Metal detecting guides

Metal detecting starts with permission for the exact ground, not a promising signal. Use this field index to move from buying and setup to responsible searching and recording. Every guide below leads to more specific routes, so you can follow the question you actually have rather than reading a long undifferentiated list.

A useful first route

If you are new, read the first-day field plan and permission checklist before buying extras. Then choose a machine for the ground you are likely to search, not an advertised maximum depth. Our beginner detector comparison explains the main trade-offs.

Choose the next guide by the problem

If wet sand is noisy, compare wet and dry beach ground with multi-frequency and single-frequency operation. If a field produces uncertain signals, work through ground balance and false-signal diagnosis. For an unusual object, record it first and check the Treasure reporting route where applicable.