Another newbie beats the dead horse

[WhiteTornado]

I’m new to these forums, having heard about them from a fellow coin collector. I had a detector about 30 years ago when I was a teenager, but I only used it a few times, so this is like starting over. I just had my first outing this past weekend, renting a Whites M6 from a local equipment rental company. Put in about 4 hours of total time. I was able to find a few Lincoln Cents and one clad Washington Quarter, along with various items of trash, of course.

Had a lot of fun and now I’m looking into what I should buy. I will primarily be hunting along walking paths, in tot lots, around schools, and in the woods. I won’t be doing any beach detecting and having a waterproof unit is not that important for me. I’m mainly interested in finding coins (especially silver ones) and jewelry.

I'm in central Maryland, and the soil here is fairly hard-packed and is a mixture of clay and dirt. I figure I'll need to invest in a quality digger. The cheapo Ames digger I bought at Home Depot just about wore out my hands! I think the soil here has a moderately high mineral content, and I saw the M6 display often showing readings in the high-negative number/Iron levels. For example, the display would read, “-59 Iron”. If I’m interpreting that incorrectly, let me know.

I definitely want to get a pinpointer and headphones. The rental unit didn't include either of those.

I liked how the M6 has separate, manually-controlled discrimination and sensitivity knobs. While I understand that beginners should typically keep the sensitivity high and the discrimination low, I would like the option to control them myself as I learn the detector over time.

Any suggestions on which brand and model would be a good fit for me? Although I rented a Whites, it does not have to be a Whites. I’ve seen a couple of videos of the Garrett Ace 250 and 350 in action, and I don’t think either is for me. The tones sound a bit annoying, and I’m definitely not a fan of that yellow color LOL.

I'm hoping I can get a detector, pinpointer, headphones, and digger for about $300-350. Is that figure realistic for the features I hope to get? I would not be opposed to purchasing used, as long as it's from a reputable source (not just some Craigslist ad).

Thanks in advance for your input.

 

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[christo000]

I’m new to these forums, having heard about them from a fellow coin collector. I had a detector about 30 years ago when I was a teenager, but I only used it a few times, so this is like starting over. I just had my first outing this past weekend, renting a Whites M6 from a local equipment rental company. Put in about 4 hours of total time. I was able to find a few Lincoln Cents and one clad Washington Quarter, along with various items of trash, of course.

Had a lot of fun and now I’m looking into what I should buy. I will primarily be hunting along walking paths, in tot lots, around schools, and in the woods. I won’t be doing any beach detecting and having a waterproof unit is not that important for me. I’m mainly interested in finding coins (especially silver ones) and jewelry.

I'm in central Maryland, and the soil here is fairly hard-packed and is a mixture of clay and dirt. I figure I'll need to invest in a quality digger. The cheapo Ames digger I bought at Home Depot just about wore out my hands! I think the soil here has a moderately high mineral content, and I saw the M6 display often showing readings in the high-negative number/Iron levels. For example, the display would read, “-59 Iron”. If I’m interpreting that incorrectly, let me know.

I definitely want to get a pinpointer and headphones. The rental unit didn't include either of those.

I liked how the M6 has separate, manually-controlled discrimination and sensitivity knobs. While I understand that beginners should typically keep the sensitivity high and the discrimination low, I would like the option to control them myself as I learn the detector over time.

Any suggestions on which brand and model would be a good fit for me? Although I rented a Whites, it does not have to be a Whites. I’ve seen a couple of videos of the Garrett Ace 250 and 350 inHu action, and I don’t think either is for me. The tones sound a bit annoying, and I’m definitely not a fan of that yellow color LOL.

I'm hoping I can get a detector, pinpointer, headphones, and digger for about $300-350. Is that figure realistic for the features I hope to get? I would not be opposed to purchasing used, as long as it's from a reputable source (not just some Craigslist ad).

Thanks in advance for your input.

Yes most negatives would b along the iron levels welcome to the site u know u r goin to b hooked of not already lol

-A quality digger that would last a while I recomend a : lesche hand digger
18"-30" samson t handle lesche
Garrett edge digger
All those very good quality & will last a Long time
-Pinpointer : any would do for now but u will want a good one go for a garrett pro pointer or a minelab profinder another thing u could also that im using is a sunray probé which is also very good runs through ur machine like a small 1" metal detector really
- headphones lots of great ones try for after market ones: grey ghost,sunrays ect
-now for around ur price point id save a little more up for a middle level detector of u get a lower end ull wanna upgrade quicker u got the right idea craigslist, even eBay has packages along with the vendors here actually on the bottom of the list on this site treasure classifieds check that out great site has some new used good machines actually might b everything ur looking for there worth a look & good luck in ur search

 

[WhiteTornado]

christo000, all very good information, much appreciated. A mid-level detector might be even more doable if I look for one used.

 

[Metal Detecting Stuff]

In highly mineralized soil, you will need a detector with ground balance capabilities. A Whites Coinmaster GR or Fisher F4 are close to your price range. A good pinpointer will run you $100 +, a good hand digger $40. So I'd suggest saving a bit more to get something that works well in your soil. The M6 you used is a $700 unit.

Wayne

www.metaldetectingstuff.com