jinmon

You asked for it, @Steve Herschbach! ?

This one might be fun for y’all though. I hope so!

Let’s say your best friend was brand new to the hobby - maybe they have a brand new detector (maybe an Equinox 800 on order - totally hypothetical, you understand) and a basic digging tool or two but that’s about it. The friend told you they were heading to a gold and treasure trade show that weekend (maybe the show in Quartzsite, and of course invited you along). What would you tell them to buy? What would you tell them to avoid?

If you want more info before advising them, let’s say that they had a strong interest in beach jewelry and gold detecting and a moderate interest in everything else. ?

Thanks in advance!

-Julie the n00b

Thanks all! ? I’m seriously excited to get my new fancy toy! I do suspect I’ll be a bit overwhelmed at first though because I know I’ll want to try it on all the modes in all the places and won’t be patient and stick with just one thing. ?

I’ll be in Quartzsite this weekend! I’ll keep an eye out for the guy carrying the black rock! ?

Finding a camera with a metal detector that was used to film you metal detecting is... kinda creepy... but what a great crazy story!

Just wanted to let y’all know again how much I appreciated your advice!

I decided metal detecting was silly and there’s no gold left in California anyway. 

Just kidding. Ordered my Equinox 800 today. Cannot WAIT!!! ?

-Julie

Nice!!! My guess before I saw the pic was that the “clue” was a key but I don’t see one. Maybe that larger oblong flat silver thing next to the bobby  pin is part of a key? That’s my guess! ?

Welcome! I have no tips on Alaska I’m afraid, but your plan sounds adventurous and fun, and you sound like you and your wife are pretty capable and have some good experience! I hope you continue to share your adventures with us!!! ?

This may be an unusual recommendation for people getting into metal detecting, but. 

I know there’s some question about how long a tetanus booster lasts and whether you really need one, but it’s awfully easy to get scratched or poked by a rusty piece of metal you’ve just dug up. ? 

I got a Garrett Ace 250 as a general purpose machine to kick around with with my dad when hecame to visit me, as he’s always liked metal detecting. It’s a great general purpose machine that you can pick up used for about $150. Headphones aren’t great but if you’re both working with the same detector and sharing digging duties you might prefer not using the headphones so you can both hear the sound of the target. But I will say I very quickly found what else I wanted to do that it couldn’t do (nuggets and saltwater beaches). It’s still so great for parks and general hunting, very light and inexpensive so I can’t say I regret the purchase, but I am planning to buy another detector soon. Still - it’s a great first detector I think! ?

I can’t disagree with getting a good digging tool for parks - a serrated edge helps a lot if you’re cutting in a grassy area. I also like having a plastic scoop spoon thing for trying to find whatever I’ve just dug up in sandy or dirty areas - scooping the dirt out and running it over the coil to see if the target is in the scoop can help find a small piece of metal in a big hole of dirt! ?

I’m going for the gold show in a couple weeks - how was the pizza? ?

Just got my first ring of 2019 - so it’s my favorite one for this year as well, of course!

I seem to be Queen of Copper. Though this may have been gold plated once - hard to tell!

Great thoughts @bklein! I admit to coveting a CTX 3030 but even used that’s a bit more than my budget allows, and would leave me far too broke to consider a second beach machine. ? I’m still keeping an eye out for a real steal on one... just in case. ?

Just found and read this thread as I’m pretty strongly considering getting the Equinox 800 - what an incredible progression from the earlier posts to now!!! People talk about putting the time in to get to know your machine, guess this is what it looks like!!!

Thanks for sharing all of this with us!

Neat stuff! I ran across his products randomly on eBay earlier today - the covers look really nicely made!

My favorite (and only!) ring find since I just got my wee detector this fall - I think this was my first or second trip out. ?.

PS - anyone know how to gently clean copper and turquoise? ?

Thanks! I like the smaller coils anyway. At least in theory! ? They just LOOK ado much more navigable around rocks etc. And the the larger coil would work well on the beach from what I’ve seen.... hmmmm. ?

