Detecting in parks at night..

[WickedLife]

I read a lot of posts about people detecting at night in parks when no one is around..Do these parks not post signs saying no visitors after dusk or certain time? I am from Willingboro NJ and every local park says not to be there after a certain hour or from dusk till dawn. What do you use to see the screen on your detector at night without it being bright enough to alert passer bys or neighbors you are in the park? Seems it would be a bit difficult to hunt and dig with no lighting..most of my free time is at night being that I work during the day and evening. Any tricks to the trade?

 

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[vpnavy]

I noticed this is your very first post - so, Welcome Aboard! If you haven't already - take a look at Sub-Forums: New Jersey for information (i.e., clubs, etc.) directly related to New Jersey - might find your answer their as well. I am sure a member(s) will jump in with suggestions shortly.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

My experience, with parks that have those "parks close at sunset" type signs, is that they are for use when someone thinks they're going to camp out, do late night parties, etc.... Ie.: "upon complaint" type issue (or if you had a REEAALLYY bored cop, and you were "sticking out like a sore thumb"). For example: I live across from a park in our city, and it's not unusual for someone to walk through the park at night (gasp, after dusk) and no one cares. But on occasion, my neighbor or I have called the cops if some kids are down there drinking beer, for instance.

As for your 2nd question about light: Do not use any light (headlights, etc...). Do not use any back-light on your detector screen. Just pick a full-ish moon night, and let your eyes become adjusted to the moon/stars. Otherwise, if you try to use any sort of light, your eyes/pupils will become adjusted to *just* that beam. And you will soon become blind to everything else around you. And then yes, your light will attract lookie-lous as well.

 

[cudamark]

A small red light can help when you need it. You can keep your night vision that way. Get one with a focused beam so you don't stand out like a beacon.

 

[WickedLife]

Thanks guys for the quick response.

 

[kayakpat]

I can hardly see the items in the dirt in the day let alone at night, getting harder and harder to see anymore. Young people could do it though, enjoy

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

If your going to hunt at night use red light, it preserves your night vision and hard for other people to see the red light, especially from any distance. Not advocating illegal hunting, but I hunt beaches at night and have hunted parks that had no rules on hours, they parks that allowed camping...

You want to preserve your night vision for your own safety...

 

[kayakpat]

red lights work well, and for anybody over 50, seems we need all the help we can get, I miss the clarity of near focus and the brightness of things, nothing last forever. I don't hunt at night, that is best for astronomy type stuff

 

[Jeremy S]

Red light doesn't attract insects either. It doesn't attract attention from far away either.

When retrieving a target at night it can be harder to dig a nice clean plug. Take extra time digging to make sure everything is nice looking for the next morning Nothing will piss a park superintendent off more than coming to work in the morning to a park full of sloppy plugs and craters