I used to think ground penetrating radar was a waste of money for local digs

Spent $350 to rent a GPR unit for a weekend at a site near my granddad's old farm in Ohio. Thought I was just throwing cash at a hobby, but it found a collapsed root cellar from the 1800s under three feet of topsoil. Now I'm thinking I should pool with some other locals and buy one. Anyone know if the rental companies ever sell their older units?

3 comments

3 Comments

hayden_nelson852mo ago

Please don't ask ME about buying tech gear - I'm the guy who spent $350 thinking he found an old well and it turned out to be a sewer pipe from the 1970s.

reese_nelson2mo ago

At least you didn't find dead bodies down there (I mean, that I assume). A sewer pipe is definitely a letdown but at least it's not a $350 hole filled with someone else's trash. Plus now you have a great story to tell at parties (or on forums like this). Honestly that's worth at least $300 of the price tag right there.

faith_carter2mo ago

I get what you're saying, but I kinda disagree with that "worth $300 of the price tag" take. Spending $350 to learn you hit a sewer pipe is still $350 down the drain, no pun intended. The story is funny, sure, but it's not like I'm gonna get invited to better parties just because I can tell people about my sewer pipe mistake. I'd rather have the $350 back than a good story, honestly. Stories don't pay the bills or fix the hole I gotta patch up now.