Auto Sensitivity and depth

[WV62]

I am wondering if anybody out there is having any luck running auto sensitivity and getting good depth on coins?

When I first got the E-trac I was running Auto +3 and then thinking it wasn't very deep I went to manual. Now that I got several months behind me on the E-trac I am taking a second look at everything. I can't recall finding anything deeper than say 6" running it either way.

Ron in WV

 

[IDXMonster]

Youll get all kinds of opinions on this Ron. My air testing shows manual being deeper. My real world use shows that Auto produces more coins. Go figure. Picked my 131st silver coin for 2017 this afternoon so Auto must be good for something. I just count results...and coins. I use Auto 95% of the time,especially with a very big coil. I’d be tempted to use manual more with a smaller coil. But that’s me. The only thing Manual really does for ME is accentuate an iron false so that I’m duped into digging a nail.

 

[WV62]

Results speak loudly in the word of detecting. I am at 6 silvers with the E-trac for the year and I thought I was doing pretty good. LOL

My first silver dime with the E-trac I was running Auto +3 and that dime was about 5". The other 5 silvers I was running manual sensitivity set at 27 to 30, I got them but I can say it wasn't pretty. I found a silver half $ and my brother was just a few yards away and he ask what kind of reading I had. I told him I had no idea that I was digging a half $.

I am considering starting over and running Auto sensitivity, kind of looks like running Auto I would have still found the other 5 silvers.

The one problem I have been having is my ID numbers have been all over the place, only a hint that something good is down there.

Thanks,
Ron in WV

 

[IDXMonster]

Running high sensitivity will make your display just about useless,it’ll be responding to every little micron of anything PLUS any stray EMI. If you’re running the stock coil and your soil isn’t outrageously bad,Auto really should see an 8” Dime without too much nonsense.
Just keep truckin’ Ron. You will come to a point at which you will be confident that you can go out and find silver more hunts than not. Sounds ridiculous? You have to keep going to know,and I have a feeling you’re not the quitting type...

 

[Silver Bullet]

I've had my eTrac for two years now, and I am still learning about patterns and sensitivity. For the first year and a half I ran in Auto +3, and found coins as deep as a foot. The soil conditions were ideal for those locations. In just the last month, I started ratcheting up the sensitivity in manual mode, and have found a few more coins, but nothing spectacular. I have found in trashy parks, the sensitivity in auto +3 mode doesn't get very high. I am digging coins in the 5 to 7 inch range at the deepest. The thing is even at that depth I am pulling some wheats and silver dimes because there are more to find (more trash means more stuff to find). That was one tip I learned from an experienced hunter. He said the time to start paying close attention is when you start getting more trash signals because that's where the good stuff lies. If I want true depth, I head to locations that I know there are trash/targets, but not so much it affects the sensitivity in Auto +3.

SB

 

[sprchng]

I've had my eTrac for two years now, and I am still learning about patterns and sensitivity. For the first year and a half I ran in Auto +3, and found coins as deep as a foot. The soil conditions were ideal for those locations. In just the last month, I started ratcheting up the sensitivity in manual mode, and have found a few more coins, but nothing spectacular. I have found in trashy parks, the sensitivity in auto +3 mode doesn't get very high. I am digging coins in the 5 to 7 inch range at the deepest. The thing is even at that depth I am pulling some wheats and silver dimes because there are more to find (more trash means more stuff to find). That was one tip I learned from an experienced hunter. He said the time to start paying close attention is when you start getting more trash signals because that's where the good stuff lies. If I want true depth, I head to locations that I know there are trash/targets, but not so much it affects the sensitivity in Auto +3.

SB

Ron,
I can't emphasize enough the importance of this part of SB's post or the "importance of location" enough about detecting overall.
I think the best method to determine sensitivity readings for your particular area is to take a small 100 square foot area and detect it in +3 and then again in manual at the highest level tolerable and compare the results. If the stability becomes such an issue that the noise blocks out the good signals how can you be helping yourself? As with using the F75 lower sensitivity often produced as good or better results and definitely a more enjoyable hunt.

Some dirt will simply not permit great depths or high sensitivity readings and some areas just don't have deep coins , silver or otherwise. Manual can certainly clean up an otherwise scratchy sounding signal you might get in +3 but , in my dirt , seldom brings in signals that are not also heard in auto. If a simple test as I mentioned above showed different results in your dirt then I would not hesitate to run in manual at the level of stability that my hearing would tolerate,,,the same goes for the amount of disc you have in your hunting pattern.

 

[WV62]

Well it seems just as I thought I got off track for my first few E-trac months. I think what did it was my air testing, which showed the depth dropped by about half from manual sensitivity to Auto.

I am now thinking air testing in Auto sensitivity will not give good numbers because the detector is not picking up any ground. The way I air test I can't see the screen, but my guess is the auto sensitivity was running really low.

