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I feel like I had a breakthrough last weekend: Sensitivity and Coil Size

T

TrpnBils

New member
Hit an old homesite last weekend that I have hit three times before I got my Etrac and that other detectorists have been hitting for 20+ years pretty heavily. I have found exactly one keeper (a carved bullet) at this location on those three previous visits. The site is now a working farm field with no structures on it, but in the past had been a road, a homesite, and a Confederate camp in 1862 (which is why it has been hunted so much since then). I decided to hunt an area that I haven't paid much attention to (it's actually where everybody parks when they detect there) and it was LOADED with iron. I had my stock coil on and only found the back of a 2pc button with that, so I went home and put on my 6" Coiltek to finish up the day (and the whole next day).

Ephiphany #1: Small coils really are worth it. This is the first time in my 10 years of detecting that I've had multiple coils. I always read about the benefits of small coils, but I always blew it off as "well I'll just go slower with my big coil and it'll be fine." As soon as I stepped out of my truck with the small coil on though I started getting hits I wasn't getting with the big one. After about 4 hours I had some good keepers and called it a day. I came back the next day with the small coil and got an Indian Head penny right off the bat but then nothing of interest for awhile. I felt like I was getting too many low tones and probably missing good ones.

Ephiphany #2: Auto -3 has a place in detecting. I never understood why you'd want to use this because of the depth you'd be losing. I thought I'd give it a shot though in the hopes that it would quiet down some of the small iron at the site. I immediately started getting hits again and ended up with several more buttons, another large cent, and another IHP.

Ephiphany #3: I thought I hunted slow before, but when I slowed down to a ridiculous pace my finds picked up. Never would have imagined how slow you could go with the Etrac (or would NEED to go in some instances). I definitely increased the number of good finds by slowing down, putting on a small coil, and reducing sensitivity in high iron. That will change how I hunt from now on I think.

1832 Matron head large cent


1864 "L" variety Indian Head


1806 Half Cent


1799 Draped bust large cent


1859 Indian Head


Federal Issued Eagle Button


Various buttons


Chisel run through electrolysis and preserved


Stirrup and spade run through electrolysis and preserved
 
Congrats on the GREAT finds !

And yes, the three ways your hunting now are ultra important keys to success with the E-Trac !

Using a smaller coil instead of a stock sized coil in heavy iron is very often the difference between going home with a killer find or nothing at all !

Good Hunting !
 
Very nice hunt! I too have gone clear down in -2 and -3 auto when in very heavy iron. Even in TTF there are some benefits.

Thanks for the great pictures and congratulations on some awesome finds.

NebTrac
 
Thanks for good information and GREAT finds! I always use Auto 3 plus and I will try Auto -3 then see what happen at heavy junk metal area!
 
John - it was certainly an eye-opener for me. One thing I think helped though is that all of those targets were shallow so I don't think the +3 would have been necessary even if there wouldn't have been more iron in there. I went back on Sunday of this weekend and found another large cent, another button, and some saddle tack real shallow too. On the other hand, that makes me hopeful that there is more stuff buried deeper since this was all 4" or less. There's got to be more stuff there, and now it's just a matter of sifting through all the crap to get to it. One other guy who's hunting the same place is new to detecting and he leaves all his dug iron just lying there on top of the ground. I hauled out about 100 pounds of iron last weekend that was just sitting there in plain view but covered in dried dirt. He had dug it up and let it sit.
 
Great observations. Continue to let him be your vacuum cleaner. Easily pick up his junk and it will open up the rest of the site to you.
 
Yeah the thing is I've found a semi-key IHP in AWESOME shape worth $250+ in a plug he apparently didn't re-scan, and I found a (basically completely smooth) large cent sitting on top of the ground next to a replaced plug. Not sure if that one was him or me, but he's got some learning to do. My guess with the LC was one of us probably pulled some iron from the hole thinking it was the target and the coin popped out without it being noticed. Just wish he'd pick up after himself (including the 60 pound iron stove door I hauled out of there last week. You could see it plain as day lying on top of the ground from the road....seems like a great way to get the landowner to kick us both off.
 
Great finds! Nice job! Great site! :clapping:

Yep, Slow 'n Low especially useful in high trash or where deep oldies are hiding areas.

You're right about Auto and its minus settings having its place.
Used those Auto settings in an extremely high EMI area last Summer and got a couple seat'ds, a few Barbers and a bunch of Indians.
 
ironsight said:
Great finds! Nice job! Great site! :clapping:

Yep, Slow 'n Low especially useful in high trash or where deep oldies are hiding areas.

You're right about Auto and its minus settings having its place.
Used those Auto settings in an extremely high EMI area last Summer and got a couple seat'ds, a few Barbers and a bunch of Indians.
Click to expand...

Funny you mention that...right now I'm cyber-stalking your old posts trying to find one you referenced in another thread here. Something about detecting in a pounded park under some high EMI lines. I think I found it, and I'm re-reading a few things you mentioned because it's giving me a few ideas now. I'm hoping I can get back out there with the stock coil after I clean out more of the iron because I know there's got to be stuff deep.
 
TrpnBils,
i started that thread i think sometime last Summer in the eTRAC forum here.

Been searching off and on that hyper pounded park for the past 3 years and the only good oldies i found previous to searching under those high voltage towers were 3 silver dimes and 1 Indian, thats how pounded that park is.
This park has had an extremely rich turn of the century history attracting crowds from the big cities back then which is the reason this park is/has been a detectorist magnet. According to one old news paper article in the late 1800s there were thousands of people in that park during the 4th of July Celebration with carnival rides and other attractions.

I always stayed clear of those high tension towers because the extreme EMI made my detector next to useless. Apparently so did a lot of other detectorists.
What i did was to use an Auto setting, manual noise cancel to find the quietest channel and used a tight coin only discriminaiton pattern. Also seem to remember using my small Sharp Shooter coil and then later my bigger coils. I have to say even minimizing the EMI on my eTRAC, the IDs were still jumpy at best. A lot of the oldies i found there relied on gut feelings after interpreting those iffy detector indications. The first coin i found was a Seat'd dime in real good condition right under the hi voltage wires.
I think i stumbled on the only virgin ground in that whole park!

Many of those coins were not that deep maybe 5 to 8 inches which tells me that the few who searched this area found only the shallow stuff due to the EMI as i only found a few clads in this area and they were all fresh drops.
 
Which small coil are you using. I have the x-5 sunray and I love it. Which large coil do you use? I am consdering the 13 Ultimate
 
My large is the stock coil and the small one is a 6" Coiltek. Just got it in January(?) and don't have too much time on it yet but I like it so far!
 
Awesome finds. Wow!! some Major oldies.
I never have tried to adjust my sensitivity to -3 in heavy iron so I will have to give that a try.
I always stick with +3 and vary my coil size based on the site.
I have been using multiple size coils for years and I know how that pays off in certain conditions.
 
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