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- Thread starter sunraysux
- Start date
skateteacher
Member
Try what IDXmonster said to do. He helped me with it and it has made learning the machine much easier and I'm finding coins in a place that is absolutely loaded with junk and iron. Open up just the upper right quadrant and hunt with it. It will help immensely. I've had my etrac now for almost a month now and it was crazy loud the first few times out and now I have 35+ hours on it (I've been detecting nearly every day) and it's getting easier. IDX knows his stuff.
all due respect Amber....this is not any language, this is digital diarrhea...as yes, it is as nasty as that sounds
NO....she makes no noise when lifted other than the soft steady threshold
i just cannot believe that all the areas i have been in the last several days have no coins...and only mounds and mounds of buried trash...i have been on residences and city parks
surely there should be more good hits
NO....she makes no noise when lifted other than the soft steady threshold
i just cannot believe that all the areas i have been in the last several days have no coins...and only mounds and mounds of buried trash...i have been on residences and city parks
surely there should be more good hits
thanks Skate....will be in Vegas the next 10 days starting Monday
but will try to grab an hour or 2 tomorrow to play
lots of loose ends to tie up before flying out 3/6 AM
not sure what area you live in the US...but the NorthEast is full of really trashy areas(geez, that sounded bad)
and it makes moving a machine across these areas rather trying
i have researched these parks and i'm sure they have been hit heavily....but there has to be a ton of coins still there
these were used by millions of folks over the last 100 plus years
so make a 40//20 box in the upper right....inclusive of the 40 and 20??
or basically 41/21??
but will try to grab an hour or 2 tomorrow to play
lots of loose ends to tie up before flying out 3/6 AM
not sure what area you live in the US...but the NorthEast is full of really trashy areas(geez, that sounded bad)
and it makes moving a machine across these areas rather trying
i have researched these parks and i'm sure they have been hit heavily....but there has to be a ton of coins still there
these were used by millions of folks over the last 100 plus years
so make a 40//20 box in the upper right....inclusive of the 40 and 20??
or basically 41/21??
Sorry to hear you are having so much trouble with your etrac. I am one of those guys killing it with mine and I am new to minelab...got mine last fall. Wouldn't trade it for anything. I've pulled lots of great stuff from pounded parks...really good old silver. If you hang in there things should turn around for you. If you know an experienced etrac user you should hunt with them and try their machine. That way you could rule out the possibility of a problem with your machine.
thanks Mickie D...now i have a strong case of Etrac envy
glad you are killing it but i am entirely jealous at this point
....just born out of frustration i guess
i am in the greater Philly area...so anyone who has an Etrac in driving distance, let me know and i can come see you or vice versa
i am sure the machine works....i was in the other room air testing and putting in the 40//20 program
i guess i am just one of those folks who can say if i didn't have bad luck, i'd have none
glad you are killing it but i am entirely jealous at this point
....just born out of frustration i guess
i am in the greater Philly area...so anyone who has an Etrac in driving distance, let me know and i can come see you or vice versa
i am sure the machine works....i was in the other room air testing and putting in the 40//20 program
i guess i am just one of those folks who can say if i didn't have bad luck, i'd have none
that's good its not emi
next step is to find a less trashy spot or get a smaller coil and start digging solid repeatable tones, you can read for the rest of time but that's not learning, digging and hard work attaches tones to target types this how we rewire the brain and learn.
so go slow dig good sounds and it will come together it takes time like learning anything new.
AJ
next step is to find a less trashy spot or get a smaller coil and start digging solid repeatable tones, you can read for the rest of time but that's not learning, digging and hard work attaches tones to target types this how we rewire the brain and learn.
so go slow dig good sounds and it will come together it takes time like learning anything new.
