Do not make these mistakes Metal Detecting

Hey Welcome to the metal detecting show Episode number 18. Of course My name is Ciaran and this week I talk about Mistakes we have all made when detecting and We have our regular tech time out where i chat about profile switching and of course some updates from my adventures in metal detecting. So lets get On with the Show. 

Hey! Thank you for listening were at episode 18 and I hope you enjoy the show this week. If you want to give me feedback or interact with the show, please reach out to me on twitter @detectingthe or Instagram @themetaldetectingpodcast or If you want to pop me an email to ciaran@themetaldetectingshow.com  

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Firstly lets talk about my adventures in metal detecting this week I had a total disaster out on a new beach. I started the day well I got up early to get a few hours in before i started work for the day got to the beach got set up and started, but my nox 800 was going off like an 1800’s telegraph machine so i had to do repeated noise cancels and ground balances which drove me crazy but drove me even crazier when i realised i was the cause of the chatter as i hadnt put my phone in airplane mode so an hour wasted doubting and reclaabrating my machine because of this slip up. 

I then lost my pro pointer and while looking for it, i noticed someone suspiciously walking there dog very close to my car so once i found it at that stage i gave up and went to work. So I came away with nothing except a great idea for the podcast this week and that is Mistakes that most detectorists have made at one stage or another and I have made every one of these mistakes over the years so you dont have to so pay attention. So heres the Top 10 mistakes a detectorist can make and how to avoid them. 

Mistake 1: and Probably the most debilitating and frustrating mistake I've made in a while was not putting my mobile phone on airplane mode. Now sometimes your fine to leave you phone on as normal but this actually depends on the cell coverage of the area, if your detecting in an area of good mobile phone signal coverage you will be fine as your phone’s radio will switch to low power mode as it doesn't have to search for a Cell to connect to but if there is no cell coverage your phone will continue to ramp up its power output to try maximise it’s chances of reaching a cell tower for connection and this is what happened to me this week i wasn't aware that i had moved out of phone coverage causing my phone to go into search mode causeing interference in the largest antenna in the area my detector.  

Mistake 2: Not having your Pin Pointer secured, for me even though I have a holster for it, up to now i have foolishly insisted in keeping it in my pocket. Losing your pin pointer not only does it ruin you day its the one mistake that can cost you a pretty penny to replace if you dont happen to find it. 

Mistake 3: Not Charging your equipment beforehand ill lump in having spare batteries here too. In the age of wireless headphones and USB charging it is essential you fully charge your detector before you hit the road. Most detectors will do in excess of 2 full days on a charge but as your detector gets older and so will the batteries and their ability to hold a charge will diminish resulting in that day when your detector powers down half way through your second day when you could normally get the two full days for a charge. This goes for pin pointers and headphones too it just takes one of these to die on you to ruin your day or force you to change your process creating doubt and frustration and taking the enjoyment out of it for you. 

Mistake 4: Digging your equipment and im not saying digging as in loving I'm actually talking about digging a signal given off from your sand scoop, your boots or a loose coil cable. Remember any metal moving in the vicinity of your detectr will give a signal so best mitigate the possibility by making sure your coil cable is tied down properly, holding your sand sccop behind you if its metal as all good ones are and making sure your not wearing steel toe cap or steel sole boots. There is no bigger waste of your time than digging a clod to a hole with nothing in it.  

Mistake 5: You’ve been out detecting you find a gold ring you stick it in your finds pouch only to find when you get home that your top find for the day has disappeared and gone and lost itself. What a disaster but a disaster that could have been avoided by having firstly a well maintained finds pouch with a separate section for your most valuable finds that day or better yet a separate finds box that fits in your finds pouch or a zipped pocket in your jacket. 

Mistake 6: Not wearing gloves or wearing the wrong gloves another mistake I made this week was not having the right gloves with me resulting in me having to put on a right handed glove on my left hand now you think whats the big deal well if you have delicate office worker hands like me the misalignment of the glove seams will  and did cause blisters, no gloves will result in pulled nails and running the risk of getting cut via a glass shard or metal splinter. It makes total sense don't try to be a hard man or woman wear well maintained lightweight gloves. 

Mistake 7: Detecting with the wrong digging equipment what I'm referring to here is bringing the wrong equipment with you based on the terrain your detecting in for example bringing a sand scoop just because you're going to the beach to detect but only realising when you get there what you really needed was a hori knife to get between rocks or dig precise holes around picnic tables. Now normally you can bring everything in the car or truck and go back and swap out but that's a complete pain especially if you plan on hiking to a spot only to find that your spade won't get through the hard ground that you need a pick instead are you going to hike back i know i wouldn't. 

