Help! SOS! New detectorist needing guidance!

[horseandhockeymom]

I am new at the game, but needing some questions answered! First, is there REALLY going to be anything to detect in a home that is only 5 years old? Everything I read says to start in your own backyard, but what if your own backyard is that young? (We are the original owners of the home. (Our entire subdivision is only 6 years old.) Just trying to be obedient to all the Treasure Hunter books I am reading!

Second, when the depth shows on the console (I have an Ace 250), is that from the actual top of the ground (the dirt), or is this a calculation from, say, a pile of grass on top of the ground? Where does the calculation of depth begin?

Third, would someone explain to me in simple terms "discrimination"? I searched all around a school ground sports area, bleachers, near track, etc., and kept getting tons of bleeps, but always felt it was junk. How do I use discrimination to help me? (Again, this school is itself only 8 years old.)

Fourth, (and last - whew!), I took "Marty" to the Caymans last week and had a ball on the beach! Within 2 minutes of appearing on the beach with my detector, a girl came up to me and asked if I would look for her David Yurman necklace. Boy, do I wish I had found it!!!!! What a nice piece of jewelry THAT would've been. I looked fervently, but never came across it. I did, however, find 46 cents worth of US and Caymanian coins. Oh, and a medal for the 2008 Cayman Swim the Sea contest!

Thanks for your help whoever answers this!!

 

[khouse]

I am new at the game, but needing some questions answered! First, is there REALLY going to be anything to detect in a home that is only 5 years old? Everything I read says to start in your own backyard, but what if your own backyard is that young? (We are the original owners of the home. (Our entire subdivision is only 6 years old.) Just trying to be obedient to all the Treasure Hunter books I am reading!

I would pass on your house and go for a sand volleyball court or bark chip tot lot to start out.

Second, when the depth shows on the console (I have an Ace 250), is that from the actual top of the ground (the dirt), or is this a calculation from, say, a pile of grass on top of the ground? Where does the calculation of depth begin?

It is for coin sized targets from the bottom of the coil.

Third, would someone explain to me in simple terms "discrimination"? I searched all around a school ground sports area, bleachers, near track, etc., and kept getting tons of bleeps, but always felt it was junk. How do I use discrimination to help me? (Again, this school is itself only 8 years old.)

Discrimination means DON'T. If you DON'T want to dig pull tabs then disc them out.

Fourth, (and last - whew!), I took "Marty" to the Caymans last week and had a ball on the beach! Within 2 minutes of appearing on the beach with my detector, a girl came up to me and asked if I would look for her David Yurman necklace. Boy, do I wish I had found it!!!!! What a nice piece of jewelry THAT would've been. I looked fervently, but never came across it. I did, however, find 46 cents worth of US and Caymanian coins. Oh, and a medal for the 2008 Cayman Swim the Sea contest!

Depending on what the necklace was made of it could have beeped at foil up to coin range. Without knowing the composite metal I would have ran in the relic mode and dug everything. Maybe then you would have gotten LUCKY!

Thanks for your help whoever answers this!!

 

[Joel-Winnipeg]

You may want to dig all targets at first to compare it to what the ACE is telling you.. Beaches are ideal spots to learn as its easy to dig all targets in the sand..Ace works real well in the dry sand..Just use a meshed sand scope ..A good place to practice..

 

[awhitster]

I would pass on your house and go for a sand volleyball court or bark chip tot lot to start out.

don't always think you will score big there either. Around here theay get pounded hard. I don't ever find much at the.

 

[Square Nail]

Hi Horseandhockeymom, I would search your yard in addition to other areas. Treasure is where you find it! Construction workers may have lost a ring or other items, the lot may have been build up from dirt brought in from somewhere else. Local history may reveal some interesting facts of your area. Not to mention getting nails and other such hazards removed from the yard for bare feet tromping in your own yard. If you clear the yard watch for pipes etc., then put in a test target area for practice. A dime at 7 inches depth, and a nickel at 5 or 6" will be good, you could go a little deeper but this should be sufficient.
This would provide a area to play with the Ace and practice in the privacy of your own home.

As Khouse stated, the depth reported is calcuated from the bottom of the searchcoil.

Discrimination is a filter, the recieved signal from a metal object is compared to the phase of the reference oscillator and a metal composition is presumed. This can be skewed as large metal targets will report as silver even though they may be tin or aluminum. The Ace has notch discrimination filtration and you can digitally discriminate out different target types (by presumed/precieved metal composition types). This metal type is calibrated for coin sized objects, and will differ when encountering larger objects.

 

[Goldburn]

Just because your backyard is only a few years old doesn't mean the ground underneath is treasure-free!

I normally run in Jewelry mode. That filters out most ferrous and small foil.
One thing you will notice, is that you'll sometimes get a signal that appears to be a dime, and it's a crushed aluminum can. A little practice with the pinpointing feature will help you distinguish the difference a bit.
The same goes for nickels and recent vintage pulltabs. Although I've found these are tougher to differentiate.

Gold rings and jewelry will appear to be junk! I've tested with platinum/gold/silver rings, and they will sometimes bounce around to different notches just like trash will.

Quality digging tools will make the job much easier! For grassy areas, a garden knife-type tool is essential. Sand, a good scoop. Hard ground, a long handled spade shovel with a foot step.
It took me about a half-dozen broken hand gardening tools to find one that suited me. If I would have bought a Lesche type digger, I would have been ahead of the game.

 

[Square Nail]

Hi again, My previous post was cut short due to honey do's, and pre Graveyard shift nap time. Read the Ace manual and watch the DVD that came with your Ace 250. I would recommend running in All Metal mode if scanning YOUR yard, to help clear way for a future test garden. If your going to a nearby park then run the default Coins mode for your first full set of batteries. Dig only targets that give good audio response in both swing directions at first. When starting out it can be frustrating to be picking out trash, and the default Coins mode will help you dig less trash to start. Later, maybe on the second or third full set of batteries, try to run in the jewelry mode. Most of all enjoy your outings.

 

[Uncle Willy]

Your yard may be new but if it is landfill that may not be so new. Best place to learn your detector is in bark chip playgrounds. Depth is from the bootom of the coil to the target regardless of what or how much is in between. Discrimination is a feature that cancells out junk and bad targets and only registers good targets. This is far from 100% accurate but close enough to make it interesting. If your ID shows a quarter or a dime then that is what is usually there.

When you were hunting around those bleachers did you get belltones and did your ID show coins of different denominations. Why would you think it was junk if your detector was telling you otherwise?

Bill

 

[Uncle Willy]

I would suggest also that he run his sensitivity at four bars to start out with.

Bill

 

[camel]

you never know.I told a friend of mine to look in the yard of a two year old house he had just moved into.up against the cement driveway he found a spill that had two college rings and a diamond Lady's ring.He tried to locate the previous owners but i dint think he had any luck.

 

[khouse]

That might be true but I think it's better than her yard. She'll get some much needed pinpointing and target recovery experience. Then she can move to some older homes of her friends maybe?

 

[slingshot]

I would go to a school, tot lot, or park and use the relic mode. You would then get to see the actual representation of each target and verify it by digging-and you wouldn't be digging nails, paper clips, etc. I would keep the sensitivity at 3, which would cut down on the noise of surface clutter. After a while of doing this, you should have a pretty good idea of what the Ace "feels" like.