Im a poor newbie..........

[beatles4life2]

I'm a poor newbie..........

Hey all. First off, I just wanted to say that my lack of productivity at work is in direct relation to the number of new posts on this site each day. Good, I love this place. All of you, whether you know it or not, have helped me more in the last two week than anything I could have learned without this site. Thanks in advance. Anywho......I just bought an ACE 250 and have been out a total of about 5 hours with it. Lovely little machine, unfortunately, being totally new to MDing, have not master a technique for finding anything interesting yet. But lemme tell ya, I can find pull tabs, nails, and bottle caps like no one else! Began getting very frustrated. Yesterday, I hit the old elementary school I went to as a kid. It's been closed for 15 years or so, but has been there forever. Finally, FINALLY......I found something other than garbage.........a.......are you ready......you sure........a 1975 dime! I almost wet myself, so I had to go sit down. I thought I would be selling the ACE on eBay next week, but lo and behold, treasure. Now, I know that 1975 dimes are, well, a "dime" a dozen (da da dum...thank you, I'll be here all week!), but this was an important find for me. Sorry, I just had to vent. I found a 1994 penny there also, and a 1941 wheatie in my friends old tomato garden. So, Those are my first "finds" (stop laughing now). I plan on hitting an old farm house that had been unoccupied for about 30 years today, if I can trek through the woods to get to it.

BTW.........the name is Bill and I live in Western PA. Would LOVE to find a MDing partner and please excuse my long-winded rambling. I will probably ask and/or talk about things you all have already answered/talked about. But, like I said, thanks in advance for any/all your help, suggestions, comments reguarding my posts.

HH

 

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[omnicognic]

Re: I'm a poor newbie..........

When you look over all the wonderful finds you see posted, you rarely get to see the whole story! The Bad news:
For almost every neato find that gets posted here, there has been enough trash dug to fill a bushel basket!
The good news:
Each piece of trash you dig, increases your experience with pinpointing, digging techniques and knowledge of your machine!

The good stuff will come but you must get out there and dig the trash to get it! Spend your downtime (like when it's too rainy or cold to hunt) doing research on sites in your area. Talk to folks in your neighborhood and get permissions. Above all, don't get frustrated! Have fun! You got us for support! Good Hunting! omnicognic 8)

 

[JARMAN]

Re: I'm a poor newbie..........

GRATS on your new MD and your first non-trash finds.Omni,said it like it is.You may want to set up some test digs in your yard with junk and coins to get a better understanding of your MD.Wont always hold true becouse of site conditions but it will help.Look forward to some great finds and post.HH

 

[hbeaton]

Re: I'm a poor newbie..........

Omni

Letting my ignorance show, what does pinpointing mean exactly? Sounds straightforward enough but if, for example, i had the ACE 250 that told me there was something like a coin at 6", why do I have to pinpoint it? If it's six inches down, then I just dig six inches down right? ?I'm assuming that because a coil itself has a circumfrence of a few inches, the means even if I know it's six inches down i'm not sure exactly where so I have to pinpoint?

I notice that pinpointers usually are sold seperately of metal detectors...so will i be ok if i dont have one and am just moving along the ground with my md waiting to hear those belltones and faint signals of something wonderful waiting to be dug up?

 

[Ilovetodig]

Re: I'm a poor newbie..........

I also have an ACE 250 and personnally I love the thing. It took awhile to get use to it as it does with every new detector but 90% of the time it is right on target and it hits on nickles like you wouldn't believe. Your 250 should have a pin poiner button on the face. What this does is allows you to narrow down the area you dig leaving a much smaller hole than digging the whole coil circumfrence. It took a while for me to get the pin poiner down but now I am digging more and leaving the area looking nicer.

? When you use the pin pointer start at the top of the target and drag it toward you when the sound stops your inner coil should be centered over the target. Thats where you should dig. It does work quite well but sometimes it is off depending on what the target is. I haven't figured out why yet but eventually I will. ?

If your target ID bounces around alot on the LD screen then 9 times out of 10 its just junk. I know this from my own experience but as they say on here it is best to dig all targets because you just never know.

I hope this helps you out and don't give up on the 250 it is a great machine for the price you pay.

 

[rusty nails]

Re: I'm a poor newbie..........

i have an ace 250 the pin pointer on this det. is on the money - is what it is - it has a scale that goes along with sound , and shows depth , it hasnt given me a false reading yet ~ so in other words when u get on target it goes to ex. 10 on the scale , the tone peaks at its loudest , and its also shows u how deep ........ show me those 3 things on another det for 200.00 ........... thats how the pinpointer works ................... newbie my first find was a 77 dime , so u beat me by 2 years - when its around put the coil flat and hit pinpoint - if its garbage - it will go to the iron icon on the scale...
always keep in mind garbage is a totally debatable (sp) subject. feel free to p/m me anytime about 250 quirks that i have run across - 8) leftybass

 

[Floater]

Re: I'm a poor newbie..........

