Its Saturday and here in Redneckville, that means trash dumpin' day! I had some bags and some boxes and 3 big old punkins from Halloween, all of which needed "re-homing" to the recycling center. AS luck would have it, there is a school near the dump center, which required some cleaning off with the 1350. 
When I got there I met Cindy, a fellow enthusiast. She was a tiny little thing that couldn't have weighted 100 lbs. dripping wet. We exchanged pleasantries, me telling her I was pleased to see someone else detecting (especially a lady). She told me there is also one other guy, whom she calls "Peanut Foot," that hits the same school regularly.
(Dang! Looked like my finds count would be down today!)
Cindy was swinging a little Ace 250 w/stock coil, and had beeped up a few coins and trinkets. She confided that she had only hit the tot lots, and as far as she knew, the other guy just "cherrypicks" them, as well.
We chatted a bit and then Cindy said, "Well gotta go, David. You probably won't find much, but good luck, anyway."
She waved her goodbyes and took off. I liked Cindy; I wish there were more women hobbysists. 'Hope I meet her again.
Here's what I managed to hobble up, in an hours time:
[attachment 144272 DSCF0017.JPG]
Not an astounding number of finds, but from a supposedly "hunted out" spot, well... not too bad for an hour.
Some things I did that helped were...
1. I didn't bother with the sand and tot lots.
I observed Cindy's small foot print tracking measured patterns across the sand lots, so I didn't waste much time there.
If another guy had been at them, too, striking it big in the sand wasn't looking good. She was forthcoming and has been at the hobby for about 8 years, by her count... so I'll take her word on it.
2 . I hit the "in between" zones.
The same kids that visit the sand lots run around between them. In fact, I tend to turn up more stuff in these "inter-zones" than in the lots themselves. Most folks gravitate to landmarks, like play lots, so they get hunted hard. By hitting the inter-zones, I was able to get some goodies and not waste time.
3. I hit the entrance and exit points
This is one of Charles Garretts' tips, repeated in every book of his I've read. Where people come and go, they lose coins. In fact you can't have one - without the other. Where the people are "funneled and focused" in their comings and goings, the coins are also focused.
4. I dug everything
Well almost everything. I run in JEWLERY DISC as "Mode 1," and use the ZERO DISC mode as my "mode 2." When I get an iffy signal, I switch to ZERO and usually find there is some iron nearby. If the signal indicates in the good range consistently at any point, I will dig the iron item to remove it's masking influence. Then I check out the other item.
The exception to this is when it jumps around in the high and mid ranges; I always dig those.
Learnings?
- Small foil is a dead giveaway on the 1350. Only the largest slabs of the stuff come in like anything consistent.
- Consistency is the key to this detector. Anything that hits consistently should be retrieved.
- Modulate the Sensitivity as needed. In the sand lots, I cranked the SENS to 10 as a test - and was hitting signals below the base soil layer, an easy 8-10."
- Look for the spots the others overlook. I did try a few test patterns in the sand pits, just in case - and got nuttin. Cindy was right about that one.
Lots of fun in a "hunted out" school yard. And the best part is, I didn't have to holler at hunters who might mistake me for a deer!
When I got there I met Cindy, a fellow enthusiast. She was a tiny little thing that couldn't have weighted 100 lbs. dripping wet. We exchanged pleasantries, me telling her I was pleased to see someone else detecting (especially a lady). She told me there is also one other guy, whom she calls "Peanut Foot," that hits the same school regularly.
(Dang! Looked like my finds count would be down today!)
Cindy was swinging a little Ace 250 w/stock coil, and had beeped up a few coins and trinkets. She confided that she had only hit the tot lots, and as far as she knew, the other guy just "cherrypicks" them, as well.
We chatted a bit and then Cindy said, "Well gotta go, David. You probably won't find much, but good luck, anyway."
She waved her goodbyes and took off. I liked Cindy; I wish there were more women hobbysists. 'Hope I meet her again.
Here's what I managed to hobble up, in an hours time:
[attachment 144272 DSCF0017.JPG]
Not an astounding number of finds, but from a supposedly "hunted out" spot, well... not too bad for an hour.
Some things I did that helped were...
1. I didn't bother with the sand and tot lots.
I observed Cindy's small foot print tracking measured patterns across the sand lots, so I didn't waste much time there.
If another guy had been at them, too, striking it big in the sand wasn't looking good. She was forthcoming and has been at the hobby for about 8 years, by her count... so I'll take her word on it.
2 . I hit the "in between" zones.
The same kids that visit the sand lots run around between them. In fact, I tend to turn up more stuff in these "inter-zones" than in the lots themselves. Most folks gravitate to landmarks, like play lots, so they get hunted hard. By hitting the inter-zones, I was able to get some goodies and not waste time.
3. I hit the entrance and exit points
This is one of Charles Garretts' tips, repeated in every book of his I've read. Where people come and go, they lose coins. In fact you can't have one - without the other. Where the people are "funneled and focused" in their comings and goings, the coins are also focused.
4. I dug everything
Well almost everything. I run in JEWLERY DISC as "Mode 1," and use the ZERO DISC mode as my "mode 2." When I get an iffy signal, I switch to ZERO and usually find there is some iron nearby. If the signal indicates in the good range consistently at any point, I will dig the iron item to remove it's masking influence. Then I check out the other item.
The exception to this is when it jumps around in the high and mid ranges; I always dig those.
Learnings?
- Small foil is a dead giveaway on the 1350. Only the largest slabs of the stuff come in like anything consistent.
- Consistency is the key to this detector. Anything that hits consistently should be retrieved.
- Modulate the Sensitivity as needed. In the sand lots, I cranked the SENS to 10 as a test - and was hitting signals below the base soil layer, an easy 8-10."
- Look for the spots the others overlook. I did try a few test patterns in the sand pits, just in case - and got nuttin. Cindy was right about that one.
Lots of fun in a "hunted out" school yard. And the best part is, I didn't have to holler at hunters who might mistake me for a deer!
I have no doubt that they would generally be far better operators than the guys., so maybe they should come onto the forums and pass on the knowledge about the little nuances they they pick up that we may well glaze over.
On a recent hunt, I recovered $67 out of the bark chips and just over $200 out of the sports field. It took me forever to cover the sports field because I was always recovering targets, 90% of them being coins! I ended up cherry picking the last half of the oval as my finger tips were becoming tender and I was out of permission time.
Nice to be missed ain't it!