My first detector in 20 years.

[The_Griffyn]

So my to my surprise I am the proud new owner of a Garrett GTI 2500. I purchased it locally from a guy who thought he would like detecting and after a single weekend decided he did not. I wasn't expecting to get a machine anytime soon but I couldn't pass this deal up. It's the complete "package" with the case, 2 coils, rain cover, headphones, etc. and looks brand new. We turned it on in his driveway and after it said "Ready, Discriminate, Coins" it was silent until I threw some change in his yard and ran the coil over it. He showed me how he had figured out the pinpoint function and everything worked flawlessly. Strangely though I got it home, turned it on and now there's a hum when I turn it on (threshold sound?)and it's making all kinds of racket. Before I put the thing back in the case and going to read all the manuals. I don't have a VHS player so sadly I can't watch the tape it came with (Didn't know anyone still even made VHS tapes).

So, I'm excited to finally have a machine again- been something I've wanted since I last had one in the late 80's. I'm a little confused as to why it wasn't humming at his house and was so clear and now is not but I'm going to read everything it came with first before I get nervous. It was a lot of money for me to spend so I'm sure that's adding to the anxiety factor. Any advice you folks might have is welcome. Also, if any of you are in Orange County CA area and looking for someone to go out with, send me a p/m.


HH,


Bryan

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Minelab PRO-FIND 35 Waterproof Pinpointer Metal Detector for Experts with Tone ID & Adjustable Sensitivity - Grab it through Amazon!

[Woodland Detectors]

Bryan
"turned it on and now there's a hum when I turn it on (threshold sound?)"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yeah. Find your setting for : "threshold" Turn it down until it is just audible.

If that doesn't "calm the racket" Find your sensitivity and bump it down until all you hear is that threshold hum.

Do this on Neutral ground ...outside.


That's it. Go find some Stuuuuf

 

[Sandman]

Yes, make adjustments outside. With all the electrical things going on in the house the coil "sees" all of this. Even outside you shouldn't have any security fences or dog fences operating. Keep cell phones turned off too for best responses.

 

[sniffer]

learn everything you can about your MD and like the others said make all the adjustments outside
at an area that you know to be free from interference

 

[Iron Patch]

Bryan
"turned it on and now there's a hum when I turn it on (threshold sound?)"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yeah. Find your setting for : "threshold" Turn it down until it is just audible.

If that doesn't "calm the racket" Find your sensitivity and bump it down until all you hear is that threshold hum.

Do this on Neutral ground ...outside.


That's it. Go find some Stuuuuf

The GTI you can silent search without any real issues. This has to do with the target boost for the most part being all or nothing. I'd personally still use a slight threshold but to anyone who prefers to hunt without it's not a huge deal.

 

[The_Griffyn]

UPDATE: Took my detector out during lunch today down the street from my base. I spent an hour reading the manual last night several times and everything is not so alien now. The manual says it's recommended to operate the machine in factory setting for the first ten hours of use so I just turned the headphones down till the hum was barely audible. When I get a signal the boost really sounds off clear so having the volume down made zero difference that I could tell.

As far as I can tell this thing is a monster. I focused on digging every target and comparing what I found to what the machine said. If it said it was a coin sized object that wasn't foil or a coin, it was dead on. I did have to refer to the manual to reread the "cone effect" section but I think I understand that now. After 40 mins of fooling around with it I only had one really good signal that I, with my limited experience, felt was a potential find. It said, B sized object (B is coin sized on the graph for the GTI 2500) at 12 inches. I went over it several times and the graph held steady each pass and during the pinpoint ID. Problem is the dirt was like concrete and after digging down about 6 inches, 10 minutes had passed and I was running out of time. I'll go back tomorrow with some better tools and see what I find.

I'm considering writing a 3 part article detailing my adventures as a new hobbyist in the sport since I don't really considering the fooling around I did with a Radio Shack detector twenty years ago significant.

HH,

Bryan a.k.a. The Griffyn
Garrett GTI 2500
California

 

[Iron Patch]

UPDATE: Took my detector out during lunch today down the street from my base. I spent an hour reading the manual last night several times and everything is not so alien now. The manual says it's recommended to operate the machine in factory setting for the first ten hours of use so I just turned the headphones down till the hum was barely audible. When I get a signal the boost really sounds off clear so having the volume down made zero difference that I could tell.

As far as I can tell this thing is a monster. I focused on digging every target and comparing what I found to what the machine said. If it said it was a coin sized object that wasn't foil or a coin, it was dead on. I did have to refer to the manual to reread the "cone effect" section but I think I understand that now. After 40 mins of fooling around with it I only had one really good signal that I, with my limited experience, felt was a potential find. It said, B sized object (B is coin sized on the graph for the GTI 2500) at 12 inches. I went over it several times and the graph held steady each pass and during the pinpoint ID. Problem is the dirt was like concrete and after digging down about 6 inches, 10 minutes had passed and I was running out of time. I'll go back tomorrow with some better tools and see what I find.

I'm considering writing a 3 part article detailing my adventures as a new hobbyist in the sport since I don't really considering the fooling around I did with a Radio Shack detector twenty years ago significant.

HH,

Bryan a.k.a. The Griffyn
Garrett GTI 2500
California

Like anything else it will just take you a little time to get good with it. I would start ignoring the sizing though, it's just a crutch that will slow you down in the long run. Many good targets are masked by other metal, the sizing can not differentiate.

 

[The_Griffyn]

That's good advice, thank you. The "cone effect" scenario will take some practice checking out to see what I come up with.


-Bryan

 

[Iron Patch]

That's good advice, thank you. The "cone effect" scenario will take some practice checking out to see what I come up with.


