Thanks everyone for the great welcomes. Sorry it took me so long to get back and thank y'all. I've been very busy working on home projects and keeping one eye out for the hurricanes. We had one go the west of us and one to the east of us, and one disappear right near us. At one time they were all pointed at us.
I don't have much to report about the use of my machine as I've never taken it out for a ride. I've only played with it on my own property. After following this forum and a couple of local ones, I've become more interested in the hobby. I'm 76 years old and have been in this town my whole life and know more about it's history than most local detectors. I have some spots in mind that some might not realize could be some very good spots for older coins. Too bad schools are off limits here. No one allowed on school grounds, PERIOD.
A couple of weeks ago I found myself with about an hour to spare while waiting for my wife to return from her physical therapist. I decided to hit a curb strip a few blocks from my house. In the old days we walked that stretch of sidewalk as did many others on our way to shop downtown. In the 50's and 60's not many people had vehicles. In recent years an overpass was put in over the bayou and the old bridge removed. The part of the roadway leading to the old bridge is now a dead end and only accessible by driving through the neighborhoods. I hit about a 100 foot stretch of the strip and started finding coins right away. Too bad they were all clad. That first day I found 3 quarters, 1 clad dime, 11 zinc cents, 1 bent up doubloon. Not bad for a first real hunt but I expected at least a silver from that place. The Master Hunter worked great on finding the coins and correctly IDing them. I found only a few iffy signals which I figured were pull tabs or such and after digging a few, I was correct. I dug them hoping for something great. That road way was at one time the main route for carnival parades and I figured someone would have had to drop something good with all the hoop-la going on during the parades. I hit an other section a week later and found on 5 zinc pennies and a Mardi Gras doubloon in nice shape. At first I thought it was gonna be my first silver, that big aluminum disk really rang up my meter and sound. On the way home I passed by a local park and since no one was around I stopped to check out a place near one of the gates where years ago there was a merry-go-round. I though it might be a good spot because it was the center of attention when I was a kid. On my first step into the park and two or three swing I hit a nice signal. The meter showed a clad dime and when I dug it, it was such. Great machine on coins. I circled the area where the merry-go-round used to be and found 3 zinc cents. I had to leave after only being there for 15 minutes but it proved to me that the park probably hasn't been detected much if at all.
Sorry this post was so long but it brings me up to date. Thanks again for the add and I hope I can get out more often and find some interesting stuff.
"gene"
... from the Land of 10,000 Lakes - Minnesota! 
Happy hunting! 
