Master Reset question

[DigDugNY]

When doing a master reset should I leave the stock coil plugged in or should I do it with it unplugged? Etrac has been giving me some problems the last few hunts with unstable threshold and changing the sensitivity doesn't help at all. Just seems like every swing is givin me readings and the depth isn't as good as it should be. Thought it might be a bad coil, but holding it up in the air produces a stable threshold. Seems like once the coil goes over the ground, it just starts producing signals

 

[ironsight]

A Master Reset (MR) will typically reload factory settings from read-only memory into the non-volatile working memory. I would assume the eTRAC MR is the same. MRs are typically memory transfers 'only' irregardless of any peripherals. Unless someone here corrects, i'd think having the coil attached should have no effect on a MR.

Yeah, try a MR, you'll only lose any custom patterns.

If that don't work, i'd strongly suspect the coil itself, a short or open in the coil cabling or at the coil connector. Try wiggling them all to see if it has any effect on the problem.
I'd especially concentrate on where the cable enters the coil. That area of the coil would get the most movement.

 

[DigDugNY]

A Master Reset (MR) will typically reload factory settings from read-only memory into the non-volatile working memory. I would assume the eTRAC MR is the same. MRs are typically memory transfers 'only' irregardless of any peripherals. Unless someone here corrects, i'd think having the coil attached should have no effect on a MR.

Yeah, try a MR, you'll only lose any custom patterns.

If that don't work, i'd strongly suspect the coil itself, a short or open in the coil cabling or at the coil connector. Try wiggling them all to see if it has any effect on the problem.
I'd especially concentrate on where the cable enters the coil. That area of the coil would get the most movement.

Well when I hold the coil up in the air the threshold is fine. I will tap it and move the cable around where it enters the coil and it stays fine. I haven't tried where it enters the control box though. Just seems like once it goes over the ground it can't process correctly. I've had it before where I set the coil on the ground and it starts producing signals randomly and then when I lift it in the air it acts fine. I know some of the places I go are trashy, but the last few times I've gone out I just can't get a stable threshold for more than a swing or two of the detector. I have a 6x8 sef coil I'm going to try and if it still does the same thing I will know whether it's the stock coil or detector giving me issues

 

[ironsight]

Let us know if the SEF coil fixes the issue. Wouldn't be the first time a coil went bad. If that don't work try a MR.

As far as your explanation of severe ground unstability, i occassionally get that out of nowhere while detecting a site. Normal then in some areas it acts up.
Nothing seems to calm it down except lowering sens. levels or going into AUTO sens.
Then as i move into other areas of that site, out of nowhere the thing calms down to normal. If i return to that problematic area, it acts up again. Happens with all my coils too.
Either its a narrow band of EMI or more likely highly mineralized ground patches or a gremlin in the eTRAC box. In your case, looks like the ground has something to do with it.
Usually happens on hot sunny days. Might even have something to due with thermal parameter changes that shift the coil parameters slightly out of typical enough to the point the eTRAC can't cope with mineralized ground patches. Could even be the sun's radiation, who knows.

There's a reason some coils are white, they reflect heat and other types of radiation from the sun, they run cooler in hot weather.

 

[DigDugNY]

Let us know if the SEF coil fixes the issue. Wouldn't be the first time a coil went bad. If that don't work try a MR.

As far as your explanation of severe ground unstability, i occassionally get that out of nowhere while detecting a site. Normal then in some areas it acts up.
Nothing seems to calm it down except lowering sens. levels or going into AUTO sens.
Then as i move into other areas of that site, out of nowhere the thing calms down to normal. If i return to that problematic area, it acts up again. Happens with all my coils too.
Either its a narrow band of EMI or more likely highly mineralized ground patches or a gremlin in the eTRAC box. In your case, looks like the ground has something to do with it.
Usually happens on hot sunny days. Might even have something to due with thermal parameter changes that shift the coil parameters slightly out of typical enough to the point the eTRAC can't cope with mineralized ground patches. Could even be the sun's radiation, who knows.

There's a reason some coils are white, they reflect heat and other types of radiation from the sun, they run cooler in hot weather.

You do make some good points. When I went out the other day it was pretty dang hot and it hasn't rained it quite a while so the dirt was somewhat dry. Also the place I hit was a house built in 1790, but I think they might of put dirt fill in a lot of spots except the sides right next to the house. I did manage to pull out some stuff, but most of them were shallow