MDF Guide
Welcome to the MDF forum guide.
Here you’ll find quick links to the questions we often get asked. We hope it makes locating the in-depth guides a little easier for you.
Writing everything in one guide does make this site look much more complicated than it is. So if you are new just go and explore the site. Once you are ready to introduce yourself and get involved then you’ll know this guide is here for when you need it.
Have fun!
The MDF team
What’s included in this guide:
• Site rules and the MDF team
• New members – some tips
• Asking for an ID
• Posting pictures on the site
• Tips on other things
• Other things worth knowing
Site rules and the MDF team
The forum rules can be found here.
The forum team are easily identifiable by the colour of their names. Mrix owns the site, his name appears in red. The moderators’ names are green. A list of the MDF team can be found here.
The team are happy to help members where they can, but remember they are all volunteers and appreciate it if you can try and find the answer to your question yourself before contacting them.
New members - some tips
Introduce yourself - A lot of people find that a great place to make their first post on the forum is in the Introducing yourself section. here.
Choosing a metal detector - a great guide can be found here. Read the comments on this post for the latest views on good starter machines.
The importance of finding land before buying a machine - advice on this can be found here.
Getting a buddy - if you want to go detecting with someone then there’s a whole section here
Researching sites and finds - there a brilliant section offering advice here. It includes a positive treasure trove of information from links to maps, to guides on everything from coins to buckles, seals to hoards, lost roads to Roman Britain, and everything inbetween. Be warned you may lose hours or days of your life once you get engrossed in this section!!!
Acronyms and detecting terms - like all areas of life there’s a whole new set of words to learn and terms shortened to a few letters to decipher. Confused? Go here to find a metal detecting jargon guide.
Want somewhere to detect? - to find your own place to detect (called a permission) you might want some help. The Permissions section has some great advice, including a permission guide. Alternative you might want to go to a dig where you pay for a days detecting. The Rallies section has loads of advice and details of events. Or go to the master calendar where there is a month by month list. It’s not exhaustive but it is pretty extensive!
Remember every piece of land is owned by someone. This site has zero tolerance to illegal detecting (often called nighthawking) so you must get the permission of the landowner (not just the tenant farmer if there is one) to legally detect.
Please post in the right section - The site is carefully designed to help you find information easily. Think, before you post a new topic, where it should go so others can find it. The moderators spend a lot of time moving posts to the right section of the forum so your posts aren’t lost forever. Please help us to keep the forum an easy and useful resource for everyone.
Before you ask a question....try using the search option to see if your question has been asked before; it is also great for finding that post you saw ages ago and now need.
It is really important that all new members make at least one post on the forum in their first month of membership. Otherwise their account will be closed.
This is to encourage all members to participate in the forum. Once you’ve posted once your OK though as your account won’t be closed then, even if you never do another post again (although we really hope you do!) ::g
Asking for an ID
There is a brilliant guide to find everything you might need to know when asking for an ID. This includes a guide to what you should include in your ID post (the HAMMY code).
Posting pictures
There are 2 options for doing this:
Posting pictures directly onto the MDF site using the attachment feature
• If you choose this route you will be restricted to posting 8 images per day .
• For guidance on adding photos to your post directly on the site please go here.
Using a hosting site
• There are no restrictions on the number of photographs added by members if you chose to use a hosting site.
• You will need to upload your photographs to a hosting site; most make this an easy process.
• You will then need to embed your photographs into your post. By doing this the photos will appear as images in your post. Please do not just add a link to your photographs. This requires the forum members to click through to a third party site which can be very frustrating and reduces the responses to your post.
• There are numerous hosting sites available such as ImageShack flickr and imgur and they will have a guide on how to upload and link.
• You might find this detailed guide on how to upload, crop and resize using Imgur useful.
A guide to taking good photos can be found here.
Tips on other things We get regular requests for help on a multitude of tasks, from how to crop pics, repair broken stems, sort out broken laptops, upload ID pics, make a wi-fi set up, customise your equipment, camera problems, detecting for beginners and on and on....
The Tips & DIY section has loads of advice and money saving ideas.
Other things worth knowing
Some sections of the forum do not show up on the home page - Sometimes it’s fun to get involved in topics that don’t fit easily into one of the other forum areas, aren’t strictly about metal detecting or are just a bit more fun. The Lounge forum offers these type of posts. But topics posted in this part of the site will not appear on the recent topic list of the home page, so don’t forget to check out the lounge section for New posts made.
Private messages - (called PMs for short) are a way for you to communicate privately with another forum member. If you have a message the private messages link will flash at you. Click on the link and your messages will appear. When you send a message you can tell if it has been received when the message is no longer sitting in your Outbox. But if the recipient doesn’t open it then it will just sit there.
Keeping the forum family friendly - Swearing is a no no as is anything else that could offend. Please remember that we have a zero tolerance to bullying or inappropriate content in all areas of the forum, and this includes private messages. To report any topics, individual posts or messages that you feel breach the forum rules just press the exclamation mark to the right of the message or post title.
Showing appreciation - This forum is only as good as the people who use it. Many people spend hours every week researching people's finds for them or offering advice, guidance and encouragement. Please don’t forget to say thank you :D .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roLuWbWumpI Direct link to Youtube Video - Metal Detecting Guide
Here you’ll find quick links to the questions we often get asked. We hope it makes locating the in-depth guides a little easier for you.
