Treasure Classifieds Forum

Hey all, I briefly mentioned in joes post about what detectors everyone has swung. About what the future of detecting looks like. What do you old timers and newer detectorists think? What will it be like 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 years from now? What kind of advanced futuristic options? LCD screen through glasses and you can visually see what the detector does? Tell me what you think!

That's something I have considered for a long time Zach. I think big changes are ahead but they won't be as rapid or as radical as changes in telecommunications and other electronics have been, because of the lesser volume of use. Everybody has a phone but still relatively few use detectors. More use equates to more advancements.

I believe we will go beyond sending a general electromagnetic field into the ground and trying to decipher what an interruption in that field means. How about sending a specific charge, sound, vibration or some other type signal and then waiting for a specific response. In other words we might be searching just for selected targets and not having to deal with unwanted junk. Pick your treasure--gold, silver, rings, whatever.  This would probably be introduced through military or space research, then adapted to the hobby.

Pretty far out, but with technology lots of things are possible. In the near future though, progress probably means refinements rather than breakthoughs. I like your idea of target ID through smart glasses. Can't wait!

I'm not very tech saavy, but one thing I would like to see is a mutual respect between detectorists and archaeologists. We obviously do not get along at all. I wish they would understand that we are not "looting". We care about the history just as much if not more than some of them. If we didn't find these sites and save the artifacts from rotting, no one would ever get the chance to see them and respect them for what they are. I'd just like to see some forward movement instead of spinning our wheels or going backwards.

The future of detecting is below bleak,,,,hopefully!
The availability of the internet and technological advancement has continued to expand the number of people drawn into the hobby while the number of sites and areas open to detecting continue to dwindle. The use of plastic and electronic fiat currency for purchasing makes the loss of coins of all denominations diminish yearly and the desire to sit in front of that one eyed monster , has more people staying inside instead of losing things of value for the detectorist to pursue.

In addition , every swinging d!(k who can afford a digital camera or smart phone is now trying to get their 15 minutes of fame by making videos portraying detecting as a get rich quick method encouraging more dopes into the hobby who destroy the sites and create public antipathy . Dealers seem to be willing to sell their mothers out to move another detector and , why they can't realize that encouraging an infinite number of people into a finite activity is detrimental to everyone in the long term just amazes me. Just like fishing , the only people who will make detecting pay for itself are the people selling equipment to the detectorist , yet there continues to be a constant drum beat to attract more into the hobby. In 10 or 15 years I see much fewer detecting opportunities with little to no tecnological breakthroughs that everyone wants and a market flooded with detectors from disenchanted former detectorists destroying the resale value of the detectors still in use. Detecting will be banned from almost all public venues and be conducted mostly on private land by permit only.....all the result of people being more interested in making a buck and getting their rocks off with a youtube channel than using a little common sense.

I do everything I can to discourage anyone from detecting and warn them that what they see on the internet is not a true representation of the real world but is largely created by ego driven , greedy individuals who are out to get them like a cheap politician.

Just my $.02.

Similar situation happened to us Radio Control Boaters. Boats became faster, noiser, guys like running non-muffled, a $50 engine now costs $400, sub divisions grew up around the pond sites. Home owners didn't like the noise, even when muffled the noise carried. Cities and towns said we have to go away, lose a pond site, club members eventually find a new hobby. The club folds.

You get tons of people out there digging a parks up every day, eventually there could be a lot of yellow spots..................Now city employees have another duty keeping the grass green by not allowing detectorists.........there will be a lot of expensive machines collecting dust.

Would be great if the US had 3000 years of history like Europe where armies fought and people settled just about every where burying hoards etc........
We would have plenty of farm fields to dig instead of the parks. One reason I envy the Brits....................

I say enjoy the hobby of detecting as long as you can................

