Des Troy, welcome to the forum ! It's a great bunch of people here and they have a lot of knowledge of metal detecting. So if you have questions just ask. Someone here should be able to help you. Good Luck and post us some finds !
This site if packed full of good information and even better people - take advantage of the knowledge and again, welcome to the best treasure site on the net.
Mona Lisa, I started detecting about 4 years ago with a 99 dollar radio shack model... it sure did find lots of pulltabs, but it also found a 14k wedding band, and the addiction soon followed 8)
I hunt mainly for coins and the occasional jewelry item, because most of the history(as far as relics are concerned) revolves around the military base(FT Sill), and the Wichita Mountains NWR (both Off Limits to treasure hunters)... However I do get lucky once in awhile, and find some dropped bullets or buttons...