DOES ANYONE USE TTF ON THE E-TRAC

[sonofadigger]

So exactly like the two tone program just four tones now is that right

 

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[Jackalope]

**** So exactly like the two tone program just four tones now is that right ****

The DISC'd areas are not the same. TTF would require more DISC for silencing iron. The hatched red areas in the previous graphics are the DISC'd areas.

Here's the DISC'd area I use for the 4TF (very little is needed):

1Co - 35Co and from 1Fe - 3Fe
1Co - 2Co and from 4Fe - 8Fe
1Co and from 18Fe - 28Fe
1Co - 50Co and from 29Fe - 30Fe
49Co - 50Co and from 1Fe - 2Fe
50Co and from 3Fe - 7Fe

 

[Jason in Enid]

**** So exactly like the two tone program just four tones now is that right ****

The DISC'd areas are not the same. TTF would require more DISC for silencing iron. The hatched red areas in the previous graphics are the DISC'd areas.

Here's the DISC'd area I use for the 4TF (very little is needed):

1Co - 35Co and from 1Fe - 3Fe
1Co - 2Co and from 4Fe - 8Fe
1Co and from 18Fe - 28Fe
1Co - 50Co and from 29Fe - 30Fe
49Co - 50Co and from 1Fe - 2Fe
50Co and from 3Fe - 7Fe

I disagree. The disc areas should be the same. The whole point of the "TTF" pattern is that it lets almost everything through and you use your brain's discrimination circuit to ferret out what to dig. If you are going to start bumping the FE line you may as well stick with the A.S. pattern in Conductive tones.

 

[CoinandRelicMan]

OMG YES! You missing out on old coins! I would open it up all the way across on the FE 25 line.

Better now?

 

[Jason in Enid]

Better now?
View attachment 780707

Personally, I would open that block in the middle, but that's just me. Now, keep in mind with your more open coin range that it will let in more iron falsing, so you have to pay more attention to the sound and response. If the target is staying in the FE 24-25 area (or just above you disc line), switch to quick-mask with a full open open screen and re-scan. If it drops into the 30's it's iron. If it stay in the 20's it's worth a dig. You WILL dig more iron (especially nails) with this more open screen, but it will also let those deeper and on-edge coins come through.

The key to brain-disc'ing out iron is to hit from multiple directions. Watch the spot on the ground where the coil sounds off. Are you getting a lot nulling? Is the target silent one way and broken another? Does the spot where it sounds off shift around a few inches each time? All are clues to it being iron. Multiple clues is pretty certain to be iron.

 

[Buford420]

I'm not big on TTF but u can check out how I run at youtube.com/diggin1145s over 50 silver coin finds and I show a lot of the signals before I dig. Id love it if u subscribe. HH

 

[Jackalope]

The screenshot below shows the DISC required for 4TF (four tone ferrous mode). Nothing more is needed. Massive areas of DISC are not necessary and will work against you in the long run. By using a minimum of DISC you keep depth/sensitivity at a peak (the more DISC you use the less sensitivity you'll have and the less depth you'll have. Test it if you don't believe it). And by keeping the screen open - you don't need to switch to QuickMask to check a target (you can easily stay in SmartFind all the time).

The audio report will tell if it is a possible good target simply based on the four zones of 4TF. An important DISC'd area is that horizontal stripe at 29-30Fe (DISC'd). It keeps the iron from sounding within the Med-Low Tone zone. You could even scale back some of the DISC if you don't have hot rocks (upper right) but the setup as it runs is very, very quiet - if the audio tone is above Low - it's something of possible value. If the tone is Med-Low it is probably deep and non-ferrous (could be a nail, so need to investigate). If you get a Med-High tone, it is likely non-ferrous and may be trash or treasure - you'll need to dig to know which (or pass up on thin rings and nickels).

The Med-Low Tone (18-28Fe) will be primarily your audio alert for deeper coins in mineralized soil. Above that, the Med-High Tone (centered around 12Fe +/-4) has no DISC. DISC isn't needed as any target in that zone is likely non-ferrous and could be valuable, especially the closer it aligns to 12Fe line (pull-tabs and foil are the exception, they often fall along 12Fe). Should you decide to DISC the Med-High zone to isolate the high conductors, DISC this zone from about 27Co and below. Now you are mostly hunting for high conductors (i.e., thick/large yellow gold rings, silver, large jewelry, and clad coins. You give up thin rings, nickels, and all small/thin jewelry though).

