Initial Experience Discouraging

[rones]

As was suggested I took my new CoinMaster GT Detector to test it out in my back yard. All I got was a bunch of beeps, bleeps, and buzzes no matter where I put my detector. It seems my back yard is full of all sorts of junk. The lot my house was built on was the last in the subdivision and all the left over junk from all the subdivision construction was placed on this lot. I guess they did not remove any of it but just graded it down to build the house on. So......I guess I will have to find somewhere else to "test" it out. I wanted to start detecting at my diabetic specialist suggestion as a hobby to reduce my stress from adrenal exhaustion. As you can see, it didn't start out too good for me. You would think that at 73 years of age I would have a little more patience. Any suggestions of where to go for some good experiences and some encouraging words? A recent new member. Rones

 

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[dirtscratcher]

Try the play grounds or totlots where the ground is covered with woodchips. the digging is easy and lots of lost goodies. Probably the best place to find gold if you are not near the beach.

 

[HenryWaltonJonesJr]

Get a scoop with a long handle and go find some sand in a volleyball court or beach. You really don't want to start bending over and digging a lot right off the bat.

Also, Get some coins and Jewelry and nails, pull tabs and do some air tests holding them one at a time and in groups by the coil to get an idea of what the tones are trying to tell you. This will help a lot to learn the machine.

And finally yes, have fun, expect nothing but fresh air and exercise and prepare to be surprised!

 

[airscapes]

High school soccer field or baseball field.. along sidelines, around bleacher, go to the beach if within reasonable drive, relative and friends houses, ask at your church if you can do the property there, along the sidewalks at the county court house, county fair gounds, sidewalk grass strips, county and city parks.. You can also try and turn the sensitivity down on the machine, discriminate out iron up to a dime and see if you can find a quarter or 2 in you yard, you want repeatable signals left and right.. move the coil slowly and flatly across a small area till to see if you can get a good target within the trash.. It takes time.. don't rush it..

 

[CASPER-2]

I STARTED IN 1975 AT AGE 12 - MY FIRST YEAR WAS HORRIBLE
1976 - I GOT INTO A FEW OLD SPOTS - HIT SOME OF MY RELATIVES YARDS WHICH WERE OLD
SOME OLD SCHOOLS AND PARKS AND STARTED LEARNING MY MACHINE
LOOK AT ME NOW - AND THIS IS JUST A SAMPLE - BEEN AT IT FOR 39 YRS NOW
https://www.flickr.com/photos/casper-1/

this is just some from the last 15 yrs
so if you like the "hobby" and stick with it - it can be rewarding and Im not talking just monetarily

 

[Gold Maven]

I STARTED IN 1975 AT AGE 12 - MY FIRST YEAR WAS HORRIBLE
1976 - I GOT INTO A FEW OLD SPOTS - HIT SOME OF MY RELATIVES YARDS WHICH WERE OLD
SOME OLD SCHOOLS AND PARKS AND STARTED LEARNING MY MACHINE
LOOK AT ME NOW - AND THIS IS JUST A SAMPLE - BEEN AT IT FOR 39 YRS NOW
https://www.flickr.com/photos/casper-1/

this is just some from the last 15 yrs
so if you like the "hobby" and stick with it - it can be rewarding and Im not talking just monetarily

You da man, CASPER, you DA MAN!

 

[mikeraydj]

Bravo Casper!

 

[Msbeepbeep]

Welcome to T Net!
Ya you need to find a less trashy area to start on. It isn't easy even for those in the hobby for a long time to detect really trashy spots.

The high school here is so trashy I have to ground balance my detector before I get on school property because I haven't found a clean spot the size of my coil yet! And the constant sounds may give you a headache.

 

[rones]

Wow. Thank you all for all the good suggestions!

 

[mikeraydj]

Listen to the old timers. You will never go wrong.

 

[Frankn]

OK here goes. Hit the yard again, but, SET THE SENSITIVE WAY DOWN!
This is from a 77 year old, but I am spoiled because I tested my new/used detector at an old mansion across the road and my first find was a $5 gold coin. Frank...-

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

As was suggested I took my new CoinMaster GT Detector to test it out in my back yard. All I got was a bunch of beeps, bleeps, and buzzes no matter where I put my detector. It seems my back yard is full of all sorts of junk. The lot my house was built on was the last in the subdivision and all the left over junk from all the subdivision construction was placed on this lot. I guess they did not remove any of it but just graded it down to build the house on. So......I guess I will have to find somewhere else to "test" it out. . . . Rones

Do not despair. MOST of us had similar. Either not a beep or so much you can't make out heads or tails. The area around houses can be bad - especially if they re-roofed and used or pulled aluminum nails, or put up aluminum siding and tossed the trimmings around, or used cinders for fill that had old slag and iron bits, or the prior owner drank beer while mowing and ran over a few cans, etc., etc. Then there are buried cables, septic covers with rebar reinforcement, cover plates, wire mesh, your dog's invisible fence, etc.. And overhead wires can mess you up as well. I have a right-of-way for high tension power lines (120,000 volt towers) on the back of my property and when it has rained I can't detect within 300 ft of them.

A couple choices.

Take the time to clear a spot down several feet. Then put the scanned soil back and, while you're at it, bury a few coins at 4" and 6". Mark these with golf tees or draw a good map. That becomes your "test garden" to practice on. I have coins, lead balls, pull tabs, bottle caps, etc. buried in mine to test settings and keep practiced.

Or, go somewhere like a park, church yard, any large lawn and try there. If you have a sensitive detector and your soil requires you may need to go 50% sensitivity. As Frankn says - don't be afraid to tone it down. Higher doesn't mean deeper if you have "blinded" the circuits. It's like your eyeballs: you need light to see but if you look at the sun all you see is nothing.

 

[rones]

Charlie, all the suggestions I have received so far are great. I like yours about setting up an actual test yard. I will try that out and see how it goes. Thank you. Rones

 

[thebiggerdigger]

Hi Rones,
I started detecting about 2 years ago based on a friend of mine who was going out and showing me all his finds with his son's Coinmaster. I traded someone for a White's Beach Hunter ID and I have been using that the whole time. I think all machines have a learning curve but the best advice I could give you is to take a pocketful full of metal like a penny, nickel, dime, quarter maybe some trash and finally a piece of gold and have a friend or family member place them in a 10 foot by 10 foot area. Then you should try to use your machine to find all the pieces. You will find the distance that you hold it from the ground and the speed at which you make your sweep will greatly effect the outcome. It takes lots of practice learning your machine but I find it a fun and relaxing hobby. I picked it up at 40 and hope I will be doing it for many more years. Enjoy! Oh yeah please let me know how you like the Coinmaster GT. I was thinking of picking up a 2nd detector and that one is on my list.

 

[MackDog]

Mine works fine. Use the 9 discriminating items to rule out the trash

 

[scott9050]

I STARTED IN 1975 AT AGE 12 - MY FIRST YEAR WAS HORRIBLE
1976 - I GOT INTO A FEW OLD SPOTS - HIT SOME OF MY RELATIVES YARDS WHICH WERE OLD
SOME OLD SCHOOLS AND PARKS AND STARTED LEARNING MY MACHINE
LOOK AT ME NOW - AND THIS IS JUST A SAMPLE - BEEN AT IT FOR 39 YRS NOW
https://www.flickr.com/photos/casper-1/


this is just some from the last 15 yrs
so if you like the "hobby" and stick with it - it can be rewarding and Im not talking just monetarily

Casper is a rock star.