Tone Frustration!

[Bryannagirl]

Ok, first I must disclose I own a safari and not an Etrac - but have been really thinking about upgrading. Here is one reason:

This morning I am hunting a older very heavily used very trashy park. It had rained a little last night so grass was still wet and ground in most places was moist down to about an inch sometimes more. When I say moist I do not mean wet just moist. I normally hunt conductive tones and in auto. I tend to noise cancel when I first start and again within the first 15 min of detecting. No reason for second NC other then I figure the auto program has stabilized on a power setting and another NC would not hurt (you Etrac owners can see how your power is changing not us safari folk + 1 for Etrac). Well even though it seemed to NC ok an was running smooth the targets in the ground seemed very irrational and it was very hard to lock in on any tone good or bad. Now here is one of my Tone frustrations - like I said for the most part I run conductive tones - I also like to pinpoint by using short sweeps and moving the coil back till the signal drops - then I wiggle my way back toward the target till it just picks up again - I repeat until I am pretty comfortable I know the target is just in front of the center of my coil. I find this very reliable and my targets are almost always just where I think they are.

Now here is the frustration - Every once in a while - very often this morning - as I try and pinpoint a target the sound never goes away - I can keep moving the coil back a foot or two and no drop of in the signal - did I mention I was using the Minelab FBS800 coil. It always gives me the impression I have found a buried wire and I am following it with my coil - the reason I know it is not a wire is if I raise my coil and stop moving it the signal goes away and if I lower it again there is either no signal, a null, or a different signal.

A similar tone frustration - and maybe related to the one above is when trying to ID a target by multiple swings I have found that the tone will lock in on a tone - sometimes a very nice tone - but if I move my coil away from the target and stop till I get just my threshold back and then recheck the target I will get a completely different tone. I can repeat this over and over and some times there can be 5 or more different tones for the same target location - some sweet tones some not so sweet tones.

Here is a question do you Etrac folk experience similar issues when hunting and if you do how do you deal with them on the Etrac? On the safari I just keep investigating until I get something repeatable and with a hopeful tone or I just keep walking.

Would love to here more from you experienced Etrac users.

Thanks

Bryanna

 

[hershey1]

Dig it. Could be a sword with brass on the handle( example ) also go to manual sensitivity maybe 17 or 18. I have both machines and like you said the E-Trac does give more information but the FBS technology is the same. You would'nt by any chance have a Sun-Ray probe with the probe switch on would you? Has happened to me. Anything under the coil cover? Just a few suggestions. HH

 

[Bryannagirl]

Yes I do have a Sunray Probe but do not use it because it needs to be repaired the wire at the probe itself is flacky. So the switch was in target and I know it was working because I did find a few targets. This has happened before as well both with the FBS800 Coil and the stock Pro Coil. Again it is like there is a wire in the ground the sound and target ID kind of lock in and will not change until you move it away from targets and allow it to reset. Actually clearing the Detector - As I call it - is a normal function with the Safari if my information starts to be off I move the coil to the side and stop motion. In less then a second I will get my threshold back and I can re-sweep the target. I have heard this is sometime even necessary with the Etac. Kind of lets the Detector catch its breath. Usually when the detector clears and you get a Threshold the Target ID will be the most correct one for the Target you just were over. This is more of an issue in Trashy Areas then clean areas but other then Tot Lots there are not many areas to hunt that are not loaded to bare with every kind of trash now to man (Iron trash, Screw Cap, Foil, bottle caps, pull tabs both round square and beaver tails). So I guess I am gathering this happens with Etracs as well. Other then stopping and letting the threshold reset is there any other ways to clear up responses in extreme trash sites.

Thanks

Bryanna

 

[Ray-Mo.]

Also running sensitivity lower will help with excessive unstable/fluctuating signals often times.And if your Sunray probe is faulty you need to remove from you machine if you have not done so as even with switch in proper position it very well may cause problems....

 

[Jeff in Pa]

If you are talking about being in PP mode then yes in a high trash area your detector is seeing and PP'ing multiple targets. A small coil is best. If you are using the stock coil you may only be able to PP while in the discriminate mode. doing the wiggle from two directions will get you very close unless the target is deep but when its deep you just cut a bigger plug. My Etrac must have a threshold when I go into PP or it will just keep screaming at me like there is something close to the coil. I cannot switch to PP while over a target.
Sorry I am not sure if this helps any with your question.

Jeff

 

[Bryannagirl]

I was not in the pinpoint mode. The issue is what occurs when swing in motion mode. I will have to figure a way to show this on video. The detector hangs on to a tone and does not let it go as long as the coil is in motion. Not all the time and much more an issue in high trash location.

Bryanna

 

[Bryannagirl]

Ok, I have to confess, a lot of the issues I had that gave me "Tone Frustration" we're self inflicted. Turns out I went hunting again today and was having some of the same issues, I worked with the machine I got so I could deal with the tone problems I was having. But I kept thinking I do not remember it being this bad it was more of an occasional thing but in the last couple days it has been way more frequent. Well while hunting I had an ephininea - it occurred to me I had not checked my trash setting. Well guess what it was in low trash not high. I made a quick change back to high trash and Ta! Da! I had my old machine back. So I was hunting in low trash mode in an area when pinpointing I have to be careful where I lay my pro pointer because most places have a target that will make it sound off. That is high trash. The good thing is I know it is an old area because the Trash is old. But boy do you have to be patient. Piulled a dime and a brass lipstick tube and lots of old bottle caps and beaver tails. Darn it though still no silver this year but there is always tomorrow.

Bryanna

 

[grouser]

glad you found the problem,,,, HH !!!!