On the Cheap (i.e run out of money!)

[Smoky bandit]

Plugs unless dug big and wide will almost certainly leave a dead patch.Do a v shape or a slit method. :Y:

 

[mixo]

digger is next on the list, but a good one is 80 plus bucks...

Pinpointer is a must, well for me, takes ages to find the bloody 2 cent piece!

I will see how many coins i find on the beach in a few days!

wish everyone a merry xmas.

mixo

 

[roy cobb]

Merry Christmas mixo the Tyger cub is about $50 delivered a great little tool
Roy

 

[goldtrapper]

Digging plugs can lead to dead patches. Learn less destructive methods.

[video=480,360]https://youtu.be/YzEZNWMXKDE[/video]

100% on that, on my trip to the Big smoke in Sydney the last 3 days I saw a sensitive area that someone had dug lovely little plugs that had turned into dead patches.
I recovered over $70 from park areas around Sydney in the last few days not digging one plug but using the probe/screwdriver/hook method and you could not see where I had been. The deepest coins retrieved were 6" at the hilt of the hook.
Pity I can't make videos or I would post one. It is such an easy non destructive method you can use in the finest of manicured lawns.
Plugs are great for who gives a rats areas as mostly in watered areas they survive but in cared for lawns I cringe every time.

 

[Ramjet]

This is one of my videos. For deep targets I use a similar method to the video above. Not all holes are perfect but there is very little evidence I have been there even though some of the targets were pretty deep,

[video=480,360]https://youtu.be/oCMaMqjdoWw[/video]

 

[yep]

buying cheap is cheap having it's limits if you buy a short handled anything detecting on the beach will challenge you

you don't wanting to be digging holes over 12" especially in the wet sand it will take ages plus test your wrists and resolve especially if it turns out to be oop:

the right long handled sand scoop turns beach digging into an easy experience saving plenty of time digging more

as you detect more your style knowledge and hardware with grow and change with your experiences

buy what you can afford for now and learn as you go and enjoy being outside

good luck :money:

 

[mixo]

Got a scoop used it on the beach but no luck.im in a secret location here at Port Lincoln did the local beach not one cent..just pull tabs cans and wrapper foil.

Just no luck or the port Lincoln locals are tight with their cash and rings...

Keep trying....

Mixo

 

[deepblue]

That can't be right more millionaires in Port Lincoln per head then any other city in Australia so they say.

 

[mixo]

Well that's what I though...maybe they don't carry change to lose?

Anyway the kids disappointed, maybe try a local park/beach area that is not far from our camp tonite.

Saw a Garrett digger here for 85 bucks..not sure about those people complain that the handle breaks on them.

mixo

 

[Goldpick]

You can get a brand new digger from Nenad at Phase Technical for $58, still have mine with no issues so far. I actually snapped my more expensive Lesche digger in half, though that was mainly due to wear over a long period of time.

http://phasetechnical.com.au/product/deteknix-diamond-digger/

Remember if you want to have the best chance of finding coins at the beach, you really need to grid up an area to capture all targets. Also might pay to bury some coins to check your detector's response and depth ability, will give you a better idea on what to listen for.

 

[diggit]

Digging plugs can lead to dead patches. Learn less destructive methods.

[video=480,360]https://youtu.be/YzEZNWMXKDE[/video]

100% on that, on my trip to the Big smoke in Sydney the last 3 days I saw a sensitive area that someone had dug lovely little plugs that had turned into dead patches.
I recovered over $70 from park areas around Sydney in the last few days not digging one plug but using the probe/screwdriver/hook method and you could not see where I had been. The deepest coins retrieved were 6" at the hilt of the hook.
Pity I can't make videos or I would post one. It is such an easy non destructive method you can use in the finest of manicured lawns.
Plugs are great for who gives a rats areas as mostly in watered areas they survive but in cared for lawns I cringe every time.

Could you post some pictures? It's just that I've never seen these dead patches that folks are talking about and no plug I've ever dug has turned into a dead patch so I'm intrigued and would like to see some! I do believe you but it's not something I've experienced personally.

 

[Simon_49]

Since I'm going to be popping into my local Bunnings store soon, I'll see if I can grab a cheap scoop from the gardening section, or see what I can find anyway.

 

[goldtrapper]

Digging plugs can lead to dead patches. Learn less destructive methods.

