Trace, How To Use It

[dadzjunk]

Digger,
On your last three pictures, why is there no TID reading or round cursor showing. It showed in your previous post, but I can't see it in this one. Thanks in advance for clarifying and for going the extra mile to show us the pictures. I learn something new everyday that I read this forum..

 

[Digger]

With the detector in one hand and the camera in the other, I'm guessing that I got in a hurry while holding the PP button, and just hadn't given it enough time to provide the TID. If you look at the time on the display, all three pics were taken at 7:44. It would have given a TID of one or the other, or a blended reading of both. I also can't explain the high ferrous number as there doesn't appear to have been any ferrous trash around (based on the smartscreen). Judging by the CO 14 reading, I apparently snapped the first two shots while the TID was saying "nickel". JMHO HH Randy

 

[brother steve]

Does soil conditions effect target trace? There seems to be a variety of answers to this question. I don't understand target trace as well.All I know is that solid red in the circle is a good target.

 

[DaugBiscuit]

Does soil conditions effect target trace?

Steve, you have ask a very good question and while I am learning and really don't know the answer, I might add that I would think anything which would effect the power of the signal going into the ground to the target and then returning would indeed effect trace; things such as soil condition, type of soil, depth and size of target. I would imagine it might effect it very little because it only has a slight effect on the ID numbers of certain targets, but still, I would think it would have some. I hope some of the more seasoned users of the CTX and Trace will chime in on this question and I hope my answer is wrong
Don.....

 

[Digger]

The Target Trace image is merely a representation of the CTX's TID analysis, mapped to the Smartscreen. As such, soil conditions should not affect the Target Trace any more than they do the actual detection of a target. Naturally, if detecting a target is difficult due to soil conditions, then having it appear in the proper location on the Smartscreen will be equally as difficult.

Think of the Smartscreen as a piece of graph paper, 35 rows tall and 50 rows left to right. When a target passes under the coil, it's FE and CO properties are identified and represented by a target mark being placed on the SmartScreen. The placement of that mark correlates with the TID numbers. For example, a zinc cent reading 12/37 would have it's' target mark sitting at 12 rows down and 37 rows across, left to right. If you then sweep over a second target, lets say a nickel, that nickel TID of 12/14 will place a target mark at the coordinates of 12 down and 14 across, left to right. And in doing so, the most recent nickel mark will replace the previous penny mark. By the audio response, you know there are two targets. But you only see the Smartscreen marks of the most recent target that has passed under the detection field of the coil. Implementing Target Trace allows the "marks" of each target to "hang around" so you have the ability to see more than one target at a time.

The "red" that you mentioned is intensified proportional to the target signal. This can be affected by the size of the targets, the depth of the targets, and in Target Trace Pinpoint, the number of times you sweep back and forth over the targets. Generally the "red" will be centered on the TID values, as positioned on the Smartscreen. But remember, TID values can vary when multiple targets are being analyzed simultaneously. JMHO HH Randy

 

[MikeO]

Great reading and learning even though I am still waiting to get a CTX.
When I do get one I will have definitely sped up my learning curve with all the great info.

 

[DaugBiscuit]

I did a quick video using a nail, quarter, nickel, and a penny. I can identify the targets because I placed them but I hope the video will help to show the effects of trace. I certainly am not advanced on the subject but I am trying to learn.

Your comments are encouraged and welcomed both positive or negative comments but more importantly instructive.

Don.....

(I hope this works, I have never uploaded a video here)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcacX_f9akE

 

[BrakingGnus]

Thanks to all who contributed this info! Love this site!!

 

[DaugBiscuit]

As a followup to Steve's question and Randy's normal terrific and most detailed reply, I'd like to add additional comments by Minelab. The question was, "Does ground condition effect trace?" Below is Minelab Technical Supports input;


Traditionally on an E-TRAC, the Target ID was determined as the most stable ID resulting from passing a coil over a target. This is why a Target ID appears after passing over a target.

Target Trace and Target Trace Pinpoint in the CTX3030 "map" the Target ID as the coil moves over a target. The colours of the trace indicate the level of confidence that the detector has in that ID. The Target Trace will give similar information to what the audio provides, or what we often refer to as real-time results. In this way the Target Trace will be affected in many of the same ways that you see effects on normal detector audio. For example, target orientation can affect IDS, greater target depth could weaken the colour of the trace, more mineralisation may cause more vertical movement in the trace, etc. In higher mineralisation, you can generally improve the stability of the ID's by performing a manual Ground Balance, running Auto -3 etc, so this will improve the Trace in the same way. Wet/Dry soil will have very little effect.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

 

[jerseyjim]

This is the reason I love this machine, I can never get tired of it, I am always learning something new.

 

[frogmanungar]

From my limited use of my CTX, but watching every video I could find, it seems that the more scattered red/orange dots, you know its a piece of junk depending where the second target appears on the conduc scale. Especially diagonal downward lines. But the confusing thing would be a horizontal line scatter. ??? That's probable could mean you have two good targets assuming that this is just the machine function picking up the targets and sort of blending the signals.
Horizontal like on the 12 level would be 2 coins........ yet it could be a coin and a piece of junk similar composition shape and size.
Maybe this is easier than I am making it, wish minelab engineers would print out an exact statement with actual pictures (color). to explain what they invented, that would be very helpful.

 

[McClod]

Hey Don, I'm glad you posted this thread too! I definitely need help with this topic as well, as apparently many others do. For me, its difficult to tell one target from the next on the screen at times.

The photos Digger posted help a lot, thanks Randy for those! This is a topic I'll be following for sure!

Don

I would like to hear a discussion on Trace and how to understand it better, I simply don't understand what it's telling me. I have read the manual and seen the Minelab video but there is little discussion about how to use it or how to read what it is telling me. The manual give a picture and identifies Horizontal Trace, Diagonal Trace, Vertical Trace but there is very little explanation or discussion about it. Maybe I'm just too dumb to get it but I am having trouble applying what they say about trace in the field.

I need help from the more experienced CTX users on this forum.

Thanks,
Don

 

[AngelicStorm]

This is one of the first threads I "Pre-Studied" when I first joined this forum in order to get an understanding of the detector I was about to get. Very good thread and it's a good thing it got brought back to light since there are new people may find this information useful.

 

[harryhh]

I haven't read through all of the replies in this post. And I haven't yet started to re-read my ctx manual to remember the settings for good target trace use. Basically it was target trace on, and target trace pinpoint on. I'll write about what I found from last year.

I never could find a reason to turn off target trace. I never found two good items close together to get that kind of target trace indication on the screen. Target trace often showed me the rusty iron signal of a scattering of dots on the screen starting in the lower right of the screen and scattering upward and a little to the left. Sometimes going all the way up the screen. Swinging back an forth, there was occasionally a possible good target on the FE 12 line. Using target trace pinpoint that possible good item on the 12 line would build up and I would dig.

Without target trace I might have missed that good signal among the the iron trash. As I said, I haven't started to re-read the manual and have forgotten much. There are times when a strong iron trash signal will override a good signal and you won't see the good at all. Target trace can help to reduce that. There are other settings on the ctx that help to determine between a good target and iron trash, but target trace is perhaps the most useful.

From what I can tell, target trace is an important feature to understand and use. As many in this post have done, search, read, and study target trace. If this thread doesn't answer some question you have, be sure to make another post with your question. A lot of people could learn from the replies you get.