Myers Depot Metal Detectors

First time out with F-2 total bust so frustrated

hillbillydigger said:
Thanks guys for all the help. I'm reading and thinking over all the replies even though have not responded to all. I really appreciate all the help and if I ever get good at this I will return the favor to new detectorists.

Can I ask yet another question? What digging technique do you use to get through wood mulch on tot lots? It was damp, it constantly rains here, so the mulch was really packed down. The detector seem to be reading stuff 6 inches under the mulch. How do you get down under the mulch without making a mess?
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Digging the mulch shouldnt be too much of a problem. Just dig it all out and replace. I to was worried at first when digging mulch until I realized its not going to matter how it comes out. When your ready to fill the hole it will all blend in perfectly with the surrounding mulch. Grass in peoples yards on the other hand will take some practice to be make your plugs disappear.
 
hillbillydigger said:
I purchased an adaptor on way home so hopefully that will work.(it was pouring rain later so didn't want to get detector out of trunk to try the adaptor)
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my first adapter didnt work because my unit has a stereo output..some are mono...just a heads up.
 
Day 2 of detecting- well um I found 2 large pieces of what appears to be aluminum like maybe from a carport or siding and a long handsaw blade. At least I found metal in the ground! :lol:

Ok here's the awkward part I was in Dad's front yard as he wanted me to find the gold wedding band he lost 18 years ago he thinks in the front yard when he had been painting and washed his hands off with waterhose. Now I know my dad and I think the whole property should be searched as he could easily have lost it long before he noticed it missing. He told me I could dig all I want. BUT after two holes dug which he insisted on doing himself he suddenly did not want me digging in his yard anymore after I told him how many times the detector went off with strong signals. Also he would not dig deep, like we got several 6-8 inch hits 78-83 and he refused to go any further after going about 4 inches and not finding anything. Before he got home I did scan around the edge of the house because I KNOW there is stuff there. I remember when he moved in over 20 years ago I seriously found coins lying around on the topsoil and even inside the house on the wood floors and shelves in closet. Mostly pennies in the house but for 2 years I found clad in that yard along with a ton of other junk. There was no grass to speak of when he first moved in as the previous owners had a bunch of dogs that had the entire property dug up and trampled down to the bare dirt. I remember helping him on the weekends shoveling dirt into holes between the dogs and a multitude of ground hog holes, so it doesn't surprise me a bit to see coin signals 8 inches deep because those people were weird about throwing money around.

I got a 95 near the foundation where I used to find tons of coins, washers, nuts and bolts. It occurs to me it could also be the ring, but now he won't let me dig as he has professed the detector "obviously" isn't meant to be used on grass since we didn't find his ring after a brief scanning of one half of the front yard and digging 2 4 inch holes. He insists the ring should be on the surface & no reason to dig, but due to decomposition of grass and tons of leaves in yard couldn't a ring he lost 18 years ago be down a little ways? How far can it go down if the surface isn't disturbed much as he never does anything in the yard but mow it with push mower? The hole-filling was before he lost the ring and the majority of that was in back yard. I do wonder though can a water main be detected by F-2 if its 12-18 inches down? The spot he thinks he lost ring is over the water main area and yes we are positive the main is there because it sprung a leak a little after he moved in so we watched the men dig it up. There's also power lines above so I'm not sure how many hits were valid, but there was a lot of high numbers coming up in 6-8 inch range.

PS: My Lesche arrived today. :grin: Tomorrow going to try a place in wooded area near creek. I think someone else detected there already because there is evidence of coin popping and plugs. However, maybe they cleaned up a lot of junk for me. If anything else am hoping I can get some solitude to dig without an audience (or supervisor). :lol:
 
Frustrating story at your Dad's place! I bet if you had free reign there you could:
Learn the detector and its sounds...without kids staring at you
Eventualy find that ring
Of course that ring is going to be several inches down after 18 years! I bet as time goes by...you will be able to go back and try again. Use that detector for a month and get better at it...then tell him you really want to try again.
One thing I have discovered in totlots is that you can get strong signals that end up being nothing. I'm convinced it's support systems for the equipment thats buried under the sand or mulch. Half of the totlots I have been to....one area is clean and easy to detect...then suddenly the detector is sounding off everywhere. I also lower the sensitivity a lot in totlots.
 
Oh boy... if he lost it 18 years ago, it is NOT on the surface. :mad:

Most targets don't take long to sink at all. Does he know that your digging won't harm the grass?

Cut 3 sides of a flap in the sod, fold it over, and scoop out soil onto a towel with your digger until you hit the target with your pinpointer.

Once you cut the flap, re-scan the upturned flap and the hole with your coil, so you will know if the target is in the flap or the hole.

I've dug over 200 holes in my parents' yard, and none were visible afterwards for any period of time. :lol:
Cut DEEP so you don't kill the roots.
 
Marco said:
Frustrating story at your Dad's place! I bet if you had free reign there you could:
Learn the detector and its sounds...without kids staring at you
Eventualy find that ring
Of course that ring is going to be several inches down after 18 years! I bet as time goes by...you will be able to go back and try again. Use that detector for a month and get better at it...then tell him you really want to try again.
One thing I have discovered in totlots is that you can get strong signals that end up being nothing. I'm convinced it's support systems for the equipment thats buried under the sand or mulch. Half of the totlots I have been to....one area is clean and easy to detect...then suddenly the detector is sounding off everywhere. I also lower the sensitivity a lot in totlots.
Click to expand...


I noticed that too about the totlots underneath the ends of plastic slides apparently there is some sort of metal support bracket sunk in the ground as my detector was going off under every slide but nothing found. The one I went to today had a black cloth underneath the mulch and I didn't want to cut into it though I was getting tons of deep targets.
 
Is there a site or any info I can present my dad that explains how metals on the surface migrate down? What is the science behind it? I am guessing minus anyone moving dirt around there is still rain, leaves decomposing making new soil and then squirrels and other critters digging around and inadvertently covering things up when digging for food or burying nuts. That's my guess but is that correct?

Today I detected in the woods near a park alongside a creek. There is a grassy path along the creek. I had a few deep hits, some I came up with nothing and the rest were cans, scrap metal & an old foil candybar wrapper. I found a quarter in the picnic area along with possibly an arrowhead and a penny in the totlot.

Then asked landlord at my apartment complex for permission and was told a very loud NO! I went to another park. This was a bummer as its a big place but not a whole lot of hits course I have seen other detectorists there. I was hoping actually one would be there so I could maybe make a new friend, but alas just one dog walker. My best find of the day- as I got up from having dug several inches only to recover chain link fence pieces I turned around took a step and sa2 something big in the grass staring up at me and it startled me so I let out a yelp. It was a rabbit. It never would move just laid there with its ears flatten. I knew it was trying to look inconspicuous though I worried if it was injured. I didn't touch it though because I could tell it was terrified. Also found- eyeballed two baseballs, dug up a number of pieces of fence, gumwrappers, tabs and finally a penny. I picked up a lot of trash on surface just as good deed though I kinda doubt anyone appreciates that. So money for the day was a grand total of 27 cents after 4-5 hours. I think I understand now why there are so many barely used detectors on EBay. Its harder than it looks and its also hard to find places to detect. I need a local detectorist friend too as it is lonely going out alone.

bunnyrabbit.jpg
 
"findmall" is a forum that has detector-specific sections...much of it is very in-depth. This forum has more to offer overall and friendly people...hence..the name....but I would also recommend going thru findmall's fisher section..you will learn a lot just reading posts.

http://www.findmall.com/list.php?37
 
I'm a newbie myself - three weeks with the F2 as my first detector. I made the same mistake my first trip out and got frustrated as well. Now, after practicing and learning a bit (still got a lot to learn), I have gotten HOOKED! Been out four times since my first trip and have dug up about $6.00 in various coins, not to mention a lot of trash (pull tabs, pieces of metal toys), one child's ring and a VFW hat pin. The key to learning the F2 for me has been learning the notch feature and what different items display in numbers on the display. Hang in there, buddy, you'll get it. If I can do this, anyone can.
 
Figure I'll add in my 2 weeks experience. Been digging all over the yard and have found a total of 24 cents. About 50lbs of iron, including a piece of 4ft x 3'' x 1/4" plate. Looks to be a bracket of some sorts. An old horseshoe that rang up a 44 on the first pass.

And I'm getting better at digging/replacing the plugs. I want to get the basics down and get comfortable with the detector before I start hunting anywhere else.

If you don't have one, get a Propointer. That will show your Dad that there is something in the hole.

Be patient, dig everything, be careful, and have fun. I can pretty much tell when I'm digging iron, but you never know what that iron may be.
 
I've gotten better with the detector, a lot better as far as finding stuff and using the pinpoint feature so I actually dig in the RIGHT place. Yeah that was tough the first few times I went out as it seemed like I would dig and the darn thing would move. LOL Ok I got it down. Now the hard part is finding time between the days and days of rain we have been having the past few weeks so I can go out and detect. I did do well after a torrential rain seem to wash loose a bunch of coins. Even found pocket spill. Thing is its not adding up to much money $1.13 at present because its mostly been pennies, including a Canadian coin, cheap earring and a small nugget that may be silver but I need to test it. One thing I have come to realize living in a poor, rural town I'm not finding much money even in tot lots and I think its just because folks don't have money to give their kids...so they can loose it in the playground. I searched entire volleyball sand court for over a hour and only pulled out the lousy earring. I also think not many people actually go to the park as mostly folks just sit at home here. I need to detect in a richer town I think!
 
Start knocking on doors. If home is where people stay, then that is where they lose stuff. And if it's an old town, then they've been losing stuff for a long time.

HH
 
Hillbilly, like they all said. You gotta dig the junk to learn. SWMBO and I went out to the local St Pk Beach today and if Goose Poop was valuable, we'd have hit the mother-lode. Just too much to deal with. I used to get all nostalgic about those suckers when I lived in Illinois, but now, I hate em. They stay here all year and !!!! on everything.

Oh...sorry.... I ran off the rails there a bit. Anyway, we dug a ton of pop-tops and junk and she found a dime and a penny in the sand. I have a new F-2 and you just have to keep aswangin and aswangin til you learn it's language. I'm glad you posted the question, though, cause I'm going to go read all those write-ups myself.

Hang in there, you'll get it!

EKW
 
ONe other thing I forgot to say. Get yourself some paint stirrers at lowes or somewhere and stick various items on each end. Quarter, penny, pop top, bottle cap, dime, etc with double sticky tape and you can lay the MD down like someone said, and swip the end of the stick past the coil to learn the sounds, signals and also see what swing speed does to the reading and sounds.

EKW
 
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