The High Tone has some DISC at the top for wrap-around iron and some trash items that fall into that area (you could scale the DISC back here if desired). The High Tone zone is predominately then going to give an audio signal for large Silver - if you hear the High Tone - dig it! The Low Tone zone is left without DISC as it has the lowest probability of good targets and can be ignored - the low grunt is almost never anything but iron above 30Fe.

​

The black (DISC) areas equate to these Fe-Co areas:
1Co - 35Co and from 1Fe - 3Fe
1Co - 2Co and from 4Fe - 8Fe
1Co and from 18Fe - 28Fe
1Co - 50Co and from 29Fe - 30Fe
49Co - 50Co and from 1Fe - 2Fe
50Co and from 3Fe - 7Fe

With this pattern and the 4TF mode - you are at the optimum E-Trac setting. Add more DISC or use TTF and you can still get results - but the extra DISC to silence iron (for instance, above 29Fe) is unnecessary if in 4TF. Plus, in TTF you don't have the E-Trac's High Tone for Silver, as the High tone in TTF applies for all non-ferrous from foil to pull-tabs to gold to silver. In 4TF the High Tone audio means Silver, not foil or other junk, just Silver.

I think that the 4TF is the most efficient audio method to hunt in most any site condition (with some adjustments for relic hunting), and makes the best use of the E-Trac audio zones, and thus indirectly allows the user to hunt without using much DISC (a double advantage). If you like TTF you'll probably come to like 4TF even better.

 

[vandaria]

^^^ Very awesome post Jackalope! Nice and informative! Now I just need to start learning some of the #'s for at least the Med_low I think is how you are calling it..the 2nd lowest. When I hear that a lot of times it is in the 24-26 Fe range and started sorta skipping over that tone as it has produced mostly junk. I need to start to learn the ranges for things better and perhaps some of the Co #'s. In the next few minutes I am going to attempt to not feel embarrassed next to a busy highway to MD in a farm field that used to be the old County Fair Grounds. I think I am just going to go for very very minimal masking in my 4TF and just try and dig the 3 tones and remember the #'s. No way I can log them in a notebook as that spot is WINDY!

Anyroad nice to hear that 4TF is successful for someone as I definitely enjoy it but was thinking I am missing ID by not using Multi Co as I see so many vids of ppl using that. Again tho I just need to learn my machine adn the #'s a bit more and should good =)

 

[Jackalope]

Vandaria,

I know people do use TTC (Two Tone Conduct), and use it well.

But note how the audio responds in TTC. The Low Tone covers much potentially good non-ferrous, that is, small rings, jewelry, nickels. But certain low conducting iron junk will also get the Low Tone, all the way to 35Fe. It is not as active a zone for targets (not many targets possess these qualities), but when they do occur it is all Low Tone. The High Tone covers all the rest: clad, silver, large rings, silver dollars, deeper copper coins, and nails. They all get the High Tone. In nail infested areas the constant High Tone (below 29Fe) is going to be oppressive. So, you have to dial-in DISC. The end result: High Tone does alert you to possible good targets, but does not audibly distinguish what those targets are, not until you look at the TID. The rusty iron nail audio sound is the same as that Silver Dollar audio sound which is the same as that clad penny. It works - but the arrangement of audio clues does not necessarily relate to anything specific. Low Tone isn't specifically anything and High Tone isn't specifically anything.



People looking just for silver use TTC since it does give a high tone on silver. But the Med-High Tone in 4TF covers the whole area where coins are found (12Fe) and so you aren't going to miss anything. If you get the High Tone in 4TF you know you've got something good, that is, silver (usually). It is a tone with meaning - when you hear it you can actually jump (with excitement). That's because it carries "meaning" - while TTC covers too much target zone to convey meaning except in the broadest sense (unless you DISC everything not silver - and now you've decreased your sensitivity and depth, which is a big negative).

