Im so overwhelmed. Newbie and totally lost!

[FeroxDraken]

I'm so overwhelmed. Newbie and totally lost!

I started this hobby three months ago with a cheap chinese metal detector just to get my bearings and to see if I liked the hobby. I found out later it's not water proof and the action happens in the surf.

I've been trying to buy online and I've been frustrated over and over again with little things that are stopping me from buying a decent, water proof and I guess pulse inducting (PI) machine that is 5-700 USD from a place I can buy that will ship overseas to Asia! There are NO metal detecting shops in Hong Kong so a shop finder won't work. I need a website that'll ship to me.

I don't know where to start, the right place to buy, and which model or brand to buy. I'd like to buy accessories like a carry bag and a scoop but it's all so overwhelming and a little nerve wracking. It's a lot of money to invest and recently my finds have been poor but I love the hobby and the adventure of swinging itself is too much fun to resist.

Can anyone help?

 

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[jyt2017]

Read read an read. Watch lots of YouTube vids. Lots. Read more. Spend a few weeks doing some research. Then make the buy. Hh gl-Joe

 

[FeroxDraken]

That's what I have been doing lol....just bought a white beach Id300 at $550...any pointers?

 

[tokameel]

First of all, welcome to T-Net! I have discovered that this is one of the Best places for information on detecting.

As joeb1999 said "Read..check YouTube..". And I will add one more. When you think that you have decided on a detector and the supporting tools, come back here and ask what other users of that equipment think about it.

Good Luck

 

[Sir Gala Clad]

I can help, but only if you are truly open, which is most likely not the case, as it appears that you have already made your mind up.
In my opinion, your difficulties are more to do with unreasonable expectations, and faulty conclusion(s) than with being overwhelmed.
For instance treasure can be found anywhere, as gold and silver are where you find it.

At beaches there are three very productive zones: Dry Sand, Wet Sand, and Shallow water. I spend most of my time shallow water hunting, for health reason(s) – Often finding the surf to be the least productive.
The best place to start and develop your skills (you have to learn to crawl before you can walk, and walk before you can run) is the dry sand. Almost any detector, most likely including your entry level detector with discrimination will work well here. This is the place to learn how to efficiently retrieve targets as it is easy to dig in the sand and is more forgiving than near or in the water. Practice pinpointing; learn how to use a scope, etc. Whenever, I am having difficulties on wet sand or in the water, I always return to the dry sand till I am able to discover what I am doing wrong.

Are you finds really poor, or are your expectations for your skill level to high?
As the beaches I hunt are old, and have less tourists than more popular beaches, It is not uncommon to go for months between finding valuable treasures such as platinum/gold rings and bands.
However, it only takes one or two good finds to bring you back into the game.

Multifrequency and PI water proof detectors are expensive. In my opion, you would be lucky to find a good used one in the $500 to $700 USD price range. I would try to buy one from an individual, but only with the proper paperwork to make sure that it is not counterfit or stolen and verifying that it works properly on the beach I would be detecting.
I would try to find an experienced detectorist to treasure hunt with, or a detecting club.

If this is a hobby, you should no push your self to where it is nerve wracking.
Determining what works for YOU, takes time – it is all part of the fun.

I started this hobby three months ago with a cheap chinese metal detector just to get my bearings and to see if I liked the hobby. I found out later it's not water proof and the action happens in the surf.

I've been trying to buy online and I've been frustrated over and over again with little things that are stopping me from buying a decent, water proof and I guess pulse inducting (PI) machine that is 5-700 USD from a place I can buy that will ship overseas to Asia! There are NO metal detecting shops in Hong Kong so a shop finder won't work. I need a website that'll ship to me.

I don't know where to start, the right place to buy, and which model or brand to buy. I'd like to buy accessories like a carry bag and a scoop but it's all so overwhelming and a little nerve wracking. It's a lot of money to invest and recently my finds have been poor but I love the hobby and the adventure of swinging itself is too much fun to resist.

Can anyone help?

