I’ve been exploring something new lately.

Private Property.

For years I’ve been *mostly* limiting my detecting to the “easy” spots.  You know – public parks, schools and tot lots.  Sites that have been swung hard and hung up wet for the past 40 some-odd years.  But I read the forums.  I get foamy mouthed at posts about the old farmhouses, the turn of the century yards.  Hand fulls of old coins.

Last weekend I went freestyle knocking.  I drove to 6 private houses and walked to the door.  My heart pounded as I ran the script through my head while waiting for someone to answer the door.  Well, the first 4 houses NO ONE answered the door.  But let me tell you, it got easier to approach the door.

On the 5th house a nice lady answered the door.  I vaguely remember rattling something off about looking for a spot to metal detect, and that I would love the opportunity to search the yard.  Heck, I even offered to give her (are you sitting down?) EVERYTHING I found.  She told me that she didn’t own the land, but gave me the name of the man who did, and she told me where he lived.  She did tell me that he wasn’t available that day.  She was very nice and asked me for my name.  I nearly cursed myself for not introducing myself FIRST! (note to self…) .  I walked with my tail between my legs back to the car, but in hindsight it wasn’t bad at all.

I was determined at this point and decided to hit one more spot – an old bed and breakfast.  I figured at least someone would answer the door.  No such luck, and I struck out again.  So my time allocated to detecting was spent knocking, and I didn’t even get to swing the coil.  Still, the experience was invaluable.

I’m going to hit those spots again this weekend.  Maybe someone will be home.

So I’m asking you:  What’s your secret to getting permission to hunt private property?  Do you have a great opening line?  Is there a way of asking that seems to work better than others?  Is there something you NEVER say?  Do you offer to split the finds?  Ever offer to give ALL the finds?

Please share YOUR tips on gaining permission!

Hey folks.

Beautiful spring weather means one thing around here – back to detecting!
I was able to get out for a couple of hours the other day. It was a rather impromptu hunt, so I hit “The old home…” again.

I’ve hit this site several times with several detectors using more than a couple coil combinations under varying weather/soil conditions. Finds? Not much. As a matter of fact the best day there was the hunt I wrote about back in July.

I was hoping that the Minelab X-terra 70 with the little DD coil might pick a couple goodies out of the trash, but after an hour or so it just wasn’t going to happen.

This site has officially made it to the “Written Off” list. You know these sites – for whatever reason it just doesn’t produce. I figure I’ve been there half a dozen times at least and it just ain’t happening.

That’s ok though. I have some great ideas in mind for other detecting spots. Hopefully I’ll be writing about some great hunts soon.

In the meantime…do you have some “awesome” sites that just don’t produce? Do you have a “Written Off” list?

Hey folks…
I recently picked up one of the little 6″ DD High Frequency (18.75kHz) for my Minelab X-Terra 70. I figured it would help me out in some of the super trashy areas I hunt. The general rule is that those higher frequency coils are better at getting the lower conductive targets (ex. gold) while the lower frequency coils nab the higher conductive (silver) targets. I just wanted a little coil to get in between the junk, and the DD construction helps in my tough ground.
The weather wasn’t exactly conducive to extensive hunting. Temps in my parts of the woods have been in the low 20’s F, but cabin fever forced me outside for a couple hours anyway. I decided to layer-up and hit a late 1800’s homesite that I had hunted once before. The home is now in a field shared with roaming cows and hasn’t been inhabited in about 20 years.
The previous trip was disappointing – the only thing to turn up was screw caps, and a lot of them. To say the site was trashy would be an understatement. Every swing caused 4 or 5 “nulls” in my detectors threshold, indicating an object that was being discriminated out. When I got to the site I quickly did an auto ground balance and set the sensitivity to 24. It was smooth without any falsing.
Just a few minutes into my very cold outing I got my first good signal. I pinpointed and struggled to dig a shallow, small plug. Frozen ground! Ugh. Not something we have to contend with in these parts very often!
Scan plug..nothing.
Scan hole…yep, still in there, but off a little bit.
Widen the hole a little bit…still off.
I finally nabbed the target. A coin!
The entire time I was here last time I didn’t find a single coin. This one was a penny, and I was hoping for an Indian Head. Wiping away the red clay revealed a copper memorial. Eh, oh well. It was a coin. The little coil was doing what it was supposed to.
I covered my hole and kept at it. Not 10 feet away I get another signal, this one a little higher on the X-terra’s meter. For some reason this one was tough to pinpoint too. Then I figured out my error – this is a double d coil, not a concentric! A total “duh” moment. DD coils are “hot” from tip to toe, while concentric coils are more sensitive in the middle. I wiggled the coil over the target, then slowly pulled BACK until the signal went away. Keeping an eye on that spot, I turned 45 degrees and repeated to verify. The object should be right under the front edge of the coil. I dug down, and sure enough, there it was. A dime. Clad. From then on I had no trouble pinpointing and didn’t even use the pinpoint feature of the detector.
I detected in the frigid cold about another hour, dodging cow patties that littered the turf. I received several other good signals, but a few I had to abandon because the ground was rock-hard. I was plenty impressed with the little coil. I couldn’t test the depth limits because I just wasn’t able to dig deeper than 4 or so inches, but a couple of the coins I retrieved were at least 4”. Unfortunately all the coins were modern. I’ll have to give another report when the ground is more “digable”!

