8inch deep coin - Played with 4 settings

[earthmansurfer]

Hey guys,

It was warmer today so I went out looking for deeper coins. I only could find 2 in 6 hours! But, I did get one of them on video.

I Played with the following settings:
Ground Neutral vs. Difficult
Audio response Normal vs. Long
Fast On vs. Fast off
Deep on vs. Deep off

Would love to know your opinions of the these settings (like which sounds better), both in this video and in your experience.

Thanks,
Albert

PS - As usual, click to watch it on youtube (lower right corner) and then watch it full screen in 480 so you can see the screen better.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qrfyee5n9q4[/video]

 

[EtracTom-AdirondacksNY]

Albert have you tried fast and deep on together over a target like that yet?? Also quicken up your sweep speed a bit like a fast wiggle over the targets and it will be better bringing it in maybe a bit wider sweep too.

When do normal hunting you go fairly 4-5 seconds each direction slow but the Etrac does like a slightly faster sweep speed than the Explorers do due to the processor and other internal programing.

After you have located a target you can sweep a bit faster yet over it and get better results..

 

[Bill_S]

Also quicken up your sweep speed a bit like a fast wiggle over the targets and it will be better bringing it in maybe a bit wider sweep too.

I was going to suggest the same thing.

 

[Goes4ever]

Man is there major fill dirt where u were hunting, with that signal you got, I would swear you were gonna dig an indian! 8 inch zinc, that is nuts! I think it sounded best with deep off fast on, and I did not like the LONG at all. Thanks for the video

 

[earthmansurfer]

Thanks for the suggestions and comments guys.

Tom - I was running deep on and fast on up until a week ago. I forget if it was you or another poster here, but they talked about fast on cutting the sounds short. I tried it with it off but trash on difficult and the sound seems better and I still can pull coins in trash. And I'll try what you and Bill said. I thought that in manual it liked a slower swing speed more but it's worth a try. I was swinging around 3 or 4 seconds from left to right. I can do slower but it's hard as the grass is a bit long. In most places the coil is 2" or so from the ground! I actually like a faster swing, around 2 to 3 seconds but had been trying to slow it down when in maual.

Goes4ever - You really think there is fill dirt there? The place floods but maybe it was filled as well. If you mean the depth of the coin, I don't think they have filled that place in but I could be wrong. I have to watch it again as I was thinking fast off and wasn't sure about the deep setting. I thought it was more of an ID thing with deep and not related to the sound, but ???

Thanks again,
Albert

ps - There is iron all over the place there, every swing and then some.

 

[Goes4ever]

if a penny from 1990s was 8" deep I'd guess fill dirt, heck most 100+ yr old coins here are never more than 6-7"

I just think it seemed to ID better while I was watching your screen with deep off, the numbers looked like a solid indian hit to me, solid sound as well

 

[EtracTom-AdirondacksNY]

We are suggesting you sweep faster a bit when double checking your target like before pinpointing and after before you dig. Also keep the COIL ON THE GROUND if at all possiable it doesn't like air between it and the ground that is why the Ground Normal setting for PLOWED fields (air filled soil )and sandy beaches has something to do with the mineralization and loose soil and air canceling that the machine does to look past and not see the ground like other machines do.

I mentioned fast and deep on as it seems to not clip the signal like fast does by ITSELF so I was wondering what you found as I seemed to like both on at the same time it also seemed to make the signal a bit longer in NORMAL sounds to me. Marksman7 suggested both on and sounds LONG for very trashy areas and I tried it and it seems to work to make the high good conductors like silver and wheaties and such scream out amoung all the signals your hearing but if the area isn't trashy I prefered sounds NORMAL as long seemed to be too long then as there isn't many targets when not trashy so it was making me a bit nutty listening to the signal then. Didn't seem clean or right when NOT trashy.

In manual you seem to have to swing slower as there is more sounds coming through at least when I try it so I have to go even slower to decipher all that I'm hearing and to linger over signals to investigate further. That is why I really liked this Etrac over my Explorer 2 I sold as it is smooth running when in Auto and I run +3 all the time and it works here in my soil. Manual is more chatty even if I don't run it much higher than what Auto +3 is running at.

 

[Big Boys Hobbies]

n/t

 

[squirrel1]

Interesting video to say the least. I've been running an e-trac a lot since July 2011. First off I would find another deep coin preferably in a clean area, free of trash. With your current setttings as they are reduce your manual sensivity to the point you get good tone and conductive number. Speed up and lengthen your sweep just a bit. Then start adjusting your settings of deep, soil, and recovery. One thing I've witnessed many times in my hunting and testing. A manual setting of 30 doesn't necessarily get you deeper. And your auto sensivity number is only a reference. Case in point, my brother and I were hunting, We finished and while at the site dug a 7"hole and slipped a clad dime in face up. We then covered the dime with the dirt clod intact. The soil at the site was making my etrac run at 17 in auto plus 3. So with the 7" clad dime I scanned in auto plus 3 reading of 17 fast on deep off gain at 29. The dime gave a decent tone with erratic TID-I would have dug in the feield Next I went to a manual setting of 15. I got better tone and still erratic TID- I would have dug this also. I then went to 21 manuall sensivity and walla excellent tone and rock solid TID meaning good solid conductive numbers with slightly changing ferrous #s on every sweep of the coil. Next I went to 28 manual sensivity. The tone was scratchy, sorta like in between a false and a good deep target with TID about as good as my auto plus 3 reading I had earlier. I really love my e-tracs. Cheers and happy hunting.

