My E-trac finds so far

[Hard Nosed Dave]

Greetings to you all from the South Western side of Australia:

I've been using the E-trac with various coils in many various coil conditions.
The stock coil is just fine. Feels comfortable using it.

Hasn't found me anything major or rather ---I haven't walked over it ......YET!..... but it's a lot of fun detecting this stuff.

Finds I have shown in these pictures are from:

1. Beach holiday I recently went on( the gold colored coins are the Aussie 1&2 dollar coins) and are nice for buying a good wine or a nice cold beer to unwind with.

2. Local beaches( Rings are silver 927 and dress jewelry)( No gold)

3. Bottom 4 pic's are those of items found at a 1800's pioneer colonial site.

Not shown in any pictures is the 400 items of junk that I dug form the beach sites, to ensure that the E-trac is telling what I believe it was.
80% accurate at the beach and the 200 items of junk I dug from the inland sites that turned out to be also about 80% accurate. Of course, the only way I could deduce this ....naturally enough.......was to dig and see what it was and then see if I could reject that target without sacrifice a desirable one. Pretty good Minelab.....
I am getting a bit better as in understanding this detector each time I use it. I'll say it again, for me an open Quickmask screen is also so awesome.


I still like the Explorer BUT this E-trac has something that makes it more appealing to use. I have taken up some of the advice from many of the users on this forum.

It always helps to read about how the E-trac can be used in the many different ways that many do here. The on board presets are good. Just customize them to suit. Latching is an interesting feature.

I guess it also helps to read and follow the user manual as well.

Contrary to the belief of some, that the E-trac has "too many bells and whistles" , I disagree. It's been designed for ease of use and has a pretty accurate and reliable digital id'ing system.

I may post more when I have done some more searches. There are a lot more to do or maybe that should be to re do. Looking forward to showing.

David E Di

 

[JCJEXPLORER]

Very nice finds there Hard Nose.

 

[Hungry]

Good Day Dave, Looks like you have been a busy boy, how do you clean up the silver coins from the beach , I use a wire buff on the grinder, works a treat. I have had the ET for 5 weeks and my total is $443, but the weather over here in the east is terrible, the wind would blow the fleas off a dog and 1 day it's 34 Deg and the next it's back to 17 with rain, the temperature difference knocks you around some thing terrible and is interrupting my detecting

 

[Raoul]

Nice finds David, may there be some good ones in the near future for you.............

 

[Hard Nosed Dave]

Hungry, you've done well.
I never touch the silver coins with a wire brush. Usually clean them with carb soda and lemon juice. That gets most of the black tarnish off.
The "goldies"(Au $1&$2) however are fine as they are.

You say I've been busy..............what about your $443 in 5 weeks. That's quite a lot, so what are you talking about?.
How many hunts did it take to get that amount? Do you think it was easier with the E-trac.

How's the e-trac compared to your Explorer SE or any other of your detectors?

I'm going to e-trac an area and then go back over the same area with the EX SE fitted with the E-trac and other coils I have.

If the SE still finds stuff that the E-trac MAY have missed, then I'll put it down to the new coil as being the main reason as to what puts the e-trac at an advantage or the EX SE.

I do see what is being said about the Explorers abilities possibly not being properly or maybe under utilized by some of us. This could be possible.

The E-trac does have a surprising simplicity and appeal that I for one , really like and that's not to say the Explorer (Nothing really compares with the Explorer) or any other comparable, other detector, has not have a simplicity of use.

PLEASE......PLEASE.... LOTS NOT TALK ABOUT THE FREAKY WEATHER.........it confuses and disturbs me .

 

[Hard Nosed Dave]

Thanks.

 

[Hard Nosed Dave]

Thanks Raoul, ditto.

