frustrated to no end-quiting

[Spidey]

give ya $50 for the ace 250.

LOL Spidey:
Why not kick a guy when he's down....

I'm hoping he realizes it's a joke.

Seriously. Once you get used to your detector, and you find a nice thing or two, you'll be hooked.

 

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[midnightcaller]

I used to have the same problem I used to and still do dig up nails and pulltabs and screw tops.. dug about a 100 or more of theses

one of the pulltabs I dug up was a gold ring and anther was a silver ring I was on a club hunt and I got a signal of a bottle cap about a inch down and I dug it it was a 1935 Buffalo nickle

I have been told to dig everything you might have to dig 100 pull-tabs for a ring its worth it

 

[Montana Jim]

midnightcaller is right - one gold ring WILL lead to a million pull-tabs!

 

[Murph]

Don't sell or give away your detector. If necessary just take a break for awhile to allow your patience to return. With the ace 250 hunt in coin mode. You will still find some trash and or miss some good items but the coins will certainly come if they are there. Which leads to hunt were you are likely to find items. You will find plenty of examples of these areas reading the forum. Hunt were it is easy to dig which usually means sand. With the popularity of beach volleyball many parks are setting up sand courts; try to find one.

Take into consideration that as hobby's go this a relatively cheap one and the only one I can think of that has the potential of paying for itself. I have had my ace for only a few months. I am fortunate that I have many public beaches to hunt and always find a few dollars worth of change. I have taken to buying scratch of lotto tickets with these crusty old coins. Found money often leads to found money. Hit for 100 bucks on my third metal detected lottery ticket.

Ace 250; minus 100 dollar lotto win minus 20 bucks loose change= $130 bucks to go. You hear of a lot of guys setting a prticular goal when hunting. Seems to me the logical firt goal would be to get the machine payed for. Look on the bright side. AT least your not trying to pay for a thousand dollar detector.

 

[racing33]

Thanks for the "mostly" positive replies. I think I was just frustrated. Now that 24 hours has gone by I can sit here and realize that people will always drop more trash than anything else. I just had to get my mind around that fact.
I did send the first Ace back and was promptly sent a brand new replacement. I do believe that it is working correctly.
Yes I am doing my research. I have read the hell out of this forum. I am also currently hot on hunt for a lost town in my neck of the woods. I have probably at least 25 hours of looking at old maps of all kinds to find the also lost railroad that this lost town is located on, and about 8 hours into actually finding and following the lost railroad until a river stopped me.
Copperhead- Thanks for making me eat my own words . Seriously thanks for that.
Yes I can take a joke too. I can also play a joke or two once in a while.
Just noticed that my very own father replied to my original post. That is pretty cool. Don't worry I am not going to sell it or give it up.
I live a long ways away from my father also, and yes I would give just about anything to be able to spend a day "hunting" with my father. Just so were clear on that one.
It would be weak of me to quit so soon. I have never considered myself weak so I see no reason to start now.
A few years ago I decided to race dirt track stock cars. When I first started that "hobby" I sucked at it. Now I have a living room full of trophies. Why? Because I stuck with it and "learned" what worked and what did not work.
I think the worst part for me is getting a good signal and digging it to find a bottlecap or pull tab. Kinda like a self imposed let down. I have try and believe that all the trash digging is going to make it even better when I find the better stuff. I know the good stuff is out there, all I have to do is find it and dig it up.
Happy hunting to everyone today and thanks again.
Bruce jr

 

[kdfritton]

Hey Dude: Heres my take on your situation. Ya have to keep a positive attitude each and every day in this life and that inc. while metal detecting. and ya have to do a bit of research regarding the areas that you hunt. Historic is my game and some prefer new coins in a playground. In any case when I go out to dig I just look at the place and imagine, where would a person go "here" to lay down or sleep or picnic etc. and thats where I MD. It works for me and it keeps me out of the heavy worked areas. AlumaDan

Well after spending several hours/days of digging nothing but bottle caps, nails, foil, and all other manner of trash I have decided to hang up the metal detector for good. I have gone to several different places only to find trash, no coins or anything else worth a damm. I am using an Ace250 which is brand new. This is/was my first foray into the metal detecting game and I have to say that it is the most frustrating thing that I have ever attempted t do. I am not in the position to spend hoyrs/days to dig only trash. Hell I can walk to the store and get all the nails and bottle caps that I could ever want. I see no reason to continue wasting my time doing this stuff. To bad to because I started out with such high hopes of finding a hobby that would prove to be enjoyable. No such luck.
So to all here I wish you the best of luck with your digs. I am out of here unless someone can give me a reason to stick with it. Peace out.
Bruce jr

 

[SHERMANVILLE ILLINOIS]

Takes time, takes time, takes time.