Good Post B4L2 and Welcome to the only place you will ever want to be.Actually like Badger I have no life and Productivity goes to He double toothpicks in a heart beat but beside all thatyou sound like your well suited for this life. The 250 is a great machine and it will find th coins all day long. Use your headphones. This is important and go slow. That school should be a gold mind. You need to do one small area very methodically and you should see a big difference in your finds. Also dig everything. Good Luck and HH.

 

[acevillav]

Re: I'm a poor newbie..........

Welcome to the club I've been doingthis for 2 months now and have found @ $50 inclad I would suggest to read your manual and then read it again. go slow and dig everything luck will come with practice. stay positive. $$$$$$$$$$$$$ awaits.

 

[omnicognic]

Re: I'm a poor newbie..........

Omni

Letting my ignorance show, what does pinpointing mean exactly? Sounds straightforward enough but if, for example, i had the ACE 250 that told me there was something like a coin at 6", why do I have to pinpoint it? If it's six inches down, then I just dig six inches down right? ?I'm assuming that because a coil itself has a circumfrence of a few inches, the means even if I know it's six inches down i'm not sure exactly where so I have to pinpoint?

I notice that pinpointers usually are sold seperately of metal detectors...so will i be ok if i dont have one and am just moving along the ground with my md waiting to hear those belltones and faint signals of something wonderful waiting to be dug up?

hbeaton,
"pinpointing" is not nessesarily using one of those little probes. It it an expression of being able to know exactly where an object is. I personally don't use a "pinpointer", but I can pinpoint the location of the target with my detector. This is how I pinpoint a target:
(I use a Whites Beach Hunter ID)

1.)? After I get a "hit" I sweep over it again to be sure it's repeatable (if you never hear it again, it was a false hit)

2.) I switch to "ALL METAL" (in some areas, I will just stay in "ALL metal" and hunt that way)

3.) I sweep up and down until I get the strongest signal, then sweep left and right to center the target.

4.) I take a mental note of the exact location that the target is and take into consideration where my detector centers(mine is dead center of the coil, but in the ACE 250 I understand this is at the inside top of the coil)

5.) I lay my detector next to the target, so my coil is within easy reach to pass handfulls of dirt over the coil

6.) Dig!

Hope this answers your question! Good Hunting! omnicognic? 8)

 

[MUD(S.W.A.T)]

Re: I'm a poor newbie..........

Beside the use of a handheld pinpointer that I might add is very usefull and time saving. I do this to pinpoint my targets and it seems to be 95% - 98% accurate.

1. Find Target
2. Get repeat signal
3. Sweep backwards until signal is lost
4. Slowly sweep forward until your detector first hits the target.
5. Dig a plug around that spot
6. Scan plug
7. Retrieve target

Good luck and HH!!

 

[Nana40]

Re: I'm a poor newbie..........

HAHAHA! ? .........I know just how you feel Bill! I can dig bullets out of my back yard faster than you can blink! ? ?I'm getting all kinds of practice!!! ?And yes this forum is very additive... the hours just fly by!!!And I won't mention all the hours you will spend on detecting!!! My daughter and I were just talking about our outing last week and how we thought we had only been looking for a couple of hours....then we realized that we had been there about six hours....and still didn't want to go home! But being the good wife....had to go home and stinkin cook! Oh well....this is much better than working, watching tv, mowing the lawn, tending the garden, ........

Glad your HERE! ?

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?Nana ?

 

[Mona Lisa]

Re: I'm a poor newbie..........

Welcome, Beatles! That's a funny post you wrote. I know exactly how you felt a couple of months ago. But I feel like a veteran now thanks to a lot of practice and this informative forum. I received my detector for Christmas and spent every nice day (that it didn't snow) out in the yard with a big shovel digging up the yard. Just keep practicing. From what I've read your detector is a goodun.

Good Luck!

 

[JackRussell]

Re: I'm a poor newbie..........

I also found my first clad today it feels great to find somthing you can reconize!

 

[diggit]

Re: I'm a poor newbie..........

Good Luck!

You'll be finding the good stuff real soon!

 

[TOWcritter]

Re: I'm a poor newbie..........

Welcome to the forum! Yes, it is a time killer this nasty little website. The bane of the modern workplace I'm sure. But hey, We need our daily fix, don't we?! This is the place for the word on all things treasure. So view your visits here as time well spent. 'Cause boy this place is more fun than a barrel full of monkeys. And they're lurking around here somewhere I'm sure.