Anyone else having problems with their numeric display. The display is very very slow to change. I'm hunting a high trash area, with a lot of nails that sound the same as a coin. I might have 5 or 6 targets in a 1 foot square area. I can't tell what's under the coil. (Please don't tell me dig everything) I'm using the stock coin discrimination. I've tried screen timeout - on and off. If I have the FE CO(no numbers) showing on the screen and I swing over a target the FE CO just stays there until I hit the next target then the numbers for the first target show up. So the display is always one target behind. Or it might take 30 seconds to change. I tried doing a Master Reset and that seems to help for a little bit, but it keeps getting worse until it's almost unusable. I'm making good finds with the E-Trac that I wouldn't be making with any other detector. So It's working OK, but it's really hard to figure out what's under the coil.
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Numeric display
- Thread starter pro778
- Start date
Jason in TN
New member
n/t
It's not that the E-Trac can't figure it out. It changes the numbers after I move off of the target. I can go from no targets to swinging over a target and the display doesn't change until after I move off of the target or it could take 20 to 30 seconds for it to show the right numbers. I can swing back and forth over the target 20 times and the display doesn't change. The numbers and the cross hairs just seem to stay locked. If there aren't a lot of targets in an area, it's no problem, but in a high trash area I can't tell what I'm reading where. Here's an example. I'm swinging and I have either just the FE CO or 33 44(rusty nail) (Depends if I'm running timeout on or off) showing on the screen and I go over a coin. The numbers don't change. Now, I swing over a pop top ring. The numbers change to 11 45. I go back to the coin and the numbers change to 12 20, when I'm over the coin. I'm just wondering if anyone else is having this problem.
Thanks
Thanks
And the targets don't have to be that close. The sounds are the key. When I get a good solid sound I lift the coil and let the numbers reset then go right back down on the good sounding target. Most of the time the numbers will ID correctly at that point. It is annoying for the numbers to be so slow on a machine this expensive. Learn the sounds. And I am open for suggestions myself.
Mick in Dubbo
New member
If you are swinging it in very cold conditions then the screen will slow up and your batteries will go flat at a much increased pace. Generic to all detectors.
I've heard of some folks wrapping their control boxes/battery packs up with heat packs to counteract the cold.
Mick Evans.
I've heard of some folks wrapping their control boxes/battery packs up with heat packs to counteract the cold.
Mick Evans.
It's the same on my e-trac, it seems that it only updates the ID display once you move off the target and go back to the threshold tone. So if you have a good tgt next to a blanked target the display will only update with the good target once you move off both targets and the threshold tone returns. If the gap between them is large enough (or your swing slow enough) for the threshold tone to return between them, then you will get an ID update between the tgts. Typically coins are a narrow target so you get an update very shortly after the centre of the coil has passed over. A smaller coil will help separate the tgts a lot better.
This is what I've noticed in my short time on the e-trac (noob).............so please test this and correct me if I'm wrong, I'm still learning too.
But, as MXTerer said sounds are the key, the more I use mine the more I rely on the sounds and less on the display. Sounds are real time for what is under the coil.
I need a lot more time on the e-trac!!!!
Cheers,
Greg
EDIT: I just read pro778's post and he covered what I said already.............that makes two of us then!!
This is what I've noticed in my short time on the e-trac (noob).............so please test this and correct me if I'm wrong, I'm still learning too.
But, as MXTerer said sounds are the key, the more I use mine the more I rely on the sounds and less on the display. Sounds are real time for what is under the coil.
I need a lot more time on the e-trac!!!!
Cheers,
Greg
EDIT: I just read pro778's post and he covered what I said already.............that makes two of us then!!
gregliss said:
Thanks Greg. This is what I was tring to find out. I think there's a bug in the detector.
Thanks everyone for your tips, but it's not that it's running slow or it needs the small coil. It won't update the screen. It's hard for me to use tones, because where I'm hunting rusty cut nails sound the same as coins. I don't want to dig up a thousand nails. I've tried asking Minelab, but their response was it just runs slow.
Would like to hear if anyone else is having the problem. Thanks again!
The more processes you have activated the slower the machine runs ie Deep On, Trash Density (high), Difficult Ground, High Sensitivity and High Disc. The small coil will help tremendously but the best discriminator is the sounds. Very few iron targets will maintain a repeatable unchanged audio signal from multiple directions. Plus the deep coins in trash will have a very sweet almost musical signal as opposed to a nail will have the same or similar pitch but a very flat monotone audio signal.
sharpshooter
Member
[size=medium]pro778 - I have the same problem in extremely trashy areas. I don't consider this a flaw with the detector. When my E-Trac gets to the point to where it can't handle the trash load, I ignore the display screen and chase the high tones. I'm continually amazed at this machine's ability to find coins hiding in the trash. The claims that veteran detectorist's have made about this machine's abilty to find good targets hiding in the trash are not hyperbole. Learn the tones if you want to hunt coins in the trash.[/size]
One thing I would try before sending it in is a air test where the coil cant see the ground and see how fast it will reset, like run a trash item and see what the ID will say, then a coin and see what it too will read. Also on the ground in your site you are having a problem lower the sensitivity as I have seen in some ground too much sensitivity will cause it to be a very slow recovery on the meter and by lowering it will make it reset much faster.
