Whoa, this new Metal Detecting Research Tool could be a Game Changer

[Sand Swinger]

I just stumbled on a recent video from Merrill of Metal Detecting NYC entitled “Beach Metal Detecting Has Changed Forever: Gold & Treasure In 2026”. I was curious to hear what was changing for us this year, and Merrill didn’t disappoint. He announced a new website research tool for detectorists called Subterrix. BTW, he kept referring to Subterrix as being his website, so sounds like it might be a website / tool that he put together. He’s a schoolteacher by day.

I only spent a few minutes perusing the website, but from what I saw, it looks like this site will have every research tool known to man that a detectorist could possibly want, and there also appears to be automation and AI built in. For instance, one of the tools is called BeachCut. Put in the beach(s) you like to hunt, and BeachCut will monitor the conditions at those beaches and will send you a text message when the beach is developing a cut or experiencing erosion. How would you like to know a cut is forming before anyone else?

There are tons of other tools: I saw that LiDAR was available, then there’s a tool that will tell you the best places to search in your area, another tool gives you a historical background of an area that you’re researching, another tool gives you weather information for the beach/area you want to hunt.

And this tool could be a bonanza for those who like to hunt permissions. Get this, with this tool, you can find out who owns a property that you’re interested in detecting, and then it will generate a permission form for you to use to ask the owner for permission to hunt the property. Just think of all the possibilities that this tool would provide for land hunters. I haven’t even scratched the surface yet.

I don’t know how much it costs, but Merrill mentioned that guys can get a basic plan to try it out, and that plan includes 20 credits per month. Each research tool “costs” a certain number of credits to use. He also mentioned an Elite membership; there may be other membership levels as well. For those who may be interested in the Elite membership, Merrill provided a Discount Code which gives you 40% off an annual Elite Membership. To take advantage, use code: dig1776

Also, some FREEBIES:

For detectorists under 25, Subterrix is Free - includes Free access to Subterrix tools with 60 monthly credits, a referral code, and early access to new features.

For U.S. Military Veterans, Subterrix BaseCamp is Free - includes Free access with 100 monthly credits across every research tool.

I think I’m gonna sign up for the U.S. Military Veterans free membership and try out some of the tools. Like I said earlier, this site looks to have every research tool imaginable, but they’re all targeted towards Metal Detecting. And if these tools work well, this site could really be a game changer!

Watch Merrill’s Video:

 

[BLK HOLE]

You can also listen to Relics Radio podcast or YouTube post where the founders explain what the current and future capabilities are available. I got myself an elite membership and have been poking around on the site. Right now I am still in the "learn mode", the amount of information it can mash together is mind blowing. I strongly recommend everyone check it out.

 

[k0bgalan]

From my experience, paid web sites seldom fulfill the monies spent. There are exceptions of course, but without a 30 day free trial, I'm not interested.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Keep in mind cant post links to detecting sites selling or charging membership unless they are supporting vendor.

He has store but not online yet, also has pay memberships

Link removed.

 

[PenguinDetectsCA]

Ya, seems interesting. I got 60 credits for being under 25yo, going to see what I can do with it.

 

[Sand Swinger]

Keep in mind cant post links to detecting sites selling or charging membership unless they are supporting vendor.

He has store but not online yet, also has pay memberships

Link removed.

My apologies TH, totally escaped my mind about posting the link.

 

[Sand Swinger]

From my experience, paid web sites seldom fulfill the monies spent. There are exceptions of course, but without a 30 day free trial, I'm not interested.

Merrill mentioned something in the video about those who want to check it out, kick the tires, etc., can get 20 credits to play with. I'll have to rewatch the video to see how that works.

I'm a Veteran, so I'm going to sign up for the Free Veterans program which gives 100 credits per month to use. I didn't spend too much time on the site so I didn't get to see what different types of memberships might be available, costs, etc. But I did see the page that lists all the various research tools that will be available, and my mind was overwhelmed, there's a lot there to digest.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

My apologies TH, totally escaped my mind about posting the link.

No apologies needed sir, I removed the link...

 

[Sand Swinger]

Ya, seems interesting. I got 60 credits for being under 25yo, going to see what I can do with it.

Like us, Merrill's a beach hunter, so looks like the majority of tools were designed for hunting beaches, bays, etc. But I think Land Hunters would be very interested in the Property Permissions tool. I started out in 69' as a land hunter, aka coin shooter, and hunted land up until around 15 or 16 years ago when I switched over to hunting sand.

But every time I'm out and driving my truck, I always seem to pass by an old house, building, or other structure that I can tell is very old. And of course, my mind immediately thinks about wanting to detect that property. I don't need permission to hunt beaches, unless it's Gov't owned, but for private property, getting permission is essential, and good insurance for not getting arrested, lol. Having the ability to use that Property tool to find out who owns the property and their contact info could be huge. And the ability to print out a permission form for the owner to sign is a big plus as well.