I won't discuss 4TC, as it has zero meaning and is just gibberish. In my opinion, I think people fall into a comfort zone with TTC - it works and gets stuff, so they are happy (the same with the over-use of DISC, such as found in various Park and Coin Patterns). Changing patterns or modes is hard to do after you become very acquainted with a particular audio pattern. But trying new things can be worth it.

I tried TTC but didn't like the Low-High split - wasn't telling me useful information. So, I used TTF for a long time, it does work, but eventually had to admit after finally bothering to research it closely, 4TF was the better deal all around. There was no reason to continue to use TTF, at least for me.

 

[vandaria]

Great post! I have had my detector less than a month now, but when I first fired it up I was in TTF. The reason is I was playing with it in my yard and it is NAIL city (knew this well in advance). So reading about going slow with almost no disc and the Sunray coil my very fist dig was a clad penny...BUT it was surrounded by tons of junk. So I was happy.

Then I ended up in a more cleaned up area so to speak and tried 4TF. I liked this a lot better as I decided to just dig the two high tones (now I need to go back and re-check out the Mid low tone) and that is how I pulled my first silver. I have yet to go to the park tho I am not going to anticipate much in the older coin dept even tho the park is old it is flooded several times a year. Like raging rapids flooded lol. On the other hand there is a wooded area surrounding it up on a bluff and that may be fun!
Anyway your insight has been fantastic and again makes me feel good that 4TF is a very valid way of hunting. It is the way I am most comfortable with but was worried I was losing something to the Multi Co.

I may however need to stick to the TTF for my yard as again it is very bad, but will try the 4T. I can put my pinpointer down just about anywhere and it will be going off that's how bad it is..tho last year I just plopped onto the ground and pointed, then dug all the nails and junk I could.

Again, very appreciated posts!!!!

 

[Jackalope]

When nails are a problem, there are a couple of choices. One is to add DISC and silence the nails. The silencing of nails can help you concentrate on other targets. However, many nails will TID in the same location as coins that are down averaged within the nail/iron field. That is, normally a penny would fall at perhaps 12-44 (Fe-Co), but if the coin is deeper and there is iron between the coil and the coin, then the coin will often be around 26-40 (down averaged due to the iron so that it looks more iron). To get that coin in the field of nails, which are also erratically hitting between 15-30Fe, requires some extra techniques.

If the area is DISC'd then there will be no audio or TID - so you will not get that old deep penny. However, if you want it, then use 4TF and when you hear the Med-Low Tone then watch the TID. While the Fe numbers can jump vertically on the TID, the real question to answer is what is the Co number doing? Is it staying around 38-44Co, that is, remaining fairly stable? That is the indication of a non-ferrous target. The Fe number will jump based on the arrangement of iron under the coil. Every movement of the coil illuminates iron in a different way and so the Fe number, which is tied to the iron nature, jumps around. Now, if the same target is really just an old rusty nail, then the Fe number will jump about and so will the Co number - the more you adjust the coil angle the more the TID bounces. In fact, after you've dug 30-40 iron nails to confirm, you pretty much get the sixth sense perfected - that same erratic TID bouncing everywhere is going to be just another nail.

The key to the unmasking of a buried coin in a field of iron is to realize that you have to get the center of the DD coil over the coin. Not over some iron piece that looks like a coin. To do that, you need to isolate the stable target, and when you think you are over it, then wiggle the coil over it enough that the target response rises and falls (perhaps 1/2" in any direction). This will activate the depth readout and give a TID position too - you do this to determine teh nature of what is under the coil. There is no "sweeping" of the coil - just nudging it a bit back-and-forth, left-and-right. If the target while doing this has fairly stable Co number - time to dig.

The other question when dealing with iron: How do you know when there is a non-ferrous coin with all that jumping around in that nail bed as you sweep? That is where going very slow is necessary. When you get machine gun Med-Low Tones (ignore the Low Tone) you have to slow down and try and unmask the non-ferrous. This means moving around the area from different angles (ferrous is very sensitive to directional changes while non-ferrous coins will be stable). You are looking for a stable TID that repeats (at least in one very short directional movement - say left-to-right). You may not get a two-way signal (beep) as iron near non-ferrous can easily block the signal (often you get the hit as you pass in a coin-to-iron direction, but not when you reverse and pass from iron-to-coin).