Thanks for visiting. If anyone wants to share some experiences with little coils, detecting in freezing cold, digging in frozen ground, dodging cow patties, or anything else, go for it!

Hey folks.  I’m very thankful to my friend Bill Bertke for writing an awesome guest post regarding metal detecting and public property.  A lot of you may know Bill (Beetle662) from some of the detecting forums.  Well, Bill is also a police sergeant in the great state of Kentucky. 

In his post, Bill presents the topic of metal detecting and “public property” from the perspective of a police officer.    Again, thanks Sgt. Bertke for your time!

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Detecting and “Public Property”

Metal detectorists are always looking for new places to check out.  Private property seems to be the key to good finds, but gaining permission to privately owned property is not always easy, let alone granted.  So, we look for easy spots… spots we take for granted that we can hunt anytime.  School yards, playgrounds, and city and county parks.  But I ask you, have you asked for permission to hunt those? I’d be willing to bet most detectorists haven’t!

Here’s the deal.  All of that publicly owned property is governed.  Not by us, but by those we elect.  And those elected officials enact laws and ordinances that prohibit us from doing things that, in general, are not good for one reason or another.  They may have dedicated a street as being one way, or perhaps they regulate parking to only one side of street.  Those matters concern safety.  Do you know if your local government has enacted any laws or rules regarding detecting on public property?  You had better check, because the repercussions could range from a fine all the up to forfeiting your hunting equipment, and maybe even both!

So, if this is “public property”,  I have a God-given right as a tax-paying citizen to detect on it right?  WRONG!  Think about this.  “Public property” is actually owned by your city, county, state, or even federal government.  The “use” of that land is governed by that agency.  And that governing agency sets into place rules and regulations regarding the use of that land.  You couldn’t go build a new house in the middle of that city park you like so much.  What makes you think that being able to detect on that land should be any different?

Rule of thumb… check the ordinances and laws in your area to see if there are any on the books concerning metal detecting.  If you find out that there are laws, then abide by them.  If you don’t like them, do the right thing and petition the appropriate governing agency for a change.  And if there are no laws on the books about detecting that old 1800’s park you’ve been eyeballing over the winter, then you are free to go detecting!

What if there are laws that say I can’t detect there and I want to anyway? Don’t do it!  Fight for change, but fight in the council chambers.  Do your research.  Find out why there is a law in the first place.  Educate the governing agency about your hobby, stressing the positives as much as you possibly can.  Take some of your finds from other areas and show them how rewarding it can be.  Buddy up with a councilman/woman.  Get them on your side by showing them that when done properly, detecting is fun and brings no harm to the public property. Chances are that if there are laws regarding detecting on public property, they are there because of abuse by previous detectorists.  Don’t be a hindrance to future detectorists and cause laws to written because of your failure to fill your holes or leave your trash behind.  Treat public property as if it is your own.  Yes, you do have a stake in by being a taxpayer!  Don’t ruin it for the other taxpayers that want to hunt it too!

