Starting Out - Which Metal Detector to Choose?
Firstly I had to decide which Metal Detector to purchase, I looked at various reviews and forums and came to the conclusion I would buy the Altai Treasure Seeker 6 Professional Metal Detector, as pictured above. I remember the excitement of opening the box when it was delivered and waving it around the house at metal objects to make sure it worked!
As I was only a beginner I thought it best to opt for a Metal Detector that wasn't too expensive but had good reviews and this one did. I found it quite easy to use after reading the instructions a couple of times and managed to find a few items straight away. I have also purchased a heavy duty shovel for my metal detecting as well as a smaller one.
As my house doesn't have much of a garden, I went straight to mums to dig up hers (oh the joy in her eyes when I told her my plan!) I would suggest any newbies try in their or a relatives garden first because it was embarassing enough using the device for the first time with the instuction booklet in one hand and the device in the other and that was only in front of mum! However I endured the embarrassment and to my amazement my detector started beeping like mad so the shovel came out as well as a big chunk of mums garden, unfortunately I just couldn't find anything at this spot, it could have been further down but I didn't want to destroy her lawn too much so I moved on. I then found another spot and found my first artefact, after several digs of the shovel I discovered half of a horseshoe. I'd never been so excited to see a chunk of metal before!
So, then the choice of how to clean item arises. Unfortunately the horseshoe was rather rusty and corroded already so I didn't want to make it any worse by using any chemicals although those methods are not usually suggested anyway so I ran it under some warm water and carefully removed any loose mud/dirt. I still didn't find it clean enough for my liking to be able to identify or see much of anything so I did some further research.
After looking into various cleaning methods I decided to purchase an Ultrasonic Cleaner, again after reading reviews and forums I decided to purchase the Ultra 7000 Ultrasonic Cleaner, as seen at the top of this page. Initially I decided to use the most gentle method of cleaning using this device which was adding warm water and a few drops of washing up liquid along with the desired item to clean. After about five consecutive 3 minute washes I could see a nice difference to my horseshoe and the water was now rather murky with bits of rust and metal at the bottom - this made me feel like it had done a good job! You can see a picture and further info on this first horseshoe find on my other page.
You can also use two different chemicals with the Ultra 7000. Sea Clean Concentrate is the one I am planning to purchase as I don't want to use the more hardcore metal cleaning chemical in case it damages any of my finds.
I have also purchased a 60x mini Pocket Magnifier Microscope Loupe with LED light + UV Currency detector (Pictured Below) - this is meant to be good for looking at details on coins so I can hopefully identify what the coin actually is, as and when I find one.
As I was only a beginner I thought it best to opt for a Metal Detector that wasn't too expensive but had good reviews and this one did. I found it quite easy to use after reading the instructions a couple of times and managed to find a few items straight away. I have also purchased a heavy duty shovel for my metal detecting as well as a smaller one.
As my house doesn't have much of a garden, I went straight to mums to dig up hers (oh the joy in her eyes when I told her my plan!) I would suggest any newbies try in their or a relatives garden first because it was embarassing enough using the device for the first time with the instuction booklet in one hand and the device in the other and that was only in front of mum! However I endured the embarrassment and to my amazement my detector started beeping like mad so the shovel came out as well as a big chunk of mums garden, unfortunately I just couldn't find anything at this spot, it could have been further down but I didn't want to destroy her lawn too much so I moved on. I then found another spot and found my first artefact, after several digs of the shovel I discovered half of a horseshoe. I'd never been so excited to see a chunk of metal before!
So, then the choice of how to clean item arises. Unfortunately the horseshoe was rather rusty and corroded already so I didn't want to make it any worse by using any chemicals although those methods are not usually suggested anyway so I ran it under some warm water and carefully removed any loose mud/dirt. I still didn't find it clean enough for my liking to be able to identify or see much of anything so I did some further research.
After looking into various cleaning methods I decided to purchase an Ultrasonic Cleaner, again after reading reviews and forums I decided to purchase the Ultra 7000 Ultrasonic Cleaner, as seen at the top of this page. Initially I decided to use the most gentle method of cleaning using this device which was adding warm water and a few drops of washing up liquid along with the desired item to clean. After about five consecutive 3 minute washes I could see a nice difference to my horseshoe and the water was now rather murky with bits of rust and metal at the bottom - this made me feel like it had done a good job! You can see a picture and further info on this first horseshoe find on my other page.
You can also use two different chemicals with the Ultra 7000. Sea Clean Concentrate is the one I am planning to purchase as I don't want to use the more hardcore metal cleaning chemical in case it damages any of my finds.
I have also purchased a 60x mini Pocket Magnifier Microscope Loupe with LED light + UV Currency detector (Pictured Below) - this is meant to be good for looking at details on coins so I can hopefully identify what the coin actually is, as and when I find one.