Below are a series of links to forum topics and guides that are helpful to anyone starting out in the hobby. It may be that you posed a query and were directed here to find the answer, but if you take time to look through the other topics as well as the one you want you'll no doubt find it worthwhile.
We all entered detecting as beginners with little if any knowledge so if you don't find the answer to your specific question here then never be afraid to ask. This forum is famed for its friendly, knowledgeable and helpful members and someone will be along to answer.
Please click on the links (in blue) provided below for information on the various topics.
All sections (subforums) referred to are in the blue panel to the left.
How does the forum work?
To get an idea of how the forum operates then please take a few minutes to acquainting yourself with our Forum Guide (this can be found in the panel under the MDF banner on the main page as well as the blue panel to the left).
Our Rules can also be found there.
It would also benefit you to look at our Forum Etiquette topic so you get to understand where we're coming from, man, kinda fing.
Where do I start?
First off, why not introduce yourself in the Introduce yourself section? Include a bit about yourself, and you can be assured of a warm welcome. But hey, don't worry if you're nervous of this sort of thing - it's by no means compulsory, just a way of breaking the ice if you're of a mind to.
Which detector should I get?
Have a look at Which detector?
It will also benefit you to find out how a detector works and this guide will help you.
If you find a machine you're interested in, to investigate further there are subforums on the useage of all the main detectors and another one with reviews on them.
Where can I use it?
Before you use your detector you'll obviously need somewhere to use it, known as a 'permission'. There is a subforum entitled Permissions with many useful hints and tips on how to go about gaining permission, both on beach and land, and we have this excellent Guide to gaining permissions which sums up what you can do to help secure one.
If you'd like to get started by detecting beaches, we have a subforum on that and you should take a look at the Crown Estate site to see where you can detect by permissive right. Beaches outside the Crown Estate are owned by someone and you will require specific permission as you do on land.
I'd like someone to detect with
Some like to learn their detecting skills by themselves and others prefer the company of someone more experienced. If you'd like someone to detect with (for whatever reason) we have a Buddy up section and please be sure to read the excellent Finding a buddy is like finding a date stickied post at the head of the section which will go a long way in helping you find someone to detect with.
Identification of finds
So now you have your detector and somewhere to use it. You're going to start finding stuff. How can you get help find out what it is? Simple - just ask in the Finds ID section! But there are things we need from you first and you'll find this ID Request Guide covers what you need to do, including:
- The HAMMY code (information required from you)
- Resizing images: no longer required
- Uploading images (also found here)
TIP: hit the "Preview" button to make sure your images have uploaded before submitting.
Finally
Any help you require is only a short post away, so all you need do is ask. Don't forget that if someone helps or comments it's always polite to thank them, which can be done either in words or by pressing the "thanks" button (the thumbs-up icon which appears in every post) or preferably both!
Thanks for looking and we hope that you enjoy your time here
The Admin Team.