I personaly attribute any improvement in unmasking ability of the Etrac to the Pro Coil more than I do any of the electronics. Stick one of the old 10" Explorer coils on the Etrac and I bet you'll see a difference. Those were terrible coils. One of the reasons they were so hard to pinpoint with was because of the sloppy magnetic field they generated, which also made seperation more of a pain with them. Thank god the 10" Tornado is a much better coil than those were.
You're right, you can't find what you can't see...And there in lies the real deciding factor when it comes to unmasking ability or more to the point recovery speed. The coil first has to be able to see the target in order for the machine to. The Pro Coil has made it easier for the Etrac to see distinctly between two targets without as much work IMHO. Not that it can't be done with say the 10" Tornado, but that it takes more effort. Like I've said a thousand times before, the 12x10 makes it much easier or should I say more effortless for the Sovereign to seperate targets. That's due to it's more sharpened and well defined detection field IMO.
Just the same, use the stock 10" Tornado and lay a dime on the ground with a big rusty old nail laying right next to it so close that they are touching. You can isolate the coin from the nail with no problem so long as you know how to use the coil. You can't get any closer than that for seperation or unmasking ability. The 12x10 makes this even more effortless. The edge of the detection line it generates is much sharper for laser like reaction between targets. Can the Sovereign be swung fast and still seperate targets. Nope, it can't. You have to slow down and work the coil around targets. That's just the way it goes, but with proper sweep speed and coil use recovery speed or unmasking ability is a non-issue. As I've said before, I prefer a slow recovery speed because I feel it grabs onto and holds deep targets better than a fast reseting machine does. I can address the recovery speed issue between targets by using the coil properly.
Think I'm finally home after a lot of years searching for my particular needs. Custom 1.5 lb lighter 
Sovereign GT (easy to do by just "building" lighter shaft) & SEF 12x10 as everyday coil. 8" Tornado (actually 7.25") as super heavy trash coil (Very deep & separates better than typical 8/9" true size coils). 13" Ultimate for large fields/beaches on certain days I want to grid faster than even the 12x10's nice improvement over stock for that. Stock 10" Tornado stays on water rig (stock shaft). 
ProPointer. Owned 15x12 & SunRay S-5 (5.5") at one time. Loaned a prior 13" Ultimate & SunRay S-12 (12.5").
Some Oldest Silver- 1835 Bust Dime, 1842 "O" Seated Dime, 1855 Seated Quarter, 1858 3 Cent Piece, 1891 Seated Dime, & another Seated Quarter too damaged to read date. Highest Value- 3 Cent Piece, Seated Quarter, & now 1921 F-12 Standing Liberty. Oldest Coin? Got to give large cents a good look & see. 2013 so far- 1 Seated Quarter, 1 Barber Quarter, 1 Standing Liberty, 2 Washingtons, 1 Barber Dime, 9 Mercs, 3 Rosies. 1 War Nickel. 19 silvers in total, & 1 1872 key date Indian, 2 Bufallos, 1 man's 14K gold medium sized ring & 1 gold chain, with possibility of few 8"+ deep mystery coins being Indians after cleaning.
What matters in life is the journey and not the desitination. How you handle that journey determines if you were a success, not so much what you achieved if and when you finally get there, especially if you made it by stepping on people along the way...
In loving memory of my long haired (wooly) husky Sky. She taught me just how beautiful and pure a soul can be, human or not...Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 01/23/2012 10:04AM by Critterhunter.
