I am new to the ETrac and have been reading everything I can on it. Have about 10 he's in the machine now and learn a little more every time I take it out. There is a ton of experienced users here. If any of u guys and gals have the time and don't mind, I was wondering if u might share top tips and tricks that might be useful in shortening the learning curve. Right now, I have been using the stock coin program. I plan to put Andy's coin program as well as the TTF on my machine this weekend. I very much appreciate any responses.
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
Share your ETrac knowledge....
- Thread starter matterny4
- Start date
I would suggest to load Bill_S's park program and use it especially in the beginning. I use it and some modified versions of it most of the time. You definately want to set your ground to difficult and trash to high. The etrac could have been made by Ronco. Because once you set it you can forget it. Also unlike a lot of machines - you can mess up some settings and it will still work pretty darn good. Don't be scared to adjust anything thinking it won't work.
Consistency in signal is number one!
A good two way hit that is consistent is ideal.
A silver type one way ( 45-48 ) hit will still produce good finds, but will more than likely be a rusty, bet nail, fencing staple, or barbwire. You'll have to dig a few (per location) to determine if that is what they are. There are other signs to tell you if your on a iron or not in those situations. They include:
1. A higher Fe number (usually above 17)
2. Switch to quick mask and listen to the length of tone. Often you'll be able hear how the nail is orientated.
3. Nails will often be "down and out" of your plug. As you dig your plug and start chasing the signal, a nail will often be down deeper and you'll find you're going out from center of plug 4-5". Can be a coin on edge though.
4. Again, you'll never know for sure unless you dig it.
I use TTF in areas where I'm going to dig "ALL" non-ferrous siganls. ie. Fields where towns were 80-120 years ago and old house sites. and places where schools were 80-120 years ago.
Here in central Nebraska, the towns were not platted in my county until about 1883, so that is why I "dig all" at these sites. I'm looking for "Settler Era" coins and relics.
I did a video on "Falsing", that might be helpful. As far a silver sound, in Conductive tones, the falsing will resemble silver chirps and need to be identified as such. The only way to really understand these are to hunt and listen for that consistent hit. Falsing was my number one nemesis, when I was new to detecting.
Use a good handheld pinpointer.
Also, coins on edge will often be 2-3" to the side of your pinpoint, so be aware of that.
Build a coin garden to test your swing speed for different depths on coins. At least plant a nickel, Indian Head, Wheat, and silver dime and test your machine and swing speed to optimize yourself.
Personally I use Auto +3 and would start there and keep it there. Too high a Sens. can be frustrating when learning the machine.
The best advice is to just hunt and dig. It will start to stick after many hours. Don't get discouraged.
Ask questions, there is very good advice here on this forum.
NebTrac
A good two way hit that is consistent is ideal.
A silver type one way ( 45-48 ) hit will still produce good finds, but will more than likely be a rusty, bet nail, fencing staple, or barbwire. You'll have to dig a few (per location) to determine if that is what they are. There are other signs to tell you if your on a iron or not in those situations. They include:
1. A higher Fe number (usually above 17)
2. Switch to quick mask and listen to the length of tone. Often you'll be able hear how the nail is orientated.
3. Nails will often be "down and out" of your plug. As you dig your plug and start chasing the signal, a nail will often be down deeper and you'll find you're going out from center of plug 4-5". Can be a coin on edge though.
4. Again, you'll never know for sure unless you dig it.
I use TTF in areas where I'm going to dig "ALL" non-ferrous siganls. ie. Fields where towns were 80-120 years ago and old house sites. and places where schools were 80-120 years ago.
Here in central Nebraska, the towns were not platted in my county until about 1883, so that is why I "dig all" at these sites. I'm looking for "Settler Era" coins and relics.
I did a video on "Falsing", that might be helpful. As far a silver sound, in Conductive tones, the falsing will resemble silver chirps and need to be identified as such. The only way to really understand these are to hunt and listen for that consistent hit. Falsing was my number one nemesis, when I was new to detecting.
Use a good handheld pinpointer.
Also, coins on edge will often be 2-3" to the side of your pinpoint, so be aware of that.
