Metal detector

deacon · May 10, 2009

I have been looking for somewhere to go on my ebike and something to do. I think I might like to give a metal detector a try. So does anyone know anything about them and are they any fun. I'm not looking to find treasure in spite of the advertising. I thought it might be fun to ride to some of the old vacant houses and see what might be just under the surface in the yard.

So does anyone have any suggestions about the hobby. I don't even know where to start. Oh yeah I'm not near anything lol. No beaches or tourist resorts at all.

Dave31 · May 10, 2009

I have always wanted to get into that. I had a metal detector or I should say a device that went beep, beep, beep.... it never detected anything. It was around $40 and a complete waste of money.

I have always wanted to go down some of the wagon trails around here and see what I could find. There is hundreds of miles of old wagon trails mostly formed during the gold rush to Cali. I am sure they tossed some interesting stuff to lighten the load.

I always figured if anything at least I am out and about and enjoying the great outdoors.

I know a guy who built a metal detector using PVC pipe and some other stuff that I do not remember. He mounted it on wheels to tow behind is ATV and goes out to the Wilcox dry lake and searches for meteoroids. I know some that he found went for BIG $$$$$.

He know uses a ultra light along with the ATV to look for the meteoroids, he said they are very easy to spot against the white dry lake ground.

DOC BOLM · May 10, 2009

Deacon i have one and i used it alot when i could walk better.You can go to the school ball field on monday and pick up coins from under the bleachers after the friday night game.Go to old house sites where the house burned,you find neet stuff there also.HD

spad4me · May 10, 2009

My son and I tried , and will continue to try.metal detecting with a nice vlf setup that we found at a yard sale $5.00 . Read CHEAP not $500.00 to $12,000

We found
By the Colorado river bolts beer cans junk.
.In the park more junk.
The Casinos will chase you off right away.
In houses some old coins in the walls LOL Dont ask how we got them.
Meteorites are your best bet they are very easy to find and we sold a bunch for a couple of hundred dollars.

Gold is a pipe dream. But we are still looking.

Bikeguy Joe · May 10, 2009

I have an old radio shack detector that works great, if the "treasure" is not too far down in the around.

I would look on ebay and get a decent one.

Bikeguy Joe · May 10, 2009

metal detector, Electronics, Books items on eBay.com

Bikeguy Joe · May 10, 2009

BTW- I use mine to find the underground dog fence before digging, and to find all the old nails in some "semi precious" wood I scavange from old houses I use to build odd items with. Never tried to find treasures with it.

deacon · May 10, 2009

I'm not going to be digging more than an inch or two for it, so i won't need a great one. I think ebay is the way to go as well. I was thinking the little league field near my house and even the city parks if they allow it. I should be able to determine that pretty easily. If it turns out to be fun, I will have to invest in a better battery for the bubba bike so I can get farther afield.

I mostly want an excuse to ride my bike somewhere other than around in circles. I want to ride it pretty much everyday and since I don't work this seemed like a good plan. I have plenty of trailers I can convert to carry the tools of the trade so to speak.

I used to see a tool that was kind of a hoe that came to a sharp point at the end. That would be pretty nice If i could get a small one. I know an L bracket sharpened on one end. I can hook one leg to a broom handle in more than one place and sharpen the other to make a mini hoe.

deacon · May 10, 2009

After looking at some of the monsters for sale, I have decided that I want to get a small one that can only find things on or very close to the surface, and I want to use the bits of metal I find to make metal sculpture.

Now considering how much trouble I have with my welder I know that sounds nuts, but it's a chance to just goof off and combine things I like to do.

spad4me · May 10, 2009

Deacon try to borrow one to try it out.
If you were closer I would lend you mine.
I recommend a garret ace 250 as a starter setup.

But anyone's detector will work.
Some of the local prospectors are so good with an old Tesoro or a Goldbug 1 it is scary. Makes me greedy. This is Gold here.
Not coins or iron meteors.
I don't scan very deep maybe six inches.

2door · May 10, 2009

Deac,
Maybe you could rewire the metal detector and hook it up to your welder. That way you could 'hear' how bad your welds are before you go riding...

...just kiddin'
Tom

deacon · May 10, 2009

yeah thats plenty deep for me. I don't really plan to look for gold or even coins to be honest. Just old stuff with some interesting design elements. I really think I will try the iron sculpture stuff.,

hiker472 · May 10, 2009

Metal detectors have a good resale value if you stick with the right ones.

I had a Tesoro Deleon once which was a really great machine, but sold it recently. Tesoro detectors are one of the very few that come with a Lifetime Warranty.

Depending on the ground you'll be working in, you may need something with adjustable Ground Balance. A lot of them have this fixed, but if your on soil with high acidity rates, that thing will be going crazy most of the time.

I'd recommend either the Tesoro Cibola, or one of the White Prizm models if you dont need adjustable ground balance. The Garrett 250, has gotten some bad reviews, but I'd buy one if I could get one for just a few dollars.

What I like to do, is once I have the model of the one I'm looking at, run it on google for the reviews. Don't buy just any one, a lot of them are junk, but your Fisher, Garrett, Tesoro, White, and Minelab's are the ones you'll want to stick with-especially when it comes to resale. The market has always been good with these.

