My New DFX: How to get hooked in one's own yard
I made a post earlier but deleted it. I went back out in the yard and I have answered part of my own question. Here is the original post, followed by the update.
I went back in the yard to dig up one of the staples that was dropped about 20 years ago. Turns out, I learned
Lesson 1 don't assume!
I decided that what I might be doing wrong was trying to pinpoint by moving the detector too slowly. So, I tried pinpointing at the same speed, so the tone sounded as a momentary blip. I started sweeping the ground on my way to the staple. About half way there I got a tone. What better way to try and pinpoint the location, with what I thought might be a better method.
I stopped, began sweeping over the same area moving forward and backward slightly but at the same speed. It appeared that it was in one particular spot but was picked up over a rather large area. I was able to determine what I thought was the center (from left to right). And in the forward to back movement, it appeared to be larger than I'd expected, however I chose the center of that area to dig.
One trowel scoop to remove the top layer of sod and I stuck my vibra probe into the hole. Got a reading right where I dug. I took a scoop of dirt out of the hole and but it beside the hole. The vibra probe got a reading in the dirt I just removed.
The photos below are the sequence of what I found.
Click thumbnails for larger view
At first I thought it was something dropped when or before the sod was put down in 1979 but the date on the coin is 1984 so it was dropped after the sod was planted. Wonder how many other coins are in my yard?
Lesson 2: You don't have to go to some exotic place to get hooked on metal detecting. Your backyard is a good place to start practicing.
Lesson 3: Sweeping at normal speed is better at pinpointing than trying to slow down the sweep. Going slow approaches stopping and MDs don't like to stop.
PS: I found this coin (that I didn't plant) easier than I found the one I did plant. I guess that should be lesson 4. And I only had to dig a tiny hole.
Coin count = 1
I made a post earlier but deleted it. I went back out in the yard and I have answered part of my own question. Here is the original post, followed by the update.
Too funny!MDing101
Nice unit and easy to manage via the menus. However, I have quickly found that it's going to take some experience to figure out how to read the tones and display.I'm sure this is the same with all units, so this is not a DFX criticism by any means. It's more of a newbie learning curve issue.
I planted a few coins in my wife's garden a few days ago. So, I know where they are. And I realize that freshly planted coins aren't a great test. However, I figured it would save me some digging, since I knew where they were.
What I found was that using the basic setting of "Coins" mode, I get reading over a wide area and it's a little difficult to pinpoint where the coin actually is.
Any tips? I thought I'd be able to swing from left and right and then forward to back to get a good reading where the center of the reading might be. But that isn't as easy as it sounds. The area over which I would get a tone was over 12 diameter circle. And the coin wasn't in the center of the area. hmmm...
I also have an area in my yard, below my balcony, where I know there were some large staples (fence staples) that were dropped about 20 years ago. So, just for grins I thought I'd go see if they could be picked up. Same thing. Got readings that covered a couple of square feet. The depth was a little confusing as it was saying about 8". I have hard packed clay about 4" down and there is no way a staple could have sunk that far. It can't be more than about 2" down. I'll go dig one up later, just to verify.
Is it normal to read over such a large area for something like a coin or nail? Or should one hear a tone over a very narrow area?
Tips on pinpointing the exact spot, before one starts digging?
I know... Welcome to the world of metal detecting!
PS: I'm going to get my wife one of these next week, I think. But hers has to be "Turn On/Turn Off". She is not a techno-geek like me. She doesn't even know how to check the voice mail on her phone.So hers has to be SIMPLE to use.
I went back in the yard to dig up one of the staples that was dropped about 20 years ago. Turns out, I learned
Lesson 1 don't assume!
I decided that what I might be doing wrong was trying to pinpoint by moving the detector too slowly. So, I tried pinpointing at the same speed, so the tone sounded as a momentary blip. I started sweeping the ground on my way to the staple. About half way there I got a tone. What better way to try and pinpoint the location, with what I thought might be a better method.
I stopped, began sweeping over the same area moving forward and backward slightly but at the same speed. It appeared that it was in one particular spot but was picked up over a rather large area. I was able to determine what I thought was the center (from left to right). And in the forward to back movement, it appeared to be larger than I'd expected, however I chose the center of that area to dig.
One trowel scoop to remove the top layer of sod and I stuck my vibra probe into the hole. Got a reading right where I dug. I took a scoop of dirt out of the hole and but it beside the hole. The vibra probe got a reading in the dirt I just removed.
The photos below are the sequence of what I found.
Click thumbnails for larger view
At first I thought it was something dropped when or before the sod was put down in 1979 but the date on the coin is 1984 so it was dropped after the sod was planted. Wonder how many other coins are in my yard?
Lesson 2: You don't have to go to some exotic place to get hooked on metal detecting. Your backyard is a good place to start practicing.
Lesson 3: Sweeping at normal speed is better at pinpointing than trying to slow down the sweep. Going slow approaches stopping and MDs don't like to stop.
PS: I found this coin (that I didn't plant) easier than I found the one I did plant. I guess that should be lesson 4. And I only had to dig a tiny hole.
Coin count = 1
Upvote
0
