Squiggles said:
I have one of those in my order so its not big deal, my detector also has inbuilt pin pointing.
Speaking of the park scene, I have been scoping out a local park in anticipation of giving the once over but.. are you allowed to just walk onto a local park and start digging holes? The park I speak of is heavily guarded by groundskeepers during the day and I'm not sure if they would appreciate me wondering around poking holes in their luscious lawn.
Edit: Spelling correction
Depends if it's public/crown land or not and which State you're in.
Some states require you to purchase a fossicker's licence first, some (like NSW) don't.
If it's public crown land though and you're not damaging the place by digging big holes and not filling them properly, then the grounds keepers have no problem. It's essential that you learn how to properly dig a plug so that it can be filled in correctly and not kill the grass when you refill the plug.
I personally have a 'rubbish' bag with me and no matter what I dig up, I always take it with me. I've been stopped by a couple grounds keeper's before and after a brief chat (and you show them the nasty stuff you're removing from the grounds), they're usually thankful as you're doing no damage and essentially removing a potential safety hazard (or lawsuit) for free. Council lawnmowers can turn bottle caps into very nasty things when kids run around on parks and grounds keepers are well aware of the fact.
In addition, I'm not obnoxiously intrusive on other people's space. If the kids are playing on the ground I'm not running my machine in and around them, I always select a quiet part of the park to detect in or keep to hours where foot traffic is minimal.
BUT you need to check and make sure the grounds are not private property (you need permission before you dig) and it's a big no no to fossick in national parkland at all, no matter which state you're in and places like Schools.
Whilst the pickings potential in places like school grounds might be tempting, be very aware you can get into some pretty serious trouble hitting places like that.
Rule of thumb is that if it's crown/public park land without fences and warning signs to keep out, you should be fine.
I do the Sydney park 'scene' and over dozens of parks have never, ever once been told to clear off because of the way I do things. Just be aware of the rules and regulations first and if you're not sure, ask.
But I've never had a problem with digging public grounds and parks before.
