E-trac performance in wet ground

[gibsondan]

How does the E-trac perform in wet ground? I've heard it loses a significant amount of depth and won't hit on a dime unless it's no deeper than 4-inches. If this is true, then that is a major flaw.

 

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[EZrider]

No issues here.

 

[gibsondan]

No issues here.

That's good to hear, EZrider. I recently sold my CZ-7a and I'm thinking about getting an E-trac. I'm reading Andy Sabisch's book on the E-trac and Explorer. Excellent book. I like how Minelab engineers straightened the s-curve on the E-trac and made the conductivity/ferrous grid bigger for better target identification. Before I drop $1500 on one I want to investigate everything. Thanks

 

[Brett]

I've noticed one thing... I have a dime buried at 8" in my back yard. The E-Trac can sound off on it just fine, but when the ground was frozen earlier this year, I couldn't hear it at all. There COULD be something to the wet ground thing... but frozen is different than wet. When the ground is wet, it's supposed to be the best for depth from what I know. More testing is required on this subject

Every time I hear someone say the E-Trac is $1500 I cringe. They are not $1500. If you buy one with hundreds of dollars worth of FREE extras then maybe I could see one costing $1500. If you want a much lower price, give Ron Shore from http://www.windycitydetectors.com a call at (773) 774-5445 and ask him what his best price is. Tell him Brett W. sent ya ;-) You can't go wrong dealing with Ron.

 

[gleaner1]

I wouldn't believe for a second that the E-trac couldn't find a dime in 10" of wet or dry ground and I never had a Minelab. I bet more people will add comments soon.

 

[Jason in TN]

How does the E-trac perform in wet ground? I've heard it loses a significant amount of depth and won't hit on a dime unless it's no deeper than 4-inches. If this is true, then that is a major flaw.

Tell who ever told you that to put the pipe down and go detecting.

 

[gibsondan]

I'm hoping there's nothing to this wet ground thing. It seems that with auto sensitivity and 28 frequencies the E-trac would be able to compensate for ground mineralization and one or more of those frequencies would easily find that dime in frozen ground. Funny, Brett, that your E-trac wouldn't hit on that 8" deep dime when the ground was frozen...but would when the ground was thawed. Maybe a larger coil would help get that dime signal in winter. I hope we do hear more from others. Maybe someone has figured out how to tweak the settings for best detection when the ground is frozen. I'm still leaning strongly toward getting the E-trac. All detectors have their limitations and quirks. I think getting the most out of any detector is a matter of getting to know the machine by using it as often as possible.

 

[EZrider]

Gib, living and hunting in NY. Alot of my hunting starts now when the ground is very wet. I havent seen a problem yet. Also reports of the ET doing well on the wet salt beaches too. Once my local beach opens up this summer i'll be out there pounding it with the ET too.

 

[gibsondan]

That's great to hear. Can't wait until I have one to try out here in Ohio.

 

[tmanfromtexas]

I got out this weekend and the ground is very damp here in NW Indiana. I noticed a lot of falsing and numbers popping up in the 1-30 to 40 range. The tones were great but the numbers werent and the few I dug were false signals. I still dug over 140 coins with some down to the 8-9 inch range but the false signals were killing me. I was running auto sens at 0. I am thinking that the damp ground amplifies the metal in the ground which causes this falsing. I feel as though if I had put my coil over the silver i would have got it. TMAN...

 

[gibsondan]

I noticed a lot of falsing and numbers popping up in the 1-30 to 40 range. The tones were great but the numbers werent and the few I dug were false signals.

If you ignore the numbers when they start popping and just go by tones, will the tones be reliable? I'm thinking if you dug 140 coins that you must have figured out how to get around the falsing.

 

[tmanfromtexas]

I mainly hunt for coins. I am set up in 4 tone and listen very intently for the highest tone. When I get it, whether its broken or clear, I will run the coil back and forth over the target to get a center and then check the numbers to see what they are saying and I always look at the depth gauge because the numbers may be bouncy but if the depth gauge is steady its usually a good target. As far as the 1-30to40 numbers. I usually open up to all metal and most of the time it will go right to 35 on ferrous. When this happens I just move on.

The etrac for me was easy to learn. I have told people before that I borrowed my buddy GOIO's etrac while my F75 was in the shop. I just turned it on, it was in coin mode, put it on 4 tones and went to hunting. The first day I used it I found a 1924D SLQ that was in VF condition. I used his for about a week before I bought one for myself. ( I am still thankful to GOIO for letting me try his out) I never even saw a manual until I got mine and I still havent read it from cover to cover. Some folks dont believe that story but its true.

I got out today for an hour and the ground was a little dryer and it showed. I picked up 7 wheaties, 2 of which were as deep as my sunray probe is long, a 41 merc and some clad. Not a bad hunt for me. I hope you like yours as much as I do mine. TMAN...

