Anyone here into metal detecting?

[Chuz Life]

I have to share a great hunting tip with you guys (especially for old coins.)

Find an old neighborhood of homes that date back to a time before most homes had washing machines. Most of them would have had clothes lines in the back yards. Try to locate where the posts for the clothes lines were and search between them.

Old coins, jewelry, etc. that were left in the clothes tended to fall out of the pockets and folds and concentrate in those areas between the poles.

Some of the easiest and most interesting finds ever!

 

[WheelieAddict]

I'm using an old garrett detector. Only gotten some old coins and an old railroad coupling. Its a good hobby to get off the beaten track and spend time outdoors, kind of like hiking but you might win a prize. I treat it like fishing: even if I don't get something it was still more fun than a day working.

 

[toobfreak]

I’ve been thinking about restructuring my schedule to include some quiet time away from people.

Getting away from people, never a BAD idea.

ITMT, if you had a little electronic skill and patience, you could probably build your own detector for about $50 that would work as well at the basic function but without the frills....

I’ll be sure to share that tidbit of info with my boss. lol

Seriously, you have any idea how easy it is to build a field induction circuit? The metal objects in the ground merely act as a field core to increase the AC reactance of the circuit. After that, all you need is an op amp circuit to boost the sensitivity, and if you want, a voltage-driven audio amp to make a varying tone in the headset and to drive a digital read out. Could probably build one of these from Radio Shack parts.

Seriously, you have any idea how much easier it is to buy one? lol

While I can appreciate your love for saving money, it’s sometimes cheaper and smarter to purchase certain items.

If you we’re to construct a detector on that info. It would pick up everything in the ground. That includes can slaw iron tin cans and coins. You want separation and disc built in to that also. Detectors today can tell you the size depth of the object. They can also separate iron from a coin. Say you get a iron tone and a high tone. That lets me know there is iron masking the coin. Sometimes you have to grid or turn 90• and sweep back and forth until you get a solid tone. If you get a one way hit most of the time it’s iron. A two way hit dig it. My Etrac and the Whites’s v3i are both good detectors. I’ve dug coins that a nail was sitting along or beside it. That’s called separation.

Has anyone here ever gone hunting for meteorites? If you find the right ones they can be worth quite a bit.

 

[Chuz Life]

Getting away from people, never a BAD idea.

ITMT, if you had a little electronic skill and patience, you could probably build your own detector for about $50 that would work as well at the basic function but without the frills....

I’ll be sure to share that tidbit of info with my boss. lol

Seriously, you have any idea how easy it is to build a field induction circuit? The metal objects in the ground merely act as a field core to increase the AC reactance of the circuit. After that, all you need is an op amp circuit to boost the sensitivity, and if you want, a voltage-driven audio amp to make a varying tone in the headset and to drive a digital read out. Could probably build one of these from Radio Shack parts.

Seriously, you have any idea how much easier it is to buy one? lol

While I can appreciate your love for saving money, it’s sometimes cheaper and smarter to purchase certain items.

If you we’re to construct a detector on that info. It would pick up everything in the ground. That includes can slaw iron tin cans and coins. You want separation and disc built in to that also. Detectors today can tell you the size depth of the object. They can also separate iron from a coin. Say you get a iron tone and a high tone. That lets me know there is iron masking the coin. Sometimes you have to grid or turn 90• and sweep back and forth until you get a solid tone. If you get a one way hit most of the time it’s iron. A two way hit dig it. My Etrac and the Whites’s v3i are both good detectors. I’ve dug coins that a nail was sitting along or beside it. That’s called separation.

Has anyone here ever gone hunting for meteorites? If you find the right ones they can be worth quite a bit.

Not on purpose.

But, I could kick myself for all the times I found something and I discarded it just because I thought it was just a mineralized "hot" rock.

I'm positive that at least one of them actually was a meteorite, having since learned more about them.

 

[Chuz Life]

While I can appreciate your love for saving money, it’s sometimes cheaper and smarter to purchase certain items.