-Bryan

There's only a couple things to really note about the cone effect. The first is learning to overlap your swings slightly for better coverage, and the second is how it will affect your pinpointing. You can swing the coil very low to the ground, but to make pinpointing easier you have to raise it a bit so the bottom of the cone will zero in better and make your reading more accurate.

 

[The_Griffyn]

Again great advice. When I got the first signal that showed the CE on the graph I didn't know what the hell was going on. Then I got another one and grabbed the manual and reread that section. Raising the coil for pinpointed makes total sense.

A friend and I are going to an old Army base here that had an old school on it since around WWII after work. They recently demo'd the building and shaved about 4 inches of topsoil away to prepare for a new building. I'll post tonight with our findings.

HH,


The Griffyn

 

[Iron Patch]

Again great advice. When I got the first signal that showed the CE on the graph I didn't know what the hell was going on. Then I got another one and grabbed the manual and reread that section. Raising the coil for pinpointed makes total sense.

A friend and I are going to an old Army base here that had an old school on it since around WWII after work. They recently demo'd the building and shaved about 4 inches of topsoil away to prepare for a new building. I'll post tonight with our findings.

HH,


The Griffyn

Good luck. Dig all the good two way readings and forget the screen. The more you watch it, the less you will dig, and probably less you will find! I used to be a person like that a long time ago until my bud hammered me in finds with a $200 non ID detector. I dropped the meter reading and definitely learned the detector much faster and no doubt popped a few surprises I would have otherwise missed.

PS... I believe there is such a thing as beginner's luck! So maybe, just maybe...

 

[Iron Patch]

Again great advice. When I got the first signal that showed the CE on the graph I didn't know what the hell was going on. Then I got another one and grabbed the manual and reread that section. Raising the coil for pinpointed makes total sense.

A friend and I are going to an old Army base here that had an old school on it since around WWII after work. They recently demo'd the building and shaved about 4 inches of topsoil away to prepare for a new building. I'll post tonight with our findings.

HH,


The Griffyn

Good luck. Dig all the good two way readings and forget the screen. The more you watch it, the less you will dig, and probably less you will find! I used to be a person like that a long time ago until my bud hammered me in finds with a $200 non ID detector. I dropped the meter reading and definitely learned the detector much faster and no doubt popped a few surprises I would have otherwise missed.

PS... I believe there is such a thing as beginner's luck! So maybe, just maybe...

oh yeah... use jewelry mode. If you're in factory coins mode you're notching out some good notches. Adjust the sense if you find it's a little jumpy.

 

[The_Griffyn]

Evening update:

Ran straight from the base over to the old property my buddy wanted to go check out right after work. After travel and gearing up we got about an hour on the machine. I couldn't have asked for a better worse site to swing over. They had demolished half of the old building and tore up all the old asphalt, then pushed it all around the place with bulldozers. The ground was like concrete from all the heavy equipment rolling over it and was like a mine field of metallic debris. The area with the remaining school rooms was fenced off and inaccessible. It was a definite case of "should have been here last week". I couldn't change the fact that we were left with this mess, I just fired up the green-machine and went for broke. Which, is what I might end up being if my luck holds true. After an hour of digging all kinds of bits of wire, unidentifiable pieces of metal, and mystery signals we had a grand total of 30 cents to show for our efforts- 1 quarter and a nickel. It was marvelous indeed.

I'm hopelessly addicted already however and really learned a lot about the machine in that hour. The coins signals sounded much sweeter than the junk and I'm looking forward to what tomorrow might bring.


HH,

Bryan

 

[Iron Patch]

Evening update:

Ran straight from the base over to the old property my buddy wanted to go check out right after work. After travel and gearing up we got about an hour on the machine. I couldn't have asked for a better worse site to swing over. They had demolished half of the old building and tore up all the old asphalt, then pushed it all around the place with bulldozers. The ground was like concrete from all the heavy equipment rolling over it and was like a mine field of metallic debris. The area with the remaining school rooms was fenced off and inaccessible. It was a definite case of "should have been here last week". I couldn't change the fact that we were left with this mess, I just fired up the green-machine and went for broke. Which, is what I might end up being if my luck holds true. After an hour of digging all kinds of bits of wire, unidentifiable pieces of metal, and mystery signals we had a grand total of 30 cents to show for our efforts- 1 quarter and a nickel. It was marvelous indeed.

I'm hopelessly addicted already however and really learned a lot about the machine in that hour. The coins signals sounded much sweeter than the junk and I'm looking forward to what tomorrow might bring.


HH,

Bryan

Yep... lesson 2 is the site but certainly no less imporant than the detector. It's actually more important.

The good news is it does get easier, and if you're addicted now just imagine when you actually find something!

 

[The_Griffyn]

Lunchtime Update:

Went out and got about 45 mins on the green machine. I worked the volleyball court at the far end of our base. The sand is more like large broken chunks of rock and wasn't the easiest diggings but it's what I had available. I took your advice Iron Patch I ignored the screen other than for telling me a depth reading and I ran in "jewelry" mode. I only dug targets that were less than 6 inches. I found a quarter, several cents, 3 pull-tabs, a hotwheels truck, a shell casing, and some other "treasure". I'm getting a better ear for the signals and good targets sound "sweeter" than the others. I don't know what the term to be used is but junk sounds abrasive in my ear where as a coin sounds more musical. Even when using the pinpoint feature it seems as if I can hear a nicer sound in the phones.

Interestingly though the most musical of all the tones I heard turned out to be a dime size bit of aluminum foil at 4 inches. It gave off the sweetest signal and I thought I might have found something decent. I mean the tone I got really sounded fantastic and I can see how foil must fool a lot of folks.

-Bryan