Build a coin garden to test your swing speed for different depths on coins. At least plant a nickel, Indian Head, Wheat, and silver dime and test your machine and swing speed to optimize yourself.
Personally I use Auto +3 and would start there and keep it there. Too high a Sens. can be frustrating when learning the machine.
The best advice is to just hunt and dig. It will start to stick after many hours. Don't get discouraged.
Ask questions, there is very good advice here on this forum.
NebTrac
Ohio Digger
New member
Congrats on the ETRAC purchase. The one thing you will here over and over is to listen, don't watch. Meaning listen to the tones, don't watch the numbers. I picked one up in April last year and as hard as you try you're probably going to watch the screen as you learn it. I know I did for the first 25 hrs at least. The important thing is to know that good targets don't always give good numbers, but most of the time it will give good tones. You need to swing it slow. I came from a Whites DFX that I was able to swing quicker (even though I adjusted settings to be able to swing slower). I prefer swinging slow and picking through trash. And the ETRAC does it better than most other detectors out there. As you're learning it I would advise staying out of trashy areas. It can become overwhelming at first. I don't use a lot of discrimination anymore. After I had about 75 hrs on it I opened the screen up to discriminate Fe28 and higher. So it's basically just one horizontal line. I got alot of my knowledge from Goes4ever. Check out his site. If you get a second take a look at my YouTube channel. I do a lot of live digs with numbers and sounds - Ohio Digger
Don't make it to difficult while learning. You'll read so much stuff your mind can not possibly interpret it till you have experience on the machine.
You'll get so confused trying everything...that nothing is going to work well because your so afraid your not getting the max out of your settings.
I had two of these awesome machines before it clicked with me. ( Not ashamed to admit that ) and I don't consider myself that stupid LOL..
This is what worked for me......... I used Goes4evers settings ..their on this site so you can look them up... I left those settings while I learned the sounds etc..It was a world of difference for the learning curve..
I did have to learn to go slow on the swing for best results .........but that is true in general for any settings you use on the E-Trac.. No offense meant to anyone, but some get a little technical when describing the
things that work for them...... Just do what you understand..it will be a better experience..
Another thing..when I first started it sounded to me when I read and saw the posts and pics that I was the only one digging a lot of trash.. believe me..that was the wrong perception..everyone digs trash when detecting... They just do not post it......
You'll get so confused trying everything...that nothing is going to work well because your so afraid your not getting the max out of your settings.
I had two of these awesome machines before it clicked with me. ( Not ashamed to admit that ) and I don't consider myself that stupid LOL..
This is what worked for me......... I used Goes4evers settings ..their on this site so you can look them up... I left those settings while I learned the sounds etc..It was a world of difference for the learning curve..
I did have to learn to go slow on the swing for best results .........but that is true in general for any settings you use on the E-Trac.. No offense meant to anyone, but some get a little technical when describing the
things that work for them...... Just do what you understand..it will be a better experience..
Another thing..when I first started it sounded to me when I read and saw the posts and pics that I was the only one digging a lot of trash.. believe me..that was the wrong perception..everyone digs trash when detecting... They just do not post it......
Surfinsafari
New member
Lots of good advice from some pros up there. I tried to digest all the info I could when I got my E. All it managed to do is get me confused. The best advice I can give is KEEP IT SIMPLE! I Almost always run in relic or all metal mode and in TTF. Goesforever suggests the less scrim the better and I think he is right. I love trashy parks now because I learned to listen to the Etrac song and only glance at the screen to see if I have good numbers. You will get fooled and dig trash just like we all do but you will also be amazed at what the Etrac can find. Don't get overwhelmed by all the settings and don't be afraid to mess with some of them, If you get metal under the E, it will tell you unless you have your sensitivity down to 0. Auto +3 for sens works great 99% of the time. I have Andys book and it can be very confusing if you try to read it before you have any time on the machine so I would get out there in a factory mode and go slow and see what happens. If you feel you missed any targets, you can always go back later and get them. Congrats on the Etrac, you will be impressed!