The only way to be sure of your technique is do dig those iffy signals in the Med-Low Tone zone. If the target is in the Low Tone, the probability that it is iron is very high - you can skip it. If the iron wraps around to the High Tone (1-2Fe, 26-35Co) area, which it will, you won't hear it if you've DISC'd that portion - which is a good idea. The pointy end of the nail and the head (and bends) can create a signal that mimics a conductive target.

If after doing all the above steps, and you switch to all metal pinpoint mode on the E-Trac, and the target seems to have moved position from where you had it, it is likely to be iron. If you think you pinpointed the center of the target and begin to dig - but your handheld pinpointer is now alerting along the side of the hole, guess what: Iron nail. A horizontal nail will pinpoint off center or at the nail tip. When you finally find it you will have dug a large hole or borrowed into the side of your original hole. If you're not careful that pointy end will stab you - so be careful.

A non-ferrous target, especially a round target like a coin, will pinpoint smoothly, not jump around, and should be about the depth the meter showed. If you can't find the coin and you've dug past the depth that the meter had, expect to dig down and find a large non-ferrous junk target (like a buried soda can). It happens - but your pinpointer should have painted a broad detection area at the bottom of your hole at the expected depth (rather than alerting at a single isolated spot in the hole which would be a coin). When I get that broad pinpointing pattern, I stop digging - it's a crushed soda can, no need to dig further.

In any case, once you get the hang of nails, the rest is easy - you can hunt anything. If you can hunt through a bed of nails and find a coin - you will have learned.

It's just ear training and coil technique combined with a little knowledge of what is happening in the ground. If you can't go slow in a bed of nails, then move off and leave it. Sweeping at regular sweep speeds will only discourage you (the coin will remain masked and the nail audio will be demoralizing). Going slow, like you were looking for land mines, and you will start to see the difference between a stable TID and those jumpy nail TIDs. Then it can actually be a bit fun (for a time - it does require concentration which can get tiring after a while).

But, know that many old coins are deep and they are often in fields of tangled iron and iron flakes. So that skill set is worth working on. Know also, damp soil can make the iron even more active - sometimes it is best just to wait for the soil to dry out. In any case, have fun. It's just a hobby.

 

[Sovereignelite]

Isn't the point of either (2tf or ttf) mode to have a nearly completely open screen?! Or am I missing something? I thought the point was to be able to hear iron as well as non-ferrous items that are so close that the iron might null it in conductive mode...Sometimes I don't think I understand anything. I hear a lot of conflicting opinions....for example (and this may be in conductive mode, but still...) that if you have iron disc'd out that it will actually allow you to hear a non-ferrous target because you are not getting a signal or overpowering hit from the ferrous/iron object that is in close proximity. I personally have a frustrating problem (in conductive) Seems I get coin numbers then get iron numbers in quick mask...I generally assume these numbers nearly always mean it's an iron object as when the numbers STAY closer to coil like numbers in quick mask it's always a coin or similar object...Also I have yet to dig anything higher in number than 20 Fe that turned out to be a deep coin (whatever "deep" means 9" or 12"+?) although have gotten high Fe #'s on iron next to a coin but usually the numbers jump around. I think the deepest old coin I have dug with the Etrac is an IH at about 9" in a hard hunted site BUT it switched from a high FE (30's) number back to around 12...turned out there was a large rusty iron nail about 3 " away from it. So how deep does a coin have to be to get these high Fe numbers when it is not near iron...I understand audio response and "movement" can help rule an item as a nail...but not if it is a coin near a nail. I'm rambling...now...I just need to find a good spot with no iron and lots of silver halves at 6" or less. I have found one IH between two nails in 4TF so I know it works(also in a heavily searched yard.).

Personally, I would open that block in the middle, but that's just me. Now, keep in mind with your more open coin range that it will let in more iron falsing, so you have to pay more attention to the sound and response. If the target is staying in the FE 24-25 area (or just above you disc line), switch to quick-mask with a full open open screen and re-scan. If it drops into the 30's it's iron. If it stay in the 20's it's worth a dig. You WILL dig more iron (especially nails) with this more open screen, but it will also let those deeper and on-edge coins come through.

