MontAmmie

That would have been so much fun to hunt back in the day when metal detectors were a new thing. I can't even imagine.....

You're not going to find a rock/gem with a metal detector unless it's in a metal setting of some kind.

I actually said under my breath, as I watched this, "Hey, you forgot to put the dirt back!"

It saved me the time I was spending looking for a used CTX. I'd much rather have a new Equinox.

I'd probably need a free membership to a fitness club as well, to build up my puny arms enough to swing it.

I went out again this morning. HUGE waves, compliments of Jose. It may be wishful thinking on my part, BUT it kinda looks like those huge waves MIGHT be starting to cut into some of that sand. There are definitely scallops now, where there were none yesterday. I didn't find much, except more crusty coins from the eroded dunes. No rhyme or reason to where any targets were located. I found a corroded dime about 2 inches down. About 2 swings from that I found a bottle cap buried 6 inches deep. There might be some good stuff in the water. It will have to settle down quite a bit before I find out. 7 foot waves and a nasty rip current? No thanks!

Yesterday, I really wanted a CTX. Today? I probably wouldn't pay $1000 for a new one.

I think I just found my DFX upgrade machine. I just hope I can actually get one before we leave next April.

Hi Guys! I've been back home in Indian Harbour since Tuesday night. We still don't have electricity, but we do have a generator, which runs the air conditioning enough to keep it almost tolerable in here. Florida LP says everyone on the east coast will be back online by Sunday. We'll keep our fingers crossed, because it is HOT here. So in case anyone is curious, I have been hunting for the past 2 days (duh). Four different beaches near Melbourne, and pretty much all the same conditions. First, the hurricane DID take some of that "renourishment" sand away. I'm pretty sure the sand was up to and level with the end of this boardwalk before Irma. (photo 1) No cuts to speak of, unless you count the cuts into the dune line. Just below these cuts were where I found crusty old coins. (photo 2 and 3) With the extra sand gone, it's just a gentle slope from the dune line all the way to the water now. Very few rocks showing at low tide. (photo 4) Before, there was the dune line, then a "hump" of added sand, then a fairly steep-ish grade down to the water line. Lots of the coquina rocks were showing at low tide. (photo 5, taken about 2 months ago) I'm not finding much except very corroded clad coins, which seem to have been buried for a very long time. The oldest was a 1958 nickel. You would think with a couple of feet of sand gone, there would be lots of targets. Nope. It's like Irma came in, scraped some sand off the top, threw the rest in a blender, then dumped it all back on the beach and smoothed it down nice and flat. The only good thing I've noticed is that most of the aluminum trash seems to be gone. I was using the Infinium all the way up to the (new) foot of the dunes yesterday. I'm thinking that any gold or silver was churned up and sank even lower when the waves were taking the sand away. Those cruddy tent stakes, which I don't dig, were buried DEEP in what I think used to the be towel line. Sadly, I saw quite a few turtle eggs which had been exposed, then eaten by the feathered rats. I'm going to try to go to a good touristy beach, maybe Cocoa, Sunday. I'll let y'all know if I find anything, if you're interested. Ammie

They have them on sale now. With tax and shipping, I think it was about $145. I thought about upgrading to the V3i, but I really need something a little more waterproof. I run my DFX pretty hot too. Relic mode mostly, with the AC on 72 and the Preamp on 3 or 4. It will usually nail a pull tab at about 6-8 inches in dry sand.

Hey John. I ordered the 12 x 10. Then Kellyco sent an email wanting "more information" to "complete my order". They have my credit card and my address, what "more" could they want? I told them to just cancel it. I'm thinking that instead of getting upgraded coils, etc. for a 15 year old machine I should save my $$ for a CTX3030 instead. Or maybe see what Minelab is rolling out on the 17th.

Wow. I wish Montana didn't have such hot dirt. I'd try the DFX again.

Hey, Deft. Sorry I didn't pick a better park! Maybe you should pick a better one, since you know the area? I hope you don't wind up in an orange jumpsuit with a roommate named Bruno on account of me! I guess I just don't realize the implications of a man with a detector in a kiddie park. I've never had anyone even look twice at me with the DFX. I guess because I'm a female? Heck, I've even seen the young moms sigh with relief when the kiddos come over to bother me. "Yeah, go pester Granny with that weird lookin' weed eater, that'll get you out of my hair for 15 minutes". I plan to hit my chosen park in Melbourne at daylight. Mostly because of the heat, but also of because I'm a rugrat magnet. I get at least 2 or 3 "helpers" every time I go to the beach after 10 am. So anyway, please pick another park where the pickin's are more plentiful and the SWAT team won't show up. Ammie

Hey Deft. Well, we packed it up and left Friday. Traffic on Interstate 10 was a nightmare. It took us over 14 hours from Melbourne to just over the Alabama line. So here we sit in a Podunk, AL campground waiting to go home. Bleh. I looked at the 15 x 12, and I'm sure it would cover some ground, but I'd probably be better off with the 12 x 10. From the specs, it looks like it only weighs about 8 oz more than the 9.5 I don't like using a sling because I switch swinging arms with the DFX about every hour. I'm an old biddy of 53, you know! Hi John. I'm going to go look at the 10 x 14. Thanks!

