Is This A Good Enough Detector?

Hi Tumbleweed,

The detector will find good stuff, thats one of the cool things about these machines they will find whats there, its just up to us to interpret and get it in the right places for them to work to our advantage.

I have to assume that you have done the work of learning to properly balance the detector before hunting any site?

what kinds of places have you been hunting?

In the parking next to well-traveled sidewalks, in school yards, around football and other outdoor fields, etc. By "nothing" I'm assuming that you're not including nails, pop tops, and other non-coin or precious metals.

My first detector was an ancient White's that I bought at a yard sale for $20, and once I learned how to balance it for different soil conditions, I was amazed at what I could find with it. Sold it for $20 at my garage sale last year after upgrading to a newer Garrett. Perhaps the most valuable items that I found were all the roofing nails that Frick and Frack Roofing left in the areas where I parked my vehicles - I didn't pop a single tire!

Tumbleweed, every place has its history, If you want to email me a location, I will see what I can dig up for your area.

I hunt hiking trails,schools,old home sites,places where there used to be stuff but isn't anymore, such as old train stations, bus stops, play grounds, parks, fishing and swimming holes,sports fields,old drivein movie locations, and lets not forget by permission yards of anyone who will listen to me,old carnival sites,fair grounds,rodeo grounds, you name it if there is something in the area I will find it.

I spend time with the older crowd at coffee, I ask them about places that they know of, things that used to be here, where community gatherings were held, any thing to get info and locations, most of the time I get invited to do their yards, where they raised their kids back in the 40's and 50's.

Are you getting absolutely NO signal from anything? Almost any yard which has been established for a few years will have metal objects in it. Something is wrong, as Tim Stroud has pointed out.

Try "salting" a patch of ground with a roofing nail (which returns a variable signal), a 1/4-inch nut, a cent, and a dime, say a yard or more apart. Practice swinging and detecting them. Learn the differences in signals. Tweak your detector so that it returns a maximum signal. Practice, practice, practice!

When I started detecting with that old White's in the rental house yard next door, I was lucky in that the renter's kid, and others, had already lost quite a few things ... many cents, a dog chain, a flatware knife, several Hot Wheels. I even managed to find a dime that was six or seven inches down. You probably should start with known objects to make sure that your detector is set correctly and not tweaked too "tight" so that you are missing things.

I still say that your settings may not be quite right. Check your owner's manual and tweak a bit as you try detecting those four objects I suggested.