I finally got a detector!

[harleyroadangel]

Hi,
It seems my many delays are over now. Willie D answered my call for an oldie but Goodie he was willing to part with. I am now the proud owner of a Garrett Atx 400. Thank you Willie for spending time explaining things to me. He is a nice young gent and a credit to our group.

I spent the time to fashion light weight ear phones from an inline volume adapter and ear buds I had. It works great and will be light weight, no muss or fuss for this old lady. I also fashioned a simple yet effective harness, so I have great leverage of the machine and it holds it up when I am busy scooping.

I took unused webbing from suitcases I didn't need. I made a 2' adjustable belt from one. Then I made a small 6" x 1/2" strap with clips to go around the base of the computer part of the detector. I attached the two together with a simple spring clip. I like the fact that it only goes around my waist. It's not so confining that way. I can switch it to either side, easily.

Not knowing my way around very well, I actually got a little lost this morning, but finally found my way back home. Decided to call it quits for today...do more map questing....and try again tomorrow. On the look out for potential early morning detecting buddies. Write me privately if interested.

Hopefully next post will have picks of my first find attached......lol.

Joy in Fl

 

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[Gator-Flea]

HH

 

[OBN]

Canceling my trip to Florida, there goes all the Gold...........Good luck with the new machine................obn

 

[Sandman]

Looking forward to your finds and hope they are yellow.

 

[lorraine]

You've been busy, Joy; I'm glad that you are all set now.

I wish you great hunting and lots of fun

Lorraine

 

[mandad76]

Congratulations on the new detector - have fun!!

 

[drewan29]

now the fun starts lol Good luck and HH-drewan

 

[mumszie]

Now you are a lady that knows how to improvise! WTG!!!!! I also hunt early in the mornings. It is much cooler. Now.... go find some GOLD!

 

[seeker41]

congrats!!!

 

[beachboy]

Good luck

 

[Blind Squirrel]

Good job on the engineering of your equipment!!! (a regular Ms MacGyver) For me half the fun of detecting, or any other hobby, is the prep work. Hope you find lots of shiny yellow

 

[diggingnewengland]

Congratulations, Try hitting the beaches there easy to find in Florida and have lots of traffic to replenish the finds. There also a great place to practice to help you get use to your new detector. Best of luck

 

[stevemc]

Hit the dry beaches after everyone goes home, or as was said, early in the morning. Usually you will meet other detectors at that time too. If you go to the beaches during the day, you can see where they all lay out their towels, where it is most crowded, the zone on the beach. I think your detector cannot be used in the wet saltwater sand (not for sure), but test that out. Many that are not true saltwater machines, will start making all kinds of noise near the salt. Sea salt is a metal compound (sodium is a metal in its pure state, as all salts are a metal compound) and makes the detector sound off. Good luck out there!

 

[harleyroadangel]

Hit the dry beaches after everyone goes home, or as was said, early in the morning. Usually you will meet other detectors at that time too. If you go to the beaches during the day, you can see where they all lay out their towels, where it is most crowded, the zone on the beach. I think your detector cannot be used in the wet saltwater sand (not for sure), but test that out. Many that are not true saltwater machines, will start making all kinds of noise near the salt. Sea salt is a metal compound (sodium is a metal in its pure state, as all salts are a metal compound) and makes the detector sound off. Good luck out there!

Yes, Willie said it didn't work real well in the wet sand. But the Garrett At Pro is supposed to be ok in wet sand, up to 10' of water, so when I can upgrade, will go to that or an excall. But this is a perfect , out of the box, neat machine to get started with , will use as backup , and when folks visit and want to go with.

Hopefully I will do some night hunting once I find a good buddy to go with, but keeping it to early ams for safety sake for now. Thanks everyone for the encouragement and all the tons of info I have learned on here the last couple months!

Joy in Fl