The ground is frozen and am now setting back taking a look at what went down with my E-Trac. Even with my hot settings I have still learned a lot from hunting and help from the forum.

Now I have went through all my settings and reread the manual for better understanding. I did notice one thing that there seems to be a link between Sensitivity and the Ground setting. The ground around here is not all that bad, but I have been lead to believe that the Ground setting should be set to difficult and just forget about it.

The manual gives some testing that I haven't done, so as soon as I can get out I need to see what the testing shows. Anybody have any input on this item?

Thanks for all the help,

Ron in WV

 

[oldmoney]

Ron, I took Andy S' class couple of months ago and he explained that you should have the machine in Auto plus 2 or 3 then ground balance and if the numbers on the left side of the screen, where the 2 bars are, if they read below 13 then use the ground setting at difficult if they read above 13 then leave the setting at normal. just my 2 cents Good luck and HH

 

[sprchng]

Ron, I took Andy S' class couple of months ago and he explained that you should have the machine in Auto plus 2 or 3 then ground balance and if the numbers on the left side of the screen, where the 2 bars are, if they read below 13 then use the ground setting at difficult if they read above 13 then leave the setting at normal. just my 2 cents Good luck and HH

How do you "ground balance" an etrac? Do you mean noise cancel?
I run difficult ground at all times because I seldom , if ever, see auto sens. above 12.

 

[WV62]

Oldmoney,

I am good with everything you said except for the ground balance part. Can you clear that up a little? Thanks

That 13 or below is a real good guide number to know changes need to made.

Ron in WV

 

[WV62]

Now this is the way to work through these settings, one at a time. But I agree that time on the machine is needed before one can understand where all this is going. Like my brother said when I got my E-Trac I was like a lost ball in high weeds. LOL

I am loving it,

Ron in WV

 

[WV62]

Well I couldn't stand it, I took the E-trac out in the yard today and set the sensitivity to Auto and switch the Ground setting from Difficult to Neutral several times. I didn't get a lot of change the sensitivity was running from 23 to 27 with either setting Neutral or Difficult.

Now that explains why when I was running manual sensitivity at 30 and after backing it down to 27 I started doing a lot better.

My next few hunts I will keep an eye on the auto sensitivity level.

Ron in WV

 

[IDXMonster]

Keep checking things for yourself,that way you know what works for YOU and your area,that’s very key. It’s been mentioned that there are those sites where you will NOT get depth for various reasons.
Don’t be afraid to move on either. Just because you DID find coins in a place at one time,or even several times,does not ever mean you will duplicate that on a regular basis. The more you pull out,the less that’s left. Sometimes that old place that’s calling you is a red herring...move on for now,you can always go back if it’s public.
Nice work with the test.

 

[oldmoney]

Sorry Ron I meant Noise cancel. For some reason I can't seem yo get that right in my brain... Im always calling it ground balance. LOL

 

[WV62]

No problem, that info you shared was really a nice little nugget.

Thanks,

Ron in WV

 

[sprchng]

You might find this interesting
https://www.minelab.com/usa/treasure-talk/e-trac-manual-versus-auto-features-for-expert-users

 

[WV62]

You might find this interesting
https://www.minelab.com/usa/treasure-talk/e-trac-manual-versus-auto-features-for-expert-users

Thanks for the link, I read through it and made a copy for reference. I think I will save that for step 2 when I get past the beginner stage.

Ron in WV

 

[Silver_Stallion]

If you've ever checked out cutaplug's vids on Youtube the guy pulls in a ton of deep silver and tells is straight up your have to hunt in manual if you want the deeper coins others have missed. My finds and tests in my coin garden prove this. There are some deep silvers auto plus 3 will not hit in my garden but auto 26 will. See for yourself and test it out. Now that doesn't mean you won't hit allot of stuff in Auto plus you will. If you'r hunting a virgin permission stay away from manual as it will false more and pick up more deep iron. Reserve it for picked over areas with fewer good signals. Before the snow flew I was hunting next to the steps of an abandoned high school in Auto plus 3 to see if any easy targets were there I found none. Since this area next to the entrance had to be pounded to death I went to manual 26. I picked up a signal that was a 12 inch ring that others missed and auto plus 3 had missed.

 

[Southwind]

Like all setting options there is a time and condition where each prevails over the other. I use Auto +3 and switch to manual, sometimes, to check a signal under certain conditions. I've run in manual 26 and done OK in clean sites but in trashy area it seemed to just increase masking.

Just another tool when used properly at the right conditions can increase depth. Used in the wrong condition and you can lose depth.

Just my experience anyway.

 

[WV62]

Another question, is there an easy way to tell when you cross the line to where you are running to hot?

Ron in WV