The key to brain-disc'ing out iron is to hit from multiple directions. Watch the spot on the ground where the coil sounds off. Are you getting a lot nulling? Is the target silent one way and broken another? Does the spot where it sounds off shift around a few inches each time? All are clues to it being iron. Multiple clues is pretty certain to be iron.

 

[Sovereignelite]

That's similar to the pattern I use for 4tf.

The screenshot below shows the DISC required for 4TF (four tone ferrous mode). Nothing more is needed. Massive areas of DISC are not necessary and will work against you in the long run. By using a minimum of DISC you keep depth/sensitivity at a peak (the more DISC you use the less sensitivity you'll have and the less depth you'll have. Test it if you don't believe it). And by keeping the screen open - you don't need to switch to QuickMask to check a target (you can easily stay in SmartFind all the time).

The audio report will tell if it is a possible good target simply based on the four zones of 4TF. An important DISC'd area is that horizontal stripe at 29-30Fe (DISC'd). It keeps the iron from sounding within the Med-Low Tone zone. You could even scale back some of the DISC if you don't have hot rocks (upper right) but the setup as it runs is very, very quiet - if the audio tone is above Low - it's something of possible value. If the tone is Med-Low it is probably deep and non-ferrous (could be a nail, so need to investigate). If you get a Med-High tone, it is likely non-ferrous and may be trash or treasure - you'll need to dig to know which (or pass up on thin rings and nickels).

The Med-Low Tone (18-28Fe) will be primarily your audio alert for deeper coins in mineralized soil. Above that, the Med-High Tone (centered around 12Fe +/-4) has no DISC. DISC isn't needed as any target in that zone is likely non-ferrous and could be valuable, especially the closer it aligns to 12Fe line (pull-tabs and foil are the exception, they often fall along 12Fe). Should you decide to DISC the Med-High zone to isolate the high conductors, DISC this zone from about 27Co and below. Now you are mostly hunting for high conductors (i.e., thick/large yellow gold rings, silver, large jewelry, and clad coins. You give up thin rings, nickels, and all small/thin jewelry though).

The High Tone has some DISC at the top for wrap-around iron and some trash items that fall into that area (you could scale the DISC back here if desired). The High Tone zone is predominately then going to give an audio signal for large Silver - if you hear the High Tone - dig it! The Low Tone zone is left without DISC as it has the lowest probability of good targets and can be ignored - the low grunt is almost never anything but iron above 30Fe.

View attachment 781994
​

The black (DISC) areas equate to these Fe-Co areas:
1Co - 35Co and from 1Fe - 3Fe
1Co - 2Co and from 4Fe - 8Fe
1Co and from 18Fe - 28Fe
1Co - 50Co and from 29Fe - 30Fe
49Co - 50Co and from 1Fe - 2Fe
50Co and from 3Fe - 7Fe

With this pattern and the 4TF mode - you are at the optimum E-Trac setting. Add more DISC or use TTF and you can still get results - but the extra DISC to silence iron (for instance, above 29Fe) is unnecessary if in 4TF. Plus, in TTF you don't have the E-Trac's High Tone for Silver, as the High tone in TTF applies for all non-ferrous from foil to pull-tabs to gold to silver. In 4TF the High Tone audio means Silver, not foil or other junk, just Silver.

I think that the 4TF is the most efficient audio method to hunt in most any site condition (with some adjustments for relic hunting), and makes the best use of the E-Trac audio zones, and thus indirectly allows the user to hunt without using much DISC (a double advantage). If you like TTF you'll probably come to like 4TF even better.