But, if your not having a good time, enjoy
being out; perhaps it is time for you to throw
in the towel.

Perhaps at another time in your life you will
give it another try.

It is called hunting not finding.

have a good un.......
SHERMANVILLE

 

[racing33]

As I said in my previous post I just had to change my thinking pattern. Also there are some other things going on in my life that are major stress factors. I think that was more of it than anything else. I think I just hit a point the other day where all the stress factors collided at the same time, which happened to be while I was trying to "hunt". I had originally gone detecting to clear my head, but it did not work out like that this time and I took it out on the metal detecting.
I am currently trying to gain permission to hunt on a property that used to be used for a professional event for many, many years. I also am trying to gain permission to hunt around a very old house that my friends own. Thanks to posts on this forum I learned to look for cut sandstone foundations as well as other things.This house is very old and discovered a hidden and sealed off area of the basement that runs out under the drive way.
My wife just came home and suggested that I go out to a local park. This park has been there for as long as she can remember. I have looked at maps from the early 1900's and that area is on the map. It has plenty of sandy areas,picnic areas, and is pretty popular during the summer months. So, off to the park we go.
Bruce jr

 

[hollowpointred]

oh well, no one said it was a hobby for everyone. sorry you didnt have more fun with it. on the bright side, you shouldnt have any trouble selling that ace 250.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

I have trouble with the pinpointer on my Ace250 also. I figure that I am just not used to it.

I think any coil will sound off when you bump it. This is normal.

I dont recall any fading screen. Does your new Ace work any better?

The Ace250 is a great starter machine. It beats the heck out of my old Coinmaster that I started out with and paid 3x as much.

 

[IndianaSmith]

Bruce- This is my 2nd post on this forum since joining today. Sounds like you've gotten back on-track, but felt compelled to reply just to add alittle something to think about. I've been active all my life, including enjoying the outdoors, weightlifting, restoring old cars, etc. 4.5 years ago I was involved in a serious MV accident, and long-story short, my insurer screwed me. Now, I can no longer do the things I was used to. I'd love nothing more than to be able to some of those things I used to. I'd be happy to be able to spend a day being able to painlessly drop to my knees, and bend-over a spot to remove the dirt that may cover something of value, or something totally worthless.

Sometimes I think we are inclined to forget what the real "treasures" are

Smitty

 

[lFoundlInlOhiol]

Any good finds to tell us about? were waiting!!

 

[musclecar]

Hey Racing, Join PTA (pull tabs annonymous), I am a frequent member! All kidding aside, I have found great treasures in the past, but have been going through a slump myself. Seems the "high enducing" items have eluded me for a few months. I have not hunted as often, but I am sure it will pass. Glad to see you have decided to keep going.

Maybe if we knew where you were, someone could offer to take you to their hot spot. Keep up the hobby,,,,,
we need you.

HH
MC

 

[Copperhead]

Hey racing....good to hear you're gonna keep digging... as a new Ace owner I can vouch for some of your frustration...while it is a good machine, put an inexperienced user, with unrealistic expectations, in a trashy area(my yard for example) and the result can make for a rather unpleasant day....been there...try and find hunting spots that aren't loaded with trash while you learn your machine...you might find you can actually enjoy this hobby...I did.. good luck

 

[Nightmare]

Bruce you know the drill you have been there many times relax have a bit of fun.

I'm sending you something that may put a smile on your face.

If every body does not know I'm Bruce's father (So hi and very good hunting to you all)

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Welcome nightmare.

The Ace is a great machine. I have one myself. It is however a canslaw finder. It will pick up every tiny bit of foil and aluminum trash and can be frustrating. Im still learning myself. It will also pick up the dimes very well, which is good. Maybe try using the Ace on coin mode in very trashy areas, if silver coins are what you want. You will hear a distinct bell tone on coins. Research also very important. You cant find treasure if its not there.

