New and looking for advice....

Good Machine!   Work with what you have until you have it figured out.

Coils are a bit hard to find for that one about now.

Linkback:

You are not allowed to view links.
Please Register or Login

http://www.thunting.com/smf/index.php/topic,46636.msg255696.html#msg255696

Hello, and welcome from Alaska, I agree with homefire, use what you have, make a test garden by burying different coins,and other things like foil, tabs, and such at different depths, and just learn how the machine works. And if it beeps dig it, get all the trash out of the way, so you can find the good stuff underneath.Foiled

Linkback:

You are not allowed to view links.
Please Register or Login

http://www.thunting.com/smf/index.php/topic,46636.msg255710.html#msg255710

I had an even older version of the GMH that I used for years.  It paid for itself many times over.  I regretted selling it but it was necessary to do so when I decided to jump into the 21st Century with a White's DFX and now a Minelab E-trac.  Here's a simple metal detecting fact of life.  You will dig a lot of trash if you want to be sure you are getting all the good stuff.  Sure, you can set the discrimination to ignore pull tabs and everything below that level of conductivity but when you do you are accepting that you will miss nickles and things like thin gold rings.  That choice is yours.  If it's any consolation, the same pretty much holds true with the most modern detector out there.  My DFX and E-trac allow me to dig fewer pieces of trash but I still get fooled on a regular basis.  The problem is that any metal detector "reads" the conductivity of the object under the coil.  Different coins have known conductive values and those values are programmed into the detector.  The fly in the buttermilk is that different pull tabs can match the conductive values of nickles.  A piece of aluminum foil can read as anything from a penny to a dollar depending on how large it is, how tightly it's wadded up, etc.  Now, before you decide that metal detecting is not for you, let me give you some good news.  Time and experience with your machine will let you reach a point where you can leave a lot of the trash in the ground.  It's a matter of learning what the machine is telling you.  Someone else suggested you bury different coins and bits of trash at different depths and practice scanning them.  That's an excellent idea and something I do anytime I try a different detector.  You already know what's down there so you can learn the response your detector makes to the different objects.  It will ease the learning curve quite a bit.  Most importantly, stick with it and have fun!

Storm   

Linkback:

You are not allowed to view links.
Please Register or Login

http://www.thunting.com/smf/index.php/topic,46636.msg256285.html#msg256285