[Coinjunky]

Hahaha , so do I , I would be digging the park next to my house but the ground is hard as he'll , so hopefully I can pick up a digging spade from Shawn silver

[James Kraft]

Morning Keagan

Welcome to our community. Don't worry, the more you hunt the more you will learn how to interpret the signals that the machine gives you. My advise to you is initially to start digging almost every signal that is non-ferrous. This is the best way to understand your machine. Also remember to post a pic of yourself in the "Putting a face to the name" section if you want to. This makes it easier for the community to recognise each other in the field and makes everything a bit more personal.

Post your finds as you go along and don't be afraid to ask questions. As always, keep coil to the soile mate.

[Coinjunky]

Sweet , thanks Jamesk , I spent 5 hours out at homestead dam , I got one 5 rand coin , four 2 rand coins , 2 old Pepsi bottle caps , some weights and junk metal , will post a pic of my finds tonight , I got sick of pulling up pull tabs so I set my gerrett to custom where I left the last three bars on so only silver and it worked out well ,

[Shaun Silver]

Hi Keagan , im only working half day Saturday , want to check out a space in Boksburg , if you want to join and then i can give you your spade .

[Coinjunky]

Dude fore sure , I'm defenetly hooked on detecting , and would love to hit a new spot with u ,

[Coinjunky]

Hay guys was wondering do those hand held pinpointers help ? Are they worth the cash u have to dish out ?

[James Kraft]

Mate, in my experience and I believe others will agree with me...A pinpointer is the beez kneez...It makes target aquisition and recovery much faster and prevents damage to the object due to incorrect pin pointing with the machine. Ask Shaun what difference it makes. He will tell you exactly what it is like hunting with and without one here at Lady Selborne. My advise, get one as soon as you can afford to do so.

[Coinjunky]

Hahaha , okay , then I'm gonna def need one , who has a spare I can buy ?

[Danie]

Welcome and enjoy the forum....

[Paul van Heerden]

Sweet , thanks Jamesk , I spent 5 hours out at homestead dam , I got one 5 rand coin , four 2 rand coins , 2 old Pepsi bottle caps , some weights and junk metal , will post a pic of my finds tonight , I got sick of pulling up pull tabs so I set my gerrett to custom where I left the last three bars on so only silver and it worked out well ,

Just remember that if you discriminate against pulltabs, you will never find gold. The two give exactly the same readings on most detectors, especially the 250

[James Kraft]

Sweet , thanks Jamesk , I spent 5 hours out at homestead dam , I got one 5 rand coin , four 2 rand coins , 2 old Pepsi bottle caps , some weights and junk metal , will post a pic of my finds tonight , I got sick of pulling up pull tabs so I set my gerrett to custom where I left the last three bars on so only silver and it worked out well ,

Just remember that if you discriminate against pulltabs, you will never find gold. The two give exactly the same readings on most detectors, especially the 250

Have to agree with you landuse. Although I do not have a Garrett, I have seen it with Tomcat's ACE 250. Some signals given as foil and pulltabs etc are actually coins and other important relics. Even on the Xterra 305 I only run in All Metal Mode. I need to, and want to hear what is under the coil at all times. Here is an example. If I hit a 36/40 signal, it is possibly a penny. The same signal with an occassional 44 is almost certainly a piece of rusted tin or other metal. I I however discriminate the 44, I will assume it to be a penny. Likewise with orther signals. The combination of signals make you understand what is under the coil. Just thought I'd give my 2 cents worth.

[Coinjunky]

Jees , dident  know that , thanks guys , was wondering now , is it true the deeper metals in the ground that are detected are most of the time the more worth wile to dig up ? At homestead the deepest reeding I got wile pinpointing a signal was 4 inch , and I found that the ground is 8 inches deep most of the way along the bank , well 8 inch until u hit a hell of a lot of small pink colored rocks so If I get a reeding of 8 inch in those conditions I could expect sum thing old and potentially valuable ?

[James Kraft]

Do not be lured into a false sense of security with the depth indicator. It only serves as a guideline. Small objects like a 3d (tickey or 3 pence) can be right below the surface and will be indicated as a couple of inches deep. On the otherhand, large objects like a metal trash can lid can be indicated as shallow while it is actually deep. Object size plays a pivitol roll. A coin lying on it's side will also give a choppy signal while a coin lying flat will give a more constant signal. It is therefore important to scan a signal side to side followed by a 90 degree turn and scan again thereby making a cross scan. It helps a lot. This is also where the pinpointer comes in handy. Always verify a sinal you intend to dig with the pin pointer. If it detects the object, it is shallow regardless of what your machine says.

I must tell you that about 90% of all coins I have found is just blow the surface to 3 to 5 inches deep. I found a 1878 3 Pence just below the dust on the surface in the veld at Middelburg that was lost during the Boer War. I am not however saying that valuable items are not deep. It depends on the history of the area you detect in. If coins for example was merely lost, they are quite shallow. The same applies in general to plowed fields. If the ground was leveled or land fills occurred, it can be quite deep.

If the target was however deliberately burried (Farm Land as example), what you seek can be quite deep. In such cases you might find that what you seek is undera large piece of Ferrous Metal or corrugated iron to cover and protect what was burried underneath. Hope this is helpfull.

[Shaun Silver]

James got it spot on , especially on the Ace 250 , and yes a pin pointer is a must , in the last two hunts i damaged x3 finds .

[Coinjunky]

That is some what of a relief, less work digging I guess , thanks a lot guys , most of my coins have been in less than 4 inches of dirt , so at least I know that most alarms from metals in 2 ich won't be just a bottle cap or pull tab , and I see that a pin pointer isa must , it's just that I can't spend 2000 on a new pin pointer ? That almost what I paid for my gerrett 250 there must be a way to make one from scratch using a kit , it doesn't need to be pretty , just needs to work , if u can make a metal detector using a kit I'm sure u can make a pin pointer , I'm gonna get hold if my mate that's basically a technition , he was hired to fix circuit boreds and such by Samsung and sum other brands when he was 16 , so I'm sure he will find a way , does any one have a pin pointer that has packed up or broken? I wanna see if I can bring it back from the dead , or atlest have something to copy for a desighn ?