I have been detecting since I was 9 years old and have owned 5 detectors over the years with number five being the E-TRAC. I had left the hobby for various reasons and at the time it was an easy choice since I was getting frustrated digging for an entire day and going home with $2 clad.
A few years back when technology started getting better, I was curious but not ready to plop down that kind of money if my heart was not really in it. last year I was watching YouTube videos and started to get the bug again and finally settled on a cheap model just to get me started again. I was not of course finding the old silvers like the experts so I started doing my online research and ended up going with the Minelab E-TRAC.
This month makes a year that I have owned it and the first few months were rough learning for me. I finally got the E-TRAC book by Andy Sabisch and things started to make more sense.
Fast forward to today. My goal this year was to find 30 silvers coins and as of today's find, I am at # 40. I was finding lots of silver dimes and quarters but had never found a silver half.
Through a series of events today arising from denied permissions at several locations, I ended up at an old park that is so worked over, after 7 or 8 times there, I had never even found a wheat cent and was lucky after an entire day to come away with $1 clad.
I set my sensitivity way up and was going real super slow when I came across a barely audible signal pegging the 12 " depth. I dug for several minutes and my hand held pinpointer got a hit. I went behind it with my shovel and there sitting on edge at 12" deep was a 1951 S Franklin Half dollar coin. My heart was pumping as I had always dreamed of finding one of those coins and what a way to end 2012. When I hear that the Minelab products truly do not even get bothered by the words "Worked out park" it really makes sense now.
Thank you Minelab and thanks again Andy Sabisch for writing a book that helps even people like me with little patience get the hang of it.
Good luck to everyone and fill in those holes.
TreasureJack - FL, USA