Just not getting depth with the etrac.

Rawhide · May 31, 2017

I have run a few hours on the etrac and pretty happy with it. Im not finding anything great. I cant see the screen in day light and its hard to match the vdi with sound. My only option is to hunt in low light conditions. Im digging up to 8 inches and just not finding old coins.

I could use some pointers on what settings you guys use for deep silver?

I have Andys book. It helped a lot. I run a relic program looking for copper coins right now. I have a 6 inch coil on but have the stock and a sef butterfly coil also.

Dan(NM) · May 31, 2017

Casca, the screen at high noon sucks, period, so your not alone there. I'm not sure what tone setup your using, but, I ran 2 tone ferrous, manual sens as high as the area would allow and that worked great for me. Sometimes I ran 4 tone ferrous in really trashy sites. As far as finding old coins, if they're not there, your not going to find them. Forget the parks in Cruses, they have been sterilized by Jimmy and I

If your getting down to 8" that's was about the max for old copper and silver there, sometimes a little deeper, not usually. If you want some oldies, you gotta go door knocking, period! You might get lucky if you find a street tear out or construction, the parks are dead!!

Ammoman · May 31, 2017

When i first got my E-trac i sarted out in the stock coins mode. I used high trash, fast recovery and went up to +3 on sensitivity. I also used multi tone but soon dropped it down to 4. That metal detector can go very very deep! I have since sold the detector because it has balance issues but i would buy another one in a skinny second if those issues were resolved.

Roger Mn. · May 31, 2017

Hi Casca
In one park i dug 3 Indian head cents that were all 14 inches deep with the Etrac in all metal mode.
They were on the side of a hill were the sand would wash down.
In an other park in the mowed grass i got an Indian head cent and a couple of wheat cents at 14 inches deep.
At an other park in the mowed grass were i think the dirt had been filled in i got an Indian head cent at 12 inches.
I hunt a lot with the Etrac and had one for a few years now and i found a lot of coins and most were around 6 inches or less.
All these coins were found with the stock coil that came with the Etrac.
Even the people across the pond don't find deep coins at 14 inches so my guess is if the coins aren't on a sandy hillside or in a place
were the dirt has been filled in you won't be finding any deep coins.
The gold coins i found were around 8 inches deep in a leather pouch and were on a sandy hill side .
I mostly hunt in coin mode in trashy areas and go to all metal sometimes that helps me to decide weather to dig or not.
I mostly hunt for high tones like a dime get and the lower tone of a nickel. Every thing else is left behind.
I use manual since to 28 most of the time. multi tones ,conduct.
When in coin mode push the up arrow and you will see on the screen the number go's up to +3. This will block out nails and pike up the silver.
Good luck.

cudamark · May 31, 2017

8 inches of depth with a 6 inch coil is pretty good performance in my book. Put on a bigger coil and you can go deeper. I run an open screen and two tone ferrous. I'll use auto+3 or manual sensitivity depending on the location, mineralization, and trash degree. Fast on, deep, off. Most important, is to verify your location is old enough for silver coins by doing your research.

darktower007 · Jun 1, 2017

I'm super new to the Etrac. Deepest coin so far in Tennessee dirt was 6 inches. I'm a silver hunter so I run conductive multi tone Andy S coin pattern

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Rawhide · Jun 1, 2017

All good then. Dan, i suspect your right. Time to start door knocking.

Tony (Michigan) · Jun 16, 2017

Casca said:
All good then. Dan, i suspect your right. Time to start door knocking.

Casca, do you have a coin garden?

Find an area in your yard you want to have a coin garden.

Remove any in-ground trash where you want to bury your coins.
Bury a quarter at 8", 10", 12". Spaced about 2 feet apart.
Bury a dime at 6", 8", 10"
Do the same for copper penny and nickel.
You might even try a little deeper. You might live in an area of the U.S.A. where your soil is very irony. If so, you might not be able to go as deep as someone who lives in Florida and has sandy, clean soil.
Raise your GAIN, run sensitivity up to where the detector chatters and then turn it down just to the point where it doesn't chatter. Sometimes I use Auto sense and sometimes don't.

Set up your machine to hit these coins.
P.S. Minelab's don't like freshly disturbed soil so when you put in the soil over the coins, make sure you impact the soil really well.

When I was starting out with my Minelab I was having a heck of a time. A guy invited me over to detect his test garden. The deepest coins give a whisper you listen for. After that, everything changed for the better.

Rawhide · Jun 16, 2017

I have a very old coin garden but seems the etrac is picking up on the soil we have here too. I have not tried it on the deeper targets. I am going through a assortment of coils and Im stuck between a 6x8 sef and the 6 inch coiltec. Since reading Andy S. book a few times I have learned enough to tweak too much. I have seen the etrac work and is why I added it to my collection.