 

[earthmansurfer]

Goes4ever - My bad, when I said Zinc, I was talking just about the material. That coin is 1943 ish (and closer to Nickel sized then penny), so it's around 70 years old (I'm in Germany). The place experiences flooding almost every winter and I think that is why the coins are so deep in most places. Odd though, I found a silver DMark (exactly quarter sized and weight) at 7" and it was 1875. So, it depends on where at this spot, it varies. I thought deep off was better also, but I wasn't sure I was exactly on center over the target. See my comment about that below.

Tom - I understand that you meant to sweep faster and I'm going to check that next time out. What I said though was that I was in manual and I read that manual likes a slower swing speed (or at least can handle a slower sweep speed)?

Also, the video showed Deep on and Fast on together. It appeared clipped to me but it was close.

Deep off did appear better, how could that be? I mean 8" is on the deep side, not shallow.I will play with this more and with a longer sweep, not that short checking sweep.
I think I need to pinpoint the target before I video and then use a golf tee to keep me on center. That will keep things equal for testing... I just pulled one out and am ready for the next test.

I need to use a longer sweep as you are all saying, just like when I am detecting. Because when I'm adjusting settings the affect is real world, just like when I happen upon a target initially. Perhaps the shorter sweeps can alter things when I'm checking a target?

Squirrel - I know what you mean about sensitivity and am aware of the "brights in the fog" analogy. The machine in auto is generally around 26 to 29 and I run it at +3. I have compared 8" coins from manual 30 to auto and half the time auto doesn't pick them up well or at all. When the trash gets heavier I usually back off of manual. I'm still learning and playing with it but thanks for the reminder and your comments. They are useful. I hope to find a deeper coin without so much iron or trash around it but it's pretty hard at this spot.

Thanks again guys. I appreciate your comments. That is the intention. I want to make this educational for all and apparently I get lots of personal tips as well! Great.

I'm off for more testing,
Albert

 

[EtracTom-AdirondacksNY]

Manual Albert you will most likely have to sweep slower as your going to hear more signals than in Auto so it takes a bit more for our brain to process. That is why I pretty much run in Auto +3 most of the time then when I think I have cleaned out a place I will try higher manual settings to see if there is anything there maybe a bit deeper too.

Sweep wider and a slow when normally hunting 4-5 seconds each way but sweep narrow and quicker AFTER you have found a possiable target you do this OVER IT like Bill and I suggested to hone in on the target and bring out the signal better for you to hear and see.

 

[Big Boys Hobbies]

Manual Albert you will most likely have to sweep slower as your going to hear more signals than in Auto so it takes a bit more for our brain to process. That is why I pretty much run in Auto +3 most of the time then when I think I have cleaned out a place I will try higher manual settings to see if there is anything there maybe a bit deeper too.

Sweep wider and a slow when normally hunting 4-5 seconds each way but sweep narrow and quicker AFTER you have found a possiable target you do this OVER IT like Bill and I suggested to hone in on the target and bring out the signal better for you to hear and see.

Great info there!

 

[Southwind]

I think again we see there is no universally "best" settings for any detector. I've done this type of testing on many many deep coins in our city park, which also floods, and found sometimes auto + 3 is deeper than manual and sometimes manual is deeper than auto +3. I always run with DEEP = OFF and FAST = OFF. the response just seems smoother and more reliable to me.

On a side note about flooded sites. Our city park has been flooded on average every 30-40 years and each flood left a deposit of 3-6" of silt/mud. Any coin less than 6" is going to be clad period and a clad at 8" is not unusual. Wright Park is 128 years old and has had many major events including one of only two authentic bullfights in north America. In 1884 over 35,000 spectators were here for that event. Here is a picture showing a wall built in 1933 that is 2'(24") tall. In 1933 the ground level was the same on both the inside and outside of the wall. Today the inside, where the flooding mud has been deposited, in even with the top of the wall. That means to find coin from the 30's you would need to go at least 24" deep.

 

[earthmansurfer]

Thanks for that Southwind - the other guy who made my decision to pick up an E-Trac ;-)

Regarding sensitivity, I wondered about the very thing you stated and how it will vary from site to site. In my ground, which is mild but full of iron (1% iron mineralized), auto goes to 26 and 29 often. When it's that high and the trash isn't high, I put it in manual 30. When I get what I think is a deep coin hit I sometimes check moving the sensitivity to auto +3 and often when it's below 27 I can't pick up the coin, or barely pick it up! So, I feel what you are saying. I have not dug enough to really say since I'm new with the E-Trac, but so far not one coins was better in auto +3 than manual 30. But I'm glad you said what you did so I don't put down what I have thus far observed as law! eheheh

I also am thinking of running deep off with fast off. I am pretty sure about running fast off, but deep off seems to maybe give me a better signal on 7" - 8" coins. Might make a difference on deeper coins. Deep off uses more filtering so it might make sense what you have found.