Spent $400 on a metal detector for a dig and it was a total game changer

I was working on a volunteer dig at a site near Austin, and the lead archaeologist said surface finds were getting thin. I dropped about $400 on a decent mid-range metal detector after reading some reviews. Found three colonial-era buttons and a musket ball in areas we'd already cleared by hand. Honestly thought it was a waste at first, but it paid off. Anyone have tips for calibrating one for different soil types?

3 comments

3 Comments

webb.stella2d ago

Totally get what you mean about it paying off. Dropped cash on a similar model last year for a site in Georgia and was shocked. Went over a spot we'd already sifted and pulled up a bent spoon and a couple of flat buttons, stuff we totally missed. @emery152 is spot on about ground balancing, that's the real trick. The red clay down there had my machine screaming until I figured out the manual setting. Spent a whole morning just tweaking it over a patch of clean dirt, but once it was dialed in, the signals got so much clearer.

emery15223d ago

Wait, colonial-era stuff near Austin? That's throwing me off. Texas was Spanish territory back then, not really a colonial British site. Maybe they're Republic of Texas period buttons from later? Or maybe you meant a different site. Anyway, for soil, you gotta ground balance it. My buddy does this and says mineralized dirt, like red clay, will make it chirp like crazy if you don't adjust it right. He sets his machine over clean ground and lets it auto-tune, or does it manually if the soil's really hot.

thompson.xena23d ago

Actually, Spanish colonial is still colonial era. That's early 1700s stuff. Missions, presidios, that whole deal. Found a Spanish real coin once near an old camino. Ground balancing is key though, you're right. That red clay is brutal. Manual balance saves the hunt.