 

[Jason in Enid]

Isn't the point of either (2tf or ttf) mode to have a nearly completely open screen?! Or am I missing something? I thought the point was to be able to hear iron as well as non-ferrous items that are so close that the iron might null it in conductive mode...Sometimes I don't think I understand anything. I hear a lot of conflicting opinions....for example (and this may be in conductive mode, but still...) that if you have iron disc'd out that it will actually allow you to hear a non-ferrous target because you are not getting a signal or overpowering hit from the ferrous/iron object that is in close proximity. I personally have a frustrating problem (in conductive) Seems I get coin numbers then get iron numbers in quick mask...I generally assume these numbers nearly always mean it's an iron object as when the numbers STAY closer to coil like numbers in quick mask it's always a coin or similar object...Also I have yet to dig anything higher in number than 20 Fe that turned out to be a deep coin (whatever "deep" means 9" or 12"+?) although have gotten high Fe #'s on iron next to a coin but usually the numbers jump around. I think the deepest old coin I have dug with the Etrac is an IH at about 9" in a hard hunted site BUT it switched from a high FE (30's) number back to around 12...turned out there was a large rusty iron nail about 3 " away from it. So how deep does a coin have to be to get these high Fe numbers when it is not near iron...I understand audio response and "movement" can help rule an item as a nail...but not if it is a coin near a nail. I'm rambling...now...I just need to find a good spot with no iron and lots of silver halves at 6" or less. I have found one IH between two nails in 4TF so I know it works(also in a heavily searched yard.).

That message of mine you quoted was replying to someone else asking about different settings.

 

[sonofadigger]

I tried 4TF on my last hunt and didn't care for it way to many noises I liked 2tf because of how simple and effective it was dealing with more toned just complicates it....for me anyway

 

[Goes4ever]

hey guys I have a new site, easier to navigate.....here is the direct link to my TTF page
TTF Explained - Saving History One Piece at a Time

 

[Sovereignelite]

I see. I was rambling anyway.

That message of mine you quoted was replying to someone else asking about different settings.

 

[Sovereignelite]

I think 4tf would be helpful in area with aluminum where you want to work around the iron: you can differentiate the lower aluminum tones from the higher silver tones...but more noisy for sure!

I tried 4TF on my last hunt and didn't care for it way to many noises I liked 2tf because of how simple and effective it was dealing with more toned just complicates it....for me anyway

 

[Jackalope]

Concerning TTF being easier to deal with because there are only 2 tones, I understand the sentiment, but I in my opinion it is also the reason that TTF is not as useful. Yes, you will get either a Low or High Tone for everything. Easy. But what information does the tone convey? Is it meaningful?

Consider the difference. The High Tone in TTF is from 1-17Fe. Just about every type of non-ferrous target is represented in this zone, from foil to silver to gold dollars. It's all there - which is why many people like this mode. It gives the High Tone on everything but deeper coins above 17Fe. There is a case for that, and I agree that it is beneficial - which is why I used it for years.

But in 4TF, while you have the single Med-High Tone for most all the same targets as TTF, you get one extra: the ability to distinguish the very important (and valuable) super-high conductive zone. What if you could program the E-Trac to give a special tone just for Silver Half Dollars such as Barber's, Walking Liberty's, Kennedy Half's, Large .925 Silver Rings, or even a US Large Cent? Well, you can with 4TF. Because this valuable niche zone is given the elite High Tone. Who would want to miss the most valuable targets in the ground because the target audio sounded identical to a gum wrapper? In TTF you won't hear any difference. In 4TF you will.

Because of this large High Tone zone, you must constantly check that High Tone beep in TTF - is it a pull-tab or is it a Morgan Silver Dollar? Gotta constantly check the TID. It works - but is it the most efficient method of hunting. I don't think so.

Next, you are in TTF and you get that Low Tone - is it just another framing nail, some old iron bolt, one more small screw, or maybe it is a 1909 Wheat cent or a 1859 Indian Head penny? Since the Low Tone covers every target with Fe numbers from 18 to 35 it is difficult to discriminate between what could be a down-averaged old coin at 6-12" depth from the audio of a worthless decomposing square nail at 35Fe (rock bottom). So what do you do? You turn massive numbers of Pixels to DISC'd areas in TTF to silence the iron while leaving some of the Low Tone open for those deep coins. You have no other choice if you want to hunt in relative peace.