Bill Bertke

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Again, thanks “Beet”!  Comments are more than welcome…they’re encouraged!

Christmas is right around the corner, so I’ve haphazardously tossed together a metal detecting wish list.  Take a look and see if Santa needs to add something for you:

“High-Dollar” Metal Detectors

• Minelab E-Trac ($1500)

• Whites Spectra V3 ($1500)

• Fisher F75 LTD ($1300)

• Garrett GTI 2500 ($1000)

Less Expensive, But Can Still Be Pricy

• Minelab X-terra 705 ($800)

• Whites MXT ($800)

• Teknetics T2 ($800)

• Garrett GTi 1500 ($650)

• Tesoro Cortez ($650)

• Fisher F70 ($650)

Even More Affordable

• Fisher F5 ($450)

• Most Tesoro’s (Example = DeLeon $450)

• Teknetics Gamma 6000 ($450)

• Minelab X-Terra 505 ($500)

• Garrett GTAX 550 ($400)

Get Detecting For Less!

• Minelab X-Terra 305 ($350)

• Garrett ACE 250 ($250)

• Many Bounty Hunter/Pioneer (around $250 and less)

• Whites Classic 4 ($275)

• Tesoro Compadre ($150)

• Fisher F2 ($199)

Other Metal Detecting Goodies:

Headphones

• Detector Pro ($50 – $150)

• SunRay ($110)

• Killer B’s ($100)

• Most detector manufacturers also make headphones.  Check out phones by Fisher, Bounty Hunter, Whites,  and Garrett.

Pinpointers

• Check out the Metal Detector Pinpointer Roundup!

Diggers

• There are TONS of digging tools available, more than I’m prepared to discuss.  Check out Lesche products!

So there you have it, a basic guide to some goodies that “md’ers” might want to see under there tree this year.  I didn’t cover everything possible.  Why?  Because I’d LOVE feedback from you.

What metal detectors did I leave out of the different price areas?

Want to recommend a great digging tool?

What’s the best metal detecting headphones?

Anything else that no self respecting detectorist should be without?

The Metal Detecting Code of Ethics is a guide as to what you should and shouldn’t do when metal detecting.  It is printed in most metal detector operating manuals and plenty of sources online.  I’ve revised it a little bit to reflect some of my detecting do’s, don’ts, and pet peeves.

Here’s the iDetectorist.com Metal Detecting Code of Ethics

1. If in doubt, don’t.  If you’re not absolutely sure that you can legally detect somewhere, don’t detect there until you ARE sure.
2. If you have to keep looking over your shoulder while you’re detecting, you’re probably violating the first code.  That, or you should be there with a buddy and not by yourself.
3. Don’t take a shovel onto a park or school ground.
4. Don’t take a knife onto a school ground.
5. Dig your plugs the right size the first time.  A larger plug that gets the goodies is neater than a smaller plug that you have to make larger.
6. If the landowner asks what you found, show him.  Don’t have a secret pocket where you keep the really good stuff.
7. While you’re at it, show the landowner the trash also.
8. Sometimes it’s OK to leave it in the ground.  That ten food pipe doesn’t have to come out.
9. Don’t bust on the guy with a low cost detector.  All detectors are toys – the $150 one and the $1500 one.
10. Leave the place like you found it.  Go back later and assess your damage.  Hopefully there won’t be any.
11. Just dig up a piece of trash?  Don’t toss it into the bushes.
12. If you’ve dug a foot down and a food wide, and the detector is telling you it’s a coin 2 inches deep, its probably not a coin.  Get your back-hoe and move on.
13. Found a silver coin?  Don’t rub the dirt off.  Wait till you get home and soak it in water.

So there you have it.  Surely I left off a couple and that’s where you come in.  What would you add to the list?

(Note March 15, 2010 – Thanks to everyone from Metal Detector Per Tutti and Metal Detector World for visiting. Caccia felice! )

Ever get tied up in your headphone?

When you kneel down to dig a target does your headpone cord tip your detector over?

Does your headphone cord get in the way of your digging?

I’m going to show you how to add “wireless” or “cordless” headphones to any metal detector.