If you don't care about resale value and want a good cheap one, get a Bounty Hunter.

Hope this helps.

deacon · May 11, 2009

Thanks Hiker that gives me a place to start.

deacon · May 11, 2009

Okay just thought I'd let you know... I bought a bounty hunter jr. Just as cheap a new unit as I could find. $36 from amazon.com. Yes it is a toy, but it probably will do what I want. If I like it I will buy a better one and give this one to my new best friend. My five year old grandson has decided that I really am a cool old dude. He has discovered that my shop has the coolest toys. He will for sure love it. Of course since I have very low expectations it might just fill them.

I bought it because I want to carry the thing on my Ebike. I six foot long one just won't work. Also I want thing close to the surface and I don't care what they are since i have decided to make recycle art objects from them. I know it's something I can give away as presents, nobody in their right mind would want one.

So next week or so I will be out looking for junk, as well as my morning walk.

hiker472 · May 11, 2009

Bounty Hunters have fair reviews. And if I remember right, they're made in the U.S. out of Texas. The meter counter, this has, will help you beat the "learning curve" metal detectors have. The learning curve comes into play when deciphering the tone of the beep in relation to what kind of metal it has found.

You just may become addicted to this, ya know, especially when you start finding coins. Bounty Hunter also makes detectors with a Target ID, which allows you to see what it has found as well as the depth of the find.

Also, "they" say that rechargeable batteries aren't recommended for use in these things, but you can use them just the same. The difference is, rechargeable batteries aren't the same voltage (lower) and only affect the speaker that emits the tone of the beep. So, it won't be as loud.

Welcome to the wonderful world of treasure hunting!

deacon · May 11, 2009

I hear the speaker is too loud anyway. And yes I had that 1.2 volt thing compared to 1.5 volt thing going on with recharges in photo equip.

I really am looking forward to exploring around old junk houses and things like that. With a little luck I can find bits of old metal that I can make into JUNKYARD sculpture. You know a hank of hair and piece of bone kind of things.

I might be back asking how one ages metal after it has been cleaned for welding.

grouchyolfart · May 12, 2009

spad4me said:
My son and I tried , and will continue to try.metal detecting with a nice vlf setup that we found at a yard sale $5.00 . Read CHEAP not $500.00 to $12,000

We found
By the Colorado river bolts beer cans junk.
.In the park more junk.
The Casinos will chase you off right away.
In houses some old coins in the walls LOL Dont ask how we got them.
Meteorites are your best bet they are very easy to find and we sold a bunch for a couple of hundred dollars.

Gold is a pipe dream. But we are still looking.

Bullhead? No wonder y'all didn't find anything. Been down thataway several times for a kite festival over at the Avi Hotel and Casino. Both sides of the river doesn't have much for exploring with a metal detector.

Hey, there is that old mining town up that road. Sorry, can't remember it. I do remember having to wait till the darned mules got off the road. Lots of tourists up there and, I supposed, you could get permission from the shop owners to go "digging" around the area.

We have a friend who lives in Golden Valley who used to go "prospecting" with a metal detector. He says he'll take us, but won't say where it is. He showed us some pretty good size nuggets. All he'd say was he found them "up there". laff

We got beaches to explore, here. We did manage to find a lot of coins with a really cheap and old Bounty Hunter. So far, no jewelry, but lots of nails, bottle caps, pull tabs and caches of beer cans.

We just picked up a better Bounty Hunter for $40 of Craigslist and plan on doing more this summer when our daughter is out of school. Probably hit places like Waimea Bay and Sunset Beach in the early evenings. Looking forward to spending that time with the wife and daughter.

spad4me · May 12, 2009

Hello Grouchfolfart the town is Oatman.
It is open for business.
They have sidewalk fried egg contests.
How fast can you fry an egg on the summer sidewalk.
And Burro Bar B Que.

I know of the location that the guy from Golden Valley is talking about.
And Yes, I have seen the nuggets from that area. DROOL! I just haven't found any myself.

The Avi kite festival is nice.
I hope you find lots of interesting stuff.

spad4me · May 12, 2009

deacon said:
Okay just thought I'd let you know... I bought a bounty hunter jr. Just as cheap a new unit as I could find. $36 from amazon.com. Yes it is a toy, but it probably will do what I want. If I like it I will buy a better one and give this one to my new best friend. My five year old grandson has decided that I really am a cool old dude. He has discovered that my shop has the coolest toys. He will for sure love it. Of course since I have very low expectations it might just fill them.

I bought it because I want to carry the thing on my Ebike. I six foot long one just won't work. Also I want thing close to the surface and I don't care what they are since i have decided to make recycle art objects from them. I know it's something I can give away as presents, nobody in their right mind would want one.

So next week or so I will be out looking for junk, as well as my morning walk.

All entry level metal detectors are pretty much the same.
Learn the tones . and develop a steady, level, even pace to move the detector sensor.
Iron is very easy to detect.

I have detected in strangers property.. LOL.
With their permission.
a PLASTIC garden trowel or a three prong fork is nice. For zeroing in on your find.

Metal detector

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