Large amounts of DISC is harmful. The E-Trac Park program DISCs the area from Fe 21-35 and across the width of the TID to keep the iron quiet. That's about 800 DISC'd Pixels. The Sabisch coin pattern DISCs from 28-35Fe and across the bottom for 400 DISC'd Pixels. The Minelab stock Coin Pattern uses about 950 DISC'd Pixels just for iron. Ouch! You might think that using DISC makes no big difference, but in fact it does. The more DISC you use the less sensitivity you get and the less effective depth you can achieve. The last thing you want to do is dial in a bunch of DISC.

But in TTF, if you don't stop the iron you will get machine-gun Low Tones in iron dense soil. You effectively can't hunt in TTF unless you block the nails and iron in those areas. While the iron will reduce your depth on its own your additional DISC will knock it back even further. On top of that, the DISC'd areas will require switching to your open QuickMask screen to determine what is going on in the nulled areas. None of this is required in 4TF.

In 4TF, the Med-Low Tone covers the zone from 18-30Fe. It's a bit more than you want since most targets (not all) are iron junk beyond 28Fe. So, it will be necessary to add some DISC to 4TF too. How much? 900 Pixels? 400 Pixels? No! How about only 100 Pixels. That is all you need (even that could be cut in half). With this setting, that down-averaged 1800 Draped Bust Half Cent at 25Fe gets it's own intelligent audio: a Med-Low Tone. Sure, in both TTF and 4TF you'll have to investigate to ensure it is actually non-ferrous. It could still be a nail, but you are given the audio clue and a chance to investigate and you do so without massive amounts of DISC. The benefit then is better sensitivity and little need to switch the screen to an open QuickMask screen. You already have an almost entirely open SmartFind screen.

So, while four tones may at first be confusing - just remember that any tone that is above the Low Tone (which you will soon learn to ignore) has the possibility of value, and the higher the tone the more likely it is valuable. With TTF, perhaps the two tones is more relaxing but it comes at a cost of less audio information and more screen watching. Actually for me, the four tones are more relaxing because they work in tandem with the target's composition, so there is less tonal confusion. That is, the tones are providing meaning (as much as the E-Trac is capable) rather than just getting two unrelated tones and having to constantly watch where they are landing on the TID.

In reality, 4TF is really just 2 important tones. First, the High Tone is easy - it's silver. The Low Tone is easy - it's iron junk. The others is in the ring-coin zone along 12Fe (+/- 4Fe) which means when you get that audio, there is a very high likelihood that you need to dig it (or miss rings and jewelry). Or alternately, it is the Med-Low Tone, which might be a coin if fairly repeatable from at least one direction.

Someone might wonder why not just switch to multi-tone and get an infinite number of tonal differences? For the same reason most don't use single-tone - too much information becomes useless noise and too little information tells you nothing. I find TTF to be too shy at giving audio information, information the detector has but in TTF it will not report. In 4TF, the audio is clear but not overwhelming with chatter. Plus, I like the rather open screen that 4TF allows and the knowledge that I'm not reducing performance or nulling all over the place. When I hunt, the E-Trac is quiet (I pay no attention to those Low Tones) - if it has something to say in the audio report above Low Tone, then it is worth hearing.

However, each person has to use what they are comfortable with using. It may take several outing before the extra audio information makes sense. TTF is still a good mode and beeps High for most of the things people are looking for and beeps Low for most of the things people don't want. As described, it has a few drawbacks and I think 4TF has more advantages, and I'm always looking for advantages when I hunt.

 

[Goes4ever]

Why use two tone and not multi tone? It may be a personal choice but by using only two tones it is SIMPLE......iron is low grunt, and everything ABOVE iron is a higher easy to distinguish tone. If you use multi tone, it will be murder on your brain trying decipher the musical song you will be hearing. When in this type of iron rich site the numbers will be bouncing all over and with multi tone it will be like a machine gun of tones going off, making it extremely difficult for you to really pick out good from bad. Keep it simple, iron low tone, everything else high tone. Go extremely slow and let the machine do it's job.

I even experimented with 4 tones and this still was too much ear candy for my liking. I suggest you stick to two tones for the best performance and chance of pulling goodies out of all the iron. Also by using two tones you are allowing the e-trac processor to work as quickly as possible giving you even more chance to score the goodies.