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24HourForums.com > Supported Forums > Lord Marcovan's Treasure Territory > Treasure Hunting Advice/Guidance Needed |
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Brian Grand Poobah of Moderation 
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Hi, Everyone. I've always wanted to get a metal detector and start digging, ever since I started collecting coins. The (perceived) logistics of it have always sort of held me back, though. But times and technology have changed since those days, so I thought it might be worth asking: Would it be possible for someone in a wheelchair (with full use of his/her arms) to roll along with a metal detector, and dig when he/she found something? Obviously, carrying around a metal detector and a big shovel would be a non-starter, but how about a metal detector and a scoop/small digger? Or is this just an unrealistic thought? 
 "It's been a long December, and there's reason to believe maybe this year will be better than the last." -- "A Long December", Counting Crows |
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Lord Marcovan Original500© Member  Robertson Shinnick
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This is an excellent question, and I have often wondered about it myself, in those random moments where I ask myself how I'd get by if I were confined to a wheelchair. Unfortunately I don't have any answers for you, but I will do some research and ask around about this. Surely somewhere there are disabled folks out there who have found a way to go detecting. You would need a way to keep the searchcoil away from the chair's metallic parts, but I'm sure that could be done. In softer sand, you could use a long handled scoop, but I suspect the chair isn't going to roll well in sand that is soft enough to scoop easily. In harder ground, I wonder how you'll get the necessary leverage to dig. It might be an apocryphal tale (or not), but I once heard of a man who'd altered a dune buggy so he could cruise slowly up the beaches, with a detector searchcoil or two rigged onto the front bumper. When he got a signal, his dog would jump out and dig things up for him, while he sat in the dune buggy drinking beer. It may not be a true story- I find it hard to imagine a dog well trained enough to retrieve small buried objects like rings and coins, for example. But if it is true, I would like to know how he rigged the coils up on the dune buggy (not to mention how he trained the dog). In your case, I am sure some innovation will be necessary. Fascinating question. I hope some answers will be found for you. I will try. Last edited on 01:08 am by Lord Marcovan |
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Marie5656 Forum-Blogger© Original500© Member  Just hanging out
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Brian, A question. I do not do the treasure hunting, but you are already familiar with what I do. I know your disability, but wonder if you are physically able to get out of your chair to the ground to dig, and then back into your chair? This is assuming you did not have a companion with you who could help. Just a thought, and only based on my not having full knowledge of what you are capable of do. Good luck though.
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Lord Marcovan Original500© Member Robertson Shinnick
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One question for you- do you use a motorized chair? Since you're not a quadruplegic, and you have the use of your arms, I suspect you get around mostly under your own power. I also suspect you have good upper body strength. The reason I ask this, however, is because it would be a bit difficult to use a detector if you need both hands to propel yourself. If you have a motorized chair with a joystick, then you can have one arm free to swing a detector. Perhaps the detector's coil could be mounted on a slightly longer shaft if necessary, or some sort of boom or sling could be rigged up- I think the actual swinging of the detector could be accomplished, provided you have a way to move along. Of course you could swing over an area and then let go of the detector while you pushed forward, if you had a boom of some kind, I guess. Digging is a different matter- I can't picture how you would do it from a standard wheelchair, but maybe somebody has some ideas. With an assistant, you could go around swinging the coil and marking targets with little flags while your assistant dug them up, but then you lose the more fun half of the experience- the moment of discovery. Maybe the solution would be to build a special chair just for the purpose- something lower to the ground, where you could not only swing the coil but dig yourself, with a small hand tool. If, for instance, you had something like a mechanic's dolly that they use to slide under cars... something that let you roll along while lying on your belly, for example, with your face a few inches off the ground and your arms free in front of you, you could swing a searchcoil without even having it mounted on a shaft- you could just hold the coil and put it aside when you need to dig. But this setup might not be comfortable, and it would sure look strange. Still, I am sure that one could be done. Of course such a contraption would need to be motorized with a toggle switch of some sort that would allow you to drive it. Or if it were that low to the ground, perhaps you'd be able to push yourself forward a few inches at a time. Maybe you wouldn't need to be facedown, if you had a really low-profile chair that allowed you to be close enough to the ground yet remain in a seated position. You'd have to be really low, though, to have your hands be able to reach the ground. Again, you could dispense with the shaft of the detector if it got in your way, and just hold the coil in your hand. Last edited on 01:34 am by Lord Marcovan |
