My finds have increased.....

[Jack Flynn]

I've pretty much ran my ET in manual 26 to 28 sensitivity for the last 4 months or so. I started running it in auto +3 about 3 weeks ago. I've visited several spots I've hunted many times with other detectors and the ET while it was in manual. Two spots in particular my old high school student center and a very small park up the road from it. I've put around 10 different coils in these spots on an X70, 705, and now the ET. I hunted the little 1 acre park about a week ago with the SEF 6X8 coil and pulled 20 or so more coins and a couple of wheats out of it. Many places on that hunt I was digging just inches from a loose spot (previously dug hole) unearthing a coin. Yesterday I visited the student center for about an hour and I only hunt about a 10X40 foot spot here. It actually is very very loose dirt I've dug so many coins, probably 300-400 coins in probably 20 hunts now. Back to yesterday I dug 26 coins in the same place, 2 of them being wheaties. I was running in auto with the SEF coil and I know I've spent hours and hours slowly swinging in this spot. The last time there I was in manual at 28. Yesterday in auto the ET was running 23 sensitivity and hitting deeper targets. I've began believing auto is the way to go most of the time now. I've noticed even at a new spot yesterday morning up the country that even at 18 in auto I was still hitting 7-8 inch coins and a couple slightly deeper. So I'm gonna let the FBS auto system do it's thing for a while, I might have been mojoing it in manual......................

 

[CT Todd]

completely agree

 

[4thDoctorWhoFan]

Are you using the stock 11" DD coil?
Seems like a great spot you have there with all the coins you are finding.

 

[walker184777]

HI Just got back from park and hunted in auto also. That is the way to go for me now. Love how nice it handles the ground pulled 3 Wheaties and 2 silvers out of a spot we pounded for years.

 

[Goes4ever]

I have never used manual, I always use auto +3 seems to be working for me

 

[Jack Flynn]

Well I had about 2 hours this afternoon and headed back to the student center again. The E Trac gave me a great educational course about sweep speed. Pulled 39 coins this time with 1 being a wheatie, 3 dimes, and the rest pennies. I swept the coil at a timed 1 second for about 1 to 1.5 inches on the sweep. Long and slow sweeps you can bet. I thought I had been hunting slow but this is veeerrry sloooowwww. Like I said, 39 coins and at that speed I didn't cover much ground and I was in previously hunted many many times ground. I found out why these coins were still there even though so many hunts had been dug previously. I didn't count but probably 2/3 of the coins came from "dead null" places in the ground. I'll say that again, "dead null" places in the groundML has to have a little witch doctor or something in each of these machines. The machine after showing me these targets and after I pulled them out of the ground would be nothing but nulled out spots, I'd switch over to all metal and the fe would be 35 or higher. That was a great course in how I'll run the machine from now on. I'll have to be spot on to say there is a lot more stuff to be dug probably anywhere any of us are hunting. I'll make another observation. I was hunting with the 6X8 SEF. About a month ago I had the 10X12 SEF. I got rid of it per the weight factor. The observation is that the big SEF's are more than likely being drug across the ground so slow they are making you have a slow sweep speed. Drwhofan I don't use the pro coil ever, I use the SEF and 3 Sunray coils. I am very fond of the 6X8 SEF, I dug a lot of these coins at 6 to 7 inches and the ground is bone dry. Here's a pic of the student center we called it way back then.......I'm hunting exclusively within 15 foot of the hedge and the length of it .

 

[4thDoctorWhoFan]

I was hunting with the 6X8 SEF. About a month ago I had the 10X12 SEF. I got rid of it per the weight factor. The observation is that the big SEF's are more than likely being drug across the ground so slow they are making you have a slow sweep speed. Drwhofan I don't use the pro coil ever, I use the SEF and 3 Sunray coils. I am very fond of the 6X8 SEF, I dug a lot of these coins at 6 to 7 inches and the ground is bone dry. Here's a pic of the student center we called it way back then.......I'm hunting exclusively within 15 foot of the hedge and the length of it .

Excuse me for my ignorance since I am new to MD but is SEF a brand or type of coil? Are the SEF's the minelab brand? I am familiar with Sunray so how do their coils compare with the 6X8 SEF coil?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Jack Flynn]

They all all great coils, the X8 and the 6X8 are a toss up. Go to Kellyco to look at the SEF's. I believe it isactually their line of coils or made exclusively for them.

 

[NiagracountyNY]

I have to Agree with your conclusion. I came up with the same results after many test on the same sites.I have to remind myself alot of times to slow down my swing.I double check all the signals(chirps that dont hit real tight in my pattern)) that are over 5 inches or so deep with All Metal . Thx for the post ..HH

 

[4thDoctorWhoFan]

They all all great coils, the X8 and the 6X8 are a toss up. Go to Kellyco to look at the SEF's. I believe it isactually their line of coils or made exclusively for them.

I see the coils you are talking about, thanks.
Does using the 6X8 SEF still allow you to use all the tones from the etrac? I guess basically I am asking does the coil work the same as the stock DD coil as far as all the tones go?

 

[Jack Flynn]

They all all great coils, the X8 and the 6X8 are a toss up. Go to Kellyco to look at the SEF's. I believe it isactually their line of coils or made exclusively for them.

I see the coils you are talking about, thanks.
Does using the 6X8 SEF still allow you to use all the tones from the etrac? I guess basically I am asking does the coil work the same as the stock DD coil as far as all the tones go?

Yep works just the same as the pro coil just I get a clearer crisper sound from my aftermarket coils. A lot of people are really successful with the pro coil so don't discount it.

 

[Southwind]

Yup I'm a auto +3 fan myself. I've tried 28 manual, which is about the highest stable sens I can get, and It seems to amplify nearby garbage to a point as to mask the goodies very deep. I find a possible deep coin in auto +3, and then switch to manual 28 to check the signal, but hunting in manual just doesn't work as well for me.

 

[The Beep Goes On]

Wisdom.

I've began believing auto is the way to go most of the time now.

 

[EZrider]

All of my finds ive posted this year have been in Auto and stock coil.

 

[DeanDig]

Another thing about pushing manual is the fact that rusty or large iron will false and sound like coins, and EMI will drive the thing crazy!
I have found very few sites that will allow me to hunt in manual 30/ open screen/ and stable threshold. Auto seems the way to go in most cases

However, and I will leave it to everyone to try for themselves. I have scanned a signal in manual and tried the same setting in auto and the signal disappeared or became inaudible. I would like to see others try this in the field and see what your conclusions are. I believe there is a different electronic filtering process for auto and manual which could contribute to why this would happen.

There may be a reference to this phenomena in Andy S's book? I don't have the book yet...