Help at the Ranch

[Mosley]

I took my E-trac out to an old deserted ranch house. I used the stock coin mode. There is so much iron nails, bolts, etc. in the ground that 90% of the time the detector was in null. Do you think the null was hiding good signals? What program would you suggest I run?

 

[Digger]

If the detector was nulled out 90% of the time, you probably were missing good targets. If you're looking for coins, reduce the discrimination and listen to 2-tone ferrous. Dig the high tones and ignore the low tones. If it still nulls out a lot, minimize the rejection levels. A smaller than stock coil would also be a good idea.
As to what program I would suggest you ran....... I suggest you build your own. The programs that come "stock" on the E-TRAC are fine for learning the detector's functionality. But they are just a starting point, as far as I am concerned. Everything in any of the programs can be tweaked to fit the individual. Learn what each feature is and what effect it has on the performance of the detector. Then build programs that account for your style of hunting, the type of sites you visit, the amount (and type) of trash in the area, the number of tones you are capable of processing, whether you want to hear the audible from the ferrous properties vs the conductive properties, the length of tone, etc etc etc. Once you understand the functionality of the E-TRAC, and the flexibility it provides, you can set it to operate well at nearly any site imaginable. And once you get what you perceive to be the right combination of settings, save it as a program on your machine knowing (again) that anything can be tweaked at a later date. JMHO HH Randy

 

[Goes4ever]

yep Randy said it all! use two tone ferrous go EXTREMELY slow.........for disc I use the relic screen to start with and also disc out 01-01 thru 01-31
I bet you will find some goodies if you trt this!

 

[Mosley]

Thanks for the help. Which smaller coil would you recomend? Also, I hear a lot of talk about 2 tone ferrous, and I will take your advice and try it. This has probably been answered, but whats the advantage of 2 tone ferrous over 4 tone ferrous?

 

[utahshovelhead]

If it is the kind of ranch I imagine with dirt everywhere then you will notice that the iron is usually very dense around the buildings and gets less further away. I would try (if you can) to rake the top clear of whatever may be removable on top first by all the doors and passages, maybe try a smaller loop if the iron in the most used areas is too much. But usually as you get away from the garage, barn, fixing areas then the iron slows down. Try shady spots, or hard labor spots and paths. I don't think I would modify my personal detecting style until I have tried it all over the place then I would try other ways to give it a go like TTF.

Good luck
hope you come back with lots to show,
utahshovelhead