North Sydney Area

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Apr 13, 2014
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Hi All,

I am about to start getting into detecting for coins, probably start around the beaches and parks around my area (north sydney).

Wondering if there are any prospectors located around North Sydney who might want to meet up in the future, interested in any help getting started you might be willing to provide.

Thanks in advance.

Sparksey
 
Hi mate
My first advice if your going to dig parks, Don't dig the maintained grass or you will have council after your blood lol.. I usually work up around the trees that's covered with leafs etc, or just the areas that don't get looked after to much.. And also don't be a mole and backfill your hole ;)
Enjoy
 
Spot on Danmuss, Check out YouTube also on how to dig nice "plugs" for deeper targets so the grass will continue to grow even after being cut, the "cut 3 sides and fold" technique seems to be the most used, I suggest getting a pin pointer also if it is in your price range at a later date if you get really serious about the hobby (it's addictive!)
Also check out the "coin popping" technique on YouTube, it's used to extract coins with out having to cut plugs all the time. Best of luck mate and I hope you enjoy yourself, please ask questions if you need to and we will all try the best we can to assist you,
Cheers, Sam
 
If you are not confident of doing plugs etc at parks, the beach is always a good place to start out at. Also good for learning what good targets sound like vs having to put up with lots of buried foil, pull tabs and stuff that come with parks. What machine are you starting out with? :)
 
Thanks for all the responses, based on the feedback i think i will start out at the beach so that I can get used to the detector. Then once I have an idea of what sounds to dig then I will move onto park.

Thanks the the advice on checking out the youtube vids, I have been doing a bit of research on there and will be sure to research how to dig "plugs".

Goldpick - I am looking to purchase a Garrett Ace 350.

Cheers
 
The Ace 350 should serve you well as a start out detector. If you do intend to do parks, the small sniper coil will almost be a necessity in areas loaded with junk in the ground, something to think about for the future.

Since you are going to try out the Ace down the beach, run in all-metal or jewellery mode, so you don't miss out on any possible jewellery. If running in wet sand, run about 3-4 bars of sensitivity to eliminate any false signals. You will also endure reduced depth as well, but that is the sacrifice you have to make for a stable running machine. Dry sand I tend to run 3/4 to full sensitivity, depending on interference from EMI, and how recent the last tide was (sand can still be wet at depth, but dry on surface). Bottom line is, just have a play around with the sensitivity whilst you detect, to find what setting is quietest for that particular area.

Dig repeatable signals, single bell tones can be $1 coins, crazy multiple bell tones are usually $2 coins or bottle caps. $2 coins will make the detector go crazy with repeatable bell tones, whereas bottle caps tend to have a signal cut at the end of the bell tones, you will see what I mean when you find some to compare. Other coins tend to have more mellow but solid signals, whereas bottle caps, foil, ring pulls and Calipo foil caps are usually quite loud, sharp and harsh, and sometimes broken up signals or popping type signals. 5c coins that fall down towards the foil range, can be picked out due to having more solid repeatable signals than the junk.

Non repeatable signals can be a number of things, falsing due to salt, loose cabling at the bottom of the detector shaft, and deep targets that won't quite register as a solid signal. I generally don't bother with these targets, otherwise I will be there all night chasing targets that may or may not be there, other people may chose to investigate further.

Check that newly acquired target with the pinpoint button, this will indicate the possible size of the target and its exact location. The DD coil acts as a blade through the sand, with the signals registering as they pass under the centre axis of the coil For example, if you get a bell tone thinking it is a coin, then check with the pinpoint button and find it is a broad and ill defined target, chances are it is a larger target like a aluminium can similar at depth. Most targets that you want to dig should have quite a small and defined pinpointed area.

Not all good signals can consist of single repeatable signals, items like rings can give off double signals on each swing of the detector due to their shape. I recently nearly missed a silver ring due to this, hence why I dig all repeatable signals.

The large DD that comes with the 350 is probably my favourite coil, especially at the beach, very easy to pinpoint with compared to the concentric coils (have the same on my 250), better depth capabilities.

The main difference between the two detectors is a slightly higher frequency on the 350, large DD coil as standard, and an expanded iron range for relic hunting, otherwise they are pretty similar, and also have similar performance capabilites.

If you ever have any questions, there are a few 250/350 owners on the forum that will be more than happy to help out, some with most likely more experience than me.:)
 
Thanks for the very informative post Goldpick, that is a great help.

I will be sure to play around with the detector and various coins to get my ear in to what the different sounds mean.

I am sure I will have a lot more questions once I get started.

Thanks again!
 
Gday Sparksey,

Not sure if you are still around on the forum, but I just recently got myself an Xterra 305 with 18.75 coil and am looking for a detecting partner to trade tips n tricks, I am based in Mosman, just up the road.

Took out the 305 for first time on Tuesday afterwork to local beach for 45min to play with settings and get used to it, found myself a $1 coin within first 5mins, only 399 more to go to cover purchase price :)

Let me know if interested in joining forces.

Ungy
 

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