Member
Aug 6, 2005
13,398
3,992
In Michigan now.
Detector(s) used
Excal 1000, Excal II, Sovereign GT, CZ-20, Tiger Shark, Tejon, GTI 1500, Surfmaster Pulse, CZ6a, DFX, AT PRO, Fisher 1235, Surf PI Pro, 1280-X, many more because I enjoy learning them. New Garrett Ca
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Good advice here from everyone. You might want to lay a piece of cloth on the ground to place any dirt. This way you can dump it all back in the hole. Any coin that falls out of the dirt on the cloth won't get lost in the grass. Experiment to find what works best for you. Have fun.

Good Luck,
Sandman
 

Jeffro

Silver Member
Dec 6, 2005
4,095
143
Eugene, Oregon
Detector(s) used
Fisher CZ5, White's GM VSat
Sandman said:
Good advice here from everyone. You might want to lay a piece of cloth on the ground to place any dirt. This way you can dump it all back in the hole. Any coin that falls out of the dirt on the cloth won't get lost in the grass. Experiment to find what works best for you. Have fun.

Good Luck,
Sandman

Another really good tip, Sandman. I have a hand towel with an eyelet attached to a shower curtain clip, it hangs on my belt loop. Good for just this purpose, and wiping the mud off my fingers afterwards.
 

T

treasurejack

Guest
Sandman said:
Good advice here from everyone. You might want to lay a piece of cloth on the ground to place any dirt. This way you can dump it all back in the hole. Any coin that falls out of the dirt on the cloth won't get lost in the grass. Experiment to find what works best for you. Have fun.

Good Luck,
Sandman

Super idea! A treasure hunting cloth! Man.....why can't I think of stuff like that?
(don't answer that please. lol)
 

OP
OP
bushido

bushido

Greenie
Feb 14, 2007
17
0
Detector(s) used
DFX
Thanks a bunch everybody, you all have been a great help! Lot's of good techniques and ideas. Now if these 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. 12 hour shifts will end I can get out hunting again. Take care and happy hunting...Paul
 

Eu_citzen

Gold Member
Sep 19, 2006
6,484
2,111
Sweden
Detector(s) used
White's V3, Minelab Explorer II & XP Deus.
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
hollowpointred said:
i leave my phones on and just set the machine down beside me. the cable on the phones usued to drive me nuts but i got used to it after a while. :)
Yup same here, if it annoys you take the headphones off (don't unplug take them from you head)
 

W6PEA

Full Member
Mar 7, 2007
229
4
San Diego, Mexifornia
Detector(s) used
Minelab Sovereign Gt, Minelab SD2200v2, Minelab ExlporerSE Pro 2
bushido said:
Hi everybody... My name is Paul and I am fairly new to MD'ing. About a month ago I bought an inexpensive machine and fell in love. Next I purchased a DFX from a local dealer. I have been hunting several times and here is my question. What do you do when you find a good target? By this I mean do you set your machine down, take off your head phones or do you just unplug them. I have tried both ways and when I left the head phones I got tangled, when I unplugged them I would forget to plug them back in. Another thing is that I am right handed and hold my machine with my right hand but it is a pain to dig and scrape with my left hand. I'm just trying to get some " on the job " advice from all you old timers out there so as to save me time with my learning curve. All info will be appreciated, tried and tested. Thanks guys, take care...Paul

Try one of the Swingy Thingy's
I have one for my detector and it works great.
 

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swingman

Jr. Member
Feb 7, 2007
67
0
Coventry, CT
Detector(s) used
Minelab (2), Garrett (2), Whites (2)
I swing the detector with my right hand - all my 'phone cords are coiled. When digging, I put the machine on the ground to the right (most have a support at the top end), keeping the coil far enough away from my digging tool. The cord I put around the detector screen (if there is one) to keep it out of the way.
I suggest getting an electronic pinpointer, if you don't already have one. It helps locating a target in the hole, especially when it's hard to pinpoint it accurately (e.g., a coin on edge, or a deeper target). Always check the sides of the hole - the majority of difficult-to-find targets are in the sides, not deeper in the middle of the hole. Even when the target is on your drop cloth...it helps finding it w/o risking scartching it. Welcome to the hobby, and HH!
 

goldencoin

Gold Member
Sep 27, 2005
5,669
446
Indiana
Detector(s) used
Whites DFX & Beach Hunter ID
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
bushido said:
Hi everybody... My name is Paul and I am fairly new to MD'ing. About a month ago I bought an inexpensive machine and fell in love. Next I purchased a DFX from a local dealer. I have been hunting several times and here is my question. What do you do when you find a good target? By this I mean do you set your machine down, take off your head phones or do you just unplug them. I have tried both ways and when I left the head phones I got tangled, when I unplugged them I would forget to plug them back in. Another thing is that I am right handed and hold my machine with my right hand but it is a pain to dig and scrape with my left hand. I'm just trying to get some " on the job " advice from all you old timers out there so as to save me time with my learning curve. All info will be appreciated, tried and tested. Thanks guys, take care...Paul

thats why i don't use headphones

HH
-GC
 

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