etrac depth ?'s

[1goldsniper]

Some time ago there was some?'s on is my detector bad or do I have something set wrong because I am not getting the depth most others seem to be finding stuff.
I had run mine for 2 years very seldom finding any thing over 5" except rusty tin cans. But finding stuff 3"-4" consistently. Even at that the machine is amazing on separating good targets from bad. And it paid for itself in one month finding tokens.
But I decided when everything froze up to send it to the Dr for a check-up. They replaced the pcb and the keypad and I got it back in 30 days.
Went out the other day digging in semi frozen ground and for the first time I seen the depth gauge going down to the bottom of the scale a few times. Even found 1 wheatie at 6 ". Could be an interesting summer. A lemon out of the box.

 

[CDDZ]

Sent mine in when it was less than a year old for stability issues, they replaced the same things. I don't think they are much for troubleshooting. Did you notice the numbers being a little off on conductivity?

 

[utahshovelhead]

Sorry to here that, I love my E and you would have to pry it from my cold dead hands to get it away. I have dug some DEEEEP stuff with the 14 in coil I use once in a while.

good luck for a better year,
utahshovelhead

 

[McDean]

You know, I had heard when the Etrac 1st came out that some were "hotter" than others and who knows? there could be some truth to it but then again, alot of that could have been due to many factors, including... conditions, soil, Emi, operator error, etc... I'm sot saying there weren't some bad ones straight from the box, but one would think there would be a certain level of quality control going on for such a high end - albeit, expensive machine. Another thing to consider is shipping... there's no telling how many times these things get tossed around before they reach the end user. When I got mine, quite frankly it looked like someone had used the box as a hockey puck... It was INTACT, but with so many scrapes, edge crunches, etc I was a little concerned, But as long as the machine itself worked as advertised, I wasn't gonna complain. I knew what to expect performance-wise because I had watched a lot of videos and done research prior to ordering...

So, to make sure everything was working properly and to get a "feel" for tones, depth, settings, etc... I did... the unthinkable... AIRTESTS yep I did airtests before I even swung the coil over soil. And I recorded the results on a wooden ruler... make that YARDSTICK LOL

Sure enough, so far so good and all is well. The measuring results I recorded were right when the target was at the edge of detection, going from solid signal to warbly sounding. I could post the results and setting details if any are interested...

Two years later, I still haven't dug any coins at a depth I would call remarkable, but I'm sure the E-trac is capable enough. I just haven't swung the coil over one yet.

I hope all is well with yours now 1goldsniper, let us know how it goes and good luck!

Dean

 

[stasys]

McDean is right, Air test very simple and everybody can make to be sure if detector is works properly, second thing coil, the same coils have a bit different performance -+ 5-10mm. before sending detector to any service and listen about that they changed some electronics make few things. air test and another coil. or meet another person with the same detector and compare. good luck all Stasys

 

[etracjoe]

Electronics can be picky. Along with this hobby I also am an amateur radio operator and I can say not 2 peices of electronic equiptment are the same. It is impossible. A electric item can last a year, a day, or who knows 50 years. Do a factory reset, and put your settings where you want them and try it out. Air test. Use an established coin garden! I'm assuming that you don't already have one. I know its not what you want to do with the weather getting better but if all else fails send back for another check up. Good luck.

 

[1goldsniper]

The conductivity #'s did seem odd sometimes but it wasn't anything that worried me . I just figured the ground mineralization or iron scraps was changing it

 

[McDean]

Any tips out there on the best way to set up a coin patch for testing? Do I just cut a plug and drop different coins in at different depths and pack it down? Or maybe just cut a slit in the ground at an angle and push the coin in(least ground disturbance)

Any tips or ideas? thanks in advance

Dean

 

[utahshovelhead]

Hey McDean,
Here is one way I liked that can easily be manipulated. Take a 5 gal bucket remove the metal wire handle and fill wilth dirt. you can put anything in at any depth you want as you fill it and best of all it is easy to change the targets, just dump it out and start over. Be sure to use the dirt that you hunt it. Its tempting to use sand but do you hunt in sand?

Goodluck
utahshovelhead

 

[1goldsniper]

How about using 2 or 3 buckets with handles removed with say 8" 10" 12" of dirt from the area you hunt and put the coins under the bucket. Lots less work wouldn't it? But there will be no halo around the coins.

 

[etracjoe]

I wouldn't know cause don't have one myself but I would say the best thing to do is bury 'em in real ground after cleaning all other targets from the area. Put different tatgets that you want to find at varying depths. Draw a map of it and also use some sort of non metallic markers that sit flush to the ground for each one that will withstand the weather. I just cant see swinging over a bucket. Be creative and put coins on edge or with other "trashy" items.

 

[McDean]

All very good suggestions! Thanks guys, I know where to get cheap buckets with decent all plastic construction, including handles... walls $1.99 each

Maybe throw a rusty nail in just for good measure

HH Dean