First Finds!

[pokyone42]

Well, our new Ace 250 came on Monday. The weather here in the southern tier of NY has been cold, windy, snowy and rainy, and just generally hideous. But, having been reading and reading about metal detecting while waiting for our detector to arrive, we were just ITCHING to get out into our yard and try it! So, we did...and we FROZE! But, it was FUN! We went out every day that we could this week, (when the snow would stop, or icy wind would calm down, etc..)

The first day, we found lots of trash. Nails, wire, cans, pull tabs, screws, (the cable for the satellite tv-OOPS! lol) etc... A whole pouchful of useless junk, (that hubby still calls "treasure." lol)

Well, all week, on and off we hunted in our yard..(we live on a large farm) and we found our first coin..a 1976 lincoln penny! We also found gate latches, pliers, fishhooks (near the pond) and a toy matchbox tractor from 1972! One day, in a slight depression in the yard, the decector was beeping like CRAZY, so we dug, and we dug, and we dug!!! (When I say we, I mean hubby.) Well, we did not know WHAT we would find, and our excitement was growing! Well, about 2 feet down, we found rotten wood, and LOTS of metal screening! So, we found us an old screen door! Whoopee!!!

Well, today it is sleeting and raining and snowing, as we are about to get hammered by a noreaster.. UGH! I am reading as much as I can, but practicing with the detector is helping. It is still pretty confusing, (like when we were digging that dopey screen door, the detector was beeping for silver, constantly...shrug, so I guess we just need lots and lots more practice.) I do have one question tho... well, maybe 2. lol..

We would like to get a pair of decent yet small and lightweight headphones that have volume control... any ideas? (The ones that came with the detector are large and bulky)

Also, our soil is actually about 1/2 rocks... VERY difficult to dig, so I know for me, I tend to give up on the deeper targets... I have a small pickaxe, and a spade... That is what we are using right now... any other ideas short of a backhoe? Thanks in advance!

[KenPa]

I'm not familliar with the 250 but large items down deep usually sound like coins on my machine. Most coins I have found have been no more than 6 - 8 inches so if I get a good signal and get down more than that I usually give up. I'm not saying thats the right thing to do but that's what I do. You are finding pull tabs and nails so you will find coins if they are there. The only suggestion I can give is be patient and you will learn the machine and what to dig. I'm sure some people here can help you more than me especially those with the same machine as you. As far as headphones any radio shack has a variety of headphones starting around 20 dollars and some you will just need to buy the right addapter plug for probably about 3 dollars. If there are any detector shops near you most have pretty good diggers for about $10. I wish I could Help more but Good Luck and KEEP AT IT.
Ken

[janiece]

Your post brought a great big smile to my face today. I expect that my first expeditions around my yard and pond will be much the same. Though I will have the added benefit of the fact that my yardmen don't pick up anything, they mow it! I know there's at least one can's worth of aluminum slaw out there. Ah well, I'm digging it all for a while at least.

Now I do have to wonder why that screen door was out there all by itself. Maybe there was a trash heap nearby? I know there is a propane grill buried out here on my property and I'm steering clear of that area! LOL

[pokyone42]

Thanks for the headphone advice and the kind words, Ken! ( I read somewhere that special headphones for metal detecting are a must-maybe it doesn't matter, I dunno.)

LOL Janiece! Yes! We wondered why the heck someone would bury an old screen door 2 feet down in such HORRIBLE rocky soil, too! (Must've either been VERY bored, or had a backhoe!) We moved here just 2 years ago, and we do not have alot of knowledge about this place before then. I keep doing google searches on our town and the history of it, but am coming up with very little, other than it was settled in like 1793 or something.... We sure are digging LOTS of trash tho, so we keep telling ourselves that we are making our yard cleaner and tidier..(had the folks before us never heard of a garbage dump? Or.. WAS this at one time a garbage dump? lol) Hope not... I mean.. we are out on this farm in the middle of nowhere, but just in the yard, we get targets about every 4 inches!!!!!!! I was THRILLED to find a penny, and even MORE happy to find that toy tractor! I looked it up online, and brand new, it is worth about 6-7 dollars, so OURS is probably worth about a nickel! It sure is fun, tho! Our laborador even helps us!! We start digging, and she runs right to the hole and tries to dig, too! We have probably already found about 10-12 pounds of junk!!!!! Cannot WAIT to get out in the woods on the old logging trails!!!!!!! Might get lucky and find an old coin or two! Also thinking of investing in the sniper coil.... we'll see. HH folks!!!!!

[ERnurse]

Hey pokeyone, First, let me say congats on your metal detector and finds. I don't use the Ace 250, but alot do and do well with it. Rusty metal will alot of times give a coin tone or signal. That'e ok, dig it because you never know. If you dig for a while and it is still deeper. The dirt you already removed will allow the machine to get a better signal if you sweep the hole again. Deeper targets, like coins, jewlery ect. will give lower tones or signals like pull tabs. So dig everything deep. Kepp practicing, you will learn your machine. Sometimes a coin on edge or a deep coin will give just a flash of a coin signal. Dig those, especially deep signals that flash coin just for a second. There can be a coin laying beside a nail or something. Make yourself a practice garden by digging a trench, (small), and place coins, (all kinds), nails, jewelry, (cheap), ect. and varying depths and mark each with something like a tooth pic and practice looking at your signal on those.

Get your prectice in first, in your yard. Start paying attention to your machines signals and remember it before you dig a target. That way what ever you find you will have an idea of what it may be the next time you get the same signal. The next thing you should do is research. Find old places to look. When you are in a place that you know is old, and you know people where there along time again, you will get really focused on your machine and signals. I believe that is when you will learn your machine best and the good finds will come. Good Luck. Hope this helps.

HH


Rob

[pris]

Welcome to TQ!!! I own an Ace250 and ended up using some headphones I already owned. They have a volume control, so they were perfect. I think they only cost me about $15. You should be able to find a nice pair at your local electronics department. Just make sure there is a volume control. Since the Ace250 doesn't really have really faint signals (unless you are using pinpoint to zero in) you shouldn't have to buy a really expensive pair of headphones. This is just my experience.

HH! Maybe you'll find a house buried in your backyard, to match the screen door.

[swifty3565]

Hi Pokeyone, and welcome. I have the ACE 250 and I love it. I am also very new and don't have anything to comapare it to but it works well for me. If you have that much trash in your yard investing in the sniper coil will be well worth it. I use the sniper coil and it really helps to narrow down the signals so they aren't overlapping. Good luck and keep swinging.

[Joe(TX)]

Hi Pokeyone42! For digging, try using a large pickaxe! Not sure if the Ace 250 has an all-metal mode or try using the pinpoint mode. In either of these modes anything that gives a signal that is wider than your search coil is not a coin or piece of jewelry! Then it is up to the user whether to dig or not!.............HH.............Joe