Tips & Tricks
46-60

46. Don't use the discriminate feature on your detector as the only way to reduce digging junk. Use pinpoint with a relatively low discrimination instead. A good clean hit in pinpoint mode always deserves a dig, as coins and rings hit sharply, while tabs come in often wavy. Wadded-up foil sounds off like a short blip. Crushed screw caps and pieces of cooper roof flashing and round pieces of lead will need to be dug, can't be helped.

47. When metal detecting old sites that you feel are basically hunted out, go back over the site in all metal mode. You would be surprised what your detector discriminates out.

48. I have found it so useful to use a three claw rock hammer with a $20.00 magnet attached to the top to pick up all metal in the ground when digging. It saves tons of time and sweat.

49. PRACTICE PINPOINTING: Here is a really great way to practice pinpointing. Have a friend tape a dime to a large piece of cardboard. Then lay it coin down on the grass in an area that is free of metal objects. Now attempt to pinpoint the coin through the cardboard. When satisfied, place a pin through the cardboard and see how close you pinpointed. Try to visualize the spot on the coil where the coin actually was. After a few times doing this, you will become quite accurate and also learn something about your particular machine.

50. Try this the next time you go out just after a rain or in a swampy area. Get a pair of surgical gloves at any drugstore or buy em by the box at a wholesale food supplier. They are sensitive enough to feel coins in the dirt and they offer some protection for your hands. They can also be used several times or until they get a hole in them.Happy hunting.

51. Here's a good idea for those of use that use a pin pointer, homemade or store bought. If you don't want to purchase a holder for it then here's what you can do. If you use a trash and cash or carpenters apron then place the pinpointerr in one of the apron pockets and mark the apron where the front and back meet. Take a needle and thread and sew along that line making a pocket just for your pinpointer. When you put the apron on just put that pocket on your side so the wand doesn't dig into your stomach.

52. Detect those end of the street spots where the kids hangout to catch the bus ; I just recently searched the one at the end if my street & found a gold plated ring ; A watch & a lot of coins for a small spot; there good possiblitys at these spots, Also check you state highway maps for parks & beaches listed & the old road side rest stops & picnic areas asin thee 50's these were very popular, Thanx Rich; also if you know of any more tips please add & I will donate a silver dollar to the one Tom draws out of his hat; we need tipsters.

53. KEEP NOTES: Although nothing beats exploring uncharted ground, the stark reality for many of us is to go over that local ball field, or city park for yet a third or 4th time. I have found it is essential to keep notes. On a 3" X 5" note card or computer file, simply note the site location and any ground anomalies or site characteristics that you should remember. In one volleyball court I hunted several times, the contractor had secured the foundation with asphalt with 1" galvanized pipes pounded into the ground. A steel pipe on end looks just like a quarter at 8 -10". Because I had forgotten this fact since the last time I had visited, I dug the same false quarter signal. Keep copious notes of your programs, detector settings, where you start(when your fresh) and where you end (When your tired and missing signals). Good notes will let you spend more time hunting and less time re-learning your favorite sites.

54. I find that I'm always laying down my shovels,rakes,tools, etc. and having to go back to pick all of them up after detecting an area, just to lay them down again somewhere else. Problem solved: found an old two-wheel golf bag carrier at a yard sale for $2 and put a round bucket at the bottom to hold everything together, including my detector. As I traversed ground looking for THE place to start, all my 'stuff' rolled along behind me, ready for action. The strap at the top of the carrier nicely 'snugs' everything together!

55. Often, when small pieces of metal rusts (wire pins and nails), it blends into the soil and has the same color. You get a strong signal but go nuts trying to find it. This is especially true at dusk. In these situations I just wave my 3" long bar magnet over the dirt and the tiny piece pops up out of the dirt to kiss my magnet and saves my sanity.

56. COMPETITION HUNT TIP: Here's some of the best advice that you can get for the competition field .....practice. When I attended my first hunt I was shocked at how poor my results were, I could'nt believe how low my numbers were compared to the other hunters. Not to be outdone I set up a private field in my yard and had a friend bury pennies cut in half for targets. I practiced this way for many days and honed my recovery speed, now I travel the competition circuit in the mid west and rarely come away with less than four times my entry fee. There are plenty of tricks of the trade, but the first step is recovering that target as fast as possible so you can make it the next one. Remember every second counts and theres only so much time.

57. When you are having trouble with your detector first turn off your machine & then remove the battery s for a little while to allow the computer to reboot; If that does't make it better put in newbatterys as yourbatterss could be weak; the other thing to check is the coil connection & to make sure the coil wire is not flipping around on the stem. I have had these problems with my Minelab Sovreign & Garrett GTa x 1000 before & the rebooting by removing batterys solved the problem; but this will work on all the computerized models;

58. I have found a lot of TH'ing locales while scanning the classified ads of the New York Times and other newspapers. I'm mostly interested in auction ads because I've found properties being auctioned that at one time may have been resorts, etc. I've found a couple of ads announcing the sale of amusement parks dating from the late 1800s. Old, one-room schools are included and just about every type of old structures and grounds.

59. When winter sets in and the ground is hard as rock, I've found that by finding areas on hills where the water cuts gullys some coins are almost (and sometimes are) exposed. Check areas like this after the sun had hit them for while. Even better, after it rains. I found a 1912 Barber dime when checking a signal, and just picked it up, with no digging. I had almost given up for the winter.

60. Cleaning Coins: I have used one part flour, one part salt, and just enough vinegar to make a paste.. and a soft toothbrush to clean copper, brass, some silver....works great.