What you’ll need: An FM transmitter, a small radio, and headphones.

An FM transmitter is a little gadget that accepts a sound signal and sends it a short distance by FM waves. They are generally sold as automotive accesories for playing an MP3 player through your car stereo. Some of these plug into your car cigarette outlet, while others are battery powered. To use with your metal detector you’ll want one that runs on batteries. Well, unless you plan on detecting in your car. You’ll also want a transmitter that has a standard heaphone connection (usually 3.5mm) rather than an iPod or specialized connection. I’ve had good luck with the Belkin Tunecast models. The more available channels that the transmitter can send on, the better. This way you can find an “unused” channel for clear reception. Here’s a Belkin Tunecast below:

The next item you’ll need is a small FM radio. A digital unit will work best as you can get a good solid lock on the channel. The Sony FM Walkman radios work well, but I’m sure good results can be obtained with any small digital FM stereo. Small is good.

Finally, you need headphones. This is your call, as any headphones will work. You’ll want good quality sound, so don’t go cheap. There are great HIGH quality phones from earbuds to full ear covering units. The good thing about this setup is that during the winter you can go with larger “cans” to keep your ears warm, and in the summer you can switch to lighter earbuds.

Now to put it together. Plug the FM transmitter into the headphone jack of your metal detector (you’ll probably need a 3.5mm to 1/4 inch headphone jack adaptor). You might stick the transmitter to the body of your detector with velcro to keep it out of the way. Whatever works for your detector. With your headphones plugged into the radio (not your detector!), turn your FM radio on and find an unused frequency. Then turn on the FM transmitter and your detector. Set the FM transmitter to the same frequency as the radio. Thats it! You might have to adjust the volume of the radio to a comfortable level but you’re ready to go. Clip the radio to your belt, in your pocket, or wherever appropriate and enjoy tether-free detecting.

Simplified:

FM transmitter plugged into detector.

NOTHING connects you to detector.

Headphones connected to FM radio.

Radio on your belt loop or in your pocket.

Enjoy.

A pinpointer is a must-have when metal detecting.  In fact I would consider it the most important metal detecting accessory after a good digger.  Yep, even more important than good headphones if you ask me.

Why do you need a pinpointer?  Coins and such can be hard to see!  Not to mention they can be hiding in the wall of a hole while you’re digging to China.   Turn on the pinpointer, scan the hole or the clump of dirt, and beeeeeeep, you have your goodie in-hand in no time.

Here’s a roundup of some of the more popular metal detector pinpointers on the market today.

• SunRay In-Line

Some would consider the SunRay In-Line Probes to be the cream of the crop.  These pinpointers work as a secondary coil on your detector.  Flip a switch and the pinpointer is active rather than the main coil.  This gives you all the tones and readings that your detector would normally have, except with a tiny coil. Somewhat pricey compared to other pinpointers at around $170. More on Sunray at their website here: Sunray Detectors.

• Garrett Pocket Probe

The Garrett Pro-Pointer is a relative newcomer in the pinpointer market, although Garrett is one of the oldest names in metal detecting. This handheld probe is getting some excellent reviews.  The Garrett Pro-Pointer will run you about $140.  More info at Garrett’s Website.

• Automax Precision V4

The Automax V2/V4 has been on the market for a while.  Its long length allows the detectorist to really get into the hole to scan for elusive goodies.    Some users do report cumbersom ergonomics.  Available at Kellyco.

• DetectorPro Pistol Probe

Great reviews on this one.  The pulse induction DetectorPro Pistol Probe has a 6 1/2 probe length and opperates on two 9v batteries.  Kind of pricey at $189.  More at DetectorPro.

• DetectorPro UniProbe

The UniProbe is a more unusual pinpointer.  It comes paired with headphones and can be converted into a full size metal detector with the addition of a larger coil and rods.  DetectorPro reports 5-6 inches depth on coins in the hole with this PI pinpointer.  $350.  A must-see at DetectorPro.

• “Vibra” probes

Treasure Products offers the Vibra-Probe,  Vibra-Quatic, Vibra-Tector, and Vibra-Phone.  Fully submersible, these pinpointers are pulse-induction and give vibration and/or light feedback (depending on model).  They’re priced at around $150.  See the different models at Treasure Products.