I just put my Etrac through the paces with many mixed targets a few inches apart with coin program and wide open screen and points in between and the numbers take a max. of 3 seconds to change and lock on but most times under 2 seconds.
After you clarified your situation less the 5 targets in a square foot it opened my eyes to your problem.It sounds to me like you have a faulty machine reguardless of what Minelab said.If all etracs were as slow as yours seems to be by your definition it would not be very popular and have the reputation of superb seperation.
I know if mine worked as you describe yours I would send it back for a checkup.
First I would double check battery and coil connections and make sure coil was clean under coil cover.
Good luck,Ray.
After you clarified your situation less the 5 targets in a square foot it opened my eyes to your problem.It sounds to me like you have a faulty machine reguardless of what Minelab said.If all etracs were as slow as yours seems to be by your definition it would not be very popular and have the reputation of superb seperation.
I know if mine worked as you describe yours I would send it back for a checkup.
First I would double check battery and coil connections and make sure coil was clean under coil cover.
Good luck,Ray.
Thanks Ray
Mine won't change the numbers until it hits the next target. When I do a master reset, it runs slow. It might take 10 seconds to change, then it keeps getting slower and then it won't change until it hits the next target. It won't give me the numbers of the first target until it hits the next target. If there are multiple targets it will change numbers fast but it's always one target behind. The reason I mentioned the multiple targets is because that's the kind of area's I hunt. When there are multiple targets I can't tell what I'm looking for. I'm sure now I have to send it back. I hate to go without it though. I have been making great finds with it.
Mine won't change the numbers until it hits the next target. When I do a master reset, it runs slow. It might take 10 seconds to change, then it keeps getting slower and then it won't change until it hits the next target. It won't give me the numbers of the first target until it hits the next target. If there are multiple targets it will change numbers fast but it's always one target behind. The reason I mentioned the multiple targets is because that's the kind of area's I hunt. When there are multiple targets I can't tell what I'm looking for. I'm sure now I have to send it back. I hate to go without it though. I have been making great finds with it.
Iv had the problem the last few days trying to hunt in iron infested spots. Mine does the exact same thing. the threshold nulls all most all the time and the screens hangs up trying to id the junk. The sounds work fine. It just seems to be to hot of a detector and way to much information to show on the screen. Im going to try a few things tomorrow and see if I can get it to work better in those sites.
The places iv hunted have 15 to 20 targets in a foot maybe more than that. Thats a common problem with many places in southeast texas and iv had to deal with that for 23 years of detecting.
Ill get a small coils as soon as i can but I hate to loose the depth cause many places here have sand put in every few years to raise the yard up to ward off flooding. Its not uncommon to dig threw different layers and types of soil to get down to the old stuff. So one layer may be a clean sand about an inch or 2 then the next will be a red clay with loads of iron mixed in then you may get down to a black loom type soil for 4 or 5 inches then the base black clay gumbo soil. That red iron layer is heck on a detector. Its driven me crazy rite now and then you add in the nails and rusted junk of ever kind and the fact that many places around these parts didnt care about a clean yard and dumped all sorts of metal in to the lawns in the past, man its a @$$ch to hunt and find stuff. I would love to be up in the northeast to try that soil up ther I bet i would kick butt at detecting.
The places iv hunted have 15 to 20 targets in a foot maybe more than that. Thats a common problem with many places in southeast texas and iv had to deal with that for 23 years of detecting.
Ill get a small coils as soon as i can but I hate to loose the depth cause many places here have sand put in every few years to raise the yard up to ward off flooding. Its not uncommon to dig threw different layers and types of soil to get down to the old stuff. So one layer may be a clean sand about an inch or 2 then the next will be a red clay with loads of iron mixed in then you may get down to a black loom type soil for 4 or 5 inches then the base black clay gumbo soil. That red iron layer is heck on a detector. Its driven me crazy rite now and then you add in the nails and rusted junk of ever kind and the fact that many places around these parts didnt care about a clean yard and dumped all sorts of metal in to the lawns in the past, man its a @$$ch to hunt and find stuff. I would love to be up in the northeast to try that soil up ther I bet i would kick butt at detecting.
keithb2569
New member
Hi Guys, (uk.based newby) have recently invested in an E-Trac and have experienced many of the probs regarding the slow display update & thought you might be interested in the reply from Minelab via the UK distributor, which I received in reply to my complaint. It is as follows:-
" Audio
" Audio
I did an air test on mine and it works fine. I think it's the area I'm hunting. It has lots of old iron nails. I'm hunting with conduct multi tone and the nails sound the same as coins. That makes it almost impossible to find coins without the numeric display. I've tried all metal and I can't tell what I'm detecting. I'm using the coin program so I know when I get a good tone it's either a rusty nail or coin. I'm going to try turning down the sensitivity next. I sent a couple more e-mails to Minelab and haven't received a response. I'm not happy. I don't understand why it can update the tones but can't update the numeric display. I have made some great finds with the E-Trac, in area's that have been hit hard, but I don't think it should take 10 minutes to try and locate a coin in a 1 foot area. I just want to find out if it is all the E-Tracs that do this or is it a bug in some of them.