Does anyone think I should NOT get the Equinox 800? Lol!!! 

Thanks @phrunt! I admit to some serious coveting of those VDI numbers when watching YouTube videos of machines that have them! ?

Love the pix of your gold finds with the Equinox! Thanks for sharing! And yeah, I was thinking about that 6” coil - have you found it makes a big difference?

On 2/9/2018 at 7:28 PM, Gerry in Idaho said:

One of these days I am going to AZ just for this show.  I have many good friends who say it is Top Shelf.

Are you going this year? I’m a newbie planning to drive out from LA and see what I can learn. ?

Thanks @BeachHunter for the great tip about the headphones not being waterproof! I don’t PLAN to do any diving or deep surf work with the Equinox, but I suppose I’m just as likely to drop the headphones in the water as the unit itself! ?

Thanks! Yes, I do appreciate the variety. Nice to be able to just pick up a few coins here and there rather than make a big trip to the beach or gold areas etc. ?

Thanks Steve! ?

Thank you all very much for your thoughts so far!

@Northeast, the waterproof feature is a DEFINITE plus because I’m clumsy. ? I wasn’t sure if I’d care much about the visual display since I don’t use the one on the Garrett as much as I should, but the audio is really nice on the videos of the Equinox I’ve watched. I think it’s got some way to customize the tones for different ranges of conductivity?

@Dubious, I was looking for a gold-specific machine (and maybe also a separate beach-specific one!) because it seems usually general purpose machines are jack of all trades, masters of none - and from what I can tell of the soil and sand out here, that won’t do. ? But the Equinox seems to be the exception to the rule on that - seems like people have good success with it wherever they take it. Does seem to have a bit of a learning curve though.

@mn90403, thanks for confirming that the Equinox works well in my area - that’s a major concern for me!

I like the Ace 250 pretty well compared to the last 1980-ish machine I used! ? I sometimes find the pinpointing frustrating and I hate the headphones I got with it - cord is too short and the things slip off my head every time I bend down to dig. Could be my head’s fault I guess, maybe it’s shaped funny. So light and easy to get started with. Seems to find very tiny pieces of junk in all metal or jewelry mode - in trashy areas I end up switching to coin mode which works well but I worry I’m missing my gold necklaces then. Hasn’t found me any gold in the dry creek beds but I wouldn’t expect it to - but I figure no sense in not trying if I have it with me. ?

Thank you! ?

Hey all! I’m super-new but wanted to say thanks to everyone because I’ve read soooo many excellent posts on this forum before joining and have learned a ton!

I’m an obsessive newbie in the Los Angeles area who’s recently picked up a Garrett Ace 250 to kick around with my Dad when he visits (we used to detect parks and schools in Maryland when I was a kid with his old Compass). The Ace is fun and great in parks - I’m fond of it - but I’m really more interested in wet sand detecting on the beaches and in gold prospecting. And it just doesn’t handle salty wet black sand well... or find tiny gold.... So of course I’m looking at getting a second detector.

My Dad is thrilled. My Mom is horrified  ?

I was trying to decide between the Goldmaster 24k and Gold Monster 1000, but then the idea of the Equinox 800 snuck in and I was thinking maybe it would be a good beach AND gold detector. But then I really like the Goldmaster 24k in the few videos I could find. But the Gold Monster 1000 is blue and has that lovely little whoop whoop sound....

I know there’s no “best” detector, and from what I can tell those are all great detectors. But I’m hoping someone can nudge me off the fence. Does anyone have any thoughts about these or other models for use in Southern California? So many beaches, so many reports of gold...  SO MUCH BLACK SAND!

Thanks in advance for any advice! I know this was long but I wanted to provide enough details of where I am and what I’m looking for to be useful. Also, I’m chatty. ?

-Julie

Hello all! My dad used to take me metal detecting as a kid back in Maryland and recently I started feeling like that might be a fun thing to do again... you know how it goes. ?. He’s primarily a coin and relic guy but I find myself drawn more to beaches and gold prospecting. Learning a lot about black sand really fast! Looking forward to chatting with y’all!

-Julie