As this hobby certainly will advance. I agree with Sven , enjoy what we have while we can! Once you can see whats in the ground, it is no longer metal detecting. Its now looking!! And the whole world is all ready looking down... Swing them if you got em gang (no pun intended lol )

I agree with a lot that has been said. But I was mostly talking about technology. Like, back in the day a detector probably weighed 20 lbs and was a big ass box. Now its lcd , light weight and so on.
Enjoy your day like it's your last. And hopefully detecting as a hobby will be around for awhile to come.
Thanks for the comments

I've thought about this over the last couple of years.  For the technology I wonder if more machines will get better user interfaces like like a pain of glass touch screen that can change button and configs depending on the mode the machine is in.  I think the Duck Dynasty type machines of all things are doing a little of that.  I am not sure how practical it would be with dirty hands and mud though.  Otherwise I keep wondering if anyone can bring hybrid machines to market using VLF and PI tech combined.

For me the hobby is driving me farther all the time away from the city trying to find ground that hopefully produces some surprises but that is expensive and time consuming to travel.  The in city hunts don't yield a lot of old stuff either because it's been found, is too deep to warrant messing up turf, or has been covered with a lot of overburden when new landscaping has been done. 

Funny how it seems years ago we spent a couple of hundred bucks on a machine that could find thousands in change.  Now we spend thousands on more advanced machines that find hundreds in change.  I guess that's why it's still a hobby.

Zach I think imaging is the next frontier. I'm ok with that. I think so much is missed because of junk that imaging would increase the thrill by finding more.

I've said this many times, both on here, and other places...

Technological progress in this hobby is VERY incremental. By design. If they gave too much away all at once, there'd be little to charge the customer for year after year. Meaning...

Even if one of the detector companies had a top-secret unit in testing that could properly i.d. and hit a dime on edge at 15", they'd be shooting themselves in the foot if they ever released it, as, where would they go from there?! People would snatch them up, they'd make a bunch of money, detectorists would hoover out another depth strata, and then everyone would be looking for the unit capable of hitting a dime at 20"! Of course, I'm being a bit far fetched to prove a point, but you get the drift. And you can bet your bottom dollar there's truth to it, IMO.

Much better - and fiscally responsible for a corporation - to roll out tiny, sporadic innovations, and pick the pockets of customers thusly. Tomorrow it's a new color unit. Next month a backlit screen. Next year an ergonomically better design. In 2 years it'll be waterproof...ad infinitum. This isn't good or bad, it's business, exactly what a company is supposed to do.

Yes, over time, the next 5, 10 or 15 years, I do expect better ability to cancel out trash, and some more depth, but, be prepared...

As detectors get more & more dumbed down, and easier for anyone to pick up and use, they will get more expensive, just as you see them doing now. Anyone fairly new to detecting can pick up a CTX for example, and with a couple months of practice, start plucking coins like they're going out of style. Which is why CTX's (and similar units) cost thousands. They allow a user to cherry pick very well. But that magic comes at a price.

Imagine if they ever truly pioneered a detector that can call a deep coin silver, or a gold ring a gold ring. Entirely via the screen. All any beginner would have to do is buy a unit, hit a beach, and they'll find 5 or 10 gold rings a day, worth a minimum hundreds of dollars. Which means...

A detector company could justifiably sell the units for $10,000 if they wanted to, maybe $25,000. And who would balk?! If someone could find 1,000 gold rings per year, the melt value alone would be astronomical...not even taking into consideration the stones.

So, yes, progress will come...slowly. And with it, the weekend warrior detectorists, or the guy/gal hunter who just likes getting out a couple hours per month is going to be left out in the cold, due to the sky high price of units.

And I know you didn't ask where the hobby itself is heading, but as Dusty and a few others mentioned, I sadly agree. I'm normally a glass half full kinda guy, but when one considers all of the new competition entering the hobby, all of the backlash/prohibitions, and the simple fact that old coins taken from the ground don't reproduce, I can't see the hobby being nowhere near the same 20 or 30 years from now, with the exception of maybe beach hunting.

Joe