Ah the rationalization tome of the American consumer. As a former president of a manufacturing company, I'd guess they make your detector for $75. Charge $800. Hey, nothing wrong with feeding the economy if you don't mind throwing away $800 and have no electronic knowledge or skills! That is what they are counting on. Me, I could make a workable metal detector for the $50 bucks mentioned and just a few relaxing evening's work.

Just sayin.' I'm sure there are even plans for making one on the internet. For another $150-$200, you could buy all the tools needed to make it if you don't own a soldering iron, etc., and still be $600 ahead to be used on something else!

I guess I'm just thrifty. There's someone on USMB that must have at least $150,000-$200,000 tied up in his store bought stereo. I've made a better one myself for $8,000 and change. Why do you think people start companies to make and sell products of their own? They get rich if they do it half right. But to each their own.

I'm an electronics tech and a bit of an inventor, myself.

I have actually tried to build my own detector before and I have also tried to improve / modify cheaper detectors to make them work better or more my liking.

In fact, I still have an idea that I am determined to try, someday. . .

That said, I usually end up frustrated and miss a lot of time that I could have been out there finding things.

Modern detectors are (like you said) very expensive.... but given just a little bit of luck and a reasonable amount of research, time in the field and practice, even the most expensive detectors will pay for themself in more than one way.

So, I do both.

I buy the highest end (easiest to use and most durable) that I can afford... and when I have the time, I also dabble in designs and ideas of my own.

If I can ever build one as good as or better than any I have bought? I will be trying to capitalize on those things too.

 

[WheelieAddict]

While I can appreciate your love for saving money, it’s sometimes cheaper and smarter to purchase certain items.

Ah the rationalization tome of the American consumer. As a former president of a manufacturing company, I'd guess they make your detector for $75. Charge $800. Hey, nothing wrong with feeding the economy if you don't mind throwing away $800 and have no electronic knowledge or skills! That is what they are counting on. Me, I could make a workable metal detector for the $50 bucks mentioned and just a few relaxing evening's work.

Just sayin.' I'm sure there are even plans for making one on the internet. For another $150-$200, you could buy all the tools needed to make it if you don't own a soldering iron, etc., and still be $600 ahead to be used on something else!

I guess I'm just thrifty. There's someone on USMB that must have at least $150,000-$200,000 tied up in his store bought stereo. I've made a better one myself for $8,000 and change. Why do you think people start companies to make and sell products of their own? They get rich if they do it half right. But to each their own.

I'm an electronics tech and a bit of an inventor, myself.

I have actually tried to build my own detector before and I have also tried to improve / modify cheaper detectors to make them work better or more my liking.

In fact, I still have an idea that I am determined to try, someday. . .

That said, I usually end up frustrated and miss a lot of time that I could have been out there finding things.

Modern detectors are (like you said) very expensive.... but given just a little bit of luck and a reasonable amount of research, time in the field and practice, even the most expensive detectors will pay for themself in more than one way.

So, I do both.

I buy the highest end (easiest to use and most durable) that I can afford... and when I have the time, I also dabble in designs and ideas of my own.

If I can ever build one as good as or better than any I have bought? I will be trying to capitalize on those things too.

Off topic sorry but you might enjoy this:

 

[toobfreak]

While I can appreciate your love for saving money, it’s sometimes cheaper and smarter to purchase certain items.

Ah the rationalization tome of the American consumer. As a former president of a manufacturing company, I'd guess they make your detector for $75. Charge $800. Hey, nothing wrong with feeding the economy if you don't mind throwing away $800 and have no electronic knowledge or skills! That is what they are counting on. Me, I could make a workable metal detector for the $50 bucks mentioned and just a few relaxing evening's work.

Just sayin.' I'm sure there are even plans for making one on the internet. For another $150-$200, you could buy all the tools needed to make it if you don't own a soldering iron, etc., and still be $600 ahead to be used on something else!

I guess I'm just thrifty. There's someone on USMB that must have at least $150,000-$200,000 tied up in his store bought stereo. I've made a better one myself for $8,000 and change. Why do you think people start companies to make and sell products of their own? They get rich if they do it half right. But to each their own.