• White’s Bullseye

A name as famous in metal detecting as White’s has to offer a top-notch pinpointer.  They do it with the Bullseye II.  This compact pinpointer opperates with sound or vibration and even has an LED to help you see your target.  Available from Whites HERE.  About $100.

• Bounty Hunter pinpointer / Fisher F-Point

This First Texas pinpointer is easy to use with good reported ergonomics.  One of the less expensive pinpointers, it runs about $50.  Interestingly they aren’t mentioned on Fisher’s or Bounty Hunter’s website.

So do you use a metal detector pinpointer?  Have I left any good ones out?  Which pinpointer would you recommend? Comments encouraged!

Hey folks, a quickie today.

I’ve driven by this drive-in for years and never bothered to pursue permission to detect it. The place closed down in the 80’s after being open since the 50’s. I envisioned the place packed with classic Chevys, guys on dates with the friends hiding in the trunk (ok, before my time, by I’ve heard stories from my dad).

I’ve also imagined the TRASH that must be in a place like this. Old style pull-tab heaven. I’m thinking that narrow, slow sweeps, a small coil, and reduced sensitivity would be the way to go.

What’s your experience with old drive-ins? Ever detect them? Any luck? Any advice?

The Fisher F75LTD and Teknetics T2TLD have a new microprocessor and new “DSP” code with a ‘boost process’ to increase depth. Not to mention a cool camo color scheme (don’t set it down in the woods). $1200.

The White’s Spectra V3 (Vision) has a full color display and wireless headphones. $1600.

You can connect the Minelab E-Trac to your PC by using the detector’s USB interface. You’ll dish out about $1400 first.

So many expensive options, so little time.

My first detector as a grown up was a Radio Shack Discovery 2000, and I was FIRED UP about using it. Seems like everything was going good with it too – until I started researching detectors and their limitations. To prove (or disprove) what I read, I decided to plant a couple of coins in my back yard to see how the detector would respond. Needless to say there was some concern when I couldn’t get a peep from a 4” deep coin.

Then it started.

I needed another detector. Then I met my friend “The forum classifieds” The Discovery 2000 was introduced to another owner, and I made acquaintance with detector number 2. But it didn’t seem to find me any more goodies than the first one. So it had to go.

On to Detector #3, but my finds didn’t improve at all.

Detector #4 didn’t have manual ground balance. I decided I had to have that.

Detector #5 ROCKED! But the tones were confusing.

Detector #6 was supposed to get really good depth in mineralized ground. But it didn’t find me any seated coins.

I decided that I didn’t give #5 enough time, so I got another one. Results were the same.

Detector #8 was REALLY deep in my ground, but it was single tone.

Detector #9 was an “interum” detector until I had enough cash to get one I really wanted.

Thought I’d give single tone another try. Meet Detector #10.

Nope, I can’t do single tone.

Let’s offer Detector #10 for trade and see what kind of bites it gets.

Meet Detector #11.
LOVE IT!

Now, this is a basic summary of my experience with different metal detectors. I’ve changed some of the names to protect the innocent. If you’ve been metal detecting for any length of time, you can see a HUGE problem with this behavior.

I’m not LEARNING my machines.

To be a successful detectorist, you have to KNOW your machine. Every beep, iffy tone, weak tone, half tone, grunt, fart, click, pop, chatter, squeel, whistle, null, ID bounce, tone bounce, and scratch means SOMETHING. The only way to get to know your machine on this level is to get your knees dirty and dig.

Dig pulltabs. And bottle caps. And canslaw. And foil. And iron.

Keep notes about how the detector signaled that bottle cap. Was it just a beep? Or was it more of a quick, subtle nuanced buzz followed by a weak beep with a bouncing zinc/cap visual ID? Did it ID different from different angles? Did it pinpoint accurately? Did switching to all metal mode tell you more information?

Here’s my challenge to you: spend 20 hours using your detector before you give up on it and get another one. That might be a few weeks or a few months, but stick with it and try to learn what the machine is telling you.

In the mean time, I’m saving for a F75 -LTD.