We discuss the pros and cons of every detector in the books but often overlook the simple fact that we can optimize our detector to increase our finds with a very small modification. I belong to a local nearby club and have the opportunity to observe the detecting habits of everyone in the club when we go to club sponsored functions. I noticed that it is possible for me to cover almost twice as much ground in the same amount of time by extending my rod all of the way and keeping low which allows the coil to sweep a path of eight foot! Most only cover a path of 18 inches to a little over 24 inches.
You can see that it is easy to get a better score when you are covering more target area. I have heard over and over "just slow down and you will find something" and that would be true if I were using many of the newer detectors which will not permit you to detect at any higher speed than a crawl. It seems like the more they charge for them the slower they get. My detector will sweep as F-A-S-T as I can swing it and still detect the deeper coins, better fast, I think, than slow. That would be my prime concern if I was to look for another detector.
I see folks who make many sweep mistakes by either sweeping the coil like a pendulum and lifting it off the ground at the ends of the sweep, or only making baby sweeps. This is OK, I guess, if you are just wasting time and having fun but I have a little more fun when I am finding things. When I am detecting a beach I have noticed where the better finds are located that there are a lot more coins around. This means that it has been overlooked by other detectorists and it is also more likely to find jewelry where the most coins are. This week I found a patch of coins fairly thick and also found two gold rings within 50 feet of them! I must have covered five to seven miles of beach with my eight foot swing and didn't find much of anything anywhere else. If I had moved at a slower more comfortable speed and swung the loop a couple of feet then I would never have covered a fraction of that area much less find the gold rings! If you want to find goodies then you are going to have to work for them.
Now it is really easy for me to say sweep eight feet but most of you are probably taller than me (a detecting disability) and if you extend your rod you can barely reach the ground. My experience shows me that the tall guys have a problem with this and may have to detect while hunched over causing a big backache. I suggest that you purchase or manufacture a long rod which will give you the ability to make very large sweeps. Your finds will pickup as soon as you do this. You may have a coil that has a shortened wire(some do) but you can go to the local electronics store and buy a connector for a patch cord to reach your detector. If the wire is shielded then make sure to buy a length of shielded wire for the patch.
The best benefit of detecting (for me at least) is that walking three to five miles a day keeps me strong and fit, and to tell you the truth I just can't make myself go out and mindlessly trot around a jogging path. It is just too boring for me but just let me find a field full of quarters and I'll hunt all day! I will argue with anyone about whats the best exercise because I walk as fast as I can swinging as fast as I can and as wide as I can, and I believe that is a lot more exercise than trotting around the path and it works for me.
Try sometime (if your detector will allow you) to squat low and hold the detector low and swing the coil low and fast to see how much more area you will cover than your previous method. If I am detecting an area as small as a football field then I will walk fast and swing fast but allow my sweep to overlap some so I cover 100% of the field. I work a pattern and cover it all, but when I am at the beach I have unlimited area and I will walk fast and swing fast without trying to overlap but I am scanning for hot spots like the one with the coins and gold rings. When I find a hot spot THEN I slow down to a crawl and make VERY sure that I don't overlook anything. When you find a hotspot then dig everything if you want to find the rings and jewelry. In three and a half days this week I have found over seven dollars in change and three rings in places that other hunters describe as worked out.
