Metal Detecting Lingo Glossary

[Goldmiser]

Thank you Carol, very new at this, so knowing the lingo will be a great asset. Also enjoying reading all the posts they're informative and hilarious.

 

[tylerb_drums]

freakin heck! - you just found piece of trash that read just like a coin

freakin crap! - memorial penny

freakin stupid, darn it! crap. (mutters) - you just dug a huge hole with a clear signal that dissappeared

party! - you found silver


haha

 

[Hedy1975]

Thank God you posted this? I've been on here all day and had no idea what most of these people were talking about. lol. I was

 

[Redd]

I use a coupla terms.

Dummole...As in "It's a dummole zinc penny

Wonky...A signal that flips between sweet and crap.

 

[UncleTykie]

What is FOB?

Metal Detecting Lingo Glossary for Newbies

This is a list of some of the metal detecting lingo adopted by detectorists as they pursue their hobby, this list is not complete, but I have gathered the most commonly used words identifying them as I understand them. Feel free to post more or correct some because I know I may have missed some.

HH - happy hunting
MDing - metal detecting
TH'ing - treasure hunting
tector - metal detector

clad - any US coin that is "sandwiched" with alloys of different metals.
merc - mercury dime
rosie - silver roosevelt dime
wheatie - wheat back cent
injun - indian head cent
IH - indian head cent
Walker - Walking Liberty Half Dollar
cartwheel - silver dollar
mint mark - a special mark placed on coins to let you know where or who made it.

coinshooters - detectorist who look mainly for coins
beach hunters - detectorists who mainly hunt beaches
relic hunters - detectorists who hunt mainly woods

probe - A tool to pinpoint the target while still in ground
the machine - your detector
digger - the tool used to dig your targets
topsoil - first 4 inches of ground

hipmount - mounting the control box of your detector with a belt on your waist
display - the target identification on your detector
ground balance - adjusting the detector to the mineralization in the soil
disc - ability of your detector to reject unwanted metal
tweak it - adjusting the detector
whispers - low, barely audible tones
beep beep - the sound certain detectors make.

dig it - just dig it up
find - something you found
finds - the good stuff you found
multi-targs - an area with a lot of targets
keepers - the targets that you keep whether good or bad
cache - a large amount of coins or jewelry buried together in a container
nice haul - a comment on your great finds
thingy - something you find and don't know what it is
sand stuff - normal trash you find in the sand
globola - a black corroded glob
black gunk - in the water where the sand don't move
snippers and snappers - small items you find

hunting - grabbing your detector and going!
newbie - someone new at the hobby
loner - a detectorist that doesn't belong to a club
seeded hunt - a hunt where the the finds have been scattered or planted

dry sand - The sand people lay there blankets and lawn chairs
wet sand - The high tide line to the low tide line, at low tide
blanket line - first 10 ft in the dry sand, from the high tide line
gridding the beach - detecting using a pattern as you walk along, most common is "straight" or "circular"
hot rock - a black volcanic rock, meteorite, or a rock that gives a off a metallic signal
erosion - a part of the beach that will strip right down to bedrock.
black sand - iron particles that are so small they look like sand

coil - the round thing at the end of your detector
WOT coil - a 15 inch coil made by Coil Tech, for Minelab detectors
hard wired - a modification or quick fix to your detector
swingin' coil time - the amount of time you spent detecting
pulseor PI - a waterproof detector that locates all metal targets
VLF - auto discriminates against iron
Target ID - a meter or display that shows you what your target might be.
Tone ID - different sounds identifying different target's sounds

--------------------------------------------

wwhikersfriend says... your forgot a few Carol buddy...

o crap=briar vine in face
omg!=SNAKE
Holey S**T=accidentally set your volume switch wide open
and OH NO=someone walking up to you real fast with a mean look on there face!

----------------------------------------------------

Leslie(Nova Scotia) adds... From the land of the Bluenose...have to add a few that we use in Atlantic Canada and other parts of the country
Vicky.....any coin with the bust of Queen Victoria on it usually from the years 1858 to around 1900
swish...water dig
go for a dig....going metal detecting
fish scale...a small silver nickel made up to 1921
Tim's....the major coffe/donut chain in Canada
bouy....a close friend
twoonie...our two dollar coin
loonie...our one dollar coin
Bluenoser.....a Nova Scotian
Herring Choker....New Brunswicker
Spud....A Prince Edward Islander
Newfie...a newfoundlander

-----------------------------------------------

Couple of more from Hoser

POed---finding out you just spent the last hour MDing in a
patch of poison Oak(happened to me)

Mung---That nasty seaweed that tangles in your coil while
water detecting

Royality---Sharing your finds with the property owner.