 

[adamBomb]

Are you 100% sure you want a PI machine and not a VLF? If so, I would recommend the sandshark or garrett sea hunter. both can be found new for $500-$650 and I am sure one of the main companies ships overseas. If you are getting a vlf beach machine you are not really going to find a decent one for the beach unless its used. The 3 common ones are the BHID300 (the cheapest and one you can find in your price range) and the more expensive CZ21 and Excalibur.

Hope that helps. I would read online and figure out what machine you want first, then worry about finding it. Ask tons of questions here too

 

[fongu]

Welcome to the forum, good luck & happy hunting. Go to the different vendors by clicking on their ads and see what they have in PI detectors and ask them questions. They can tell you where to buy for your area or suggest an online dealer.

 

[lookindown]

Does anyone read anything after the original post? He bought a detector shortly after posting. People are wasting their time telling him what kind of detector to get when he says he already bought one.

 

[G-bone]

FeroxDraken, welcome.
I too am new to the beach game.
Love to hunt, and the beach is a fun and quick little fix for that.

Now that you have a machine, search the internet for videos from people who also use that machine.
And also here, on the T-net forum under the Metal detector "Brands" and read what other people have learned about your machine.

So start with dry sand and once you figure out how your machine likes to be used and it's nuances, then move on into the wet sand, then into the water. Dig everything and pay attention to the sounds/and ID numbers it makes on the things you dig. You then will get better on IDing your targets.

I dig everything anyway, even if I know it's trash.
I feel better knowing I picked up some sharp object that might have otherwise put a hole in someones foot.
Also just doing my part in keeping my local beaches clean.

Take some breaks too and just chill and take in your surroundings.
I have to take a break every once in while and take my head phones off etc.
And while you chill, think about where people would normally sit, and work those areas.
Location, location, location.....

I have not yet ventured into the water as my machine will not do that.
But I do fun in the dry sand...for what I do.

Keep it fun for yourself and your expectations low at the start.
Everything else will fall into place over time.
And that's the hardest thing for me to find rally.....the time

Cheers!!

G

 

[jyt2017]

That's what I have been doing lol....just bought a white beach Id300 at $550...any pointers?

i owned one once. Got lots of depth in all metal going by led lights. I had an older version. Hh gl -Joe

 

[signal]

I agree, double think if you want a PI or not. If you do want a PI, then Sand Shark is potentially within your budget and has a solid reputation on here.

 

[sonnar28]

That's what I have been doing lol....just bought a white beach Id300 at $550...any pointers?

Congratulations on your purchase, you have chosen a reliable, well built detector.

There are two parts to your learning curve: 1) learning your BHID, especially how to set the controls, how to interpret what it is telling you, and "care and feeding" to protect it from accidental damage; and 2) learning how to detect the beach with your machine.
If you do not have a BHID manual, you can download one from the whiteselectronics site under "support". I suggest reading and re-reading it, and going thru the set up routine until it is automatic in your mind. Then you can later learn how to tweak settings for specific conditions. There is a forum at the whiteselectronics site that deals exclusively with Whites water machines, addressing questions that new users have raised.

The "Sticky: THE GOLDENOLDE" at the top of this forum is a wealth of information for general beach detecting. Surfdigger (Brian Mayer) has a number of excellent videos on beach detecting on youtube. Clive Clynick and Gary Drayton have authored many books on beach detecting that can be very helpful for beginner and advanced detectorists.

You have many resouces available to you, but ultimately it will be the long hours of actually detecting that teach you what you are trying to learn.
I envy you the joy of seeing that first gold ring in your scoop! Happy Hunting!

 

[SouthFLdigger]

That's what I have been doing lol....just bought a white beach Id300 at $550...any pointers?

Beach Hunter ID is excellent unit, set it to all metal, make sure you ground balance the unit. In some beaches with very light mineral content it will not ground balance simply leave it in the default (box). In my soil i almost max the sensitivity and it goes down 12" with a threshold change . The disc lights max out at about 9" on a coin sized object. I have the one with the 9.5" coil and im very happy with it, however you will dig bottle-caps, it cannot disc those out.