So please explain gain and sensitivity settings. Are you suggesting raising them one at a time till I get the desired results? I almost always use head phones and have been very surprised with the deeper targets. Im finding relics and thats ok too.

I just dont have a very big yard and have power lines behind my house. Between that and the chain link fence I suspect my garden will not work for the etrac. I have had to turn the sensitivity way down. I will look at gain.

TheRingFinder · Jun 16, 2017

It takes a lot of time to learn what any machine is telling you. You have to go out and earn the knowledge, nobody can explain it. I don't look at my screen at all, it's all about tones. Always remember one thing - If it aint there, you can't find it no matter how good your machine is. Good Luck!

Rawhide · Jun 17, 2017

So far AT Pro keeping my pouches full.

TheRingFinder said:
It takes a lot of time to learn what any machine is telling you. You have to go out and earn the knowledge, nobody can explain it. I don't look at my screen at all, it's all about tones. Always remember one thing - If it aint there, you can't find it no matter how good your machine is. Good Luck!

Actually recieved a very nice pm explaining a few things i was doing wrong from a friend. While detecting only a few years i knowwhen im licked. While a beep and dig detector can be learned by burning batterys. I have put several charges on my etrac battery and tried a few different coils. My hunts are no more spectatular than usual. My style of hunting has been new drops as most areas have already been pounded. Im strating to think there is no virgin ground left.

Depth has never been a issue for my F75. I wish i could use a shovel when i hunt with it. I am questioning my purchase of the etrac. I will give it a few nore tries once my hand heals up.

TheRingFinder · Jun 17, 2017

Casca - I've been detecting approx. 30 years now. I've found so much I can't even begin to tell you. The E-Trac is a great machine, just as good if not better than any others on the market. I'm mainly a scuba treasure hunter now-a-days using my Excalibur. There is an incredible amount of treasure in the water. As you said, not much for virgin ground left (public) - tons of private properties to hunt, just have to start knocking like another poster stated. I wish you luck, go with the machine that's right for you. Take Care.

darktower007 · Jun 17, 2017

TheRingFinder said:
Casca - I've been detecting approx. 30 years now. I've found so much I can't even begin to tell you. The E-Trac is a great machine, just as good if not better than any others on the market. I'm mainly a scuba treasure hunter now-a-days using my Excalibur. There is an incredible amount of treasure in the water. As you said, not much for virgin ground left (public) - tons of private properties to hunt, just have to start knocking like another poster stated. I wish you luck, go with the machine that's right for you. Take Care.

Well said! I'm new three months in. I've found 11 silvers so far. Two At older schools the other 9? Permissions. I look for 1940-1950 homes. I pull down the street and start knocking. Most won't answer but the ones that do politely say sure I don't care have fun and be nice to my lawn. Or no.. I'd rather you not.. okay thank you me/ms, and I keep on rocking.

I did door to door sales in college, so it never bothered me. Also one yard I'm working now is huge found s standing liberty and merc in.. home owner was remodeling so his yard was getting high and I offered to mow it. He was SHOCKED and said sure!
Keep at it with the Etrac. I didn't like mine at first but now I'm getting use to it it rocks!

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RobRieman · Jun 17, 2017

Your not going deep with the 6" coil. It separates good in trash but not real deep. Put the stock coil on and you will see a difference.

Rawhide · Jun 18, 2017

Im going to get out and hit a site this weekend. The small coil in the trash works best. Im not cherry picking but going slow and low. Most finds are under 10 inches but admit the deeper you go the better. Im not at places where I can remove a foot of dirt and sift first. That is a job in itself. The weight of the Etrac reduces my hunt time. The screen on the etrac is a bear in direct sunlight, but low light conditions its a dream. Now hunting by sound is the way to go, no argument there. But I do use the screen to cross check certain signals. The etrac has 10 different options and I like to check at least 2 or 3 of them if the target has promise. The wisp of targets here on the F75 is always a old coin. The AT Pro seems to just stop at 10 inches, no proportional signal I can tell. The etrac will null or give a iron tine if too deep for the screen. Those targets are the ones I want to dig with the etrac. I need a lot of work on those signals, and understanding why the etrac does that. I do have a 6x8 sef I can run that seems pretty darn good also.Wish me luck, lets see if I can get this dog to hunt.

cudamark · Jun 18, 2017

Get a sling. That will take care of the weight problem. :icon_thumleft:

I can dig it · Jun 27, 2017

I've had my Erac for a little over a year now and have found 72 silver coins with it. The first silver within a half hour of using it. Etrac LOVES silver. My guess is you're just not getting your coil over the good stuff. Don't give up, I don't think there is a better machine for silver coins. Just try different locations until you hit pay dirt. Good luck.

Oh and about 80% of the coins were found at 6 inches depth or less. It's WAY more about location than depth.