Spaz----what your MD does just before the batteries run out

-----------------------------------------------------------

Harley-Dog asks: What are Repeatable Signals?

I'm still fairly new to MDing and in several of the online articles that I have read recently I have come across the phrase "repeatable signal". Can someone clearly define what that means? I have been making the following assumption and am wondering if I am correct: when I get a tone or signal from BOTH directions when sweeping my coil, that is a repeatable signal. When I only get a tone or signal from one direction only, that is NOT a repeatable signal. Am I correct?

Also, what is the most likely interpretation of what it means to get a signal in both directions as opposed to when you only get a signal in one direction?

BILLV replies: Your assumtion is correct. Getting a solid signal in both directions usually means that the machine has a good lock on the target and the target is not being discriminated against. My experience is with a DFX and when this happens to me it usually means deep iron that the machine is having a hard time determining what it is. I have also had this happen when a coin is on edge in the ground but I usually can get a repeatable signal if I change my direction. Hope this helps.

 

[The Jersey Digger]

Yes can someone please tell me what a FOB is?

 

[Rudy]

What is FOB?

Yes can someone please tell me what a FOB is?

Believe it or not, fob is not a metal detecting term. It refers to a small ornament that was attached to a watch chain back when men used pocket watches.

 

[MikeH]

Coil!

Hi Carol

My name is Mike and I have just joined the forum, I live in Australia. I was looking at the "Metal Detecting Lingo Glossary for Newbies"
Coil: the round thing at the end of your detector. cracked me up!!!!!! LOL only because some folk will have a D shaped coil ( like my self Fisher 75) and think there is somthing wrong. Ausie sense of humour I guess.
Any how this forum is the best I have come accross, sooooooo much good information.
Have a great New Year.

Regards
Mike Hodgson

 

[Mike1961]

Could someone explain Recovery Speed? I've seen several references to it but not clear explaination. Thanks.

 

[Martin_V3i]

I haven't read all of this thread so I apologize if this has been said already. The term "silver" got me embarrassed after the first dime I found, and I posted to say that I found silver. It was a clad dime. Silver is a term within itself. martin

 

[justin7]

so what is a relic????

 

[PuddleJumper]

so what is a relic????

Relic refers to just about anything old that comes out of the ground which is worth keeping and is not a coin. Examples would be belt buckles, bullets, axes, indian artifacts, stuff from the civil war and so on.

 

[devman851]

Crh

I may have over looked it, but I did not see Coin Roll Hunting (CRH). Getting rolled coins from banks and searching them. If it was on the list sorry!

 

[Dustyloins]

It really doesn't fit under "Metal Detecting Lingo Glossary" since you're not using a Metal Detector.........

Dusty

 

[wally76]

"Canslaw" is a very good one, WThesing. I must admit, it took me a couple seconds of thinkin' on that one.
I didn't see "archies" in there either (achaeologists), even tho' this doesn't connect directly with MDing, but it has made the rounds in here.
HH (happy hunting) everyone!

haha archies! i hear bill ladd from digging new england call people that and always wondered what he meant...

 

[~Alan~]

Could someone explain Recovery Speed? I've seen several references to it but not clear explaination. Thanks.

I'm sure someone else can explain it better but:

It's the speed at which the machine will give off a good signal, after nulling
from a bad signal. So if for instance you have a coin close to a lump of iron,
a machine with a fast recovery speed will pick the coin up, whereas one
with a slow recovery, may not.

 

[~Alan~]

Another saying over here.

HF ......... Hedge Fodder (rubbish you throw in the hedge) shotgun caps etc

 

[KY PI]

This has been great! I wish I had read this thread when I first joined!!! Thanks everyone

 

[Gaagii]

Merc

merc - mercury dime
You might want to mention that this isn't actually Mercury on the dime. It was called that because everyone thought it was.
It is actually a Winged Liberty Dime

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_dime

 

[kamogawa]

Poker Hunt?

What is a Poker Hunt? I see these listed every so often in Club Hunt advertisements.