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Lord Marcovan Original500© Member Robertson Shinnick
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Around here, I have seen tourists on the beach rent special tricycle pedal cars that have a little chair on them, and they are quite low to the ground. I don't know what they are called, but they are pedal powered, and I think they are also steered with the feet (a problem in your case, but probably modifiable if one could be motorized and controlled with a joystick). They're pretty close to the right sort of height, though- I will have to look more closely the next time I see one. Last edited on 01:29 am by Lord Marcovan |
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Brian Grand Poobah of Moderation
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Lord Marcovan wrote: This is an excellent question, and I have often wondered about it myself, in those random moments where I ask myself how I'd get by if I were confined to a wheelchair. Thanks for your response.  To answer a few questions (both yours and Marie's): I use a manual (i.e., non-motorized) wheelchair. I'm able to get out of my chair to dig, if necessary, but I don't picture being able to dig very well if I'm on the ground. (I think I'd have better leverage in my chair.) By "searchcoil", I assume you mean the round part at the bottom that does the detecting, correct? The way I was picturing (again, in my naivete) this would be: 1) Put the detector near the ground to detect. 2) If something is found, use a small shovel (i.e., something that could be held in 1 hand) to dig. 3) If nothing is found, hold the dectector with one hand, push with the other. 4) Repeat as required. Now, this would probably not work well for areas that were very rough/hilly, but it's how I pictured things going on a relatively flat plane (e.g., a field). I don't do a lot of digging in my chair, though, so I'm not sure what the consistency of your average grass field is. You're right about sand: It might be easy to dig in, but sand is death to wheelchairs.
"It's been a long December, and there's reason to believe maybe this year will be better than the last." -- "A Long December", Counting Crows |
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Lord Marcovan Original500© Member Robertson Shinnick
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Brian- If getting in and out of the chair and onto the ground does not pose a big problem for you, then that removes the biggest barrier I imagined for you. I can picture you swinging a detector all right, but digging was the part I couldn't picture. However, once you're on the ground, it should not be a problem at all. Prior to my purchasing a short-handled shovel which allows me to cut plugs in the sod while bending over, I used to sit on the ground to dig all my finds, which I used to do with a hori-hori knife (a serrated digging knife made for bonsai tree gardening, also known as a "3-in-1" knife to treasure hunters). If a target proves difficult to pinpoint and I'm at it for a while, I still end up sitting on the ground and using the hori-hori knife most of the time. It's better for precision work than the shovel. In fact, in the yard I hunted recently on September 25th, where I found all those coins, I could have (if I'd wanted to) hunted the whole thing sitting on the ground, just scooting around on my butt, since the area was so rich in targets that were fairly close together and it was a relatively small yard. I don't know how well you get around on the ground without a chair, but if you are able to, then there is nothing to stop you from detecting at all. You can use a detector with a chest-mount harness. I want one of these myself, since the meter and control box on the detector hangs around your neck, is close and easy to look at, and leaves you swinging no more than the shaft and coil of the machine. (Yes, the coil is the round part at the end of the shaft). You could also get away with a very short shaft or even no shaft at all if you were on the ground the whole time. Of course you would want a relatively level, grassy lawn for this, since rocks, ants and snakes, cacti, sandspurs, poison ivy and dog poo can make the ground less comfortable. But in a park or a decently manicured lawn where you don't mind rolling around on the grass, so to speak, why not? As far as scooting around on the ground goes, here you'd actually be better off as an amputee than if you had a pair of useless legs in your way. I was trying to imagine the whole scenario, and I realized that even when I am sitting crosslegged on the ground and scooting around, I am using my leg muscles to a large degree. If I had to move around with only my arms, it would be much harder, but if the detector were chestmounted and I was wearing my vest with all the pockets (to hold the digging tools and probe when I was not using them), it would be possible. Possible, that is, to just leave the chair behind and do the whole thing on the ground, an inch or two at a time. But I don't know how mobile you'd be on the ground without the chair, and how much your legs would get in the way, if you still have them. There is nothing wrong with your scenario below, as I see it.
