question on manual sensitivity

[pointer80]

Hi all, I have a question on manual sens. I know manual sens make the etrac go deeper but does it also help with target id? What I mean will the extra power give better target readings at shallow and deep depth's? Thanks all and HH.

 

[IDXMonster]

This has been hashed,rehashed and hashed again many many times. Since nobody but the Minelab engineers know for sure(maybe) how the machine works,there is no way to say what will do what,except by trial and error,and observations in the field. Go to www.metaldetectingworld.com for a better(maybe) understanding of how the FBS works and the authors opinion of why. Following the advice of well known members will(maybe) get you to the deeper coins as they have generally accumulated the most experience in the field in different conditions. Running high Sens equals less stability equals less accurate ID at extreme depth. FBS is what it is and costs what it costs because of the ability to ID coins in particular at greater depths than some others out there. Running a stable machine is what I like to do,and that means auto Sens most of the time. Your experience may differ(maybe).

 

[ChicagoJohn]

I did 24 to 26 Manual before and not easy for me because I dig way down and don't find anything. I feel that set up manual is like to force machine to find something way down deep. I use Auto 3 plus to let my E-Trac do all work for me. Best for me is take easy and slow! I found Indianhead cents, V Nickel, 1825 large cent and one shield nickel from between 9 and 10 inch deep. I noticed that after snow melting or after raining make machine to find deeper coins. Slow and keep coil stay on ground!

 

[Southwind]

My understanding goes along with IDXMonster's. I believe you CAN get deeper, depending on conditions, in manual but the target ID will not be as accurate at depth.

My understanding is that in Auto the E-Trac will look at the returning eddy signals and determine which of the current three channels being used by the E-Trac has the most reliable/strongest signal. It will then assign that frequency as the prominent frequency and lower the other two. This process will make the target ID more accurate because the dominant frequency is more suited to the target. In Manual all three frequencies/channels are given the same output so in the right conditions you will get better depth. So in short I think Manual CAN give you more depth while Auto will give you a more accurate target ID at a greater depth.

 

[ironsight]

Try this experiment.
Simple tests i performed a few times in the past since i generally use manual sens. in pounded old parks. When i detected a 10+ inch iffy conductive target with good 2-ways, for kicks i switched to Auto+3...... NOTHING! ABSOLUTELY NO TARGET DETECTED! HEAR CRICKETS!! A lot of those were deep coins or medallions.
In my experience, an iffy conductive or mostly conductive target with a depth indication of 10+ inches has a good chance of being a keeper of some kind.

As with most things in life their are trade offs with choices. If one wants solid target IDs, AUTO is the way to go but don't expect to find a foot deep Barber dime.
With the soil around here AUTO+3 is only good for tot lots, new parks, etc....basically sites where targets are shallow to moderately deep.

AUTO for a lack of a better term, continuously analyzes the soil and then sets the 3 sens. channels accordingly to give the most stable target IDs sacrificing maximum depth detection in the process. Ahh maximum depth detection using Manual sens., don't expect text book target IDs.... just detection.

IMO, whether to use AUTO or Manual depends on the soil, the site (and past experience at that site).

 

[IDXMonster]

Try this experiment.
Simple tests i performed a few times in the past since i generally use manual sens. in pounded old parks. When i detected a 10+ inch iffy conductive target with good 2-ways, for kicks i switched to Auto+3...... NOTHING! ABSOLUTELY NO TARGET DETECTED! HEAR CRICKETS!! A lot of those were deep coins or medallions.
In my experience, an iffy conductive or mostly conductive target with a depth indication of 10+ inches has a good chance of being a keeper of some kind.

As with most things in life their are trade offs with choices. If one wants solid target IDs, AUTO is the way to go but don't expect to find a foot deep Barber dime.
With the soil around here AUTO+3 is only good for tot lots, new parks, etc....basically sites where targets are shallow to moderately deep.

AUTO for a lack of a better term, continuously analyzes the soil and then sets the 3 sens. channels accordingly to give the most stable target IDs sacrificing maximum depth detection in the process. Ahh maximum depth detection using Manual sens., don't expect text book target IDs.... just detection.

IMO, whether to use AUTO or Manual depends on the soil, the site (and past experience at that site).

Well put. I've been playing with manual Sens in cleaner soil but that's pretty scarce. I just don't have enough time in with the machine to go crazy with manual in parks yet. They are definitely powerful and capable machines!

 

[ChicagoJohn]

If my E-Trac said 12 and set up manual 20 or higher might messy up. My Auto 3 plus and if machine tell me 19 to 25 then that's fine! Its depends on ground, rocks, close river shore, etc! I think if machine said 21 then set up manual 25 might be worth to try but if machine said 12 or 14 then set up 25 might not do well. Just my 2 cents!

 

[daddyflea]

While on the Subject will a change from Difficult ground to Normal in Auto Plus 3 give you a little depth if your ground lets you run that Way?

 

[petew]

I have a question also ,I just got a etrac yesterday.if I run at manual 25, does the plus 3 mean anything,or is that just for auto?

 

[Southwind]

In most cases manual 27 just makes deep rusted iron read like a coin. I spend more time digging junk. Auto +3 gets me depth and the reliability I prefer. Of course like was mentioned it all depends on the conditions. My auto + 3 usually runs at 23-24. so going to manually doesn't do much more than make it unstable and erratic.

 

[ironsight]

I have a question also ,I just got a etrac yesterday.if I run at manual 25, does the plus 3 mean anything,or is that just for auto?

First off, there are 3 so-called channels involved for setting the sensitivity.... hi, med and lo.

In AUTO, think of them as interrogation factors that will determine max ID stability. The computer automatically sets each channel's sens. number individually on the fly dependent on the ground conditions it finds. The left sens. bar indicates the max. sens. number of the highest channel and the right sens. bar indicates the average of all 3 sens. channels which the detector is automatically set to.

In manual, all 3 sens. channels are unconditionally set to the same number the user cranks in.
Here, the left sens. bar is the cranked in number while the right sens. bare is the suggested number for the current ground conditions.
Keep in mind for the same ground, the suggested number in manual is not the same number as it was in the AUTO average sens. bar.
Again in AUTO the right bar is the averaged number... while in manual the right bar is the suggested number which if cranked in would unconditionally set all 3 channels to identical numbers.

IMO, this means in 99.9% of the cases there is no 'exact 100%' correlation between Auto and Manual sens. numbers.

 

[Dale(Ia)]

In most cases manual 27 just makes deep rusted iron read like a coin. I spend more time digging junk. Auto +3 gets me depth and the reliability I prefer. Of course like was mentioned it all depends on the conditions. My auto + 3 usually runs at 23-24. so going to manually doesn't do much more than make it unstable and erratic.

Exactly my thoughts, Southwind!!

Iowa Dale

 

[petew]

Thanks for the help,I'm gonna read Mandy's book