discouraged tenderfoot

[DFX-SE Gregg]

My advice is you sound like someone who should have tried metal detecting before you bought one! What are your plans, I do this strictly as a hobby. If you have some pie in the sky dreams of tons of cash.....I would forget it! If you want to have some exercise, get outside, and take the time to learn about your detector (did you say you have been out one time) <Not sure what you expect. I would not start complaining until you have been out at least 50 times. On the bright side ....if you decide its not for you...which metal detecting is not for every one.... You bought a low end detector with decent performance so you may get $160-170 for it on ebay.

 

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[Jeffro]

No worries, you're doing just fine. Everyone here has went through the same learning curve at one time or another. We even have our own terminology-

Coins, rings, etc. = "finds"
Iron = Rust
Those little bits of aluminum can that drive you nuts? = Can-slaw!

Oh, and anything you find that seems to be what it obviously isn't, that's squirrel bait.... (inside joke)

 

[Jeff G]

I do have to thank you. The idea of searching old train wrecks gave me some ideas. Upon some searching I have a couple of feelers out on old passenger train routes, popular locations and train wreck sites. There are quite a few sites that might be easily accessable. I wouldn't have started the investigation without your questions...

I have a request to a center that was once a popular resort for the rich back in the early 1900's complete with a beach. If I can get permission there, it could be hiding some very cool finds.

 

[Blind.In.Texas]

Hello everyone- I purchased the ace 250 the day before yesterday- it was dark by the time I watched the dvd ......

I'll give you a pinpointing tip. Drop a poker chip onto the ground. Swing side to side and palce the chip on the place where the machine beeps. Scan back and forth next. Slide the chip up to be in the correct position. Now the machine should beep directly over the chip from any given direction. If so, then you have correctly pinpointed. Cut your plug about 4" across. Cut straight down if you can. Cutting on an angle only ensures that you will stab your prey when you simply want to catch instead.

You could also bury a coin few inches deep, place the chip on top, and practice that way. Make a hole to drop the coin in and when you have the pinpointing correct, dig it up plug style. The proper plugging technique is very important. Get caught making a mess and get kicked out....GL Lots of folks here to help you!!

 

[dtsnmike240z]

ok i dont even have a md but i have heard that tuning your detector is as easy as swiping a nickle. and raising the descrimination until it stops beeping. then lower the disc until it just barely gets the nickle.

now most of the trash is suposedly eliminated while gold and silver and clad are still registered.

is this correct??

 

[Jeffro]

You could do it that way, it'd save a lot of trash digging. But then again, thats where the gold rings are, on the lower end of the scale. By eliminating foil, pulltabs, etc. you will lose the gold rings. Its a tradeoff.

 

[Monty]

My wife is retired from a short line railroad and I have access to all the tracks and engine yard. I can tell you right off that working along RR tracks anywhere is a tough proposition. My wife's RR hauls scrap metal which makes it even tougher. I put on my smallest coil and turn the sensitivity way down and the discrimination on custom to where it only picks up coins or signals resembling coins from the dime on up to the silvr dollar and then descriminate out the silver dollar icon. ( Large rusted iron will ring in as a silver dollar on the ACE). I haven't found a lot along the tracks but have picked up quite a bit of clad and some smaller silver trinkets such as earrings. This is one area where all metal mode is useless and just getting too close to the rails will cause falsing on about any detector. Good advice about starting out with easier areas to detect. A good idea is to take you a pocket sized note book and as you find different things jot down what it sounded like and how it was identified on the LCD screen, your detector settings, etc. You think you can remember this info, but after several trips you will learn you can't. Review your notes and compare them from trip to trip and you probably will see a pattern emerging that will help you lean your detector a lot quicker. Monty