went out to 1880s school yard today

[wirebender]

ok, I need help, I went for 4 hours this morning to a 1880's school yard, my first real hunt. I found lots of beeps, and squacks and I dug about 50 holes! with just a metal hand trowel, but I found nothing! What am I doing wrong! it was a total waste of my time!

This is how it started out. I have a walmart pioneer 202, turned it on and turned on discriminate for finding coins only. found a beep, a dime signal!! yeah,,ok localized it and went digging. after digging and seeing nothing moved the MD over the hole and nothing? nothing in the dirt pile either. sometimes it would beep again but right next to the hold,,,,so the hole gets larger, and then beep next to the hold and so it got larger, I gave up once I started digging trenches! but I fixed all the holes and started again and the sound was gone on a lot of them! I just had to give up it was so frustrating to find nothing! don't know what I am doing wrong, there were lots of beeps, but I found nothing!? sometimes there would be a beep that stayed but I kept on digging and digging and the hole was way to large, but still nothing?

I would really like to go out with someone who is experienced to learn some things! I live in Redlands California area and work in Riverside California area. let me know.

Thanks All!!!

 

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[Evolution]

Don't get too frustrated wirebender. In the metal detector world, you definately get what you pay for. If you want to get serious about the hobby i would recommend getting a better detector. I use a White's machine and I love it. Works very well for me. There are a number of brands out there that are very reputable and if you find a dealer in your area, he or she will be happy to show you how to use the machine. It's always important to get to know your detector and what it is trying to tell you. Once you have it mastered it will be easier and much less frustrating for you. I hope this helps and I wish you luck. Keep at it.

 

[Brush Creek]

When You are first starting out detecting turn your detector to all metal mode.
Go in your back yard and make a test area. with pennies and nickels and dimes.
bury them about 4 to 6 inches deep.

don't go any where detecting till you master finding what is in the hole before you dig.
have someone put the coins in the holes and then try discrimination.
it will not take long to learn this way.

also make sure your detector is ground balanced.

 

[wirebender]

thank you all for the suggestions.! I have searching penny rolls for years and it's time to find them in the ground! I will try all of those suggestions, how much about for a Whites? or one of those Ace type?

thanks!

Wirebender

 

[Boobydoo]

thank you all for the suggestions.! I have searching penny rolls for years and it's time to find them in the ground! I will try all of those suggestions, how much about for a Whites? or one of those Ace type?

thanks!

Wirebender

I got an brand new ACE250 off eBay for $189 out the door including shipping and some other goodies.

Definitely search in all metal mode until you learn your machine a bit. when you "plant" your coin garden in your yard, punch the hole on an angle with a long screw driver and then slide the coin in the slot you punched in the ground, then water it down and step on it. Mark the coin areas with white golf tees. Come back the next day. It will be more like real life then digging a fresh hole and burying the coin. Sometimes, a freshly dug hole, re-filled will not give a true signal.

Once you have practiced in your yard, go to your local elementary schools and search. Lot's of good targets and not too much trash. Search in the woodchip play areas and the grassy areas where the kiddies play football or soccor on recess.

good luck. This is a hard hobby at times, grueling and takes a lot of patience.

Smiles!
BDoo

 

[randall61]

hi wire ,
The 202 will find things in the ground ,i've found several c/w bullets and jewelry & of course clad.First i'd turn the sens. about 7, no disc ,which is all metal & make sure your cord is wrapped tight around the stem.I'm assume your using the x pattern pinpointing.Sounds like your getting alot of ghost signals.try the suggestions from everyone & see what happens.I
have upgraded because i needed to go deeper.A ? is there a lot of rocks where your hunting
hot rocks could also be a problem. good luck

Randall

 

[pizzaman55792]

your 202 will find good stuff you just need to try and try again. first make sure your coil cord is secure (mine would wiggle loose sometimes) also make sure you have good batteries( my battery light never came on). I would run about half sensitivity and only about a quarter discrimination, more junk but alot of goodstuff reads as junk and you will eventualy start to notice the difference. I have the bh and the ace 250, and only got the ace because of the pinpoint. Try practicing in the wood chips at the park or at a beach for easy diging and good practice pinpointing.
j

 

[hollowpointred]

those signals that just up and disappear like a fart in the wind are usually old iron that has rusted away. its called the halo effect. basically here's how it works. when a metal object is in the ground for a long period of time, some of the metal leeches into the surrounding ground. if its an iron object, sometimes the target is completely rusted away and all that is left is this halo. when you dig the soil and disrupt the halo the signal vanishes. my advise to you would be to slow down a lot and hunt at a crawl. also lower your discrim to only reject iron. even if you don't want to dig those low tones its better to discrim them out with your ears than to let the machine do it for you.