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has anyone ever experienced this problem? (false "foil" readings)

M

moonshine

New member
Has anyone ever experienced where suddenly the etrac gives off false "foil" readings such as 11-2, 12-4, 11-4, 13-2, etc. etc. etc. at the end of every sweep? It seems to be a physical problem. I have tried everything I can think of, checked my coil cover, checked my conections, checked my contacts within the connection, etc. If I turn the etrac off and then back on it seems to go away on its own.

Has anyone ever experienced this or does anyone know what the solution is? (bad coil cable?). I have 4 months left of coil warranty. I see on another site that other people have had this trouble but Im not convinced on what the cause is. I dont recall it ever being discussed here.

It can make it go away after a while like I said if I turn the etrac off but its not right, and I am afraid that it might be missing good targets. Also its so chatty with foil sounds that its unusable. This is the only thing that I really am unhappy about with the etrac. It happens maybe every fifth hunt or so which is strange. The coil connection couldnt be any tighter unless i used a wrench, which i wouldnt do. the ring is as tight as can be.

Once it starts doing it, I can lift the coil off the ground and make it do it in the air just by wiggling the shaft back and forth (sweeping), and it sounds off at the end of the sweep, like something is being pushed back and forth or moving around.

Any thoughts?
 
Most of the time I get some kind of signal at the end of a sweep especially if my swing is a little fast or my sensitivity is high.
Also I have a certain pair of boots that I can't wear while detecting because the Etrac picks up the eyelets.
Your problem? Give Minelab a call 1-877-767-6522
 
I think you got a bad coil. I had a sef 10x12 that did sort of the same as you swept it at the ends from the abrupt direction change it went batty and when I scrubbed the ground it kept making low sounds like foil and iron so I had to keep it a couple inches up. I called and sent it back to where i bought it from and got a new one and no mor problems.
 
thanks for the advice folks, I will be contacting Minelab. Might as well let them check it out at least, while its under warranty.
 
dropped off the etrac at the ups store 2-8-2012. I am now sans-detector:cry: I'll follow up with whatever happens. I hope they find the problem. Like I said its not unuseable, Ive found plenty of cool stuff with it. Minelab actually emailed me a UPS label, which paid for the shipping cost for me to send it in, which I thought was very nice. All I had to do was package everything up and drop it off at the ups place.
 
I had the same problem,the connection was touching the inside of the shaft at the end of the swing,electrical tape on the connection between the cable and control box stopped it... Mole
 
that what it seems like it would be. but isnt that ring isolated from the coil connection/wiring? that tapping is enough to cause a false reading i guess? Also i break mine down a lot, sometimes I hike to spots and I carry the detector "broken down" in a bag. I cant tape it back up every time. i dont understand why it wouldnt happen to a lot more people then if its as simple as that. i mean, theyre all built the same way.

thanks for your advice/input pgh. i appreciate it. its gone now so we'll see what they say.
 
Something is definately loose. No way of knowing whether it's in the coil, the cord, connection or the control box. Just have to wait for Minelab's repair facility to look it over.
 
Moonshine........Monte...a FMall guru..addressed this question for the owner of a machine other than a E-Trac recently. He theorized the falsing was due to operator pausing (slight momentary stopping) the coil at the end of a swing. Recommended more attention be paid to coil movement at end of sweep and that it stay moving.
The operator had checked all the possibilities/probable causes you listed in this post.
 
Moonshine, I found the post by Monte:

Reverse-direction falsing

Depending upon the ground mineral conditions, the presence of nearby trash, the Ground Balance setting and the Sensitivity and Discrimination levels used, it can be common to get a false 'beep' when reversing the sweep direction due to the pause at the end of the sweep. Much will depend, too, on the sweep speed, but if you're running close to the stability point then the detector can purr along rather smoothly when sweeping it over the ground because it's busy dealing with the ground signal processing.
When you stop and pause to reverse the sweep direction, there isn't any signal to be dealt with and many detectors might spit and sputter a bit. Different sizes and/or types of coils might also be more susceptible to such brief chatter. So, if you've checked the tightness of the rod-locks and cable connector as Ricky mentioned, but still have some issues, just modify your sweep speed, make a slow almost-pause while still moving the search coil and not an abrupt stop-and-start at the end of the sweep. Also, maybe reduce the Sensitivity a little, if needed.
Monte
 
TerraDigger said:
Moonshine, I found the post by Monte:

Reverse-direction falsing

Depending upon the ground mineral conditions, the presence of nearby trash, the Ground Balance setting and the Sensitivity and Discrimination levels used, it can be common to get a false 'beep' when reversing the sweep direction due to the pause at the end of the sweep. Much will depend, too, on the sweep speed, but if you're running close to the stability point then the detector can purr along rather smoothly when sweeping it over the ground because it's busy dealing with the ground signal processing.
When you stop and pause to reverse the sweep direction, there isn't any signal to be dealt with and many detectors might spit and sputter a bit. Different sizes and/or types of coils might also be more susceptible to such brief chatter. So, if you've checked the tightness of the rod-locks and cable connector as Ricky mentioned, but still have some issues, just modify your sweep speed, make a slow almost-pause while still moving the search coil and not an abrupt stop-and-start at the end of the sweep. Also, maybe reduce the Sensitivity a little, if needed.
Monte
Click to expand...

This was true for detectors from 20-30 years ago, but NOT for the E-Trac. I have never heard of anyone running an E-Trac (or any modern detector, except maybe a garrett) having this swing action cause falsing. If this action was the cause of falsing then the "minelab wiggle" would be nothing but a constant signal.

The fact is the issues described by the OP can only come from a malfunction somewhere in the detector. He has already sent it off to be repaired.
 
TerraDigger said:
Then why is the phenomena only occuring 'at the end of the sweep'?
Click to expand...

Were you refering to my post?

I haven never had this experience with my E-Trac and I have never heard of other E-Trac's with this phenomena. The only reason I can think of "why is the phenomena only occuring 'at the end of the sweep'" is because some wiring is loose somewhere in the detector.
 
Thanks everyone for your help and thoughts. I will be sure to follow up and let everyone know what Minelab has to say about this (if anything). I know I have read at least 4 or 5 other people who had (have?) this exact problem on other sites but no one ever really follows up afterwards, or just lives with it i guess. One person did PM me back on another site and said that minelab replaced his coil and also the guts of the head unit so who knows....could have been more wrong with his etrac though, i dont know.
 
***follow up

they could not reproduce the problem. I told them originally and also on the phone that the problem is very intermittent, which i also said in my first post (happens every fifth hunt or so). they said the coil and head seem ok. they replaced the "strain relief" part inside the back of the head unit where the coil and head connect. they said sometimes this part can produce similar symptoms.

they told me if it happens again dont hesitate to call them and let them know.
 
The following from Minelab Inc. might explain the situation in part????
The mineralisation is random in concentration, but luckily does not vary very much over short distances (e.g. a foot or two or 30-50cm
or so), whereas target signals are concentrated over short distances. Hence, as the coil is passed over mineralised soils, the soil signal
changes relatively slowly, but over metal targets, the target signal changes quickly. Electronic
 
thanks for posting that. i understand what it says. but im 99.99999 percent sure its not anything Im doing "wrong". ahhh its one of those things that describing it to someone or making a post on the internet just doesnt fully show or describe the problem. the only thing i could do is carry a video camera around with me and if/when it happens again video the darn thing doing it. and then everyone who watches would say "oh, yeah thats not right....somethings wrong".

it does seem to be somehow related to the connection at the coil/head because turning it off, disconnecting/reconnecting the coil, and turning it back on makes it stop.... every time.

thanks everyone for your advice and suggestions, i really appreciate it. Minelab was very helpful and gracious, and did all that they could do. Hopefully after 25 more trips or so (God willing) I will post another follow up and see if the fix they attempted cured the false signals.
 
I tried to read entire thread. Just curious, were you using the procoil? If so, make sure you periodically take the cover off the procoil and clean. I had a problem with mine when it got a bunch of dirt inside and my detector's ability to see deep coins was evident. I didn't have any falses or anything, but iti was negatively affecting my etrac's peeformance. It's strange your detector was on falsing with similar numbers being displayed.
Hope your problem doesn't come back.
 
yes, i only own the coil that came with the detector. the procoil. i always do take it off and clean it. thanks for the well wishes. we'll see if this part they replaced helps. If so I will let everyone know. I miss my detector!
 
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