Video Advice - Detecting Opinions

 I was surfing the net the other day when I decided to go tubing amid the video rapids of YouTube. Now, this is the usual place recommended on social media metal detecting groups when someone has taken possession of a new or used metal detector and is just starting out in the hobby. It is an established fact, that humans find watching a video a lot less taxing than reading bland, boring operating instructions and even harder to park it in memory. And metal detectors, being a bit technical in nature, can have a big learning curve if you bought a top-grade machine. And again, usually one does not start out in this rather expensive pursuit with the purchase of an expensive top-of-the-line detector. But some do and then

dump the hobby as too difficult, too complicated or become a mud-covered treasure wizard! Absorbing a bit of the knowledge required to operate these advanced 21st Century top-of-the-line devices is not particularly easy and can require quite a bit of reading; going over manuals as well as reviewing factory updates to its little computer brain to endow it with more and more varied functions and abilities. All this being said leads me to an issue hiding behind even the clearest 4k screen. ANYONE can put out a YouTube video. So be very careful what you base your decisions on after viewing.

This topic was pretty much brought on after watching a YouTube channel with the detectorist comparing two closely matched, high-end detectors. Problem was the host didn't really know what he was doing, and he kept making errors in the comparison with the other equipment that he obviously had more experience with. He never once ground-balanced the competing machine, complaining how unstable it was, and did not select the correct operating mode for the conditions. I have seen similar YouTube detector scenarios with numerous variations on this theme. Just because you have flashy intro graphics and music, does not mean you are an expert in anything. I once saw a post on a Facebook Metal Detecting group belittling a particular brand of metal detector as "worthless" and poor operating functions. I happened to know this person personally, and that they had an accumulated time of about 4-hours on this equipment and had owned it for 3-weeks and had NOT read the manual or received any assistance from a more experienced hunter. 

Someone looking to purchase a detector would recoil in horror and cross off a very, very capable and reasonably priced piece of gear! This is almost always the response to someone asking a valid question about a detector they either own or planning to purchase "Watch YouTube!!" There actually ARE quite a few excellent and well-seasoned detectorists running YouTube channels, with good information with well stocked facts about detector operations and other aspects of the hobby. My advice is to READ the manuals carefully and SELECT metal detecting channels on the Tube carefully and just be aware that video advice is not always good advice. Happy Hunting and Good Luck in the field!