I was only there for half the meeting, so I am not a good one to share too many of the details about the program. However, thanks to Dan Clark, I was able to view some of the program by video posted on the club web site. It is really neat to be able to have the club post their videos to share!

    Kim and Rick Sass from Sub-Aquatic Sports presented us with a great program on adventure diving, along with a great slide presentation. Thanks, Kim and Rick!

    Connie was on her way home from Texas on the night of our meeting, so Deb Wittkowski filled in for her as secretary. Deb reported in her notes that we had at least two new members at the last meeting, Eric Andrews and Mike Bundell. Guests included my good buddy Bill Howe, as well as Gordon Brant, Dawn Walker and Ron Neal.

    Ron Davis and his wife have both been struggling with health issues; please keep both of them in your prayers.

    We had a birthday boy at our last meeting--- Ron Osborne!

    The club had its Winter Banquet at Stir Max and there was a big turn out, great food and lots of prizes!

    The club's spring hunt is on the calendar for the weekend of May 31st, so plan to pen that in on your calendar above all else! The spring hunt and camp out will be at the beautiful Flywheeler's Show Grounds this year. John Dudley told us that the show grounds will also be hosting a big traveling circus just before we move in to hunt. That should make our coin shooting even more interesting!

    The winter has been so hard in West Michigan, especially in the snow belt area along the lake shore. Grand Junction, Michigan, travailed in pain as it gave birth to a new author! Our vice president, John Dudley wrote and published a new book on his favorite topic, Magic! We are proud of you, John!

    Once again we will have a special program for you! Pat Ingalls, president of the Flywheeler's Club will be talking about antique engines and farm equipment. Learn the way things used to get done on the farms and in the cities across America, back at the start of the industrial revolution. I am sure this will be a program that you will not want to miss!

Find of the Month

JEWELRY

1. JEWISH MIZPA PENDANT                                                                   BY: MIKE WALKER

2. STERLING POPE PENDANT                                                                  BY: JOHN CORBIN

3. ANTIQUE POCKET WATCH                                                                    BY: RON JENNER

4. SILVER RING                                                                                    BY: TOM LATTERNER

5. WATERING FLOWERS PIN                                                                          BY: SHAWANO

    Our winner was John Corbin with his sterling silver Catholic medal, complete with silver chain featuring the Pope. Nice find, John!

COIN FINDS

1. 1847 LARGE CENT                                                                                 BY: MIKE WALKER

2. 1957 WHEATIE                                                                                           BY: DON BARNES

    Only two entries in the coin category? I guess that tells you that Michigan is held deep in an arctic-like winter, as usual!

    Our winner was Mike Walker with his 1947 Large Cent. To Mike and you other guys who find these awesome large cents-- do you collect them in coin folders? I would love to see one of those blue Whitman coin folders with an assortment of different date Large Cents! Nice find, Mike!

FOB, BADGE, TOKEN

1.1962 DOG TAG                                                                                         BY: MIKE WALKER

2. GOOD LUCK TOKEN                                                                         BY: BRIAN MATECUN

    Brian Matecun was our winner with his vending machine Good Luck Token. Boy, that sure brought back memories! I remember as a Junior High student we took a field trip to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago and, for a souvenir, I invested in one of these tokens. On that same trip we went to the Museum of Natural History. If you have never been to these museums, you are missing out big time! Thanks for the memories, Brian!

MOST UNUSUAL

1. 1869 BOLT ANCHOR                                                                             BY: MIKE WALKER

2. 75 YEARS PEPSI CAN                                                                               BY: DON BARNES

3. LATE 1800'S BUTTER KNIFE                                                                        BY: SHAWANO

Our winner was Shawano with his ancient butter knife. Neat find, Tom!

MISCELLANEOUS

1. 10K BABY'S RING                                                                                  BY: RON OSBORNE

2. AC/DC SPINNER RING                                                                        BY: BILLY E. KNAPP

3. 1943-D STEEL WHEAT PENNY                                                           BY: STEVE JELLISON

4. PILOT KEY                                                                                                BY: DON BARNES

5.TOOL SET                                                                                           BY: HENRY HOADLEY

6. SILVER COMMEMORATIVE                                                           BY: JERRY LIPSCOMB

7. PITCH FORK                                                                                          BY: MIKE WALKER

8. MY PICTURE PUBLISHED                                                                           BY: DIVER DEB

9. GOLD EARRING                                                                                            BY: SHAWANO

10. 14K RING                                                                                             BY: ELDON BRIGGS

11. NAZI & HITLER COIN                                                                BY: ANDRES SENSNOUIS

12. 1916 LOCAL MAP                                                                                     BY: TOM BEILBY

Eldon Briggs was our winner with a nice 14-K gold Catholic ring. Nice find, Eldon.