I'm an electronics tech and a bit of an inventor, myself.

I have actually tried to build my own detector before and I have also tried to improve / modify cheaper detectors to make them work better or more my liking.

In fact, I still have an idea that I am determined to try, someday. . .

That said, I usually end up frustrated and miss a lot of time that I could have been out there finding things.

Modern detectors are (like you said) very expensive.... but given just a little bit of luck and a reasonable amount of research, time in the field and practice, even the most expensive detectors will pay for themself in more than one way.

So, I do both.

I buy the highest end (easiest to use and most durable) that I can afford... and when I have the time, I also dabble in designs and ideas of my own.

If I can ever build one as good as or better than any I have bought? I will be trying to capitalize on those things too.

The problem is the fancy new ones probably use proprietary FPGAs. Unless you can program and burn an FPGA with the right logic function to emulate the kind of discrimination some have described here, you're not likely to get the sophistication of the $800 units.

 

[Chuz Life]

While I can appreciate your love for saving money, it’s sometimes cheaper and smarter to purchase certain items.

Ah the rationalization tome of the American consumer. As a former president of a manufacturing company, I'd guess they make your detector for $75. Charge $800. Hey, nothing wrong with feeding the economy if you don't mind throwing away $800 and have no electronic knowledge or skills! That is what they are counting on. Me, I could make a workable metal detector for the $50 bucks mentioned and just a few relaxing evening's work.

Just sayin.' I'm sure there are even plans for making one on the internet. For another $150-$200, you could buy all the tools needed to make it if you don't own a soldering iron, etc., and still be $600 ahead to be used on something else!

I guess I'm just thrifty. There's someone on USMB that must have at least $150,000-$200,000 tied up in his store bought stereo. I've made a better one myself for $8,000 and change. Why do you think people start companies to make and sell products of their own? They get rich if they do it half right. But to each their own.

I'm an electronics tech and a bit of an inventor, myself.

I have actually tried to build my own detector before and I have also tried to improve / modify cheaper detectors to make them work better or more my liking.

In fact, I still have an idea that I am determined to try, someday. . .

That said, I usually end up frustrated and miss a lot of time that I could have been out there finding things.

Modern detectors are (like you said) very expensive.... but given just a little bit of luck and a reasonable amount of research, time in the field and practice, even the most expensive detectors will pay for themself in more than one way.

So, I do both.

I buy the highest end (easiest to use and most durable) that I can afford... and when I have the time, I also dabble in designs and ideas of my own.

If I can ever build one as good as or better than any I have bought? I will be trying to capitalize on those things too.

The problem is the fancy new ones probably use proprietary FPGAs. Unless you can program and burn an FPGA with the right logic function to emulate the kind of discrimination some have described here, you're not likely to get the sophistication of the $800 units.

Mine have both factory and user programmable settings. The industry actually caters to the do it yourselfers, quite a bit in that way. Even my old relic has two user programmable modes.

The "competition" detectors were even MORE able to be custom programmed. It's not near as proprietary in that way as you might think.

But if you want to change components on the circuits boards?

You will need a small arsenal of tools and tricks to get through the waterproofing and epoxy resins. Maybe some proprietary circuits under all that "blackness" too.

 

[toobfreak]

While I can appreciate your love for saving money, it’s sometimes cheaper and smarter to purchase certain items.

Ah the rationalization tome of the American consumer. As a former president of a manufacturing company, I'd guess they make your detector for $75. Charge $800. Hey, nothing wrong with feeding the economy if you don't mind throwing away $800 and have no electronic knowledge or skills! That is what they are counting on. Me, I could make a workable metal detector for the $50 bucks mentioned and just a few relaxing evening's work.

Just sayin.' I'm sure there are even plans for making one on the internet. For another $150-$200, you could buy all the tools needed to make it if you don't own a soldering iron, etc., and still be $600 ahead to be used on something else!

I guess I'm just thrifty. There's someone on USMB that must have at least $150,000-$200,000 tied up in his store bought stereo. I've made a better one myself for $8,000 and change. Why do you think people start companies to make and sell products of their own? They get rich if they do it half right. But to each their own.