Thanks, Steve. It should be able to weed out a bottle cap. That's really my only caveat as our beaches are loaded with them.

I might play along too! I haven't gone after park jewelry with the DFX in years. I will be waiting for a little cooler (not 90's) weather so Hubby can go with me. We have some similar little parks in North Melbourne in the Viera area on the mainland. I'll have to go over there since our little beach town has outlawed metal detecting, even on the beach! I'll be using the 6 X 10 Eclipse and I'll be going after shallow targets (4 inches or less), no bottle caps, and nothing in the pull-tab range either. I think I might keep all my trash too, just for comparison. It will be interesting to see what we come up with in 2 very different areas of the country. My park will have to wait until after we see what that freakin' hurricane is going to do. We may be hooking up the RV and getting the heck outta Dodge soon! Of course, if it scrapes 50 years worth of sand off the beaches, I'll be busy looting and pillaging with the rest of the pirates when we get back.

OK, Deft. I studied Google maps and the Ankeny Parks And Rec Dept website. Hard to tell if you've never been there, but Ankeny seems to be a bit more well-to-do? I looked at it like it was one of our stops on the way to Montana (might actually be, if they have an RV park!) and I had about 2-3 hours to go find something. And the winner is....Northcreek Park. Big tot lot, soccer fields, etc in what looks to be an affluent neighborhood. But what really sold me on it was ......snow sledding in winter. I don't know if they actually sled down that hill in winter, but with all the kiddos that might live in that neighborhood, they probably do. And well-off, professional parents with cold hands pushing junior on a sled in deep snow (pull those gloves off, mom!) seems to me like a recipe for losing jewelry and not finding it. Anyway, let me know what you think! Sherry

How many pull-tabs did you have to dig before you found a gold ring, Deft? My problem is not finding rings, I've gotten 3 in the past 3 days. One tiny little silver, and the other two are titanium junk. I'll take you up on that challenge. Give me a city and I'll pick a park for you!

I'm about done with the beaches, on to the parks!

I've decided to keep using the DFX on the dry sand, but I need a bigger coil. I'll have to be faster (competition X 3) when Irma scrapes about 3 ft of sand off Cocoa Beach next weekend. (We are hoping that Cocoa Beach will still be there to hunt). Since Steve won't let me have his Bigfoot, I'm looking at Detechs. Whites has the Detech SEF 12 x 10 on sale. Anyone have any experience with it? I read some reviews that say it reads bottle caps like pennies. Horrors, we cannot have that! Sometimes a penny turns out to be a men's gold ring. If it is so dumb that it can't tell a penny from a bottlecap then I will stick with the stock coil. Thanks, Ya'll!

I can just see the look on Hubby's face right now. "Um, Dear, instead of the interstate this year, let's try some old highways through some small towns for 2500 miles". I would probably be using my thumb to get to Bozeman. Unbeknownst to him, I have already been scouting for "good RV parks" in some small towns on the way...which just might have a small city park or 2. Thanks, GB It's a state park, so I doubt it. Worth a check, tho!

I don't want anyone to be jealous of all my bottle caps, strick. I'll be posting pics of old Montana mining camps next summer! I was actually thinking about some Army COE lakes. Most of them have beaches and I understand they are cool with metal detectors. Been trying to talk Hubby into an Alaska trip for 3 years! I bet you could find some cool jewelry in all that mud with a detector.....right before you got arrested and hauled off to jail.

Hi ya'll! I have a question for you. If you could go detecting anywhere in the lower 48 and stay as long as you wanted-where would it be, and what would you hunt? Not looking for anybody's top secret honey hole, just a general area. I'm planning our trip next summer with the small toyhauler and ATV. I'd like to try hunting some different things in some different places. Already got South Beach/FT Lauderdale on the radar, as well as tons of places in Montana. There has to be something fun in the 2500 miles in between! Thanks for all suggestions! Ammie

That topaz ring is gorgeous!

According to the State of Florida, anything you find 50 years old+, even ankle-deep in the ocean is theirs. They get pretty nasty at the mere suggestion that someone could find and keep one of "their" artifacts. Me? I NEVER find anything old. My oldest crusty penny was minted in 1968.