Detecting A Sandy Volleyball Court?

[GB_Amateur]

Finally made it to an old park I figured was hunted out.  As usual, there is no such thing.  This park has a sandy volleyball court which aerial photos indicated is over 50 years old.  Other than the (wooden, yay!) posts that the net is attached to there are no impediments.  Any advice on approach (e.g. coil choice, ground balance tricks, target depths to expect, target tones, TID's to accentuate/ignore) would be appreciated.

 

[Jacsco67]

It would be the same as any other sandy area. The higher the frequency, the more particles of trash you will also find. Sometimes the net poles and the border around the sand are made of metal or have metal in them, so be ready for some false signaling when you get close.

[LipCa]

Are you kidding?  Just go detect the thing!

[kac]

Can always post a location and we can scout it out for you heheh.

[Gerry in Idaho]

What is your goal of the hunt, a ring and coins or diamond stud?  When I hunt for rings and charms from broken necklace, I dig all foil readings and up.  If I have time and want to impress folks, then take a VLF gold detector and dig all nonferrous signals and especially the ones that have the signal width of a #9 lead birdshot.  None of these were real diamonds this time, but I have found them.

Keep us posted of your hunt.

[dogodog]

That's some serious info Gerry, I never considered testing a #9 shot, But I will tomorrow. I'm wondering what I passed up at couple of parks. Man that's a great idea!!!

[GB_Amateur]

16 minutes ago, Gerry in Idaho said:

What is your goal of the hunt, a ring and coins or diamond stud?

Thanks for the serious response, Gerry.  I didn't even know enough to state my goals, so thanks for bringing that up.  (But I do now feel justified in creating the thread in the first place.  At least for me these things aren't obvious.)  I figured jewelry was where I'd get the most chances for a good find, but didn't realize small jewelry (e.g. diamond stud) vs. large jewelry (e.g. rings) meant different settings.  Given the age of the pit there might even be some deep items although unlike coins, recent drops are likely to be almost as good as ancient ones.

To answer your question, I'm going to put my emphasis on gold jewelry (especially rings).  Now that I've clarified that, any further suggestions?  (I will be using the Eqx 800.)

 

 

[Gerry in Idaho]

14 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

To answer your question, I'm going to put my emphasis on gold jewelry (especially rings).  Now that I've clarified that, any further suggestions?  (I will be using the Eqx 800.)

I have not done a thorough test on gold rings with the NOX yet, but have probably found 40 pieces of gold jewelry so far with one.  In fact I just returned from a Cancun trip using the 800 and scooped 21 rings and many other misc items.  

I have 2 styles of detecting the VBall Court and each has their purpose. 

1st is to find recently lost rings.  Todays newer generation often wear stainless, sterling and tungsten more than gold.  Those rings including open toe rings are all over the #'s, so I dig all easy to hear coin size nonferrous signals.  Most of the gold rings will read 18 and below with the majority registering 6 to 14.

2nd hunt style is to find it all.  (Micro Jewelry) Not only do I find the mentioned items above, but there are those shiny dingler thingie things that hang from the belly button.  Thin gold chain ankle bracelets, diamond studs earrings and nose piercings are much smaller than a ring and 95% of the detectorists have no clue how to find them.  Do yourself a favor and borrow some of the wife's diamond stud earrings and or thin chains.  Check with your daughter (if appropriate age) to test some of her piercing pieces.  Most gold diamond stud earrings I have testes read 1 and sometimes 2, which is the same on a thin gold ankle bracelet or chain.  The dinglers are of different sizes and metals as well, so no near #'s, but from 3 to #14 on the ones I have found. 

2nd hunt style modified for the NOX.  Put the 800 in Prospect 1 Mode, do a ground balance and be sure to turn Tracking Off..Also open the screen with the horseshoe button and go...it will amaze you the capabilities of this sub $1000 detector.

Other important aspects of fine jewelry or Micro hunting is Proper Coil Control.  You lift the coil 1 or 2" off some of those targets and the signal is gone.  So if it is 2 inches deep..you better be on your A game.  Gridding is a must and be sure to sweep the coil in the sand to leave your trail on purpose.   Overlapping will give the extra depth on some of the targets (depending on inside of coil windings) so I like to overlap about 1/3 of the coil length.  Bring a super magnet and a nonmetal nugget scoop or nugget cup to help in speed of recovery.  The magnet is to help rid of any small iron bits and also help ID some of the really cheap jewelry.  After some time and practice, you'll start finding the backings of earrings and at that point, you are starting to get dialed in.  Micro jewelry detecting is very hard and takes a lot of extra time and patience.  In reality you are hunting for the treasures the other 95% of people miss. 

On a side note.  If you have a VLF gold detector, a volleyball court is a fantastic place to start.

Yes, small lead bird shot is a must to teach yourself the detector and its capabilities.  #6 I feel is to big, but #7 1/2 or #8 is right and if you have #9 dove load in lead...cut one open and start listening.

 

 

[2Valen]

3 hours ago, Gerry in Idaho said:

Put the 800 in Prospect 1 Mode,

I am not sure what mode that is, as there is Park 1 and 2, field 1 and 2, beach 1 and 2, and then gold 1 and 2.

Are you talking about gold mode?

I have used Field 1 for the volleyball sand and have done pretty good, not sure if that was the best but here in Illinois it worked for me.

[GB_Amateur]

12 hours ago, Gerry in Idaho said:

I have 2 styles of detecting the VBall Court....

Wow, Gerry!  When I started this thread I didn't expect anything nearly this detailed.  Thank you for taking the time.  As always here, such a response helps a lot more than only the person who asked.  Now I just need the weather and the volleyball players to cooperate.  This weekend (dry but too cold for barefeet) might be just what I need.