Writing everything in one guide does make this site look much more complicated than it is. So if you are new just go and explore the site. Once you are ready to introduce yourself and get involved then you’ll know this guide is here for when you need it.
Have fun!
The MDF team
What’s included in this guide:
• Site rules and the MDF team
• New members – some tips
• Asking for an ID
• Posting pictures on the site
• Tips on other things
• Other things worth knowing
Site rules and the MDF team
The forum rules can be found here.
The forum team are easily identifiable by the colour of their names. Mrix owns the site, his name appears in red. The moderators’ names are green. A list of the MDF team can be found here.
The team are happy to help members where they can, but remember they are all volunteers and appreciate it if you can try and find the answer to your question yourself before contacting them.
New members - some tips
Introduce yourself - A lot of people find that a great place to make their first post on the forum is in the Introducing yourself section. here.
Choosing a metal detector - a great guide can be found here. Read the comments on this post for the latest views on good starter machines.
The importance of finding land before buying a machine - advice on this can be found here.
Getting a buddy - if you want to go detecting with someone then there’s a whole section here
Researching sites and finds - there a brilliant section offering advice here. It includes a positive treasure trove of information from links to maps, to guides on everything from coins to buckles, seals to hoards, lost roads to Roman Britain, and everything inbetween. Be warned you may lose hours or days of your life once you get engrossed in this section!!!
Acronyms and detecting terms - like all areas of life there’s a whole new set of words to learn and terms shortened to a few letters to decipher. Confused? Go here to find a metal detecting jargon guide.
Want somewhere to detect? - to find your own place to detect (called a permission) you might want some help. The Permissions section has some great advice, including a permission guide. Alternative you might want to go to a dig where you pay for a days detecting. The Rallies section has loads of advice and details of events. Or go to the master calendar where there is a month by month list. It’s not exhaustive but it is pretty extensive!
Remember every piece of land is owned by someone. This site has zero tolerance to illegal detecting (often called nighthawking) so you must get the permission of the landowner (not just the tenant farmer if there is one) to legally detect.
Please post in the right section - The site is carefully designed to help you find information easily. Think, before you post a new topic, where it should go so others can find it. The moderators spend a lot of time moving posts to the right section of the forum so your posts aren’t lost forever. Please help us to keep the forum an easy and useful resource for everyone.
Before you ask a question....try using the search option to see if your question has been asked before; it is also great for finding that post you saw ages ago and now need.
It is really important that all new members make at least one post on the forum in their first month of membership. Otherwise their account will be closed.
This is to encourage all members to participate in the forum. Once you’ve posted once your OK though as your account won’t be closed then, even if you never do another post again (although we really hope you do!) ::g
Asking for an ID
There is a brilliant guide to find everything you might need to know when asking for an ID. This includes a guide to what you should include in your ID post (the HAMMY code).
Posting pictures
There are 2 options for doing this:
Posting pictures directly onto the MDF site using the attachment feature
• If you choose this route you will be restricted to posting 8 images per day .
• For guidance on adding photos to your post directly on the site please go here.
Using a hosting site
• There are no restrictions on the number of photographs added by members if you chose to use a hosting site.
• You will need to upload your photographs to a hosting site; most make this an easy process.
• You will then need to embed your photographs into your post. By doing this the photos will appear as images in your post. Please do not just add a link to your photographs. This requires the forum members to click through to a third party site which can be very frustrating and reduces the responses to your post.
• There are numerous hosting sites available such as ImageShack flickr and imgur and they will have a guide on how to upload and link.
• You might find this detailed guide on how to upload, crop and resize using Imgur useful.
A guide to taking good photos can be found here.
Tips on other things We get regular requests for help on a multitude of tasks, from how to crop pics, repair broken stems, sort out broken laptops, upload ID pics, make a wi-fi set up, customise your equipment, camera problems, detecting for beginners and on and on....
The Tips & DIY section has loads of advice and money saving ideas.
Other things worth knowing
Some sections of the forum do not show up on the home page - Sometimes it’s fun to get involved in topics that don’t fit easily into one of the other forum areas, aren’t strictly about metal detecting or are just a bit more fun. The Lounge forum offers these type of posts. But topics posted in this part of the site will not appear on the recent topic list of the home page, so don’t forget to check out the lounge section for New posts made.
Private messages - (called PMs for short) are a way for you to communicate privately with another forum member. If you have a message the private messages link will flash at you. Click on the link and your messages will appear. When you send a message you can tell if it has been received when the message is no longer sitting in your Outbox. But if the recipient doesn’t open it then it will just sit there.
Keeping the forum family friendly - Swearing is a no no as is anything else that could offend. Please remember that we have a zero tolerance to bullying or inappropriate content in all areas of the forum, and this includes private messages. To report any topics, individual posts or messages that you feel breach the forum rules just press the exclamation mark to the right of the message or post title.
Showing appreciation - This forum is only as good as the people who use it. Many people spend hours every week researching people's finds for them or offering advice, guidance and encouragement. Please don’t forget to say thank you :D .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roLuWbWumpI Direct link to Youtube Video - Metal Detecting Guide