Attn: SE Pro users ..

[MNCoinhunter]

I am interested to know what some of your settings are .. Which one's do you tend to stick with that give results ? I have slowly been gravitating to Manual sensitivity because I feel it is getting more depth despite the fact that it is noisier (almost to the point of annoying) .. Anyways, looking for input .. willing to experiment with other settings. I am basically a coin guy .. relics are merely a byproduct of my silver appetite ..

A side note . . I know that air tests are somewhat redundant, as it does not mimic at all any sort of ground conditions. But I am getting 5 to 6 inches more by air testing in Manual ..

 

[park pirate]

I accept everything but iron, and sensitivity at 27 but remember minelab machines run full power at all times sensitivity would be more for small objects close to the serfice it works very well in my area...

 

[MNCoinhunter]

Thanks park pirate .. What is your Iron Mask set at ?

 

[park pirate]

Thanks park pirate .. What is your Iron Mask set at ?

Never had a reason to use it...

 

[Chris(SoCenWI)]

Hey McDave,

I have an earlier model but it works the same. And also the same with the Etrac and CTX, but those will tell you what actual sensitivity is in Auto or recommended in manual. Before those detectors came out we debated this endlessly, and Minelab included this in later models as it was requested.

What you are seeing is pretty normal. Remember that if you are getting much less noise in Auto you can just turn in down in manual until it is equally quiet. You will often be hugely surprised how far it gets turned down.

The opposite works to: Put it in 1 manual; you'll only get a signal an inch or so from the coil. Change to 1 auto and way deeper detection.

As park pirate said the strength of the transmitted signal is constant. Changing sensitivity just varies how small of a receive signal generates an response from the detectors electronics. When it is set too high electric noise from power lines and other things causes a response and can make the machine go nuts.

So, I always run manual sensitivity, I don't expect an extra 5 to 6 inches but that depends. I almost alway run wide open screen ferrous except for bottle caps disc'ed out. In fairly rare circumstances where there is a lot of modern trash I'll disc out the entire bottom half of the screen.

We got snow and cold here again. Sounds like you had a pretty snow free winter up there. I hope to get up to MN this summer and may try do a road trip your way.

Chris

 

[MNCoinhunter]

Thanks Chris .. We are still waiting for spring here too .. I got out once the weekend before last when it warmed up a bit, but it's all locked up frozen again. I'm going to read my Explorer/Etrac handbook again to refresh my memory.

park pirate, when you said you accept everything but iron, I assumed you were using some of the Iron Mask/Discrimination function. Thanks !

 

[park pirate]

Thanks Chris .. We are still waiting for spring here too .. I got out once the weekend before last when it warmed up a bit, but it's all locked up frozen again. I'm going to read my Explorer/Etrac handbook again to refresh my memory.

park pirate, when you said you accept everything but iron, I assumed you were using some of the Iron Mask/Discrimination function. Thanks !

i just reject it in the settings but i still get small nails minelab is known for it, most important is haveing a stable threshold adjust your sens. up until starts to get chattery then just back off a little at a time until your threshold becomes stable that will be the best setting....

 

[NealNoIN]

n/t

 

[MNCoinhunter]

It is possible that I have been going about this all wrong. Will definitely try dropping the sensitivity way down below what I would consider normal and see how it goes.

 

[Chris(SoCenWI)]

You might be detecting in semi auto 27, but the machine has really turned itself DOWN to 14 or 15. Like wise you might have it set in 1 semi auto but the machine cranked itself UP to 14 or 15. On the Etrac and CTX you know what it is doing.

Most of us find just keep turning it up in manual until it gets jittery, then back it down one or two notches. You may need to lower it when you get close to power lines, bump it up as you get farther away. It will still pick up signals when it is jittery, but the ID will be bouncing all over tarnation and the audio can drive you nuts. Generally try set it below where this is happening.

I am a huge believer in manual sens. When I am detecting in town there are often times when I can't get above the mid/upper teens before the machine goes nuts; in parks or in the country side I can often get into the upper twenties. Guess where I find the majority of my older coins? I'm sure there are lots more to be found in town but junk and EMI get in the way. In auto I might have a super stable threshold where I know there should be a constant pitter patter of targets, less irritating but many less coins in my pouch.

Chris

 

[jctorok]

McDave

Get a copy of Andy Sabisch's book The Minelab Explorer & ETRAC Handbook. It is not enough to mimic others settings, you really need to understand why certain settings work together.

Also, the book has settings from well known hunters and it explains why they are set up. Additionally, there is dicussion on sensitivity including the pros and cons of manual vs auto.

Best of luck

 

[MNCoinhunter]

Thanks Jerry .. I had a copy before I even got my detector. I understand the mechanics of my Explorer, but you are right in that I have been mimicking other's settings, and without much experimentation. I also think that despite the great finds I have made in the last four years or so, my Explorer has a hard time in the soil up here. And I did in fact dig my Explorer/Etrac handbook out of a box and am in the process of refreshing my memory.

 

[jctorok]

McDave

Follow the link I have attached as it is a great write-up on Minelab Explorer Education on setting up an Explorer.

I used information in the article to build the foundational setting I use and then applied info from Andy's book to help modify the settings to different areas.

It helped me a lot when I first started with the SE Pro. Keep in mind when reading the article that they are setting up and XS or II, so Iron Mask -16 on an XS is Iron Mask -32 on the Pro.

Also, the difference between and SE and the earlier explorers is the response: (keep this in mind when reading the article)

SE/SE Pro XS/II

Normal Normal
Long Audio 1
Smooth Audio 2
Pitch Hold Audio 3

Make sure you check out all the links in the web page, by the time you follow them it will have 9 short chapters.

http://usetheminelabexplorerlikeapro.blogspot.com/2004_11_11_archive.html

On a side note, I see your profile shows Northern Minnesota. My first duty station after graduation from the USCG Academy was Duluth, MN on a buoy tender named SUNDEW (back in 1985),
Me and my buddies used to fish up on the boundary canoe waters above Ely. If that is the area you are from all I can say is Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
After freezing off body parts (just kinding) when working on Lake Superior in the winter I opted to retire in TX. I think I am still thawing out.

Best of luck

 

[jctorok]

I just looked at the post and it crushed the info on the response, so here it is again.

SE/SE Pro vs XS/II

Normal -----------Normal
Long --------------Audio 1
Smooth ----------Audio 2
Pitch Hold -------Audio 3

 

[MNCoinhunter]

Thanks for the link Jerry . . Looks like I need to make some adjustments.

 

[Chris(SoCenWI)]

Bing and Cody used to post on this forum years ago....

There was a discussion on the CTX forum not too long ago on this. The consensus is that the constant noise when swinging is NOT due to ground mineralization, but due to small chunks of iron. Sube had the great idea of dragging a magnet through the hole and always would find a small chunk of iron. I know at my cabin out in the woods once I get a ways away from where any human activity has occurred I can run sensitivity way up high and never get a null or signal, except over shot gun brass, nearer cabins back to the constant drum of sounds. Same soil, same mineralization, way different amount of background noise.

And, the explorers will break a null when a new target is presented. How fast and how long when it is going crazy is debateable, but that is one of the reasons to run minimal or no discrimination.

The idea of turning down the detector to get a stable threshhold often means to detuning to ridiculously low levels in even moderate amounts of trash.