Comprehensive Guide to Choosing Your First Metal Detector: What You Need to Know Choosing your first metal detector can feel overwhelming with so many options out there. You want gear that’s easy to use and built to last, so your first finds bring pure joy—not frustration. This guide breaks down everything you need to know about metal detectors for beginners, helping you pick the perfect kit. Ready to start your adventure? Let’s explore how Ok John Metal Detectors makes your first metal detector purchase simple and exciting! Understanding Metal Detectors for Beginners Nokta Triple Score Starting your metal detecting adventure is like stepping into a world of hidden treasures. Let’s dive into the essentials you need to know. Basics of Metal Detecting Metal detecting is more than a hobby; it's a doorway to history. You hold the power to uncover coins, relics, and even lost treasures. The detector sends out a signal, and when it hits metal, it bounces back, creating a beep. This sim...

Top 5 Tips Every New Treasure Hunter Needs to know So, you’ve decided to become a treasure hunter. Nice.  No map? No pirate ship? No problem. Metal detecting is basically modern-day treasure hunting… just with less rum and more holes in the ground. Whether you're chasing coins, relics, or that mystery beep that turns out to be a bottle cap , here’s how to get started the right way. 1. Getting Started (AKA: What Did I Just Buy?) Walking into metal detecting for the first time can feel like opening a spaceship manual. Start simple. Learn what your detector actually does before you go full Indiana Jones. Different machines are built for different styles, parks, beaches, old sites, so pick one that matches where you plan to hunt. Pro tip: If it has 47 buttons… you probably don’t need 46 of them yet. 2. Gear Up Without Looking Like a Fool You don’t need a truckload of gear, but a few essentials will save your sanity: A beginner-friendly detector (easy to use = more finds, les...

  3 Steps to Boost Your Next Treasure Hunt (and not look like a total rookie) Alright, so you wanna hit a metal detecting event and actually find stuff instead of just collecting bottle caps like it’s your full-time job? Here’s how to not mess it up: Packing Essentials (aka don’t be that guy) Nothing ruins a hunt faster than your detector dying 10 minutes in. Bring extra batteries. Seriously. Also toss in snacks, water, and maybe a tiny first-aid kit in case you aggressively attack the ground and lose. Hat? Yes. Sunscreen? Also yes. Looking like a lobster halfway through the hunt is not part of the strategy. Choosing the Right Equipment (your detector matters… a lot) Not all detectors are built the same. If you're at a beach, don’t bring something that panics near water. If you're in the woods, you want something that can actually find stuff buried under 100 years of bad decisions. Also… maybe check your gear BEFORE you leave. Revolutionary idea, I know. I went out once ...

If you’ve been swinging the Minelab Equinox long enough, chances are your coil ears may eventually crack or break — and, let’s be honest, it usually happens after the warranty runs out . Don’t panic — this blog post walks you through how I repaired my 11" Equinox coil ears using Plastic Bonder JB Weld , a strong two-part epoxy. It’s a simple, inexpensive fix — and I’ve included photos for each step (which you’ll find below). What You’ll Need: Plastic Bonder JB Weld (2-part epoxy for plastic) Toothpick or small stick (for mixing and applying) Cardboard (for coil ear spacing and mixing) Rubbing alcohol (for cleaning) Paper towel or cloth Optional: painter’s tape or clamp Gloves (recommended) Step 1: Clean the Area Thoroughly Before doing any repairs, clean around the broken ear with rubbing alcohol to remove dirt, oils, and dust. Let it dry completely. Step 2: Mix the Plastic Bonder JB Weld Squeeze equal parts of the resin and hardener onto a piece of ca...

 Alright, so here’s the deal—I’ve always been a stock coil kinda guy . My Minelab Equinox 800 came with the standard coil, and I happily swung it around for years, digging up everything from silver coins to… deeply disappointing aluminum can shards. Then, two seasons ago, I thought, Hey, what if I go smaller? So, I slapped on the 6” coil , hoping it would help me snipe out coins and relics in trashy areas. And guess what? It totally worked. That little thing was like a surgical tool —weaving between bottle caps, iron nails, and whatever else people have been littering since 1884. I was pulling better finds, but… not necessarily more finds. Depth? Meh. Coverage? Laughable. I basically had to grid an area like I was mowing a lawn with nail clippers. Go Big or Go Home (or Just Keep Digging Forever) So this season, I’m flipping the script. Goodbye, tiny sniper coil. Hello, absolute monster. I went out and picked up the Minelab 15” Coil (3011-0464) —which is roughly the size of ...

  You’d think finding money in the ground would be easy, right? Wrong. You finally got your hands on a Minelab Equinox 800 , fired it up, and went hunting, expecting to come home with pockets full of loonies and toonies. Instead, you’ve got a collection of bottle caps, pull-tabs, and what may or may not be an ancient piece of tinfoil . Welcome to the wonderful world of metal detecting in Canada, where our coins are made of nickel-plated trickery , and your detector spends most of its time having a mental breakdown trying to tell the difference between cash and trash. Why Canadian Coins Are Basically Metal Detecting Trolls First of all, nickel is the worst . Unlike copper or silver, it’s terrible at conducting electricity, which means your detector struggles to get a clean, solid reading. Instead, the numbers on your Equinox 800’s screen bounce around like a squirrel on an energy drink , making it nearly impossible to tell if you’ve found a toonie or just a rusty bottle cap from ...

So, you just picked up a Garrett Vortex , and you’re ready to hit the ground running—literally. You’re pumped, visions of lost treasures (or at least a handful of loonies and toonies) dancing in your head. But after an hour? Nothing but bottle caps, old nails, and a weird piece of metal that might be from an alien spacecraft… or just a rusty bolt. Canadian coins are weird . If you’ve ever tried detecting them, you already know they’re basically the ninjas of the metal detecting world —sneaky, hard to find, and way too good at hiding in plain sight. That’s because, unlike American coins that behave nicely for metal detectors, post-2000 Canadian coins are mostly nickel-plated steel , which makes them way harder to pick up. Why is the Vortex VX9 Struggling to Find Your Loonies? Blame the nickel. Nickel is terrible. It has low conductivity, which means your detector has to work extra hard just to notice it. Add in the steel core that a lot of Canadian coins have, and suddenly, your V...