Mistake 8: Digging your hole to small or misaligned and nicking your find now not really a problem if it's an old iron relic but if it's a silver coin there is nothing lick a Knick to take the excitement off a find like that. Make sure you can locate the find accurately under the coil practice if you need too but if in doubt dig a hole a little larger that you would to help avoid your misery 

Mistake 9: Now this is a weird one but understand the base line performance or normal behaviour of your metal detector. I'll tell a quick story here that is 100% true when i got my first detector the Bounty Hunter Quick Draw II I was ecstatic and I would detect rain hail sleet or snow because it is not water proof i would stick a plastic bag over the control box a carry on like normal but after about 6 months the detector had become very erratic beeping at the end of a swing and at times having a total melt down that would require a well calibrated bang from me this went on for about a year before i sent it back now why didn't I send it back before that well because I was using the detector in the rain i assumed i had voided the warranty and was willing to live with the consequences when i bit the bullet and returned the detector for repair I received a brand new detector in replacement and a letter of apology from Bounty Hunter as they had identified a manufacturing fault in the detector straight away i thought of the years detecting i had done with a faulty detector and luckily I got to go back over those sites. So, know your detector and know when its behaving weirdly and don't be afraid to reach out to your manufacture. 

Mistake 10: Using the wrong program or profile. I cover using profile switching in this week's tech time out but if you set your detector up to detect on a field it is safe to say and obvious it will not perform to the best of its functionality. So just before you start double check your settings you never know what you might miss in the wrong program. 

Bonus Mistake: Don't forget to read the manual and read it regularly you might think you know what each button does but i have been caught out a few times manually adjusting settings when there was a way to automatically do it. This is especially important if you are using more than one detector regularly. 

Ok to come clean I have made each and every one of these mistakes but to recap quickly and maybe a check list for your next hunt. 

1. Turn off your phone. 
2. Secure your pinpointer. 
3. Charge up before you hunt. 
4. No Steel toe cap boots or soles. 
5. Secure your finds. 
6. Wear well maintained Gloves. 
7. Thinks about the equipment you will need and only bring that. 
8. Learn to pinpoint properly or commit to digging large holes. 
9. Understand how your detector drives. 
10. Make sure to set the correct program first. 
11. Bonus RTFM. 

Up next is this week’s tech time out on profile switching. 

Time for this week’s Tech Time Out!!!!!! This week’s tech time out is about profile switching or program Switching I'm not sure if this is a basic skill or an advanced technique. To put it simply profile switching is essentially switching from one detection program to another to best give an indication of a potential find.  

Now some would say that profile switching is a new technique but i believe this has been about since the implentation of descriminaition. If you think about it switching on or off descriminiation allowes you to identify the iron content of the find this is profile switching in its simplest form. 

It helps to bring more color to those iffy broken targets for me when im on the beach i tend to discriminate out Iron but will switch to full iron or discrimination off when i receive an iffy or scrathy signal especially if it's a ring pull sounding signal.  

My first expereince with program switching was at the recommendation of Gordon Hertigae whose beach and tadpole program on the CTX was my and still is my go-to on the CTX. 

Some Newer Detectors these days have a user button which can be programmed to carry out some function and a lot of users program these buttons to revert back to the last program some brands allow you to switch between all iron and whatever desired program while some allow you switch between different bespoke programs at the press of a button this is very handy allowing you to switch quickly and seamlessly between programs.  

But what programs do you switch between generally when selecting programs to switch between it is generally best to have 2 programs where one program is a subset of another but of the same family for example the two programs I use on the Equinox is Beach 1 which discriminates out 0 to -9 while using the all metal button to bring everything including –9 to 0 so beach 1 is a subset of all metal mode but of the same program family. 

You can get very technical with profile switching having one program searching with a particular set of frequencies for example low RF and the other program focus on high RF but that's beyond me and the scope of this short podcast. 

Another top tip that relates to Profile switching consider pin pointer mode this is a separate program that is essentially all metal with motion detection switched off what that means is you dont have to wave the detector about to generate a return signal. 

 I use this when i want to pin point a find like a normal person but i also use it when a signal has disappeared after the first dig and the detector can no longer reference the detection I just switch to pinpoint mode and 9 times out of 10 the detector will locate the find for you indicating where to dig again and the find should be yours.   

So Profile switching can help with the dig no dig decision so learn it and use it. 

Ok I hope you liked this episode of the metal detecting show podcast  

Before I wrap up i want to shout out GDZAG who gave the show the following 5 Star Review on Apple Podcasts.  

“Great Metal Detecting Show.... I love the “to the point” format. I’ve lost interest in many MD-ing shows because they forget their audience and they drone-on with with uninteresting banter. Many other shows really could be edited down to a much, much shorter in length podcast using just the subject matter that is pertinent to the hobby. 

Thanks So Much GDZAG your review has really brightened my day  

If you like this content please don't hesitate to tell your friends and don't forget to hit that subscribe button and if you feel like taking your appreciation to the next level feel free to leave me a positive review on any podcast directory of your choice. 

Check out our website www.the metaldetectingshow.com for this episodes show notes. 

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Once again, I hope you have enjoyed this episode and we will chat to you all again next week.  

Get out there and Happy Hunting.