Mding with a prosthesis?

VeroLonnie

Newbie
Oct 2, 2016
3
4
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Hello from a rookie wanna-be detector. I am interested in trying detecting, however, I do wear a prosthesis on my lower left leg that includes metal pieces. Though I still have my original equipment right leg (yeah!), there is sufficient metal in that ankle to set off the detectors at Orlando airport.

I was researching info for beginners when I came across the warning about steel-toed shoes and how they can mess with your machine. And that got me to wondering .....

So I contacted a detecting distributor who admitted that he had no experience in this area, however, he invited me down and will work with me in a testing session. He was polite and patient with my other rookie questions and I look forward to the test later this week.

Any experience/info that anyone could share would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Lonnie / Vero Beach, FL
 

kcm

Gold Member
Feb 29, 2016
5,790
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NW Minnesota
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Hello Lonnie, and welcome to Tnet! :hello:

While I'm not sure we have any other members with so much metal in their legs, I know we DO have quite a number of very experienced detectorists in Florida. There may also be some metal detecting clubs you could check with. Anyway, it may be that you could meet up with one of our members and spend a little while trying different machines, settings, and swing patterns.

What say folks, anyone up to the challenge?
 

fish1on

Silver Member
Aug 28, 2012
3,053
1,403
Farr West, utah
Detector(s) used
Fisher F70 with 6.5", 10" Elliptical, & 11" Search Coil. Garret pro pointer AT, Minelab excaliber II (New machine)
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Welcome aboard. I bet if you keep your swing favored to your right you should be fine. I have detected with safety toe shoes before and never had an issue, the coil is out a ways from you and unless you are detecting too close you may get a false reading. I have picked up my digging tools from time to time as the detector can read upward as well. Slow and accurate swings and you will be fine.

Hope you take up the passion/addiction it is a great life!
 

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VeroLonnie

Newbie
Oct 2, 2016
3
4
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Thank you KCM.

Yes, I have contacted a couple of clubs and one has encouraged me to attend the next meeting and speak with a couple of people. Which I will do. And, as I have mentioned, look forward to my test session later this week.

Thanks again for the welcome.
 

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VeroLonnie

Newbie
Oct 2, 2016
3
4
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Fish1on, thanks for the welcome. Yes, favoring the right side with the sweep was something discussed briefly with the distributor. Also, MAYBE an extension that would get the coil a little farther away, though weight and balance issues may be a concern. Maybe I'll get lucky and have no problem at all. Wait and see how it goes with my test - which I'm looking forward to. Thanks again.
 

releventchair

Gold Member
May 9, 2012
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69,634
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You should be fine. Swing and grid pattern does not need to go over or near your feet (foot) to be effective. Covering all of the area you are scanning matters more.
A serpentine type left right overlapping swing can start forward of any reading of your prosthetic ,if it even interferes.
Trying it with a detector will tell you quickly.
If it does get read....,the signal will be pretty specific and be a so what, swing a little farther out to start.
 

against the wind

Gold Member
Jul 27, 2015
24,797
24,976
Port Allegheny, Pennsylvania
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
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E-trac, Excalibur, XP Deus, & CTX 3030.
Primary Interest:
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Hey Vero,, and welcome to Tnet.
My only experience with this was when I was approached by a young lady in a park. She asked me to scan her hand with my coil to see if it would register. She had a recent operation and her hand was still in a cast. Sure enough, the Etrac picked up the titanium screws. (I think she said, titanium )
I don't think you will have any serious interference problems, but you should know that many machines can be programmed to ignore a certain range of signals. Bring a gold ring with you and check your prosthetic readings against the gold readings on the machine that you test. We don't want you to miss any Gold signals.
 

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