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E-Trac/SE/DFX Data: Spreadsheets, Charts and Emulator Files

T

The Beep Goes On

New member
Wanting to understand the E-Trac more fully I gathered some data by comparing it to machines I was already familiar with, namely the SE and DFX.

I bench tested the same targets on all three machines, created spreadsheets and charts and then created E-Trac and SE emulator files from the data. Three sets of data were created: US Coins (29 targets), Gold Jewelry (43 targets) and Silver Jewelry (56 targets). For the US Coins I tested the coins flat and on edge.

If you are familiar with any of the machines you should be able to get up to speed on the others by reviewing the files. The charts really help with this. The three E-Trac emulator files are the same as the three SE emulator files (except for the FE-CO numbers, of course) which allow you to have both emulators running at the same time with the same targets. It is an interesting way to do a side-by-side comparison.

You can download these files from http://www.thebeepgoeson.com. Click on the link to the DOWNLOADS page. There you will find two pages: "Target ID Spreadsheets" and "E-Trac and SE Emulator Files" which contain the respective files.

There are three tables, ten charts and six emulator files. As an example, two of the charts from the Silver Jewelry data are shown below. The charts graphically depict the difference in the axis orientation between the E-Trac and the SE as well as where the targets fall.


HH!
TBGO

TBGO_Silver_Jewelry_E-Trac_Chart.jpg


TBGO_Silver_Jewelry_SE_Chart.jpg
 
That's a lot of work! Very nice.

Do trash targets if you get time so we can see which (if any) does a good job at separting trash targets from the good stuff.
 
Excellent work.

I have also tried making some ZIP.files for the emulator but cannot get it to work. I follow the directions exactly as shown under the HELP menu of the emulator. The files look as they should, but whenever I try to load them, the emulator crashes. Did you have a similar problem.

Would appreciate your help as I badly want to make up a ZIP. file of my own.
 
Hi Fortunehunter,

Yes, that did happen to me. I'm not sure if this is what you are experiencing, but I found that it was the way the files were Zipped. If you highlight the numbered folders -> Right-click -> Send To -> Compressed (zipped) Folder you get a Zip file that contains a folder that contains the numbered folders. This doesn't work...the Zip file has to contain the numbered folders at the top level of the Zip file (not inside the extra folder). I didn't seem to be able to do this with the WinZip built into Windows. So, I bought WinZip 12.0 on the web for $30. Here is what I did once I had WinZip 12.0 installed...

1 - Highlight the numbered files (0 thru whatever...)
2 - Right-click -> WinZip -> Add to Zip file...
3 - Click New
4 - Make sure you navigate to the directory you want to contain the Zip file (usually the same as the numbered folders)
5 - Type in a name for the Zip file
6 - Click OK
7 - Click Add

This will give you a Zip file without the extra folder. I tried a bunch of things to try to get the Windows built-in version to work, but couldn't...maybe someone out there knows how. Hope this helps.

HH!
TBGO
 
Great job! looka like I might hace to re-visit a site or two. I may of passed over a few items.. These programs are working great.

Aloha to you

BOB
 
Hi Beep,

Thanks for such clear instructions. I followed them to the letter and guess what? It still didn't work. :veryangry: Anyway through the process of elimination I finally worked out what the problem was. The program I was using to create and re size the "image" would not allow me to save it as an "image.gif" so I had to save it as a image.jpg. I then loaded this into the Windows Paint program which would allow it to be saved as a .gif. However I evently discovered that Windows Paint .gif format is not compatible with the E-Trac Emulator. Problem was easily solved by downloading a free image converter from the internet to convert a .jpg to a .gif. This worked perfectly. :clapping:

So now I can make up my own zip file, which hopefully I can make available to others sometime in the future.

But one more question if I may. How do you get your images to stay so clear and sharp. I have tried photographing a coin with a top quality macro lens and also scanned it on a flat bed scanner, no problem here, but when you re size the image down to 120 x 120 pixels the image losses it clarity and displays very fuzzy and pixelated in the emulator. What's the secret?

Thanks, and I love your user name, very original.
 
I'm glad you figured it out. I downloaded and used the shareware image manipulation program GIMP 2...it's a little complex, but it's an excellent image program. I experimented with taking pics to see what worked the best. I ended up using a camera tripod with the targets placed on a white piece of paper (targets about 6" away, I think). I had to elevate the targets on a coffee can (short tripod). I then took pics at max resolution (something like 3K x 2K) on Auto with Macro on with flash. The room was very dark and almost all the light for the pics came from the flash -- this prevented shadows caused by using other lighting. I then opened them in GIMP, selected a 1000px x 1000px area, centered it on the target, copied, pasted as new image, scaled the image to 120 x 120 and saved as a .gif file.

The bench testing took a little while, documenting the targets, entering the data and creating the charts took longer...creating the images took a couple of days. All-in-all, I think it took me a week of working on it off and on. It depends on how many targets you want to use. Hope this helps.

HH!
TBGO
 
[size=medium]Thanks for making the zip files you created for the emulator available to the rest of us.

I must admit I'm having a litlle anxiety now about what I may have missed.[/size]
 
Thanks for your help, especially the about the GIMP program. You were right it is a little complex but I'm starting to get the hang of it, great image editing program though.

Starting to get my zip file together which will have most of the Australian coins, both old and new in it, along with some common trash items. Will post it to the forum when I've finished it.

Once again, thank you very much for your assistance.
 
The Beep Goes On said:
I guess that's all the more reason to get back out there :detecting:

Are your referring to the low-end gold items, or something else (like the FE 1 line in the big silver range)?

HH!
TBGO
Click to expand...


[size=medium]Low-end Gold Items.

I was previously under the false impression that all gold rings would read at least in the CO = 20 range or higher.
My misunderstanding was due to testing my own, rather large 14K gold men's wedding band which reads FE12 - CO27 when tested.
Using your gold jewelry zip file on the emulator, I'm amazed how low some of the CO readings are on the smaller gold items.
I'm primarily a coin hunter, but will try to always take the time to dig a few of the good jewelry targets.[/size]
 
The Beep Goes On said:
Wanting to understand the E-Trac more fully I gathered some data by comparing it to machines I was already familiar with, namely the SE and DFX.

I bench tested the same targets on all three machines, created spreadsheets and charts and then created E-Trac and SE emulator files from the data. Three sets of data were created: US Coins (29 targets), Gold Jewelry (43 targets) and Silver Jewelry (56 targets). For the US Coins I tested the coins flat and on edge.

If you are familiar with any of the machines you should be able to get up to speed on the others by reviewing the files. The charts really help with this. The three E-Trac emulator files are the same as the three SE emulator files (except for the FE-CO numbers, of course) which allow you to have both emulators running at the same time with the same targets. It is an interesting way to do a side-by-side comparison.

You can download these files from http://www.thebeepgoeson.com. Click on the link to the DOWNLOADS page. There you will find two pages: "Target ID Spreadsheets" and "E-Trac and SE Emulator Files" which contain the respective files.

There are three tables, ten charts and six emulator files. As an example, two of the charts from the Silver Jewelry data are shown below. The charts graphically depict the difference in the axis orientation between the E-Trac and the SE as well as where the targets fall.


HH!
TBGO

TBGO_Silver_Jewelry_E-Trac_Chart.jpg


TBGO_Silver_Jewelry_SE_Chart.jpg
Click to expand...

Ok, I'm confused... I understand what the FE and CO axis are but what are the indicators... the list down the right side is???? I would expect to see nickel=<character>, dime etc etc... am I missing something? If so, I apologize I'm new to these units.
 
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