Need E Trac Hep

[cambria09]

Hello All. Got an Etrac for Christmas and have had it on one hunt so far with mixed results. Got a couple of brass relics, one 1919 WC, and LOTS 'O NAILS. The WC was in an area that I figured to be hunted out so I am optomistic but the nails were killing me.

Questions:

1) How do I disc out the iron nail signals?
2) It seems that going slow helps but there are so many signals I am having trouble selecting the good ones. Any advice?
3) Should I reset it to factory mode and learn it for a while or try to experiment with the fancy stuff?
4) I have been using a ML Soverign Elite for years with no digital indicators and and have become good at just listening to the tones before digging.
What tone setting is the best?
5) I dig a lot of brass relic type areas with the occasional old coin. What should I do to maximize the effectiveness of the E Trac

Thanks for any input and HH.

C9

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Upgraded Night Vision Monocular Digital Infrared Monocular Telescope for 100% Darkness with 8X Zoom - Grab it through Amazon!

[Jeff in Pa]

If you are digging rusted nails then you must have the screen wide open. Are you running in quick mask? You don't want to run in quick mask. That is an open screen for most although it is fully adjustable both vertically and horizontally. The Etrac has very good discriminating abilities. Go into the factory modes and choose the coin mode. About half the screen on the bottom will be blacked out.

So are these nails old rusted ferrous ones or are they aluminum siding nails? Or maybe stainless steel? Ferrous nails that are rusted will almost always have a very high ferrous number of 30 to 35. Ferrous is the number on the left.

The only thing that old nails will do from time to time is give a little high squeak but nothing that would say dig me. Only dig the nice repeatable signals that repeat from two or more directions and the numbers don't bounce all over.

Now I say this because you are new to this machine. Once you get some hours under your belt then you can start digging signals that are not "Perfect". If you keep at it you will soon see the Etrac is an amazing machine.

Jeff

 

[Bart@Big Boys Hobbies]

If you are digging rusted nails then you must have the screen wide open. Are you running in quick mask? You don't want to run in quick mask. That is an open screen for most although it is fully adjustable both vertically and horizontally. The Etrac has very good discriminating abilities. Go into the factory modes and choose the coin mode. About half the screen on the bottom will be blacked out.

So are these nails old rusted ferrous ones or are they aluminum siding nails? Or maybe stainless steel? Ferrous nails that are rusted will almost always have a very high ferrous number of 30 to 35. Ferrous is the number on the left.

The only thing that old nails will do from time to time is give a little high squeak but nothing that would say dig me. Only dig the nice repeatable signals that repeat from two or more directions and the numbers don't bounce all over.

Now I say this because you are new to this machine. Once you get some hours under your belt then you can start digging signals that are not "Perfect". If you keep at it you will soon see the Etrac is an amazing machine.

Jeff

Great post here Jeff!

Call your dealer for help. He should have helped you get going with a good setup. Always feel free to give me a ring! I would be glad to help you!

 

[Gator01]

Jeff gave some good advice. Ive had an ETrac a bit over a year now and it still can drive me crazy with the high squeals off iron,BUT, Ive learned to change some settings when I have heard enough of the squeals.
When you hit a good target,the tone is way different and you have to learn that, especially if you hunt in Multi tones. I suggest strongly, hunt in the Minelab coin mode and hunt an easy spot where clad coins are available to get use to the tones a bit, it want take long.
Also,ETrac in a spot with a lot of old iron is difficult but it can be done. Also in these nasty spots you may need a smaller coil. Another thing, in these type of spots, I use TTF (you can google a guys name (Goes4ever),his website is very valuble resource for using TTF.
But, take your time, use the Minelab stock mode for a few outings and then begin to experiment and look for other patterns and modes.
Once you get some time under your belt you will really see what a easy machine it is to use. It loves silver and anything round and IDs pretty good at depth.
Good luck,
John
PS
I strongly advice to use Auto sensitivity for now.

 

[Jason in Enid]

If this was a previously used E-Trac, then I would start by doing a factory reset.

The stock coins program is a little restrictive, but it's great for helping you learn the detector without digging large amounts of trash.

The E-Trac can take a while to learn, so give it time to learn the numbers and tones. If you are digging a ton of nails, you need to move to a cleaner place to practice in. Good targets give a solid tone and a fairly stable VDI number, so concentrate on those. I really recommend starting out in park "tot-lots" because you will see a wide range of trash and keepers, and it's easy to dig and easy to refill hose neatly.

If you haven't yet, read the owner's manual several times over. I also recommend getting Andy Sabich's book on the e-Trac. He goes into more detail and does a much better job of explaining how the changes interact with each other.

 

[cudamark]

Here's a good coin program........

need help with a good coin program for e trac

 

[PullTabPete]

Here's a good coin program........

need help with a good coin program for e trac

Hi Cuda,

I got my E-Trac this summer and am still learning but like it a lot. I found Andy's pattern a little too open on the FE and changed it from 28 and lower to around 22 and lower discriminated out. I kept getting too many rusty nails and the like, seems to work better for me that way. Still learning the sounds and tinkering with the settings, been experimenting with the sensitivity lately. I have tried manual and running auto +2 or +3 I think auto +2 is the way to go in my area.

Happy Hunting in 2013!

Pete

 

[Jackalope]

Nails and pull-tabs - the bane of metal detecting.

I try to limit using DISC (blacked-out areas on SmartFind display), the more you use the less depth you have. Since TTF gives a low-grunt tone to anything greater than 17Fe (18-35) I simply train the ear to ignore that sound. I use a bit of DISC above 30 just to shut up the iron response - but do so sparingly. Also, a bit across the top to stop wrap-around iron high-tones and a tiny bit along the left edge to quiet foil (and still hear the rings). That's about all I need and keeps from limiting depth. You could also set this up as your QuickMask screen pattern and use a Coin Pattern that has more DISC for the SmartFind screen. You hunt in QuickMask and if it gets chattery switch to SmartFind to shut it up.



Also, elongated iron - like nails, are going to mask non-ferrous in the vicinity when swept lengthwise. You have to turn about the probable target and listen for a more solid non-ferrous hit - even if it is a bit truncated. You probably won't get it but for a certain sweep angle - change it a bit and its just iron or iron falsing. So, you have to really zero in on the target - ML wiggle as you turn around the target. If it's just iron falsing (high chirps and FE01) then move on. But if you hear non-ferrous and the TID is bouncing (but not hovering below 30Fe), then dig. Nails are a challenge but it's educating yourself on their antics that beats them.