Menu
What's new
Find's Treasure Forums

Welcome to Find's Treasure Forums, Guests!

You are viewing this forums as a guest which limits you to read only status.

Only registered members may post stories, questions, classifieds, reply to other posts, contact other members using built in messaging and use many other features found on these forums.

Why not register and join us today? It's free! (We don't share your email addresses with anyone.) We keep email addresses of our users to protect them and others from bad people posting things they shouldn't.

Click here to register!

Need Support Help?

Cannot log in?, click here to have new password emailed to you

Changed email? Forgot to update your account with new email address? Need assistance with something else?, click here to go to Find's Support Form and fill out the form.

New to the hobby

what specifically do you need help with?

the best thing you definitely should do is go out in your backyard, open up a measuring tape to about 15', and plant a coin at 3" deep every 3'. bury a penny (both post 1982 and pre 1982 - theyre different metals), nickel, dime, quarter and a half at 3" and measure the 3" from the dirt down. plant them all in a straight line. write down what and where and how deep you buried the coins.
make yourself a little map so you cant forget, and you can refer to it when youre out there sweeping around.

than go out and see what the etrac tells you when you sweep over these coins.

this is fairly critical to do this for your learning the etrac.
 
Buy the book titled "The Minelab Explorer & E-Trac Handbook" by Andy Sabisch. It's a must for all E-Trac owners. Read your owners manual if you have one and then read the book (twice).
 
Since the etrac is used......I would do a master reset......throw some coins in the backyard and go out and find them....look at the numbers and ...listen....especially to the sounds.
 
I would say the best things you could do are ...
( 1 ) Read the factory E-Trac manual and Andy's Minelab Explorer & E-Trac book - Andy's book has a lot of additional info. that's not in the manual.
( 2 ) Read the posts in this forum and in the E-Trac classroom forum - post any questions that you have - this forum is a great place to learn about your machine !
( 3 ) Build a Test Garden - bury different types of coins at different depths - several feet apart and mark each target so you know what they are ( this subject is covered in Andy's book).
( 4 ) And most important of all - spend as much time in the field as possible - every time you go out on a hunt - even a short hunt - you'll learn a little more.

Good luck !
 
Ok, so i had a coup[e minutes on my lunch break and turned the etrac on and made a few swings down a sidewalk, got a steady reading of 13-50, even in Quick mask, using a 6x8 sef coil and the minelab stock coin prog, it turned out to be a piece of wire, havent found a coin yet, only used the detector a couple hrs so far. so tommorow im going to make the garden, and learn a little more, anyhow thanks again, talk soon
 
If you get a chance, go to Utube and watch specifically E-Trac videos. If they don't let you hear the tones, find another one. I don't have time right now to go into a lot of detail. Coin Garden and Andy's book are very beneficial. And flat out just hunt. Your deeper targets 4+ inches will actually be easier to hear and pinpoint than the shallower ones (my opinion). Take a look at the Sticky at top of forum and find your coin numbers with Conductive numbers being your most important and consistent. Ask away with any questions. This is a great forum.

NebTrac
 
For me getting the etrac was a little too much too quick information or brain overload. Numbers, tones, swing speed and a couple of things I still dont understand even reading Andys book. 4 times. As with any book, everything is explained, just not explained well enough for my brain to understand. Andys book is great reading in any case!

As for test gardens....it takes awhile for the coins to get "comfortable". You wont get the same readings in a new test garden as you will with an older one.

As Neb said....just flat out hunt! Trial and error is the key. If you dont dig...you will never learn. There are lots of coins out there, everywhere.....you will find your share soon! Just be patient....and listen ....and learn. It will all make sense...just not today. Your time is coming....soon!
 
Ok, so the stock minelab coin program will barely give me any readings, and at that they are eratic and all over the place, coins at a depth of 3 inches are showing 12 inches and the ferrous and conductive readings are not the same as what i am seeing on you tube. so i have been trying to download to my pc and upload into the etrac, with no luck , Adobe wont open the program , so my next question is, is there a way to upload into the etrac straight from the exchange? i need a better starting point , or maybe a little kick in the rear, im a hands on kind of guy but for now this machine has me stumped, i appreciate any and all input, and i thank you in advance.
 
Often when buying a used detector the owner has programmed in certain information and/or programs to fit his or her likes and/or conditions of soil, conditions etc etc. Have you done a master reset?
 
I second what JamesBondaka says. If there are truely problems with the detector it may be carry over from the last operator of the detector. Reset and just run the factory coin program. Just listen for the high tones to begin with and mainly look for 12-40's on screen till you get used to the numbers. Don't over think it and you will soon be digging great finds...

JamesBondaka said:
Often when buying a used detector the owner has programmed in certain information and/or programs to fit his or her likes and/or conditions of soil, conditions etc etc. Have you done a master reset?
Click to expand...
 
pulltabfreak said:
yes i have done a master reset a couple of times, but i am trying to use a s.e.f. 6x8 coil, should that matter?
Click to expand...

No, unless its defective. Your shallow coins will hit 3 or 4 beeps on a swing. This is normal, as is the jump from 0 to 12 inch reading on the depth meter. This is typical and is covered in Andy's book. Like I said before, the deeper coins are actually easier to listen for than the surface stuff. I know just where your at, and the more you use it the easier it will become. I put in about 20+ hours in my first few days of detecting. You have been doing your research for the older spots or you have some that you've detected before, right?

Don't worry about those numbers on you see on UTube. Yes we all like to see a solid, 2 way 12-46 at 6+ inches..... but its the tone that will be your alert. 2 way hits (one way and then a hit on the 90
 
Ok, a couple more things to cover.

Have you checked the connections to make sure they are tight? What your sens like? Are you in auto or manual....and what readings? Are you carrying a cellular phone? Are close by to cellular towers and/or underground cables etc? Have you done a ground balance?

If your settings are good. If your connections are good and you have little or no EMI(interference) and as Neb said...your coil is good. You should be good to go.

If you still have trouble....I can contact you on the phone and we should be able to figure it out in a few minutes.
 
OK, so i have gone into the exchange and loaded a few patterns, took me awhile to figure that out, yet havent figured out about the modes, i am sure some of this stuff is in the book, its just a little confusing for me, im learning slowly as my hrs at work have increased, not much time to detect, hoping for a rainout this week. i will also apply what i have heard from you guys . Sens, auto +3, conn, tight. On garden test im using a 1964 silver dime, a buffalo nickel , a silver 925 weding band, heavy too, various clad and pennies, numbers range from 17-30 to22-50, nothing lower or higher, i feel as if i have something set wrong, ? no cell phone or towers close , or undeground cables, or high wires. yes i do a ground balance at each site. anyhow, certainly not going to give up , im all in and addicted to the hunt, got a couple great places or 3 to search , doesnt look to me like anyone hasbeen there before me , which makes it that much more exciting, a phone call would be great, can we send pms for phone numbers? anyhow, thank you again, talk soon, R
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top