 

[Hardrock]

Hi all: I recieved my E- Trac this last week and have the Sabish book also, I have the SE and it is an outstanding detector also. I went out for about 3 hours total so far and went to an area I and others have worked very hard over the years. I was finding clad dimes from late 60's at 5 to 6" and wheaties to 7" to 9" right away. Heavy trashied area and stayed with the factory presets first. Set up the old coin program yesterday and found wheaties to 7" and 8" then a small topaz heart shaped ring,sterling silver,nice. Just as I was leaving dime signal, Merc. 41 nearly the sunray probe length in the ground. The ground here is loam and very wet. So I hope this answers the question , wet and dime over 4" deep found. I purchased my E-trac from
Detector Depot in Tenn. Had the detector two days later, treated me right, did not need freebies and price was very good. They have web site,check them out for competitive pricing. Thanks Hardrock

 

[Keppy]

I've noticed one thing... I have a dime buried at 8" in my back yard. The E-Trac can sound off on it just fine, but when the ground was frozen earlier this year, I couldn't hear it at all. There COULD be something to the wet ground thing... but frozen is different than wet. When the ground is wet, it's supposed to be the best for depth from what I know. More testing is required on this subject

Every time I hear someone say the E-Trac is $1500 I cringe. They are not $1500. If you buy one with hundreds of dollars worth of FREE extras then maybe I could see one costing $1500. If you want a much lower price, give Ron Shore from http://www.windycitydetectors.com a call at (773) 774-5445 and ask him what his best price is. Tell him Brett W. sent ya ;-) You can't go wrong dealing with Ron.

I think Windy City has it listed for $1498.95 but you are right that is not $1500.00.....................

 

[RoadKillDave]

I have three clad dimes that have been buried in my yard for about 11 months. 6", 8" & 10". In January when I got my E-TRAC I went out and scrapped the snow off to the grass and checked for them. I could get the 6" & 8" and just a whisper of the 10" with the ground totally frozen. That was on Auto +3 with noise canceled and deep on.

I thought that was ok. My brother-in-law brought his
ACE250 over and could only get the 6" dime.

 

[Brett]

I've noticed one thing... I have a dime buried at 8" in my back yard. The E-Trac can sound off on it just fine, but when the ground was frozen earlier this year, I couldn't hear it at all. There COULD be something to the wet ground thing... but frozen is different than wet. When the ground is wet, it's supposed to be the best for depth from what I know. More testing is required on this subject

Every time I hear someone say the E-Trac is $1500 I cringe. They are not $1500. If you buy one with hundreds of dollars worth of FREE extras then maybe I could see one costing $1500. If you want a much lower price, give Ron Shore from http://www.windycitydetectors.com a call at (773) 774-5445 and ask him what his best price is. Tell him Brett W. sent ya ;-) You can't go wrong dealing with Ron.

I think Windy City has it listed for $1498.95 but you are right that is not $1500.00.....................

Take 5 minutes and just call Ron. You'll see what I am talking about. Everyone has to list them for MSRP... that's some kind of MFG's rule or something... I dunno. What I do know is that Ron gives me the best prices on all of my gear, and I didn't pay anywhere near $1498.95 for mine.

 

[Brett]

I have three clad dimes that have been buried in my yard for about 11 months. 6", 8" & 10". In January when I got my E-TRAC I went out and scrapped the snow off to the grass and checked for them. I could get the 6" & 8" and just a whisper of the 10" with the ground totally frozen. That was on Auto +3 with noise canceled and deep on.

I thought that was ok. My brother-in-law brought his
ACE250 over and could only get the 6" dime.

The more I think about it, the more I'm thinking I couldn't see the 8" dime because I was running Auto +3 and the EMI in my back yard was reducing my sensitivity to 19. When I check the dime now without frozen ground, it does the same thing, but when I switch over to manual and just set it to 20 I can hear the dime again. If I set it as high as 25, the dime is coming in perfectly. I need to test this out with one at 10".

If you can, please try setting your sensitivity to manual and turning it up slowly to see if you can get that 10" dime better. I'm very curious on this.

Also, as of late I've been out in wet muddy ground with my E-Trac and can hit very deep coins without much problem at all. This water thing is a myth (but there may still be something about the auto sensitivity, people may be testing blindly and not looking at what the sensitivity is being dragged down to).

 

[Marchas45]

I've noticed one thing... I have a dime buried at 8" in my back yard. The E-Trac can sound off on it just fine, but when the ground was frozen earlier this year, I couldn't hear it at all. There COULD be something to the wet ground thing... but frozen is different than wet. When the ground is wet, it's supposed to be the best for depth from what I know. More testing is required on this subject

Every time I hear someone say the E-Trac is $1500 I cringe. They are not $1500. If you buy one with hundreds of dollars worth of FREE extras then maybe I could see one costing $1500. If you want a much lower price, give Ron Shore from http://www.windycitydetectors.com a call at (773) 774-5445 and ask him what his best price is. Tell him Brett W. sent ya ;-) You can't go wrong dealing with Ron.

I think Windy City has it listed for $1498.95 but you are right that is not $1500.00.....................

Take 5 minutes and just call Ron. You'll see what I am talking about. Everyone has to list them for MSRP... that's some kind of MFG's rule or something... I dunno. What I do know is that Ron gives me the best prices on all of my gear, and I didn't pay anywhere near $1498.95 for mine.

You where right Brett, I just got my E-Trac for $1298.00 without the garbage from WindyCity. Thanks, Charlie

 

[Woodland Detectors]

Hog wash! lol I have found many(SILVER) dimes in wet soil!!!!! Go to the "share you etrac settings here" thread and hang out to learn new settings and tips.

 

[Hardrock]

Hi: I have had my E-Trac about two weeks and am in the learning curve so to speak. Ground here is wet,real wet. No problems on dimes here, merc the other day at 7", 41. We have a mix of soils and I am now getting into changing programs and such. i gave it 4 good outings and have found 1 large cent 1840,2 indians,1887,1901,two silver rosies 4-5 inches,1 sterling Topaz ring(nice),and lots of wheaties at amazing depths in those"worked out spots locally" great machine,I have the SE also and it is a great unit, break down and order yours today guy, Give Detector Depot a chance,good place, bought 3 from em. Hardrock