My First Detector And A Tribute To The Person That Got Me Started

[Johnnysalami1957]

I only ever owned a White's product. I started in1970 in high school with my 1st machine and tried to "earn" my way up the detector ladder so to speak. The only problem I ever had was a coil that went bad and I got a replacement right away. Let me tell you a little story. I live in Northern NJ and before the interweb there used to be a little metal detector shop called Geoquest on Rt 46 in Saddle Brook NJ. It was owned by a guy named Harry and his wife Leola. His shop had metal detectors hanging all over the place on pegboards. He had piles of them on the floor. Harry was a servicing dealer for White's back in the day. Anyway Harry was a short round man that always wore a shirt that was at least one size too small and the button buttonholes were screaming for mercy! He had display cases crammed with finds from all the local treasure hunters and I was hooked in an instant! Well those things weren't cheap and I could not afford to buy one right away and so I used to go hang out there and see if I could "help" out and maybe learn something. Well after a couple of weeks of being a pain in the a** Harry told me to come in the back and he handed me a machine. It was blue and primer grey weighed like 50 lbs and he told me to get lost for a couple of weeks. I didn't know what to say I was really happy to have a chance at trying this cool new thing. Well back then not many people had metal detectors and the ones that I know lived near the beach. I lived in an old town, Hackensack NJ and it was ripe for the pickin. I just didn't know what the hell to do. My first time out at an old park I most of the time trying to figure out how to tune the machine. I think it had a red button sticking out of the end of the handle to pinpoint with but I'm not sure. I started finding coins, lot's of coins, SILVER COINS!!!!!! They were only worth face value back then or maybe a little more but I was happy. I was doing something nobody else was doing. By the end of the summer I had enough coins to cash in and almost buy a nice middle of the road Whites machine. Harry recommended a Whites machine because he was a servicing dealer and they were very reliable. Harry was a mad scientist! He used to repair down to the component level on the boards and had all kinds of test equipment in his "lab". He used to see common problems like resistors and potentiometers going bad but he actually found weak links in the circuits and changed components to a different value for a permanent fix. Harry taught me lot's of things but the thing that sticks in my head is persistence and education. And how to solder really good! Harry let me have a brand new White's detector and told me to pay for it a little every week when I could. Back then people were trusting and honorable. Your handshake was your contract and bond. I studied HVAC and became an industrial chiller service technician and did well in that trade for 20 years. After that amount of time I wanted to change careers and I became an HVAC instructor at the school I graduated from 20 years before. I actually replaced my retiring instructor and was very proud of myself. I always stopped by Geoquest at least twice a month and took care of Harry's heating and cooling needs for free. Back then that's what you did to payback your debts. Not the monetary ones, the ones that really count the kindness caring ones, the personal ones. Harry's health was failing. He had bypass surgery and was doing well for a few months. The next time I visited Geoquest I had some bagels with a smear of cream cheese for Harry and Leola and coffee. I walked in and Leola looked like she was tortured. She told me that we lost Harry. I thought he was really lost I didn't realize he had died or I just didn't want to believe it. I stayed there the rest of the day helping Leola try and organise the shop and keep her busy but eventually we sat and cried. Harry was gone and Leola had to close the shop. There just wasn't enough money in selling machines to support the bills without Harry. After the store closed I tried to stay in touch with Loela but we never really kept on after the store closed.  Harry lived his life with passion. Something most of us will never even realise what passion is. I laid off metal detecting for awhile while raising a family and got back into it about 6 years ago. I bought a White's V3i. I wanted the top of the line and I could afford it, I still can't really operate it well!  That same day I got the V I found a 14k mens wedding band in a park. Thank you Harry I miss you.  

 

[Steve Herschbach]

Great story and memories, thanks for sharing!

[tboykin]

This is the best way to start my day off. Thanks Johnny, it's stories like these that show why local dealers are so valuable. If you need help with your V3i let me know!

[goldbrick]

Thanks for the wonderful story Johnny.