AJ
OK guys...just a follow up to all my trevails....
went out today and did a yard from a 1940s home
reasonable clean; hunted with your beloved Etrac
still lots of weird noises and garble; hunted in Minelabs COINS mode and manual discrim
as it got choppy, i dialed back the Disc...so i would say she was about 12/13 most of the time
lots of powerlines/buried cables and fuel lines around
BUT i did get lots of CLAD...and popped my first Minelab silver quarter//see attached
so a better day on balance but still a quirky powerful machine
there was NO doubt on the silver though!!...holy hell
it rang like a Xmas bell versus a clad quarter sounding like an ice cream truck bell!!
i knew it was silver before i even dug the damn thing (^_^)
###have tried to add the pics 3 times here guys and this silly site keeps saying i didn't upload the files!?!? WTF
went out today and did a yard from a 1940s home
reasonable clean; hunted with your beloved Etrac
still lots of weird noises and garble; hunted in Minelabs COINS mode and manual discrim
as it got choppy, i dialed back the Disc...so i would say she was about 12/13 most of the time
lots of powerlines/buried cables and fuel lines around
BUT i did get lots of CLAD...and popped my first Minelab silver quarter//see attached
so a better day on balance but still a quirky powerful machine
there was NO doubt on the silver though!!...holy hell
it rang like a Xmas bell versus a clad quarter sounding like an ice cream truck bell!!
i knew it was silver before i even dug the damn thing (^_^)
###have tried to add the pics 3 times here guys and this silly site keeps saying i didn't upload the files!?!? WTF
EtracTom-AdirondacksNY
New member
Appreciate the kind words sunraysux thanks. I forgot to mention the machine gets plenty of depth so I run with FAST left on as it Removes a filter and speeds up the target reset faster and the target sounds are a bit shorter clipped like but helps when there is multiple targets. DEEP just Adds filtering and helps only with the IDing smoothing it out some but not any further depth like people think so I leave it OFF.
Try to maybe for now dig only targets that read only 12 on the ferrous number side in the stock COINS ONLY discrimination FACTORY PATTERN. KISS keep it simple for now more disc. is better for now not less as you get more signals and hence more sounds to have to deal with. Always can do that later after learning machine more.
Then dig only the good numbers on the conductive side for now like for nickles it's 12 or 13 CO. for me here. Zink pennies 37 to 39 CO., copper pennies 42 to 44 CO., Dimes 45 or 46 CO., Quarters 46 or 47 CO. and try to look at the depth gauge on the face to the right of the screen and forget about the Shallow targets for now and go for the ones that read 1/4 or more of the way down on the depth gauge for now as those tend to be the ones your looking for older wise. Shallow may be just new drops so ignore for now if you want to.
Once you clean out some targets there will be less to deal with and less sounds too making it easier to find other targets. OR lets face it the spot your trying may just be cleaned of good targets and only have that one odd deep target hiding any you haven't got the coil across it yet.
I may be a nut but I dug every target to see what is was to memorize the numbers and the sounds to learn to recognize the good from the bad. Pain in the butt maybe but that was just me. I also picked a locak park and said I was going to try to clean it out before moving on so as not to run out of spots too soon around here. Haven't quite done it yea after these few years so ...
Sweep slowly and I mean slowly and if you think it's trashy do really, really short small wiggle sweeps like just wiggling the coil along from target to target. You think the coil is too big but it's not as the signal is like a thin edged knife blade down the center only going deep into the ground it's not like a concentric coil which is like an upside down icecream cone that sees a large surface area and only a dot way down deep. DD coils are great for separating because of the small narrow beam like signal area that goes deep.
It's written way back when these machines came out it may take close to 100 hours of use to really get a good thorough understanding of them. I had an Explorer 2 that I was just like too you coming from a Wh--es machine I couldn't come to grips with all the sounds and such from the Explorer and kept giving up and going back to old familiar machine. I finally dumbed down the sensitivity and CRAWLED along with the coil and ONLY dug a solid from all directions good number reading object signals and made myself learn this machine due to others finds on here. Then one day it happened and it was a deep signal almost burying the depth meter with good numbers and it was a barber quarter 1909 that sold me right then and there and I made myself learn these machines. no matter how long it took. Not disappointed at all no regrets.
The Tunk sound is only on extremely deep fringe depth targets that just about burry the depth meter readings 10-12" those you want to try and dig. Look at the depth gauge and see.
Try to maybe for now dig only targets that read only 12 on the ferrous number side in the stock COINS ONLY discrimination FACTORY PATTERN. KISS keep it simple for now more disc. is better for now not less as you get more signals and hence more sounds to have to deal with. Always can do that later after learning machine more.
Then dig only the good numbers on the conductive side for now like for nickles it's 12 or 13 CO. for me here. Zink pennies 37 to 39 CO., copper pennies 42 to 44 CO., Dimes 45 or 46 CO., Quarters 46 or 47 CO. and try to look at the depth gauge on the face to the right of the screen and forget about the Shallow targets for now and go for the ones that read 1/4 or more of the way down on the depth gauge for now as those tend to be the ones your looking for older wise. Shallow may be just new drops so ignore for now if you want to.