[video=480,360]https://youtu.be/YzEZNWMXKDE[/video]

100% on that, on my trip to the Big smoke in Sydney the last 3 days I saw a sensitive area that someone had dug lovely little plugs that had turned into dead patches.
I recovered over $70 from park areas around Sydney in the last few days not digging one plug but using the probe/screwdriver/hook method and you could not see where I had been. The deepest coins retrieved were 6" at the hilt of the hook.
Pity I can't make videos or I would post one. It is such an easy non destructive method you can use in the finest of manicured lawns.
Plugs are great for who gives a rats areas as mostly in watered areas they survive but in cared for lawns I cringe every time.

Could you post some pictures? It's just that I've never seen these dead patches that folks are talking about and no plug I've ever dug has turned into a dead patch so I'm intrigued and would like to see some! I do believe you but it's not something I've experienced personally.

Unfortunatly not being up with the modern technology I cannot. But hopefully in the future I will be able to. I really wish I could......

 

[Ramjet]

Digging plugs can lead to dead patches. Learn less destructive methods.

[video=480,360]https://youtu.be/YzEZNWMXKDE[/video]

100% on that, on my trip to the Big smoke in Sydney the last 3 days I saw a sensitive area that someone had dug lovely little plugs that had turned into dead patches.
I recovered over $70 from park areas around Sydney in the last few days not digging one plug but using the probe/screwdriver/hook method and you could not see where I had been. The deepest coins retrieved were 6" at the hilt of the hook.
Pity I can't make videos or I would post one. It is such an easy non destructive method you can use in the finest of manicured lawns.
Plugs are great for who gives a rats areas as mostly in watered areas they survive but in cared for lawns I cringe every time.

Could you post some pictures? It's just that I've never seen these dead patches that folks are talking about and no plug I've ever dug has turned into a dead patch so I'm intrigued and would like to see some! I do believe you but it's not something I've experienced personally.

There are pics on this forum. I will see if a can find some.

 

[Adrian ss]

One of the reasons park keepers do not like metal detecting taking place in lawn and mowed areas is that no mater how you retrieve a target from a grassed and mowed lawn area is that the mower lifts the plug up out of the ground as it passes over it and even more so if the plug is shallow. A deep plug about 6 inches or more is less likely to be lifted out of the ground.
If the grassed area is watered regularly then the roots in the plug take hold fairly quickly and dead patches are much less likely to occur.
Learning how to pinpoint accurately and to recover a target with just a screw driver or small knife blade is the way to go and targets more than 5 inches deep in manicured park lawns should be left there.
If we want to be able to continue this hobby in controlled areas then we must learn how to cause zero damage to the grounds and plants.
Ok! So I have been detecting since 1960 in all possible conditions and I like to think that I know how to recover a target whether it is at the bottom of a lake. In the gold fields, School Grounds or parks and gardens etc and to this day after recovering thousands and thousands of targets, I still focus on leaving zero signs of my ever having been in a particular area. I have only ever been asked to cease activity on two occasions, was shot at once, Had a young hood threaten to take my detector from me...I talked him out of that idea and on one occasion an idiot tried to break into my wagon when I was sleeping inside in the Wedderburn area.

This has been a fantastic hobby and I hope it continues that way for some time to come.

 

[Adrian ss]

As far as scoops and pin-pointers are concerned I almost never use a pinpointer even though I have a Pro Pointer and a Pistol Pro.

There are various inexpensive scoops and sieves available at Bunnings and the Reject Shop and at Woollies. Just so long as you get one that sand will flow through quickly, and will not bend or break easily in wet sand.

A trap easily fallen into when gold prospecting or coin, jewellery and relic hunting is that of spending more than you can afford to on an activity that could take quite a while to recover your losses.
If a hobby sends you broke then you need to accumulate some Back Up funds before spending... or choose a less cash consuming hobby.

An old saying my Mum told me a very long time ago:
"A.........and his/her money are soon parted".

Going by my own exp with money, Mum was right.

 

[goody2shoes]

You can at times pick up cheap prospecting gear on eBay,

Goody

 

[mixo]

I haven't found any yet...

Mixo

 

[goody2shoes]

I picked these up a few months a go,

Got them very cheap,

Off eBay

Goody

 

[Jaros]

Well done.