Shane_vor's AT Max finds.

[shane_vor]

Picked up the AT Max today after reading on Facebook the shop only had one left. I've kinda been hanging out for this toy for a while so I got on the phone and got them to lock it away for me until I could get down and pay for it. Also picked up one of those Double D bags for it so I could just toss it in the back of the ute.

Got it home and actually read the manual (probably a first for me) and did some tests before swinging it in anger around my front yard. Our house is not really that old so I didn't expect to find anything but bits of wire and junk but I was pleasantly surprised! (Though it'll take some time to pay for itself.)

I did learn though that I can't dig a neat plug to save myself and need to practise ALOT before I venture out into public spaces! The lawn did get a good aerating though! Biggest lesson learnt was to know when to stop digging down after I pulled some flashing (probably from the house build) from about a foot down...I just couldn't stop myself until I found it! I'll have a go at posting a pic now...wish me luck!

 

[silver]

$6.50 is a top start Shane !
:Y: O :Y:

 

[golddiggerart]

Great start mate and the lawn will be fine...lol :Y:

 

[Goldpick]

Good to see someone has landed an AT Max at last, it should serve you well. Remember to utilise the pinpoint mode for target sizing, it should help prevent digging large objects at depth, especially if they sound good from the surface (ie large iron, roofing etc) . Most coins and desirable items will only pinpoint with a reasonably small cross section, both near surface and at depth.

Looking forward to your finds as you get used to the new detector.

 

[Heatho]

Nice start, I'm keen to see how you go with the max as well. With your plugs just cut 2 sides of a triangle and then lever the triangle up. I you still leave one side of the triangle attached the grass won't die, it's a great mothod for sportsfields but leave the highly manicutred areas alone and you should have no troubles once you perfect it. :Y:

 

[shane_vor]

Thanks for the encouragement and advice. Being a rookie I don't think my opinion on the Max would be as valuable as someone with more experience!
I went out today to a very trashy spot and had little luck then moved to some local parks/picnic areas, but the ground was so H A R D !!! Called that quits and returned home to re-think my approach. Ended up knocking up one of those plug digga spades thanks to Greenhornet's post, should make things a little easier.

 

[shane_vor]

Found this belt near an historic site. Gave it a quick scrub and it appears to be plated. Don't know whether it's silver or something else like nickel. I spent a couple of hours at a local park that I thought would yield heaps of coins, instead I cleaned up on can pulls and bottle tops. So I moved and within 15 minutes this belt came out of the ground. The first link was, I thought, a dog tag, but when I went back over the hole there was more left. Now I need to do some research...unless someone has seen this type of thing before???

 

[Ryan]

Very nice :Y:

I bet it made a racket when you came across it 8)

 

[silver]

Nice bit of kit she musta ripped off in a hurry for some reason shane ,..... maybe some good finds will come to light up against the nearest tree too ! :lol:
:Y: arty: :Y:

 

[shane_vor]

Definitely will have to pop back for another look.
This seems to possibly be a nickel/silver plated nurses belt post 1900 (but my google search skills are up there with my detecting skills!!! :lol: )

 

[golddiggerart]

Nice bit of kit she musta ripped off in a hurry for some reason shane ,..... maybe some good finds will come to light up against the nearest tree too ! :lol:
:Y: arty: :Y:

lol What are you suggesting mate hahaha... :Y:

Just going by the design Shane I'd put it around 1930ish... Good looking belt.

Edited: A search on Google for Antique Nurses Belt 1930s brought up these which is a good starting point...

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=...WjntHWAhUKnZQKHZYdCqwQsAQIJw&biw=1366&bih=637

 

[silver]

I was thinking she may have had to move someone into the shade and apply a tornaqeuate ]

 

[Goldtarget]

Ye old bottle tops and ring pulls....That will never end I'm sorry haha. But we all got to start somewhere....Fortunately there are a heap of guys who are regular coin shooters on here to help you out should you need it. They've given me plenty to learn watching them progress from novices to regulars to champions. You'll be popping out coins and treasure on a regular basis in no time!

All the best mate, looking forward to seeing what the max is capable of.

 

[Goldtarget]

Nice bit of kit she musta ripped off in a hurry for some reason shane ,..... maybe some good finds will come to light up against the nearest tree too ! :lol:
:Y: arty: :Y:

Never a dull moment with you around mate. Haha.

 

[Sandta]

Nice bit of kit she musta ripped off in a hurry for some reason shane ,..... maybe some good finds will come to light up against the nearest tree too ! :lol:
:Y: arty: :Y:

Never a dull moment with you around mate. Haha.

.... AND .... SO SAY ALL OF US ...
:Y: :lol:

 

[shane_vor]

Popped back to the ruin today for another run but before I could start I had to change the batteries. I ended up dropping the battery pack and broke off the bottom section! CARP! Nothing a bit of gaffer tape won't fix until I can get a new one...

Seemed like a rubbish removal day for me today, together with slicing a finger open foolishly digging in a trashy area without gloves, and I didn't get anything of any value.

I dug up a Dixi Cola can and, not being able to see the open end I took that home.One side had excellent colour and when cleaned up it was a can that was opened using a 'church key'. There was only one hole so I suspect it was drunk by a kid. I'd estimate late 60's or maybe early 70's in age.

The item pictured didn't look much but the non-ferrous disc and the ferrous shaft had my interest. I took a few hours to clean it up a bit and found the words 'meccano fabrique en angleterre'. Thankfully the internets has some Meccanonerds and we can date it to between 1921-30. So that was pretty cool. Valueless, but cool all the same.

I'm still having some trouble judging the size of objects, even with the pinpoint function. I found some really small bits of alloy and some large things too big to dig up and they all sound the same to me!

 

[Ryan]

The more you do something the better that you will be at it :Y:

Enjoy the experience and the time outside in the sunshine

 

[Goldpick]

Aside from the pinpoint mode, the normal tones have VCO which should give you a snapshot of how large/small (was called pro zero on the AT Pro), or or how shallow/deep the target is by the strength of the tone - just remember to slow down your swing speed when checking out targets in greater detail.

Most coins should only have a small footprint in both modes, especially the deeper ones. The difference between a coin and shallow junk will be down to how consistent/smooth the tones are, and the ID numbers should be repeatable and only vary by a couple of digits. Odd shaped items tend to offer a greater variation on the ID numbers, most VLF detectors will favour round shaped items, hence why some round iron objects can offer good tones when reasonably deep (as well as steel & alloy bottlecaps). Canslaw will sound good, though once again the numbers should not be consistent.

Steel caps should give off partial iron grunt on the extremities of the target (good tone when the cap is dead centre on the coil), the tones on steel caps will also degrade a lot quicker than say a coin when the coil is lifted and swung off the ground surface.

If on an older relic site, I tend to iog everything if there is no modern junk in the ground, as there are many interesting finds to be had all the way from around 40-99 on most VLF detectors -- anything below that is usually the foil range (or sometimes small gold items).

After digging enough junk targets, you will soon get a "feel" on whether to dig or not in most situations, fact is you will always dig the odd junk target even as a proficient operator.

 

[shane_vor]

Thanks GP, clearly I just need time on the machine. At least I think I have a good spot to learn on.

 

[shane_vor]

Finds for today.

A smashed up silverplate spoon with some (hall)marks on it, a glass bottle stopper and a silver coloured (screwdriver handle as my wife called it). A closer inspection reveals the words (SCH)RADER UNIVE(RSAL) VALVE TORONTO CAN. PATENT APPLIED FOR.

Can't find what it is yet, working on that.

(Edit: Nickel tyre valve dust cover possibly from an A Model Ford.)