Tot Lot & Adjacent Soccer Field - 4 Gold Day!

[sandbandit]

New to posting, but have been following this forum for years. Hit a local 'tot lot" County-owned park next to a Middle School soccer field. Been removing all the trash & coins for some time, so any new signal has good potential. Running my White's Spectrum XLT with the Bigfoot coil - it really covers a lot of ground. Picked up an 18" Gold chain (14K), a very unique laser-cut Gold coin with a Unicorn (16K), a Gold bracelet from Italy (14K), and a very nice Gold flower ring (18K). All done in an hour and a half. Wife claimed the necklace, sister took the unicorn coin, sold the ring, and scrapped the bracelet. I "groom" areas that I like to hunt in, and create a "route" so that I go back every so often to check for recent drops. Like having a paper route sometimes. Best hobby around! Tried to upload photos, but warning came up saying "no files larger than 420KB". Seems weird I can't even upload a single photo attachment to show off to the forum. Maybe later.

 

[GeorgeinSC]

I hit Tot Lots Frequently. Don't like to drive past one without noting its location so that I can detect it at a future date. I have never found any gold or silver jewelry in one. I have found quite a fit of junk jewelry and lots of clad however. I remove everything that my detector tells me is there.

You had an outstanding Day. Those finds would make a very good month for me.

 

[fongu]

I've never had much luck in tot lots, but you had a great day. Congratulations.

 

[s1u2r3f4]

Most all sport fields and such are usually locked up here. Nice to hear you got some!

 

[bootyhoundpa]

Go to shrink pictures.com follow the instructions on video at that site... I resize to 25% or small , good quality.. then pics will be small enough to post here...

 

[sandbandit]

Thanks - I will try re-sizing the pictures and posting them. Around San Diego area I never see anybody else using metal detectors, except at the beach. Seems like I have the whole place to myself - I check this lot / soccer field every few months to see what's new.

 

[sandbandit]

Here are the re-sized pictures of the necklace & unicorn coin, and the bracelet and flower ring.

 

[sandbandit]

Thanks for the tip on re-sizing the pictures "bootyhoundpa" - that worked like a charm. Sandbandit

 

[bootyhoundpa]

Your very welcome..im no computer wizard, I still have to refer to that video to remember how to do it... nice finds..

 

[mudpuppy]

Thats a day to remember! Congratulations, and thanks for the pics!
Mud

 

[GeorgeinSC]

Most digital cameras have settings that control how big your pictures are. I set mine where they are smaller and can post them or email them with no problem.

 

[Saddlebags]

Nice finds and good message about clearing trash.

 

[sandbandit]

Clearing all trashy signals in the VDI bands I am hunting in with my XLT coin/jewelry program (+5 up to +55, or so) really helps reduce signal fatigue when you hunt the same areas over & over. I call it "grooming" - it's a proven technique for me - especially by removing all coins like pennies to reduce finding the same useless targets every time... May take several visits to clear an area, but then I just revisit the area at a later date and the targets just seem to jump out at me - very easy to locate a new signal in my cleared areas, and makes detecting much more time effective. I usually spend less than an hour checking an area that has been groomed, then hit another groomed area or two the same day. Not much competition here - doesn't matter to me if they are in one of my areas - they are usually moving too fast to find anything, and after it's groomed, there's really not much to find (except the gold ring that got dropped last weekend at the soccer match!!!) I always get approval from groundskeepers & owners before starting, and demonstrate my techniques to dispel any preconceived notion that I'm just out there digging holes all over the place. They appreciate all the trash removal I do - I always carry an empty onion bag with me to pick up ALL the litter I see, and that really helps improve the image of metal detectorists in public everywhere. Just my style. By focusing solely in the VDI bands that gold falls into, you really improve your chances of finding gold on a regular basis. Happy hunting!

Richard