 

[Sand Swinger]

You can also listen to Relics Radio podcast or YouTube post where the founders explain what the current and future capabilities are available. I got myself an elite membership and have been poking around on the site. Right now I am still in the "learn mode", the amount of information it can mash together is mind blowing. I strongly recommend everyone check it out.

Thanks BH, good information to know. Just curious, but would you happen to know if Merrill is one of the founders? He referred to Subterrix in his video as "my site", so I got the impression that this is his website or he's involved with Subterrix in some way, rather than just promoting a site owned by others.

I'm gonna sign up using the free Veteran's program to try out some of the tools. I spent a little time on the site but was unable to find a page that listed various membership plans they have available, along with the cost. What's the yearly cost for the Elite program?

 

[BLK HOLE]

Thanks BH, good information to know. Just curious, but would you happen to know if Merrill is one of the founders? He referred to Subterrix in his video as "my site", so I got the impression that this is his website or he's involved with Subterrix in some way, rather than just promoting a site owned by others.

I'm gonna sign up using the free Veteran's program to try out some of the tools. I spent a little time on the site but was unable to find a page that listed various membership plans they have available, along with the cost. What's the yearly cost for the Elite program?

Hey SS, I believe Merrill was brought in as the experienced detector and is now a partner. The guy who put this together with his nephew is a relatively new metal detectorist. I initially signed up under the veteran program as well, but they were offering a 50% off on 4th of July weekend for a year of Elite, so I took it, I think it was $79 dollars. So, you were an Air Force Ammo.... I was Navy Ordnance IYAOYAS!!!

 

[Sand Swinger]

Hey SS, I believe Merrill was brought in as the experienced detector and is now a partner. The guy who put this together with his nephew is a relatively new metal detectorist.

Thanks BH, I figured it might be something like this, as it would take specific technical programming knowledge to build a website and incorporate automation and AI, along with researching all of the tools and integrating any API's that needed to be used.

I initially signed up under the veteran program as well, but they were offering a 50% off on 4th of July weekend for a year of Elite, so I took it, I think it was $79 dollars.

I'm going to sign up for the Veteran's program as well. I saw that it said the program includes 100 monthly credits to use for all of the tools? I'm not sure what else the Veterans program includes, but does the Elite program include more than the Veterans program? I'm sure it does as there's always a large gulf between Free & Paid, lol.

So, you were an Air Force Ammo.... I was Navy Ordnance IYAOYAS!!!

Yeah buddy, we say AMMO, but that's just another term for Ordnance, and you say Ordnance, which is just another term for AMMO, so we're definitely brothers in arms. And you say IYAOYAS and we say IYAAYAS, so very close and the point is the same.

I served from 76' - 80', so the munitions I built and worked with back then weren't as technically complex as today's munitions. The majority of ordnance I worked with included: AIM 7, 9, & AGM-65 Maverick missiles, MK82's, BDU-33's, Cluster bombs, 2.75" rockets w/various warheads including Flechette (my favorite), White Phosphorus, high-explosive, and probably some others. Also handled 30mm & 20mm with a wide variety of projectiles including tracer, high-explosive incendiary, and armor piercing, 7.65, 5.56, C4, Claymore mines, and I'm sure there were many others I just can't recall off the top of my head.

BTW, I wear my Air Force Vet hat everywhere I go, and it's enabled me to connect with a lot of other Vet's when I'm out & about. I think you'll appreciate this one, but one night, I took the wife out to dinner. We're sitting in a booth, there's a mid-high wooden wall next to my right, with another booth on the other side. After placing our order, I started watching several TV's they had above the bar. So, I'm watching the TV's and I hear someone say; excuse me sir. I look to my right and the young man who was sitting in the booth on the other side of the wooden wall was kneeling up on his seat and looking over the wall at me. So, I looked at him and then he said to me: "If you ain't AMMO, you ain't sh*t. I smiled and said "yeah buddy" get over here and let's get a pic. Wife grabs her cell phone and takes a pic of me and the young man, who turned out to be Air Force AMMO supporting A-10's at a nearby base. It's a small world after all.

 

[robertk]

But every time I'm out and driving my truck, I always seem to pass by an old house, building, or other structure that I can tell is very old. And of course, my mind immediately thinks about wanting to detect that property. I don't need permission to hunt beaches, unless it's Gov't owned, but for private property, getting permission is essential, and good insurance for not getting arrested, lol. Having the ability to use that Property tool to find out who owns the property and their contact info could be huge.

