The Spectra Newbie

[Trokair]

Hello all

I'm a coin collector who stumbled upon this forum one night while searching for type set examples. Metal detecting is something I wanted to do as a kid but somewhere along the line I totally forgot about it until I came here. The forum sparked my curiosity again and I decided it was time to give this a shot. Natrually I spent days pouring over the site and researching different models and the locations of local dealers. Eventually I decided that if I was going to try this I wanted the best chance at the deepest finds and I dove head-first into the deep end. Yesterday I purchased a White's Spectra V3. I'm going to use this post to document my experiences so that others like me can weight the benefits of jumping in after me and trying to learn how to swim on the fly. Any advice or input from other V3 owners is appreciated as well. Time to start hunting.

Hunt #1 - Shiney new toy

After a brief tutorial from my local shop I take my new history finder back home. It is much lighter than I expected it to be. I link up the wireless headset and ignoring the advice from the local expert, set out to the back yard without reading the whole manual or watching the DVD. I set it to the pre-programed jewelry/coins and step off my deck. Immediatly I get a hit at 2 1/2 inches that reads as a penny. I cut a plug and as soon as I lift it there is a 1981 penny staring at me. Awesome feeling! I set that aside and continue to sweep the yard. Trash is showing up as pulltab/bottlecap/jewelry so I am digging all of the targets. Assorted trash (coke can at 6 inches, correct id) and a dime (1 1/2 inch correct id) are my rewards for the day. Can't wait to take this thing to a place with some actual history to find.

Problems: I have a backround buzz from not balancing the device. It does let me know when I pass over a trash target though as the buzz goes away. I am getting hits at 5-7 inches that waver and when dug reveal nothing but the signal goes away. Today's lesson is watch the dvd and configure the device. Going to do that before taking it out again.

 

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[TabWhisperer]

"Problems: I have a backround buzz from not balancing the device. It does let me know when I pass over a trash target though as the buzz goes away"

I'm not sure, but what you are describing could be an overload situation. If so it will be displayed on the bottom of the screen. The other possibility is the normal continuous low hum you hear after you ground balance. That is by design and can be adjusted but I don't recommend that until you get experienced with it. When you hear the hum go silent that is a "null". You should be able to associate that by looking at the analyze mode and see the red lines indicating trash, just like you said. When you get the courage go to http://thebeepgoeson.com/display.asp?page=Program_SS. This guy did an HUGE favor by documenting the settings into spreadsheets and even a PDF. For me it helped graphically display the programming in the machine so I can put it to use in the real world. I've only had mine a few weeks but I'm having a blast with it.