What was your biggest mistake in learning a new detector?
- Thread starter maxxkatt
- Start date
Max houser
Full Member
exactly. or not taking it seriously when i was younger... my first detector was in 8th or 9th grade around 1979. I built one in "electric" shop in junior high.. very crude and all I found was rusty iron with it... no interest in that at all! the TV jammer I made was much more fun
For me it was learning my machine on a saltwater beach. 4 years ago I got my first machine a Garrett Ace 200 for Christmas and the next day we went to Florida. I immediately went on the wet sand and what an f-ing nightmare. False signals and chatter were all I could hear. I almost gave up on detecting. Then I found my 1st Spanish coin and the rest is history... Lesson learned: don’t use a single frequency VLF with no ground balance on the wet sand!!
amc rulz
Forum Supporter
My biggest mistake...upgrading to a machine to find the stuff I ‘missed’...only to discover I hadn’t missed anything.
Was that from the DFX to the Explorer 2 or the Explorer 2 to the Etrac?
CalReg
Forum Supporter
Letting 45 years lapse before getting back into this amazing hobby!
amc rulz
Forum Supporter
Hate to beat a dead horse, but yes Exp 2 to Etrac.
GKL
Forum Supporter
Yep, getting a Garrett carrot was SO much better than the cheap pinpointer I started with, I still keep the cheap one as an emergency back-up but thankfully the carrot has been holding up great !
I have not read every word in the manual but I have referred to it, what is easier for me though is referring to these online video tutorials on the Nox -
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpymZHu8sv5nwrk34ID53OxszE8fjuDFC
.....of course if you don't use the manual (or online tutorials) at all, you might end up detecting like the pic in this next link
http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?p=3276506#post3276506
....glad I never did the update, it was working fine for me "as is" so why bother ?
....when I first started I was somewhat timid about detecting in public parks but once I made up my mind to simply go detect I realized it was no big deal to anyone
I might tend to go too slow as I want to make sure I don't miss anything, if I had a hunting buddy he'd likely cover twice as much ground in the same time
Yep, not sure why I didn't consider it sooner, but glad I finally did. It would have been really great to have started this hobby before they switched to clad around 1965, or even several years after as there still would have been mostly silver in the ground for some time, but I was only 13 in 1965 and not sure I could have afforded what detectors they might have had back then
georgeinsc
Elite Member
Waiting until i was a senior citizen before i purchased a detector and got into the hobby. I guess 71 is a senior citizen.
Beachhunter
Elite Member
Buying metal detector accessories before I knew what I needed.
hddeuce03
Full Member
I never understood this type of thinking. Yeah, why gain an extra frequency, extra Iron Bias feature and added stability? lol. Do you feel this way with all other electronics? Do you never update your cell phone, laptop, etc? The Minelab engineers know what they are doing.
If someone had issues after an update, then the update simply didn't take correctly. A Factory reset, update, then factory reset should correct any issues.
Martin_V3i
Elite Member
"gain an extra frequency, extra Iron Bias feature and added stability?"
Stability with the updates, really? I tested each update when they came out, and ALWAYS came back to Factory 1.5 again, because I simply lost stability. I am with GKL in that opinion. jm2c
But, we digress.
GKL
Forum Supporter
No offense taken
but I do install updates on many of my electronics, but some things I will hold off until an update has been out for a while as I have later read negative reviews about an update on something and was glad I held off, it "seems" like sometimes a software company will rush out an update maybe figuring after users complain about different issues they will then fine tune the update and reissue it Anyhow while some liked the Nox update, there was enough who did not that it was not a big deal to me to not bother, now that is not saying I won't ever do a Nox update as maybe they'll come out with a even newer update later and I'll wait for the reviews on that.
It is somewhat puzzling why some are satisfied with the update and some are not, I wonder if it could be related to different soil conditions in different members areas, I'm no expert, just guessing
I might be one of the ones who would be happy with the 3.0 update if I tried it, but since I am happy with how it works now I'll likely wait and see if they come out with a newer update later and reconsider.
Thanks to you and those who tested the update and posted about it so I didn't have to
(really, thanks ! 
)On a side note, Microsoft Windows can drive you crazy with how it seems like they often can't go even one month without wanting you to install their updates
I don't mind a very occasional update within reason, but sometimes it seems like every time you turn around they have another update they want you to install 
Danner22
New Member
My mistake
Not listening to what my machine was trying to tell me and relying on VDI.
I began listening, slowing down and comparing all the information (sounds/VDI)
The result, better finds and a lot of coin spills.
Not listening to what my machine was trying to tell me and relying on VDI.
I began listening, slowing down and comparing all the information (sounds/VDI)
The result, better finds and a lot of coin spills.
Silversmith45
Elite Member
Listening to a friend tell how great his machine was. I bought one and hardly ever use it. Probably the most expensive machine I have. It just isn't for me.
Metal Pig
Forum Supporter
I think it's that way with alot of digital readout machines. Too many programs and not enough CONTROL. Of course you can learn to apply programs and algorithms "for your site" like you said...but that's something I find annoying about digital technology...that someone else has it "all figured out" and yet you still have to pretend their labels on their programs aren't there. Too many geeks with fingers in the pot. I speak not only from MDing experience but even moreso from nearly 40 years as an electronic musician. Many synthesizer brands are starting to produce 100% analog synths again because you have such hands-on control over your work rather than following some geeky program from someone who is more a software developer than a musician. There has been a long subtle battle in the musical instrument industry over letting geeks control our sound more than we do. Its finally come full circle, and I imagine MD tech follows a similar curve.
Biggest mistake I've made with a new detector? Running the sensitivity too high..and swinging too fast.
Biggest mistake I've made with a new detector? Running the sensitivity too high..and swinging too fast.
Biggest mistake: Getting all entrenched in the Beach and water hunting forum and falling in with the local 'competitive' guys who seemed to find gold at every turn. Believing their advice that I had to hunt in heavy surf up to my armpits to score the 'heavy stuff'. I became disillusioned with the hobby when it became more of a chore than the fun I got into it for. Had to take a step back and remember the relaxing wet sand hunts which produced pretty well and lowered my blood pressure instead of raising it. My new attitude, both at the beach and in the dirt, is that I'm blessed to finally be in a position in life to be able to 'waste' a day metal detecting. And I intend to waste a bunch of them, without fretting over what I find or don't find.
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GKL
Forum Supporter
Good for you !!!!
Metal detecting is meant to be a FUN hobby to relax you and not add stress
Would we all love to dig super finds every hunt ? sure, who wouldn't ? ......but we need to have the mindset that we are going to enjoy each hunt regardless of the results, I look at detecting as a fun way to exercise and get fresh air (a whole lot more fun than walking on a treadmill for exercise
) and while each hunt I hope to dig one or more good finds (hoping is part of the fun) even if my hunt results are a clad dime, a nickel, a few Zincolns, and the usual trash I still enjoy the exercise and adventure of the hunt as well as the fresh air.
