Spent $150 on a metal detector that beeped at every rusty nail in my backyard

I got really into the idea of finding old coins or relics after watching some YouTube videos. So I bought this mid-range metal detector from a big box store thinking I'd find something cool within a week. After 8 hours of digging in my 50-year-old backyard in Phoenix, all I found was about 40 rusty nails, a crushed soda can from the 90s, and part of an old sprinkler head. The thing chirps at anything metal, even tiny bits of foil. I should have just rented one first or asked a local detecting club for advice. Has anyone else dropped cash on a hobby that turned out way harder than the videos make it look?

2 comments

2 Comments

skyler_kim11d ago

Man, "should have just rented one first" is the realest thing you said, but I think you're being a little dramatic. It's a $150 metal detector, not a life investment. You spent 8 hours digging up junk in a backyard that's been built over for 50 years, what did you really expect? Those YouTube guys are hunting on old farm fields or beaches that haven't been touched in decades, not a suburban lot in Phoenix. I get being bummed, but calling it a "hobby" that's "way harder" seems like a stretch when you barely tried. Maybe swap out the yard for a local park or a hiking trail and see if the chirps turn into something decent before writing it off.

park.troy11d ago

Bruh for real though this is just how everything works now. You see some 10 minute tutorial on TikTok where someone makes it look easy, then you try it yourself and realize they left out all the boring parts. Same thing happened to me with bread baking during the pandemic. Watched one video of a guy pulling a perfect sourdough out of the oven, thought I could do it first try. Ended up with a brick that could've doubled as a doorstop and a starter that smelled like straight garbage for two weeks. The internet shows you the highlight reel, not the hours of digging through nails or the failed loaves. It's like how everyone thinks they can start a podcast but nobody talks about the awkward silences and bad audio.