Big Boys Hobbies

New and don’t know anything

R

Razor800

New Member
Joined
Dec 6, 2019
Messages
2
Hello from Birmingham, Alabama. As the title stated, I am new and know absolutely nothing about metal detecting. I bought a Dr Otek detector to get my feet wet. I took it out for the first time yesterday to learn the ropes. Realized it’s going to be a long time before I figure it out but I’ll get there. My only find was a porcelain milk glass lid that barely had any of the metal lid around it. I’ve discovered it’s like 17 horrible holes of golf and vowing to quit the game forever, but getting a birdie on 18 and how the outlook changes. Looking forward 6 gleaming wisdom and knowledge from you guys.

Jeff
 
Jeff, I have a years old detector in my closet, haven't used it in years and now I am retired and have time. I am shopping for a new detector with all the bells and whistles cause I don't want cheap this time around and know for a fact that I will learn it, eventually. LOL
 
Welcome Razor800. Parks and ball fields are a great place to learn, you'll finds coins and that will keep you from getting discouraged.
 
I realize I beat this drum all the time. When I first started I found a test garden to be a great help. Basically, you "plant", "bury" various items, at various depths to help learn your machine. Items like, a silver dime, a wheat penny, a cheap silver ring, a pull tab etc etc. Something like 4" to 8" deep. Plant a rusty nail, an aluminum can as well. There's loads of recipe's for what to "plant". I Ided each with a plastic poker chip (non-metalic). Now you have known objects at known depths.
Swing your coil and observe the results for each of these objects. Listen to the tones, adjust discrimination, sensitivity. In other words, get yourself to the point where you see a number in the field, hear the tone and you'll almost know, Hey, that's a modern quarter. It'll give you a higher level of confidence. Do a search on this site for test garden, you'll get the idea.
 
Other than a lot of worms, this is my only find on my first day:
690C4377-AD2C-4517-8070-3CDCD5559398.jpg

Thought it was pretty cool, but no value.
 
Welcome to the forum. One good place to start is Tot Lots. Children playing drop change and occasional jewelry. It will give you a chance to learn your detector and the recovery is easy. There are plenty of children playgrounds in every city. Good luck and Happy Hunting !!!
 
Haha your final statement about golf was absolutely spot-on. I find myself sometime wondering why I’m out detecting when I’m digging up the 50th piece of trash and then I hit something even remotely cool and I’m hooked all over again!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Haha, love the honesty! Tough to find these days. Yes, metal detecting is most definitely a learning activity. I hope ya stick with it and have a great time!
 
Welcome.
Not super easy to hunt around here, we got red clay, tons of iron everywhere and so much trash and other junk in the parks that you would think trash cans were some sort of mysterious creature nobody ever wanted to get near.
However, there is still a lot left to find for those that practice and gain the skills to deal with all of it.
Your detector is entry level but luckily lots of great things aren't really very deep in this place.
Here are just a couple of things I have found in mostly just parks.
The silver dollar, the big gold religious pendant, the Barber quarter and seated dime were all found at George Ward Park, for instance.
This is a park that most around here considered hunted out.
As you can see...they were wrong.

If you live around this area contact me...maybe we can meet and I can show you a few things, sometime.
 

Attachments

  • photostudio_1575834076450_PerfectlyClear.jpg
    photostudio_1575834076450_PerfectlyClear.jpg
    38.5 KB · Views: 231
  • photostudio_1575833959264.jpg
    photostudio_1575833959264.jpg
    36.3 KB · Views: 235
  • photostudio_1575831996214.jpg
    photostudio_1575831996214.jpg
    147.6 KB · Views: 226
  • photostudio_1575831752906.jpg
    photostudio_1575831752906.jpg
    116.3 KB · Views: 220
  • photostudio_1575832340182.jpg
    photostudio_1575832340182.jpg
    133.9 KB · Views: 221
  • photostudio_1575832551684.jpg
    photostudio_1575832551684.jpg
    89.3 KB · Views: 238
We all started in your shoes. When I started I purchased a detector based on my brother in laws recommendation. It was a tones only machine and I could not figure out what the machine was telling me. One piece of junk after another until I was so frustrated that I was looking for a strong tree. But in time the machine and I clicked and now we are a team. It has found me far more value than what I paid for it and that does not count the other benefits.

Give it time and learn as you go and you find that this is a very enjoyable hobby.
 
Welcome ! You have come to the right place. You are not alone here. I have been doing this for 40 years and I still don't know anything.....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

T
Advice please
Replies
6
Views
77
Toddy654
T
maxxkatt
Which detector was the hardest to learn for you?
Replies
15
Views
126
jmaclen
J
M
Meteorite Rockhounding
Replies
5
Views
71
Montrose81401
M
Z
Silver ore
Replies
8
Views
151
GTimberMT
GTimberMT
V
Who did it?
Replies
15
Views
229
Drew61
Drew61
Back
Top Bottom