    I told you last month, or maybe it was the month before, that I would try to write more articles about detectors and treasure hunting. One easy way for me to do that is to share some of my e-mail letters and answers. Here are a couple letters that our president Mike Walker sent to me with some really great questions. The answers may help a lot of you.

Mike wrote:

    I have a friend who sent his CZ-20 into Fisher and this is the note he got back. Can you explaining it in human terms? What is an HP? They said when it was shipped it had no broken panel or worn cables?

Mike

Mike's friend wrote:

    Hey Mike, I thought you would like to hear an E-mail I got from Fisher and this is what they said.

I asked... "What exactly is wrong with the machine?"

Fisher answered:

Corroded HP's - have no sound, bad coil since the coil cables are cut/worn out, broken panel therefore has water leakage

Mike's friend asked:

    Is this is something that I can avoid?

Fisher answered:

    From the problems found, the only thing for you do to is to avoid dropping, hitting, etc….so the unit will not have the broken panel and or worn out/torn coil cables.

Interpretation of Fisher's letter:

Hi Mike;

(HP means headphones)

    The headphones on this detector are not magnetic-cone-speakers; they are bone-conductor type. That is because they are easier to make waterproof. Bone conductor headphones have two paper-thin, half-dollar-size brass discs that are laid over each other and soldered together at the very edges. When they are 'charged' from the audio amplifier, they vibrate at a very high speed to create the sound. That is almost like two tiny cymbals hitting each other at high speed. These brass discs are held in place inside the ear cup with silicone, then covered with a puddle of silicone. Water can get down to these brass discs by going down the inside of the headphone cord.

    Water can enter the headphones in two ways. One way is water gets into the main control housing. There it can enter the headphone cord making it back to the brass discs over time.

    Or, the other option is that outer membrane on the coiled headphone cord gets a nick or cut in it. The same thing can happen to the coil. When water leaks into the cracked or cut cord, it can flow down to the coil.

    That is why I try to discourage hip-mounting any detector. When used as a hip-mounted detector, it leaves the cord vulnerable to be snagged, cut, or torn. If you must hip-mount, use it that way only in the water. The water acts like a shock absorber when the cord moves back-and-forth or quickly changes direction.

    On the other hand, when you are not in the water, you don't have this shock absorber protection. That means that the tiny wires inside the coil cord really take a beating! Making matters worse, Fisher uses a very inexpensive coil cord. They need a four wire cord for the coil, but instead they use a shielded 2-wire cord. They make this work by using the two shields as the other two wires. Those shield wires are not strengthened with an outer plastic jacket. They are just bare, weak, steel, wire-mesh that are very brittle.

    Some guys make the mistake of using the headphone wire as a tether. The wire is used to keep the detector nearby while they dig. Then, when they want to resume their hunting, they bring the detector back into position by dragging it back by pulling on the headphone wire. That is a really bad idea! The head phone wires are really weak because they use only two wires and they are very, very tiny! When you strip back the outer plastic jacket exposing the copper wires inside, they are about the size of four or five strands of very fine human hair!

    Having your detector tethered to you is a good idea! Make sure your tether cord is shorter than the reach of the headphone wires to protect them. For a tether, you can use a bright yellow nylon cord with two quick disconnect fasteners-- one fastened on the detector stem and one on your belt. You want something that you can disconnect quickly in case of am emergency or, as divers call it 'to jettison your gear!' Hope this helps, Mike, This sounds like what they are telling him. Al

Another great question from Mike:

    I have a friend who says his 1280 leaked at the battery compartment door. He was wondering what type of silicone to use on the door gasket?

Mike

The answer:

     Silicone grease or silicone lubricant of any brand- name can be used, even the spray version. But, do not use 'silicone sealant' which hardens like bathtub caulk! You laugh, but I have seen it used! Another thing you don't use is Vaseline because it is petroleum jelly, or petroleum based, which will break down the rubber.

    Actually, putting silicone on the rubber gasket is used more to keep the gasket fresh, and not so much to seal out the water. If you have a gasket with a crease or a cut in it, no amount of silicone lubricant will hold back the water.

    When you are applying the silicone lube, you just put a tiny amount on your thumb and forefinger. Then slide your fingers back and forth on the gasket using the same motion as if you were trying to silently snap your fingers. You work your way around the gasket with your fingers. Don't feed the gasket by pulling it through your fingers. That is so that you will avoid stretching the gasket. When you are done, the gasket should be shiny without gobs of silicone hanging from it. Before you put the gasket back into position, clean the gasket contact surface on the door and the control housing. If on your make of detector, the gasket inserts into a groove, like the Fisher models, take a Q-tip and clean out that groove. Do all of this work at home in a clean, dry enviroment, not at the beach near the sand and water.

