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FE numbers off on my etrac

B

bruce01364

New member
My hunting partner had a good signal with his Whites machine. Before digging it he had me check it out with my etrac. CO was 47-48 but FE was 9-10. Told him my CO numbers were in the coin range but didn't think it was a coin as it was shallow and my FE didn't show 12. Darn, was I embarrassed when he pulled out a Fugio cent which is a large copper. Very nice find. Wasn't sure why FE was off but kept detecting. Later in the day I was lucky enough to find a Barber half dollar. Iffy signal in trashy area but after getting it out ran coil over it. Again FE was showing 9-10. Now this is a large silver coin. My etrac should have been a solid 12. Had stock coil on when checking friends find and had sunray 5" coil when checking my silver half. FE was off with both coils. Anyone have an idea what is wrong?
 
I dig coins , especially nickels it seems , with Fe numbers like that all the time. Lot's of coins come up with Fe numbers way the other side of 12 as well--14 or 18--enough that I pay less and less attention to the Fe numbers in the ground as time goes on. Tones , Co numbers and cursor position all give me more guidance than Fe. The air test is a bit strange though,,,,could you have some contaminates in your coil covers like black sand?
 
sprchng said:
I pay less and less attention to the Fe numbers in the ground as time goes on. Tones , Co numbers and cursor position all give me more guidance than Fe.
Click to expand...

ditto......... audio, audio, audio #1, then co and cursor imo
 
Nothing is wrong at all. Different ground skews thing and like Sprchng says, you'll pay less and less attention to the Fe numbers. I've pulled out coins with Fe from 01 to 27 and everywhere in between. Go by the sound and consistency.

NebTrac
 
Thanks for the replies. I understand FE number can be off on objects in the ground. But after digging the half dollar and air testing... the FE reading shouldn't be off that much. Correct?
 
OK. Checked coils and they are clean. Air tested half dollar and FE is now 7-10 and CO is 43-47. Inside my house now (no metal nearby that I know of) but still think numbers shouldn't be that far off.
 
My silver dollar came in at Fe 01...which, according to TID numbers from other hunters is where they should read at. Halves are in the 09-11 Fe range on the TID numbers. Halves, in the ground, for me have come in the 06 Fe range with the Co 46....if I remember right (its been awhile since unearthing a
 
Try a silver dollar.........you'll see they are also way off! For me anything bigger than a quarter won't have a FE of 12. Seems to be the "nature of the beast"! Anyway as others have said.......the FE is the last thing I use when deciding to dig a signal...........otherwise I feel I would miss out on many good finds!!! (But that's just my opinion!)
 
Wish I could give some thoughts on my experiences with coppers and halves but can't. Never had the opportunity to dig one. Having only a few weeks on the E Trac I'm still learning. One thing I do know is when things don't seem to be adding up or in this case ringing up I've done a noise cancel which has brought things back to where I believe they should be. Just recently I was hunting along a RR track where they are scrapping along one rail to begin constructing a new "siding". A second track along side the first to allow two trains running in opposite directions to pass. One particular area was once used as a stop back in early 1900. Not a depot but just a stop out in the middle of nowhere to load fruits and vegetables for shipment to the big city from surrounding farms. Anyone having hunted in this environment with any detector will tell you its tough. Lots of iron, slag, hot rocks and more iron. They scraped up the sod and hauled it off with several inches of top soil. Can only imagine what else they took. Haven't pulled one coin from this area after two trips and several hours of hunting.
 
To me, the FE numbers are sort of like the 'confidence bar' on my M6. If the FE number is 12 and the CO number is 12-13 or 35-48, I can be pretty sure it's a US coin. If the FE numbers are something other than 12 but the CO numbers are still in those ranges, I still consider them worth digging, but I am less confident of what they are.
 
OK. Didn't realize FE on a half dollar would be off with an air test. Don't find many of them...darn it. Thought FE was only different on silver dollars. Air tested a silver dime, IH, 2 cent piece, nickel etc. and FE is 12. Should have tested the smaller coins before posting. Just thought something wrong with my machine. Thanks for clearing that up for me. Now ready to find more large silver. :)
 
The 8Reales I found last month came in at 03:35, 03:36, 01:33, 03:36 and 09:41. Four of them were about 7" and the 09:41 was about 6". Each one of them was a surprise!!
 
I dig Mercs all the time that are in the 7 - 18 : 43-46 range. It is rare that a coin hits at exactly 12 Fe, in my opinion.

Lots of variables will influence the number:

Coil
Swing Speed
Type of Soil
Soil Condditions (Wet or dry)
Orientation of the coin
Mixture of metals in the Coin
Nearby targets
Even how worn, or damaged, a coin is
Depth
 
Are you running DEEP ON and FAST ON?? Mine tends to give lower FE numbers running both on...
 
i found a barber half that read a solid 2-46. there is nothing wrong with your machine.
 
About the ONLY coins that are ever on the 12 FE line is shallow clad. I don't think I have ever dug a half dollar with a FE of 12. Normally they are a solid 06-47 area. If ur paying attention to the FE number too much ur missing a lot of good targets. Sound is king first and foremost. Then CO number. The FE number is what will vary greatly on every single target according to depth. Co-adjacent targets, ground minerals etc.
 
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