I think in most US jurisdictions the property owner is a matter of public record. So you could find out who owns a property by going to the county courthouse, if you can figure out township, section, and range. Or you could look it up online if that county has a website that supports that. Or you could use an app…. I’ve got an app that has a yearly subscription that can show a location on a map, with property lines, who owns them, their address, and so on. Not sure if I can post links but if you search your favorite App Store for hunting property lines or something you should find a few.

 

[Sand Swinger]

I think in most US jurisdictions the property owner is a matter of public record. So you could find out who owns a property by going to the county courthouse, if you can figure out township, section, and range. Or you could look it up online if that county has a website that supports that. Or you could use an app…. I’ve got an app that has a yearly subscription that can show a location on a map, with property lines, who owns them, their address, and so on. Not sure if I can post links but if you search your favorite App Store for hunting property lines or something you should find a few.

Yeah, I guess I could use those other methods but going to the courthouse and/or researching online can take a lot of time, much easier to use their tool, add an address & zip in a box, and let their AI research through all the records to find the owner. Just like today, I really no longer use Google or Bing for internet searches, but while they've been great tools over the years to find info, it still can take a lot of time to go through all the listings they provide, to see if the listing has the information I'm looking for. But starting earlier this year, I've been spoiled by AI.

I take 30 seconds to a minute to type up a detailed & specific prompt of what I'm looking for, and AI responds with the exact info in about 3 seconds. Just did the opposite today for a specific reason but got AI results yesterday that took about 3 seconds, so today I tried searching for the same info manually, wound up having to go through a bunch of websites and documents, then spent a lot of time needing to read through the doc's and pages to see if I could find what I wanted. I literally spent about 4-5 hours today searching through all those doc's & sites, where yesterday, AI gave me the same information in 3 seconds, lol.

 

[robertk]

Yeah, I guess I could use those other methods but going to the courthouse and/or researching online can take a lot of time, much easier to uswe their tool, add an address & zip in a box, and let their AI research through all the records to find the owner.

My point was that property lines are already public knowledge, and there are already apps out there that will look it up for you (saving you the trip to the courthouse). There are apps you can put on your phone that will show you property lines, ownership, and contact info, for any property in the US. Good that you can get AI to give you the info -- but with the apps you can literally touch a map and see whatever you want to know, instantly, without doing any prompts or searching.

 

[Sand Swinger]

My point was that property lines are already public knowledge, and there are already apps out there that will look it up for you (saving you the trip to the courthouse). There are apps you can put on your phone that will show you property lines, ownership, and contact info, for any property in the US. Good that you can get AI to give you the info -- but with the apps you can literally touch a map and see whatever you want to know, instantly, without doing any prompts or searching.

OK, that could be nice. Having an app on my cell phone would be rather convenient, that would give me access 24x7 no matter where I'm at. You say there's an app available at the Google store? there's usually several of any type at Google store, usually there's the original, maybe a good copycat or two, but then usually a bunch of other no names trying to copy the original app. Would you happen to have the name of the app you use, so that I'm not fooled by an inferior copycat? If you don't want to put the name out in public, you can DM me as well. Thanks RK!

 

[robertk]

I don't think there's an issue putting the name out there. And I don't know if it's an original or a copycat, but the one I use and like is called OnX Hunt, and it's geared for hunting (deer hunting, for example). The idea being that if you're out stomping around the woods you can avoid accidentally crossing property lines. But it's just as helpful when you're hunting with a metal detector. And if you want a good complement to it, look up Spartan Forge. It won't show property boundaries, but it will show you satellite maps and lidar views with live position marker. That way if you spot a cellar hole or other interesting feature, you can walk straight to it.

 

[k0bgalan]

Property records as noted are publicly-viewable documents. Here in New Mexico, all such records are online and easily researched.

 

[Sand Swinger]

I don't think there's an issue putting the name out there. And I don't know if it's an original or a copycat, but the one I use and like is called OnX Hunt, and it's geared for hunting (deer hunting, for example). The idea being that if you're out stomping around the woods you can avoid accidentally crossing property lines. But it's just as helpful when you're hunting with a metal detector. And if you want a good complement to it, look up Spartan Forge. It won't show property boundaries, but it will show you satellite maps and lidar views with live position marker. That way if you spot a cellar hole or other interesting feature, you can walk straight to it.

Thanks RK, I'll check them out.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

OK, that could be nice. Having an app on my cell phone would be rather convenient, that would give me access 24x7 no matter where I'm at. You say there's an app available at the Google store? there's usually several of any type at Google store, usually there's the original, maybe a good copycat or two, but then usually a bunch of other no names trying to copy the original app. Would you happen to have the name of the app you use, so that I'm not fooled by an inferior copycat? If you don't want to put the name out in public, you can DM me as well. Thanks RK!

Posting the name isnt an issue with rules as long as it isnt your app with a cost to download, then it would be advertising