The main problem there is #2: the digging part. It is gonna be difficult to get enough leverage to dig while sitting in the chair, even if you have a long-handled shovel or tool. However, if you are on the ground, you should have no problem at all digging with a handheld tool. It is the part about repeatedly getting out of the chair and onto the ground, then back into the chair, that I can't figure out. If you are physically capable of this, then you are capable of detecting. The climbing up and down part could be pretty exhausting, though, I would think. On the other hand, you're bound to have better upper body strength than the average person, I suppose. One bit of good news is this: while many sports require speed and/or agility, the metal detecting discipline actually rewards the slower and more methodical practitioners. I often have to force myself to slow down, and proceed at a snail's pace, and it isn't easy for me to do, because of the "grass is greener over there" syndrome. I'm always focusing on somewhere across the field rather than the spot I am standing in, where I should be focused. You, being forced to move more slowly, will be likely to miss fewer signals than the average walking person who's tearing along at a rapid pace, and your search patterns will be tighter and more thorough.
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24HourNut Administrator  aka Frank
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It was very nice to see the effort to answer Brian! Bravo! I was thinking getting out of the wheelchair and sitting up on the ground, digging next to you while sitting up "indian" style for example.
The best human beings start good new topics and vote on the better posts. |
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librtyhead Original500© Member 
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This may be a bit silly but have you ever thought of underwater metal detecting? It may solve some mobility problems.
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24HourNut Administrator aka Frank
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librtyhead wrote: This may be a bit silly but have you ever thought of underwater metal detecting? It may solve some mobility problems. That's pretty interesting!
The best human beings start good new topics and vote on the better posts. |
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Millennium Original500© Member 
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My Dad is paralyzed from the waist down and is confined to a wheel chair. We went out a few times because he was interested in getting a metal detector and going detecting. Not to be a spoiler, but it just didn't work out so well....moving the wheel chair on the dirt was often a pain, and wore him out pretty quickly. Sweeping the detector, while it was possible, was not very effective, because of the angle he had to sweep and moving the wheel chair as he detected...Digging was another problem...after he got out of the chair, getting back into it, on the dirt was tough, and then picking up all of his equipment was a problem once he was back in the chair...The only way it was possible, was for me to push him while he swept, then when he found something, I would have to do the digging...Before the day was over we both were on each others nerves. He was pissed because it was so aggravating, and I was pissed because I felt so helpless....In any event, he abandoned the idea and took up fishing, which turned out to be a lot more fun for him and me too. Last edited on 04:04 pm by Millennium |
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CROCKofCOINS Guardian1000© Member
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Look at this site and drop down about a third of the page to see someone work from s seated position! http://www.ezdigr.com/indexD.html Jerry
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Brian Grand Poobah of Moderation
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Thanks for all the responses, everyone.  A chest-mounted harness sounds like an interesting solution, but I'm unsure as to how I'd swing it around like I assume I'd have to do. Getting in and out of the chair is not a big deal, but I'd be a little perturbed if I had to do it too often. How good are detectors now at discerning what's being detected? I wouldn't want to climb up and down over and over retrieving bottlecaps. I've still got my legs, but basically they're just several pounds of dead weight I carry around. 
"It's been a long December, and there's reason to believe maybe this year will be better than the last." -- "A Long December", Counting Crows |
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24HourForums.com > Supported Forums > Lord Marcovan's Treasure Territory > Treasure Hunting Advice/Guidance Needed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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