Etrac newby

[DaveNV]

Went out today with my new (to me) Etrac. My head was spinning after browsing the manual and looking over Andy Sabisch's book. So, I followed advice given in both: start out simply and learn. I went to an old park (1940s) where I had taken out over $30 face vaule in silver coins, starting back in the mid-1980s. It has been detected, heavily. In recent years, I have only gotten newer, clad coins and an occasional piece of jewelry. Anyway, I was certain there was more to find; or at least, it would be a good learning ground for me with the Etrac.
I started out using the Minlab Coin pattern. My first find: a zinc cent. I kept going and soon had 7 zincs, two nickles and four dimes. I decided to switch to the Minelab High Trash pattern, although I had only dug two pieces of trash in the 1 1/2 hours I had been detecting. I got what sounded like a deep hit. At about 8", I pulled up a 1927-S wheat cent. That made my day! One stupid wheat cent, but confirmation that this detector goes deeper than the ones I've been using there.
Once I master this machine, I'm looking forward to more of the older finds. Now, back to the manual and Sabisch book....

 

[surfchunker]

congrats, most people leave ground on difficult and trash on high all the time

 

[NebTrac]

Welcome aboard! Good luck learning the new machine. Congratulations on the deep wheat!

NebTrac

 

[E-Trac-Ohio]

Andy's book and this forum are a great way to learn about your E-Trac but don't get to bogged down with small details right now.
Just get out in the field and use the machine as much as possible - so you get a feel for it and the good finds will start popping out of the ground !

Good Luck and welcome to the forum !

 

[ChicagoJohn]

Great finds! NOT stupid one wheat! For me is good day at heavy hunted park! One wheat or silver is not bad for heavy hunted park so you did a good job and you will find a lot more at less hunted park or private home! One heavy hunted park but its old park that I went there many times because it close to my home and have 1 hour of my free time. Found 1892 indian head cent at about 8 inch deep.

 

[moonshine]

just so you don't get confused, theres "high trash" as a discrimination setting that surfchunker mentions, and also a high trash pattern.

what impressed me the most with the etrac was the amount of ground covered compared to my old 8" concentric coil on my old detector. the etrac stock coil definitely is able to scan more ground with every sweep.

good luck with your new detector

 

[jcurtz1]

If you want the deep stuff i would suggest not using the patterns and using more of an open screen. then just discriminate out 27 and above on the ferrous. Slow down on your swing and walk in all different directions. The etrac has a lot of menus and settings but I find that once it's set the way you like it, it is a turn on and go detector. The only time i turn a pattern on is when I just feel like giving my ears a break. Those deep wheaties can really sing out on and etrac.

 

[DaveNV]

Went back to the same park. Found lots of zincs, five copper Lincolns, a nickle, five clad dimes, a quarter and a 1947 wheat at about 6". Starting to feel somewhat more comfortable with the detector. I find I'm just not digging a lot of trash...not sure if that's good or bad, but that's where I am. This detector is such a paradigm shift from all the others I've used over the 42 years I've been in this hobby. Looking forward to great things!

 

[EtracTom-AdirondacksNY]

I like what you just said DaveNV in that "this detector is such a paradigm shift from all the others I've used".
I have had several mostly Whites till I got an Etrac including an Explorer2 I had (never could figure it out no book to help out) but after reading in a treasure magazine an article by Andy Sabisch on the Etrac I ran out and bought one and his book.
I set it to High Trash, Ground Difficult and Upped a few of the other numbers to 28-29 and shifted the threshold sounds to my liking at 15 I think and went out and the coins came flying right out of the ground at places I had been with my other detectors. It and I just clicked like a long time best friend. Never with constant adjusting of the other detectors like a DFX that I really liked never got me deep coins and co located coins and such as easily or effortlessly as the Etrac did for me. Never any silver found ever in all those years and then I started getting 30-50 pieces of silver coins a year and tons of old Wheaties with the Etrac. Best decision I ever made. Makes this Hobby really enjoyable to me now compared to before. I went out and got me a CTX3030 when they came out too because of this Etrac as they are somewhat alike. Sold my Explorer2 so as not to get confused with the Etracs numbers as there different and the screens and cursor (horizontal not vertical) are different. Enjoy it!!