 

[racing33]

Well I went out to the old park like the wife suggested. I had to wait a little bit after getting there as there was a dump truck load of people still there. They cleared out pretty quickly though. I picked a spot where my wife said there used to be a lot of playground equipment to start in. I found a pile of can slaw and foil, and 1 modern pennie. As I was detecting a little girl came running over and started yelling at me because I was digging holes in "her" playground. I pretty much ignored her. Then her mom shows up , asks me what I am looking for, to which I replied "my sons class ring". The mom then gets on the swing right in front of where I am digging and starts to swing, almost hitting me in the head with her feet, on purpose no doubt. So I just moved to another area to detect and lo and behold if I did not run into another detectorist. At this point I just packed it up for the day. I explained to the wife that the other detectorist was already in the area I was going to hunt and I felt it would be very rude of me to just invade the area he was working.
Overall the whole experience was probably the most enjoyable one to date. Very relaxing and I was actually able to concentrate on what the Ace was trying to tell me. I think I now now what the difference is between the coins and the trash as far as the sounds go. The coins are more of a bell sound and the trash is a flatter and duller sound. The nickle sound and target id, 9 times out of 10, is trash, if the target id bounces around on a target it is usually trash. I do understand from reading this forum that if I want to find the rings, or anything other than coins that I will have to dig a lot of the trash signals though and I am alright with that.
Sorry for venting off on this forum. Thanks to all who have posted words of encouragement here. It is really nice to have such a large group of people who I have never met supporting me and encourageing me to continue with this hobby.
Everyone of you who posted to my original post here should feel like you pulled another newbie back into the "fold" when he was ready to pack it in for good. Hopefully someday when I am an old veteran at this I will be able to return the knowledge that has been freely given to me.
Happy Hunting to all.
Bruce jr

 

[ramjet2187]

Bruce, don't quit.

Where are you hunting? For a 'quickie' fish in a barrel (sure thing) hunt, try the local playground, school yard, tot lot. Hunt around the swing sets (yes, I read your post). I can't tell you how many wedding rings I've found under/near the swings.........."Momma, push me!", and whoosh goes Momma's ring, only to be found years later by YOU. You can always hunt down the owner and return it, too! That's twice the reward! But, the point is, it'll give you confidence, and the motivation to keep going.

Do some research. Find out where church picnics were, where the town 'fairgrounds' were, etc. Back in the day, most towns had baseball teams, so find out where the old ball parks were. Folks have lost things everywhere they've been, and most of it's still out there.

Keep reading this forum. Some of these folks' finds are enough to motivate anyone!

Roger

 

[Sandman]

Not everyone is cut out for his hobby. People enter and leave this hobby every day(Just look all those detectors sold on E-Bay). In the same token not everyone likes fishing or golf. Just find a hobby that you will enjoy.

Everyone starts out thinking they'll find the jackpot when in fact the opposite is true, at least to start. Some find a gold ring the first time out and are hooked. If it isn't fun to wonder what is under the coil to make the sound, you have the wrong mind set and are better off watching TV treasure shows. Sure it's about the FINDING of treasures for us, but some of us enjoy the time outdoors and the good find that comes along is the frosting on the cake. Good luck to you..........

 

[racing33]

Well I went out to a local ballfield today. This ballfield has been in this area for 36 years(at least) as that is how old my wife is and she used to play there when she was a little bitty girl. I was there for about 3 hours. I covered/ trashed a good sized area. I found the usual pull tabs, bottlecaps, a big chunk of flat iron, a 3 inch around washer, and a ton of pieces of piston rings?? Why in the world would there be piston rings at the ballfield?? Unless that was fill dirt brought in from somewhere else. The pulltabs were right near the surface and the piston ring pieces were about 4 inches down. I also found four newer pennies. One of the pennies was in with the piston rings and I had to really hunt to find it. I had fun and learned somemore about my Ace. I ran it in coin mode with the sensitivity at 1 bar or notch. I went out today with the intent of trashing an area so I could then look for anything better/deeper. I feel like it was mission accomplished as I did pull up a lot of trash. Oh yeah one of the pennies was right in the middle of a spot where I had already dug before.
So, I am finding "stuff". Just not what I had hoped to find, so far. I am sure it is out there, waiting to be found. I just have to go where "it" is and find "it".
Bruce jr