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Etrac auto vs manual
- Thread starter Hopskippy
- Start date
sprchng
Well-known member
mascard1 said:
I agree completely until the "driving with the highbeams in a snow storm" analogy arises. If the grounds changes rapidly and you've locked the sensitivity at too high a setting you could be blinding yourself , Therefore I occasionally toggle into auto to see how the +3 reading compares with what I'm running.
With the 15" WOT on , +3 is a challenge in my dirt!!
I set the auto to A. Then on noisy hits that I want to clean up some I'll toggle to auto from manual to compare. On deepies even auto +3 can be silent. So I know in the field that manual is the way to go when your trying to squeak out those 8+ inch silvers to the surface.....
You guys just keep using auto, I will come behind you and pull the extra old great coins in the last 2 inches you could not reach running your minelabs in auto.I had to rehunt all my spots again once I learned how much depth I was losing in auto.Some of the after market coils need to be run hot like SEF coils.Running in Auto is good for running a first scan for a location taking off the easy stuff after that it is time to get serious and go to manual sensitivity,drop your discrimination to counter the null effect and suck up all the deep good stuff others missed.
IMHO
After using the eTRAC going on 3 yrs., if you want to find deep and i mean really deep targets forget AUTO.
Crank up the manual sens. until the falses are slightly above the threshold of tolerable.
Yeah the falses! It could mean a lot of re-sweeping but in my experience its the only way to find those really deep oldies other detectorists walk over.
If you want to find shallower targets, kiddie parks, clads and such.... then by all means use AUTO.
After using the eTRAC going on 3 yrs., if you want to find deep and i mean really deep targets forget AUTO.
Crank up the manual sens. until the falses are slightly above the threshold of tolerable.
Yeah the falses! It could mean a lot of re-sweeping but in my experience its the only way to find those really deep oldies other detectorists walk over.
If you want to find shallower targets, kiddie parks, clads and such.... then by all means use AUTO.
Hey sprchng, yep you read right, going on 3 years.
Thanks for posting that old link of mine, i'll have to go there and post something. Yes, i was a disappointed at the time with the lack of responses.
That was then and this is now! LOL!
I wanted a backup detector back then and was considering an ATPro which i eventually picked up.
After putting some miles on the Pro and air test comparisons to my eTRAC, far as i tell, the only advantage the Pro has is finding small gold jewelry and small split rings,
Which don't get me wrong is a big advantage. FBS is great but when it comes to 'some' small gold jewelry or 'some' chain necklaces......the eTRAC falls short IMO.
Thanks for posting that old link of mine, i'll have to go there and post something. Yes, i was a disappointed at the time with the lack of responses.
That was then and this is now! LOL!
I wanted a backup detector back then and was considering an ATPro which i eventually picked up.
After putting some miles on the Pro and air test comparisons to my eTRAC, far as i tell, the only advantage the Pro has is finding small gold jewelry and small split rings,
Which don't get me wrong is a big advantage. FBS is great but when it comes to 'some' small gold jewelry or 'some' chain necklaces......the eTRAC falls short IMO.
Southwind
Well-known member
I think it depends on your soil. I have been swinging the E-Trac for 6+ years and have compared Auto +3 and Manual 29 on many many targets. Some of the time manual brings the signal out better sometimes it makes it worse than with Auto +3. In fact, I had some coin signals that sounded good in Auto +3 totally break up when I switched to Manual 29.
Yeah soil is a big factor with increased max sens no doubt.
Case in point at a certain promising old turn of the century park.
When i first started searching at that site and new to the eTRAC by the way, my eTRAC was locked on AUTO+3 primarily because of the junk and aggravating falses when i tried manual. All i found back then was clad, a handful of deeper wheaties and a couple silver coins. I gave up on that park as hunted out.
But the next season i just happened to pass that park with my detector and decided to give it another try. By now i was successfully using manual sens. at other sites.
Dug up 4 silver coins, a bunch of corroded wheats and a small sterling ring that day, all anywhere from 8 to 11 inches deep.
Now i've returned to this park numerous times using manual sens. and have dug up 37 silver coins, 3 silver rings and a bunch of cool badges and tokens.
I returned to that site again early last Spring and only found 2 more silver coins and a bunch of wheats and once more declared the place hunted out.
OK, early last Summer i've been experimenting with manual sens. coupled with open mask TTF and had some success with it at other sites.
So i gave this now 'hunted out' nail infested park one more try.
Short story, i dug up another dozen or so more silver coins(mostly mercs), 4 Indians and a whole bunch of wheats, the majority at 11 to 13" deep.
I'll admit using TTF open mask in a nail infested park is maddening at first but after a while you not only get used to it but it'll develop instincts if its persevered.
An interesting note, most of those really deep silver coins did NOT have typical silver IDs. They all read jumpy 1 - 30 to 50. Any target that bottoms out on the depth indicator and give a good 90 deg. two way, DIG IT.
Now i really mean, no i really mean it this time, that park is finally hunted out! LOL
Case in point at a certain promising old turn of the century park.
When i first started searching at that site and new to the eTRAC by the way, my eTRAC was locked on AUTO+3 primarily because of the junk and aggravating falses when i tried manual. All i found back then was clad, a handful of deeper wheaties and a couple silver coins. I gave up on that park as hunted out.
But the next season i just happened to pass that park with my detector and decided to give it another try. By now i was successfully using manual sens. at other sites.
Dug up 4 silver coins, a bunch of corroded wheats and a small sterling ring that day, all anywhere from 8 to 11 inches deep.
