New Zealand Gold Prospecting & Metal Detecting Forums Archive

Hi guys,

I too have been spending countless hours late at night watching people detecting and digging on YouTube/Discovery/NatGeo and have become somewhat interested in giving it a go. It got me to thinking, when I was younger my father had a home-made detector it wasn't very good, but he'd put coins (our pocket money) out on the lawn at surface level in long'ish grass and we'd have to find it, which I usually did.

We took it to the park and the beach a few times, but none of us really knew what we were doing, so it was pretty fruitless.

Oh, and.. I'm also another Chris, and I'm in Christchurch.

I'll break this into three parts, to try and cover bases.

One:
I'm on a pretty tight budget. I'm currently a stay-at-home dad, my wife is an ECE teacher and my daughter is nine months old. So we're living off of her income which is pretty tight, but not uncomfortable. I've seen people talking about detectors 'paying themselves off' pretty quickly, realistically though, does this happen and how many hours/days/weeks usually would you be looking at to pay off a low-end/starter detector?

Edit: Paying themselves off.. What items are generally the money makers, I'm assuming gold/silver rings, etc.. But what about all the coins that people find, do you sell them, and to who?

My previous hobby was RC Helicopters, which was pretty expensive but I really enjoyed the fine details of it and the patience involved in learning to fly in all orientations (even upside down) however, this isn't really the sort of thing I can do with a child. Carbon fiber blades spinning at 3,500RPM aren't the safest thing to have around children who want 'a closer look' at things.

So I was thinking about offloading some of this stuff, either selling or possibly trading for a detector? Not sure.

Two:
Whats a good way to start?
What detector should I be looking at (Garret 250, Fisher F2, something else) for finding coins, jewellery, etc in parks and at the beach?
What else would I need to get, or would make detecting easier?
Maybe someone has equipment that they no longer use that'd be a nice (cheap / or loanable) starting point?

Three:
Is there a modern/detailed 'getting started' guide somewhere that I've missed?

Thanks all in advance, I'll go read some more posts and watch some more videos while I wait for the knowledge to flow in!

Edited by user Friday, 2 August 2013 6:21:29 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Every detector I have bought has paid for itself easily in gold coins. Gold jewellery is harder to find as you need to dig lots of foil and pulltabs which have similar conductivity and show up in the same range.
I would be happy for you to try my F2 that is for sale one day to see what you think. Just give me a yell one nice day.

Hi Chris, I'm a newbie too, waiting on my detector to arrive in the post. I'm not doing this to get rich, this is an 'out' for me from everyday life, my time, and have fo und this forum helpful in making decisions about what to buy. It's all based around what YOU want to get out of this, and having a 9 month old, I'm guessing 'my time' is a factor, and hey you might be able to push that pram around while your doing it lol

Your correct "Don't Do It!"

For a start the package inc postage works out to be more then $400 and thus you will be charged 15% Gst.

Next those so called "extras" are rubbish. The trowel is plastic so useless unless you use it in the dry sand, the gloves are only a few dollars form the supermarket, those books won't help you much at all for detecting in NZ and the torch again is cheap as from the warehouse or bunnings etc. That leaves the pin pointer which just can't compare to a Propointer or Profind.

Lastly for the same price if you want a F2 - buy from http://www.puiakisupply.co.nz/ for $350 and if you still want one of those pin pointers then just add $60 to your order. Advantage is that you will have warranty backing from not only a NZ company but also the owners are members of this forum (not me by the way).

I have nothing against buying overseas and did so for my detectors, but not from Amazon when you can get it just as cheap here in NZ.

For the Fisher and Minelab range then yes I consider the local official dealers to be better value then most overseas suppliers. Garrett, Whites and the other makes it will probably work out better value from overseas.

Before I got the Lesche (that "Rambo Knife") I was using a aluminium trowel that I filed down - worked OK but wore out fast and had to be very careful not to break it. But it was something to start off with and once the modern coins mounted up I invested them in a Lesche.

For the gloves get a pair of those clothe ones that have the underside & fingers coated in rubber, cheap and work well (not as thick & cumbersome as leather yet still good protection from bits of sharp metal) .

Edited by user Saturday, 3 August 2013 9:13:41 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Good advice as usual by Shilo

I used a cheap putty knife from Bunnings then serrated it they are like $3.90
I have only just replaced it with another slightly firmer putty knife that was just under $10
The green one rusted because I forgot to clean mud off it opps
Lesche will happen one day...

May have missed this as I just skim read but for a pointer I'd advise going for a Garrett Pro-pointer and not a cheapo one like the fisher/bounty hunter they are better than nothing but barely.

Edited by user Sunday, 4 August 2013 10:10:56 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

I wouldnt bother too much about wet sand as the beaches here dont get used enough to warrant it. Ive never heard of ppl getting much at chch beaches.

After getting the Goldbug, I realised just how good the F2 is. I havnt found anything the F2 wouldnt have gotten but the small gold will get picked up by Goldbug which is the point I guess.

Oh I don't know about that, if people swim or spend time on the beaches then there will be finds to be had. Its just a matter of learning the beaches being at the right place at the right time to take advantage of any erosion. The Christchurch beaches have been used for a long time as well:

http://christchurchcitylibraries.com/Heritage/Photos/Disc8/IMG0075.asp

i liked the f2 when i got it have upgraded twice and think i still would be finding the same stuff with the f2,it has good discrimination and competes with more expensive detectors,yes get a garrett pro pointer over a 11' coil and those putty knives that guardian posted work great,cheers guardian,then just find good locations and find the treasure
gl and hh

Edited by user Monday, 5 August 2013 12:56:48 AM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

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Edited by user Sunday, 11 August 2013 11:10:18 AM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified