Guides & Tips
35 articles covering every feature and technique.
FeaturedGuidesOld Maps for Metal Detecting: Where to Find Them Free
Where to find old topo maps, fire insurance maps and aerial photos for free, and how to turn a vanished farmhouse into a detecting plan.
5 min read
Metal Detecting Permission Letter: Free Printable Template
A one-page permission form to print or copy, what it should cover, and how to ask a landowner so the answer is yes more often.
Guides6 min read
How to Track Your Detecting Sessions with GPS
Stop wondering where you already walked. GPS tracking shows your path and lets you overlay past sessions.
Guides4 min read
Detecting as a Group: Live Positions with Radar
See your detecting buddies on one live map, with distance, shared waypoints, an SOS, and a shared base point.
Guides4 min read
Metal Detecting for Beginners: What You Need to Know
From picking your first detector to digging your first target, without the overwhelm.
Beginners7 min read
Best Weather for Detecting (And When to Stay Home)
Soil moisture, temperature, wind, and pressure all affect your detector. Learn what conditions are ideal.
Tips4 min read
Beach Detecting: The Best Tide Times and Where to Search
Low tides, minus tides and storms, how to read a tide table, and where to swing on the sand.
Beach5 min read
Detecting Forecast: Plan Every Session by the Numbers
0-100 Detecting Score for any location, any day up to a week ahead. Soil moisture, wind, temp, humidity, and smart tips.
App Tutorials4 min read
Setting Up Perimeter Guard: Stay Within Your Zone
Draw a boundary on the map. Get vibration alerts when you approach and audio when you cross it.
App Tutorials3 min read
Using the Permission Vault to Manage Permissions
Track landowner approvals, draw site boundaries, set expiry alerts, and generate PDF permission letters.
App Tutorials5 min read
Downloading Offline Maps for Areas Without Cell Service
4 tile sources. Pan, zoom, download. Detect confidently with zero cell coverage.
App Tutorials3 min read
Using Track Overlay to See Where You Already Walked
Load past sessions onto the live map as color-coded overlay paths. Ten cycling colors make coverage gaps obvious.
App Tutorials3 min read
Cloud Backup: Never Lose Your Detecting Data
One tap to back up sessions, finds, permissions, and settings to Google Drive.
App Tutorials3 min read
Night Vision Mode for Dawn and Dusk Detecting
Red-on-black display preserves your eyes. Toggle it for early morning and late evening sessions.
App Tutorials2 min read
Logging Finds with Photos and Audio Notes
Six find types plus a one-tap Unsorted drop. Pin depth, value, weight, photos, and audio notes to every find.
App Tutorials3 min read
Comparing Sessions: Overlay and Split View
Stack past sessions or compare side by side to track your progress over time.
App Tutorials3 min read
Exporting Sessions as GPX, KML, or CSV
Full Google Earth support. Export individual or multiple sessions in the format you need.
App Tutorials3 min read
Understanding Your Session Statistics and Personal Bests
Distance, finds, duration, averages, personal bests, top sessions, and weather insights.
App Tutorials4 min read
Share Card: Show Off Your Session on Social Media
Shareable PNG session summary with path preview, stats, find breakdown, and weather.
App Tutorials3 min read
Import and Align Your Own Maps Over Satellite
Pin a scanned old map, plat, or aerial photo onto the live satellite map at true scale, by hand or with control points.
App Tutorials4 min read
Finds Intelligence: See What Your Data Tells You
A Pro dashboard that reads your logged finds to show your best ground, your best hours, and your best detector.
App Tutorials4 min read
Using the Tide Table to Time Beach Sessions
Read high and low tides from the nearest NOAA station so you reach the wet sand at the right hour.
App Tutorials3 min read
Marking Sites with Waypoints
Drop, categorize, and navigate back to named map pins for promising sites, with GPX, KML, and CSV export.
App Tutorials4 min read
Reading a Session's Elevation Profile
Turn a recorded session into a smoothed elevation chart with ascent, descent, and range over the ground you covered.
App Tutorials3 min read
Browsing Every Find Photo in One Gallery
Every photo, video, and audio note from all your finds in one date-grouped gallery you can filter and zoom.
App Tutorials3 min read
Best Places to Metal Detect in Texas
Gulf Coast beaches, Spanish mission areas, river beds, ghost towns, and ranches. Texas detecting rules explained.
Locations & Laws5 min read
Best Places to Metal Detect in Florida
Treasure Coast beaches, old Spanish shipwreck areas, freshwater holes, and state forest rules.
Locations & Laws5 min read
Best Places to Metal Detect in Ohio
Civil War sites, canal towpaths, Lake Erie beaches, farmland, and old schoolhouse locations.
Locations & Laws5 min read
Best Places to Metal Detect in Virginia
Colonial homesteads, river fords, and tavern sites. ARPA warnings for federal battlefield areas.
Locations & Laws5 min read
Best Places to Metal Detect in California
Gold Rush sites, SoCal and NorCal beaches, mining towns, desert ghost towns, and BLM land rules.
Locations & Laws5 min read
Metal Detecting Laws in the UK
Treasure Act 1996, Portable Antiquities Scheme, Scheduled Monuments, and the Code of Practice explained.
Locations & Laws6 min read
Metal Detecting Laws in the US
ARPA, National Parks, BLM land, state parks, beaches, and the state-by-state patchwork explained.
Locations & Laws6 min read
Metal Detecting Laws in Australia
State heritage acts, Aboriginal heritage protection, Crown land rules, and gold prospecting overlap.
Locations & Laws5 min read
Where to Metal Detect Near Me
How to find detecting spots anywhere: old maps, school yards, churches, fairgrounds, river access, and more.
Locations & Laws5 min read
Best Metal Detectors Under $500 in 2026: 9 Picks Compared
Minelab Vanquish, Garrett Ace Apex, Nokta Simplex Ultra and more, compared on price, frequency and waterproofing.
Gear8 min read
Additional guides are added regularly. Beginners can start with the beginner's guide.