 

[Hungry]

Dave, i have been out 12 times,ranging from 2 to 6Hrs. I still love the SE. The E-Trac just seems to pick out the coins in trash better, and pinpoint a bit better. In saying that, the last 2 days it has been a bit all over the place, The depth gauge has been saying the target is 6" down, and it has been only 1/2" and i have not been able to pinpoint as well. The X-1 probe i think is playing up, maybe it is that ,that is causing it. Some times the probe works normal, and some times it is picking up things 5 to 6 inches away. I tried this at home on the bench and it was doing the same thing, also when i switch from the main coil to the probe there is no interuption to the threshold, but the probe works. and the same when i switch back., I can't detect parks without my probe, I'll have to ring Reeds in the morning and order another one, and then send this one away to have it looked at. It's certainly earned it's keep, they are bloody magic little gadgets.

The E-Trac is nicer to hold onto. If it finds more coins ,I don't know about that. When i did all the footy fields in my area, I thought i did them pretty well, I went over them again with the E-Trac and was getting about 60% what i got with the SE to start with. But when i look back, what i thought was slow, was not as slow as when i finished all the fields, and I noticed that the finds also dropped off with the E-Trac as i got to the last fields, some i got nearly nothing, so i don't think it is a lot better than the SE.

I much prefer the programing on the SE, For me, there's not enough info on how to change patterns and discrimination. I think they explained things better in the SE manual

What mixture do you use with the Bi-carb and lemon?

Some of the coins that i wire brush still look a bit black when i'm finished. I tried soaking them in Vinegar and salt, Coke and a host of other things, but the wire brush is quick if not gentle

 

[Hard Nosed Dave]

Hungry, when you say silver, do you mean the AU 5c,10c,20c, and 50c pieces?

If you are, then I don't bother cleaning them to much. They're still legal tender. So long as they are not too far gone , you can usually trade with them.
Also, I hope you realize that some of our decimal currency can have a collectors value. Taking to these will usually diminish that value, if it had one, even more.

I thought you were talking about wire brushing the pre-decimal stuff like the Florins shillings, sixpence and threepence's or anything other that is silver 927 or there about.
I put a teaspoon of bi-carb in a piece of alfoil that is big enough to wrap the coin and the bi-carb individually in and drop them into boiling water, letting them stand over night.

I have also made a multiple of slits in a lemon and pushed the coins in and left them in for a couple of days. Cleans them up pretty well.

I miss my x-1 on the e-trac. I need to make a working switch box that will work on the Explorer's and my e-trac. In the mean time I've taken to using my uni-probe or the cp-200 when detecting.

If the targets aren't there, then of course, nothing will find them. Not finding all the targets in the first place with the SE is also my dilemma. Is the detector is or is it the users method of "grid-ding" a site OR was the SE ever set up properly and USED properly in the first place.

When it comes to searching a site for the more modern coinage, well, I think that most people, who know how to use their detectors , will find just as well as we all can with the most basic of detectors. Some will just dig more junk than others.........it's sill a lot of fun, even for me , to try and predict what you have found.
It's when the ground becomes difficult for whatever reason it does like wet salt sand or lots of iron trash and the desired targets are deeper or buried amongst some of these most adverse conditions that will make a detector work it's butt off , that the E-trac seems to shine in.
In some situations, it seems to be doing better than the SE BUT I will see in the next day or to when I suit the SE up the E-trac coil and go back to find what the E-trac MAY have missed.

This WILL be an "apples for apples" comparison, in as far as the coil's used are the same. I'll also try the coil on my EX2 in the same situation .

Now wouldn't it be SO hilarious if it turns out to be that all that was needed for an improved searching and finding ability for the Explorer's.........was simply to get the PRO coil....it's wonderful to swing, so light and does see deep targets.........but maybe all that was needed......

I will probably still like the E-tracs functions over the EX's even if it is only the coil......I'll see soon enough.


David Di

 

[Hard Nosed Dave]

n/t

 

[Neilo]

To clean the 5 c 10 c 20c and 50c coins just cover them with white vinegar and sprinkle some salt over the top. Let them soak for a couple of hours and then remove them and wash with detergent and warm water. If you have problems getting rid of the coins go to a self serve checkout in a Supermarket. Big W in Australia have them, I put $50 worth of 20c coins into one of these machines it took a while but got rid of a lot of coins. seeya Neilo