Hello from Northeastern IL. I'm not completely new to the hobby, since as a kid in the 70's I had a friend a few doors down who's father was a serious detectorist and he taught us how to use a Bounty Hunter Red Baron that he had in his collection of detectors, and we had free use of it whenever we wanted. I was bit by the hobby then, and had a few good finds as a 12/13 year old kid, including a 1917 class ring that I discovered in a parkway strip.

My friend moved away and life went on and, even though I never picked a detector back up, the fascination with the hobby was always in my mind. I've had the time and resources to dive into the hobby for a while, but just last week made the commitment and bought a detector to be ready for the spring thaw. This forum is already proving to be a valuable educational source, and I'm enjoying soaking up the collective knowledge on the site.

Best regards,

Jeff