Once you clean out some targets there will be less to deal with and less sounds too making it easier to find other targets. OR lets face it the spot your trying may just be cleaned of good targets and only have that one odd deep target hiding any you haven't got the coil across it yet.
I may be a nut but I dug every target to see what is was to memorize the numbers and the sounds to learn to recognize the good from the bad. Pain in the butt maybe but that was just me. I also picked a locak park and said I was going to try to clean it out before moving on so as not to run out of spots too soon around here. Haven't quite done it yea after these few years so ...
Sweep slowly and I mean slowly and if you think it's trashy do really, really short small wiggle sweeps like just wiggling the coil along from target to target. You think the coil is too big but it's not as the signal is like a thin edged knife blade down the center only going deep into the ground it's not like a concentric coil which is like an upside down icecream cone that sees a large surface area and only a dot way down deep. DD coils are great for separating because of the small narrow beam like signal area that goes deep.
It's written way back when these machines came out it may take close to 100 hours of use to really get a good thorough understanding of them. I had an Explorer 2 that I was just like too you coming from a Wh--es machine I couldn't come to grips with all the sounds and such from the Explorer and kept giving up and going back to old familiar machine. I finally dumbed down the sensitivity and CRAWLED along with the coil and ONLY dug a solid from all directions good number reading object signals and made myself learn this machine due to others finds on here. Then one day it happened and it was a deep signal almost burying the depth meter with good numbers and it was a barber quarter 1909 that sold me right then and there and I made myself learn these machines. no matter how long it took. Not disappointed at all no regrets.
The Tunk sound is only on extremely deep fringe depth targets that just about burry the depth meter readings 10-12" those you want to try and dig. Look at the depth gauge and see.
wow AD-Tom...this is a long message that took you some time to peck it out//thank you for that
i had a better outing today...not a junk-laden park
still some banging...and some crazy load smeared and jumbled sounds
less than in the parks i have tried so it was bearable....and i did pick up some easy signals
they were obvious; it is interesting though how some coins(memorials) can ring out as higher one time and lower another time
the dimes/quarts are usually pretty consistent
seem s to me that when i get a smaller coil, i will go back at those hideous parks and employ your slow slow slow paced attack and see if i cannot ferret out some silver...i know its there!!
thanks again for the time put into your message
i had a better outing today...not a junk-laden park
still some banging...and some crazy load smeared and jumbled sounds
less than in the parks i have tried so it was bearable....and i did pick up some easy signals
they were obvious; it is interesting though how some coins(memorials) can ring out as higher one time and lower another time
the dimes/quarts are usually pretty consistent
seem s to me that when i get a smaller coil, i will go back at those hideous parks and employ your slow slow slow paced attack and see if i cannot ferret out some silver...i know its there!!
thanks again for the time put into your message
Memorials....zinc in particular will read different depending on how much of the coin has corroded away. The more coin gone the lower it will read. Same goes for copper and silver as well. A heavily worn silver dime will read below the normal 45-46 we all love to see on our screens.
IDXMonster
Well-known member
jd88047 said:
No ground balance feature on the eTrac JD.
It's actually good to see a little bit of struggle for some guys just turning on their Minelabs for the first time,and here's why. I'm talking about the e-series and CTX now...they are stupendously powerful and capable of doing some things I've not seen with my other machines. Firstly,the ability to see a good coin target in very close proximity to,or touching,another unwanted target. The second is to be able to tune out EMI with the touch of a button,or it can be done manually for special circumstances. Thirdly,the VAST array of GREAT coils available for the e-series makes about every site "huntable". There are those super oddball places that have EMI that won't allow hunting,but those are really REALLY few and far between....lowering Sens can help a lot with this.
The reason I like to see a bit of struggle really is this....now you have skin in the game. If every dunce could pick up an eTrac and find nothing but silver every day,it would not be ANYWHERE near as satisfying as it is to have gone through a process to achieve those results. To FIGURE OUT what works,where and why...now you actually worked for it,and trusted that the guys who HAVE put in the time haven't lied to you. It's a bit like being inducted into a club of sorts....not the "Minelab" club,but the club of guys who are willing to work through the problems to become better overall hunters. Minelabs are quirky,ain't any doubt about that. But their ability to ID good targets,IF THEY ARE THERE, is absolutely uncanny. As I said awhile ago on another site about my Explorer2......"I don't care HOW Minelabs work,I care THAT they work." Once you go through the "WTF" process and make it through,you will realize that, they indeed, do work.