Surfinsafari
New member
I forgot....watch the ferrous number...11...12...and sometimes 13 is the majic number for coins. I looked up the TID numbers and wrote them down on a sticky note, laminated it and taped it to the back of my glove when I first started. That alone helped my immensely! Just remember...Gold numbers can be all over the place so you can't be lazy and find Gold too!
Goes4ever has been very helpful to me via email. I'm going to add a program with his settings this weekend. Went to a trashy park today and was getting skunked other than 2 memorial pennies in the stock coin mode. Switched to TTF and found 2 quarters, a dime, and 2 nickels. All clad but at least something. Appreciate all the advice so far!!
Surfinsafari
New member
I think everyone that swings an Etrac and comes here owes a lot to goesforever. Lots of good people here. Soon you'll be posting war stories and giving tips to other new people. Metal detectorists are just good people at heart. Glad you are enjoying yourself!
E-Trac-Ohio
Well-known member
NebTrac said:
Very well put NebTrac !
Good thread! I am still learning after almost a year with the e-trac.
My pointes:
1. This may have been mentioned already, but always dig those "iffy" signals.
2. The deeper the signal, the less weight/importance the Fe number should be given.
3. When pinpointing pay attention to how big the target is, can be a good indication if it is a coin, or an aluminum can.
Bryan
My pointes:
1. This may have been mentioned already, but always dig those "iffy" signals.
2. The deeper the signal, the less weight/importance the Fe number should be given.
3. When pinpointing pay attention to how big the target is, can be a good indication if it is a coin, or an aluminum can.
Bryan
this was said above but Ill say it again, the most important thing youre looking for is a repeatable sound signal. as you use the etrac more and more, the sounds it makes will draw you a mental picture of metal in the ground. you are mentally looking for a small size, high CO, repeatable mental image, which is hopefully a silver coin in the ground. if a signal is not repeatable, you are falsing and you will "chase" the signal, trying to get it to repeat, but it wont, because its not a coin. so what im saying is that a repeatable signal draws you a mental picture of a buried object that doesnt move around.
you must go into this with PATIENCE. you need to relax, focus, and not get frustrated with the machine. if you get frustrated just tell yourself, its not the machines fault. the machine is just trying to tell me what it senses under the ground. if youre falsing like crazy and cant find any coins, its not the machines fault, its the site.
dont look for "perfect" numbers. dig any repeatable small sized targets. dig a lot at first, so you can feel out the machine. like, whats a 5-15, a 24-45, etc. crazy numbers. its good to dig these to learn.
really it only starts to make sense once you get some hours on the machine. an alternating field work with the detector, then reading online, books, the manual, is the way to go. its a fun machine to learn because it is challenging. if it was easy, id get bored with it, personally.
at first, for me, it was like learning a new language. like listening to someone speak in a language that made no sense to me. after a few years however i have learned to understand what the etrac is telling me. it takes time. the more you use it the more it will find for you. im not saying it takes years to learn the etrac. my second time out with it i found 3 silver dimes. its just that it makes more sense, gets easier, and gets better the more you use it.
you must go into this with PATIENCE. you need to relax, focus, and not get frustrated with the machine. if you get frustrated just tell yourself, its not the machines fault. the machine is just trying to tell me what it senses under the ground. if youre falsing like crazy and cant find any coins, its not the machines fault, its the site.
dont look for "perfect" numbers. dig any repeatable small sized targets. dig a lot at first, so you can feel out the machine. like, whats a 5-15, a 24-45, etc. crazy numbers. its good to dig these to learn.
really it only starts to make sense once you get some hours on the machine. an alternating field work with the detector, then reading online, books, the manual, is the way to go. its a fun machine to learn because it is challenging. if it was easy, id get bored with it, personally.
at first, for me, it was like learning a new language. like listening to someone speak in a language that made no sense to me. after a few years however i have learned to understand what the etrac is telling me. it takes time. the more you use it the more it will find for you. im not saying it takes years to learn the etrac. my second time out with it i found 3 silver dimes. its just that it makes more sense, gets easier, and gets better the more you use it.