I'm an electronics tech and a bit of an inventor, myself.

I have actually tried to build my own detector before and I have also tried to improve / modify cheaper detectors to make them work better or more my liking.

In fact, I still have an idea that I am determined to try, someday. . .

That said, I usually end up frustrated and miss a lot of time that I could have been out there finding things.

Modern detectors are (like you said) very expensive.... but given just a little bit of luck and a reasonable amount of research, time in the field and practice, even the most expensive detectors will pay for themself in more than one way.

So, I do both.

I buy the highest end (easiest to use and most durable) that I can afford... and when I have the time, I also dabble in designs and ideas of my own.

If I can ever build one as good as or better than any I have bought? I will be trying to capitalize on those things too.

Off topic sorry but you might enjoy this:

Yep. I want this kid living next to me! I want to be there when he burns his house down. But at least I know I'll never wake him up listening to music.

 

[toobfreak]

You will need a small arsenal of tools and tricks to get through the waterproofing and epoxy resins. Maybe some proprietary circuits under all that "blackness" too.

Definitely. When they seal everything in epoxy, that is so you cannot get at the stuff to see how it works and steal their circuit.

 

[WheelieAddict]

I thought I might have found a meteorite fragment once lol. Turns out it was just the top of an old weathered iron spike/nail. Still kind of neat, and most likely from the 1800s as I found it along the old erie canal.

Little stuff like that makes metal detecting fun.

 

[tycho1572]

I’ll also consider a vendor you know if I can verify them as being reputable, Intolerant.

I’m going to hook you up. I believe he will beat that bundle price. Copy that add and send it to him. Big Boys Hobby’s. Ask for Bart. You can find him on the net.

After doing some checking, I went ahead and ordered it from Big Boys at the price they were asking. I should have it tomorrow.

 

[Intolerant]

I’ll also consider a vendor you know if I can verify them as being reputable, Intolerant.

I’m going to hook you up. I believe he will beat that bundle price. Copy that add and send it to him. Big Boys Hobby’s. Ask for Bart. You can find him on the net.

After doing some checking, I went ahead and ordered it from Big Boys at the price they were asking. I should have it tomorrow.

Barts a good guy. Hope you mentioned my name so I'll get a discount lol. And congratulations on you're new detector.

 

[tycho1572]

I thought I might have found a meteorite fragment once lol. Turns out it was just the top of an old weathered iron spike/nail. Still kind of neat, and most likely from the 1800s as I found it along the old erie canal.

Little stuff like that makes metal detecting fun.

After learning more about meteorites, I started thinking about a few ‘rocks’ I tossed aside. lol

I live in a town that’s rich with history. Searching parks is prohibited.

After talking with a town administrator, I learned about a wooded area that should be ripe with treasures from the past. A wooded area that is now owned by a company I once worked for.

 

[tycho1572]

I’ll also consider a vendor you know if I can verify them as being reputable, Intolerant.

I’m going to hook you up. I believe he will beat that bundle price. Copy that add and send it to him. Big Boys Hobby’s. Ask for Bart. You can find him on the net.

After doing some checking, I went ahead and ordered it from Big Boys at the price they were asking. I should have it tomorrow.

Barts a good guy. Hope you mentioned my name so I'll get a discount lol. And congratulations on you're new detector.

Consider it done.
I’ll call him tomorrow. I want him to know it was you who told me about them.

 

[Intolerant]

You got the equinox right.

 

[tycho1572]

Before I call, promise me you aren't a ******, Intolerant. I'm not here enough to learn much about anyone.

 

[tycho1572]

You got the equinox right.

The 800. I should have it tomorrow.

 

[Intolerant]

Before I call, promise me you aren't a ******, Intolerant. I'm not here enough to learn much about anyone.

No ****** here dude. You get you're detector and run into a problem. I'll help you figure it out. Both the wife and I both detect.

 

[tycho1572]

This is the bundle I went with, Intolerant....
Minelab Equinox 800 Series Metal Detector | BigBoysHobbies