    Chances are, if the detector is leaking at the battery door, it is leaking because it has been repeatedly over-tightened. That causes the treaded inserts in the control housing to be pulled up out of place. Or, maybe it just needs a new door gasket.

    On the control housing there are two knearled, threaded metal inserts that are press-fit into the ABS plastic control housing.

    The battery door is shaped like the control housing at this point. In other words, the door is square with two ears. The ears each have holes where the thumb screws go that tighten the battery door down. I call the matching shape on the control housing 'towers.' It is into theses towers that the threaded inserts are press-fit.

    When you tighten down the door, you tighten both the screws finger tight. Then, with your eyes on the gasket where the door ears are, take a penny or dime and tighten the screw until you see the gasket start to squeeze out, then stop! If you have the screws properly snugged up by hand, the final tightening will only take about 1/4 turn.

    It is not the careless guys who have a problem with these doors leaking. Usually it is the guys who really want to take the best of care of his equipment and fears leaks. They get out the big screwdriver and really put some torque onto those screws! When they do this, they start to dislodge the treaded insert, lifting it out of its hole. Eventually the insert is pulled out of its place so far that the door starts to seat on the insert, instead of on the gasket.

        "Yeah, but Al, I'm a diver! It is not on unusual for me to go down an atmosphere deep or more. With that kind of water pressure, what can I do to prevent door leaks?"

    You do the same thing, nothing different. The total area where the gasket is exposed, compared to the total surface of the door lid itself, is huge! The door lid is roughly 9 square inches of exposed surface and the exposed gasket is about 1/4 inch square surface. That means, the deeper you dive, the tighter your seal-- A tighter seal even to exceed the closing pressure of those screws!

    All this talk about water hunting detectors sure gets me anxious for summer!

    I was at the mirror shaving one morning right after first of January when I noticed a slight lump on the left side of my neck. I reached up and could feel firm tissue under the surface. I told my wife about it and we made a doctor's appointment.

    Just before the last club meeting, I had a meeting with my doctor who confirmed, after many tests, that I have cancer. Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the left tonsil is what it is called. My doctor did a tonsillectomy the day after the bottle club meeting and they found that it had spread to a lymph node.

    Hearing that was quite a rough blow, one that really rocked me to the core. Thankfully, they checked further and it had not spread to the lung or any other place.

    They tell me that this is a cancer that can be beat if caught early. Well, mine was caught early. All my life I have wanted to grow a beard but I have a couple bald spots on my beard area, like I do on the top of my head! I tried to grow a beard once, but I gave it up because I looked like Festus on Gun Smoke. If I would have a had nice full beard, I would have not found this cancer until way too late!

    As I said, this cancer can be beat if caught early. The problem is that we have to fight it aggressively and fast. That means that I will have radiation treatments and chemotherapy at the same time, which is going to be really rough!

    Today, as I write this portion of the newsletter, it is Friday, February 27th, and this morning I had outpatient surgery. They installed what they call a Power Port. That is a small plastic cube a little larger than a game dice. It has a rubber top like a drum head. It was implanted under my skin in a small pocket the surgeon made. Attached at the bottom of the device is a plastic tube that is inserted into one of the larger veins near the heart. At the top of the device are three bumps, so that they can feel for the middle of the Power Port.

    The whole idea behind it is, immediate access to a vein to insert the drugs and other fluids each time. Also, because the drugs will flow into a large vein, they can be absorbed and mixed with the blood more quickly, without the pain and burning.

    To continue, today, March 3rd, I went in for a P.E.G. insertion. That is the one operation I did not look forward to. It is a feeding tube inserted into my belly that goes directly into my stomach. They say that I may or may not need this, but in case I do, they want it ready. There is a chance that the radiation to my neck may make it too hard to swallow solid food.

    I don't write this to make you feel sorry for me, but I really covet your prayers. Also, anyone can get cancer, and many Americans do! I just want to say that if there is something going on in your life that puts you at higher risk, change direction! If you would like a greater persuader, go into downtown Kalamazoo and spend a few hours sitting in the lobby of the West Michigan Cancer Center and just take some time to observe the patients. Hey, maybe you will run into me!

    I am adding this since I mailed the hard copy of the newsletter. My radiation and chemotherapy treatments have been pushed back to March 16th from the 11th.  My doctors have given me hope that there will be complete success in stopping this --- I like to add, "Lord willing." With my first strong dose of chemo and radiation on the day before the meeting, I don't know what to expect on the 17th. There is the possibility I won't be in to work or the meeting--- I just don't know what to expect. For the first week or two, my treatments are at 2:30 in the afternoon which will really mess up my store hours. After that my treatments will be at 3:40 which means my hours will be something like  8:00 to 3:00. I hope you will work with me, I need your business more than ever.   Al