Trying to absorb everything at once is where I ABOUT killed myself. You have to lessen the load through the use of discrimination,lowering sensitivity if necessary and putting yourself on a site on which you can build the skills of running the machine. This means....LOW trash, SOME coins, workable EMI. You have to hand out ALOT of trust to the machine. You spent that money on it,now get to know it. Trust that when it tells you it's garbage,it's garbage. Hoping that a bad signal is something good will delay the process IMMENSELY. Working with fairly tight discrimination early on and building your hunting skills with JUST that much area of the screen reporting targets will keep you in the game. Worry about those "maybe it's a skewed dime" readings much later.
You could go with a "dig it all" approach with an open screen but you already know where on the screen most coins will go,and what the numbers are. Nobody should have to pull any hair out with this,TRUST the machine to do exactly what it was designed to do. You have the rest of your life to question it later....
sage advice for sure, IDX grasshopper
it is a beast of a machine...and overwhelming if you try to unleash her fury all at once
i have found this out the normal way a Taurus guy like me does....the hard way
if we allow the beast out of its cage an appendage at a time....we have a chance to break her and domesticate her
otherwise she can kick our butts
i will be taking slow steady measured steps henceforth to forge an intuitive alliance and relationship with the beast!!
and i hope to at some point in the future achieve the levels of beast Master that many on here like IDX/etc have achieved
we "youngens" appreciate the advice and counsel a great deal!!!
###BTW....any advise as to the easiest way to unload pics??
tried to add some to this chain yesterday unsuccessfully
it is a beast of a machine...and overwhelming if you try to unleash her fury all at once
i have found this out the normal way a Taurus guy like me does....the hard way
if we allow the beast out of its cage an appendage at a time....we have a chance to break her and domesticate her
otherwise she can kick our butts
i will be taking slow steady measured steps henceforth to forge an intuitive alliance and relationship with the beast!!
and i hope to at some point in the future achieve the levels of beast Master that many on here like IDX/etc have achieved
we "youngens" appreciate the advice and counsel a great deal!!!
###BTW....any advise as to the easiest way to unload pics??
tried to add some to this chain yesterday unsuccessfully
IDXMonster
Well-known member
I think it has to do with file size,do you get the message about 480 KB or something? I just tried and it gave me the one finger salute.
EtracTom-AdirondacksNY
New member
Glad your not giving up on it just yet and are starting to finally have some success.
Keep at it and you can thank us all later when the really good finds starting showing up for you too.
Eventually you too will end up loving this machine and never thinking about getting rid of it.
Not saying it's the be all end all machine but definitely a keeper one you won't want to part with.
Keep at it and you can thank us all later when the really good finds starting showing up for you too.
Eventually you too will end up loving this machine and never thinking about getting rid of it.
Not saying it's the be all end all machine but definitely a keeper one you won't want to part with.
IDXMonster
Well-known member
EtracTom-AdirondacksNY said:
Agreed,lock stock and barrel. Great write ups above Tom, I just got around to actually reading them in their entirety!
A little advice. Read my post http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,2340857 Now with that advice at first run your Sensativity in Auto until you get it figured out. Your dirt must be like mine in that in Auto most of the time with Ground Set on Difficult, I can not run Auto +3 it is too hot. I run most of the time in Manual but it is best to learn in Auto. Make sure you get Threshold when you move the coil and are not over Targets. If you dont back off to Auto plus 1 or less. One of the best Coils is the Coiltek http://www.bigboyshobbies.net/coiltek-10x5-dd-treasureseeker-coil. Coiltek originally made the coils for Minelab. The absolute best Coil for the Etrac is the Sunray 8" These are no longer made but can be bought used. I bought two just in case one breaks. Turn Deep Off and forget about it. With the Etrac to go deep sometimes you need to back off. Also turn the gain down to about 26 so all those Nails dont yell at you.
I have owned most all brands of Detectors and sold them all. I now have two Etracs.
I have owned most all brands of Detectors and sold them all. I now have two Etracs.