Now i've returned to this park numerous times using manual sens. and have dug up 37 silver coins, 3 silver rings and a bunch of cool badges and tokens.
I returned to that site again early last Spring and only found 2 more silver coins and a bunch of wheats and once more declared the place hunted out.
OK, early last Summer i've been experimenting with manual sens. coupled with open mask TTF and had some success with it at other sites.
So i gave this now 'hunted out' nail infested park one more try.
Short story, i dug up another dozen or so more silver coins(mostly mercs), 4 Indians and a whole bunch of wheats, the majority at 11 to 13" deep.
I'll admit using TTF open mask in a nail infested park is maddening at first but after a while you not only get used to it but it'll develop instincts if its persevered.
An interesting note, most of those really deep silver coins did NOT have typical silver IDs. They all read jumpy 1 - 30 to 50. Any target that bottoms out on the depth indicator and give a good 90 deg. two way, DIG IT.
Now i really mean, no i really mean it this time, that park is finally hunted out! LOL
Ive hunted mostly with Auto. Curious if you guys hunting in manual experiment with swapping channels and what,if any,negative or positive,effects this has?
Thanks,
It seems, no scientific reasoning,experimenting that I prefer the last two channels, maybe and more than likely just luck, that I seem to find more while in Auto.
Know this has been tossed around before,just cant recall reading about the channels and manual sensitivity. I know of a post on another forum where poster stated when in manual,and I think it was 25 and above seemed to put the ETrac in overdrive.
John
Thanks,
It seems, no scientific reasoning,experimenting that I prefer the last two channels, maybe and more than likely just luck, that I seem to find more while in Auto.
Know this has been tossed around before,just cant recall reading about the channels and manual sensitivity. I know of a post on another forum where poster stated when in manual,and I think it was 25 and above seemed to put the ETrac in overdrive.
John
Bowie,
by channels, are you referring to noise channels?
If so, i just auto noise it per the owner's manual before detecting at a site and call it a day.
But i think you're referring to the 3 sensitivity channels.
The only user control once in manual sens., is the setting you punch in which sets all 3 channels equal to that setting. In other words, individual channels cannot be set differently in manual sens.
In AUTO, those 3 channels are typically averaged down to a single 'lower' sensitivity level based on soil conditions, EMI, etc for a more stable/accurate ID but at the expense of detecting deeper targets. AUTO is great for sites that have relatively shallow targets down to around 8 inches or so. For me around here with the over hunted parks over the last few decades, the only remaining oldies are usually deep which is why i use manual sens..
The manual setting is typically determined by the number of falsing encounters, soil, nearby EMI, junk densities and/or the users ability to cope with unending squeaks and squawks.
Like olives (and sushi
), the unending squeaks and squawks are an acquired taste! LOL! But if persevered, very rewarding for finding those deep oldies others walk over!
Rule of thumb...the higher the manual sensitivity setting one can tolerate, the deeper seeking the eTRAC will be, squeaks, squawks or not.
by channels, are you referring to noise channels?
If so, i just auto noise it per the owner's manual before detecting at a site and call it a day.
But i think you're referring to the 3 sensitivity channels.
The only user control once in manual sens., is the setting you punch in which sets all 3 channels equal to that setting. In other words, individual channels cannot be set differently in manual sens.
In AUTO, those 3 channels are typically averaged down to a single 'lower' sensitivity level based on soil conditions, EMI, etc for a more stable/accurate ID but at the expense of detecting deeper targets. AUTO is great for sites that have relatively shallow targets down to around 8 inches or so. For me around here with the over hunted parks over the last few decades, the only remaining oldies are usually deep which is why i use manual sens..
The manual setting is typically determined by the number of falsing encounters, soil, nearby EMI, junk densities and/or the users ability to cope with unending squeaks and squawks.
Like olives (and sushi
), the unending squeaks and squawks are an acquired taste! LOL! But if persevered, very rewarding for finding those deep oldies others walk over!Rule of thumb...the higher the manual sensitivity setting one can tolerate, the deeper seeking the eTRAC will be, squeaks, squawks or not.
Ahh Ok Bowie!
My take, right or wrong.
The auto noise cancel feature has worked for me 99% of the time when using either AUTO or Manual sens.
There were a few times however where i manually scanned the noise channels to get the eTRAC a little quieter, usually around or under power lines.
Now there are some who swear channel 11 is the deepest seeker probably in relatively neutral soil and with no EMI sources around.... beaches, etc.
My take, right or wrong.
The auto noise cancel feature has worked for me 99% of the time when using either AUTO or Manual sens.
There were a few times however where i manually scanned the noise channels to get the eTRAC a little quieter, usually around or under power lines.
Now there are some who swear channel 11 is the deepest seeker probably in relatively neutral soil and with no EMI sources around.... beaches, etc.
So far I've been pretty much running in Auto/+3. It usually runs around 21 - 25. It's working pretty well in the park i'm searching on a grid pattern. I do notice that my etrac almost always noise cancels to channel 9 in this park. It did run on channel 11 once but I really never noticed any difference. I am digging coins as deep as 9" - 10" with a good strong steady signal. There are huge overhead power lines on 3 sides of this park. I'll experiment more with manual as I get more use to the etrac.
Southwind
Well-known member
It seems to me the difference between Auto & Manual is sort of like using single or multi frequency. Each has advantages and disadvantages depending on conditions and the target. In Auto 1 frequency is more prominent that the other 2 and in manual all 3 are equal in strength.
That would also explain the varying results.
That would also explain the varying results.