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two big questions about e trac
- Thread starter gingerlm
- Start date
The Beep Goes On
New member
Hmmmm.... I've heard that Minelab's like to have the soil matrix to work with and, because of this, don't air test well. The FE/CO coordinates are completely made up numbers...they don't mean anything except within the framework of the machine itself.
hi gingerlm,
Two good questions.
If you are an E-Trac owner, I would refer you to your owners manual and another excellent reference book to the Minelab E-trac and Explorer detetctors called, "The Minelab Explorer & E-Trac Handbook", written by Andy Sabisch. He covers your question about the so called 'Conductive' and 'Ferrous' values used for the Minelab Displays. In a nutshell, the digital readings and their related position on the Minelab 'graph' are NOT actual measurements of any metallic property of the coin or a rusty nail, or of a 3-ring bullet, but merely names assigned to the different characteristics of the received signal.
As for detecting copper coins at 2' with the E-trac? It would have to be a BIG copper coin for the E-Trac to pick it up at 24". The Laws of Physics still apply even to the Minelabs.
Many so called DEEP coins are found that are originally missed as the detectorist begins their digging. The coin may be on edge, adjacent to a larger metallic item that was pinpointed instead of the coin, or the coin was not accurately pinpointed in the first place.
As the recovery hole deepens, it also must widen. As the detectorist widens the hole, the coin or other item then falls out of the sidewall of the hole to the bottom and is mistakenly thought to have been the full depth of the hole. I've had it happen myself.
The second scenario is when the detectorist is removing large amounts of soil from the hole with a shovel or such like when hunting an open field and the item comes out with one of the big scoops that removed 8-10" of dirt from the bottom of the hole, or everything from the 8" to the 18" mark. The item was at 10" but the hole is now 18" deep and the item it given credit for being at the very bottom of the dirt that was removed. For a really accurate depth measurement, dig in small increments and use a pinpointing probe.
I have dug larger copper items, the size of a silver dollar, at depths in the 15-16" range with several different detectors dating back to the mid 80's. That is a very deep hole. Twenty four inches is A LOT deeper than that. I've heard of salt water beach hunters finding coins much deeper than coins found inland, but then again, the same type of recovery issues as mentioned above can apply to them as well.
Best of luck in the field.
Rich -
Two good questions.
If you are an E-Trac owner, I would refer you to your owners manual and another excellent reference book to the Minelab E-trac and Explorer detetctors called, "The Minelab Explorer & E-Trac Handbook", written by Andy Sabisch. He covers your question about the so called 'Conductive' and 'Ferrous' values used for the Minelab Displays. In a nutshell, the digital readings and their related position on the Minelab 'graph' are NOT actual measurements of any metallic property of the coin or a rusty nail, or of a 3-ring bullet, but merely names assigned to the different characteristics of the received signal.
As for detecting copper coins at 2' with the E-trac? It would have to be a BIG copper coin for the E-Trac to pick it up at 24". The Laws of Physics still apply even to the Minelabs.
Many so called DEEP coins are found that are originally missed as the detectorist begins their digging. The coin may be on edge, adjacent to a larger metallic item that was pinpointed instead of the coin, or the coin was not accurately pinpointed in the first place.
As the recovery hole deepens, it also must widen. As the detectorist widens the hole, the coin or other item then falls out of the sidewall of the hole to the bottom and is mistakenly thought to have been the full depth of the hole. I've had it happen myself.
The second scenario is when the detectorist is removing large amounts of soil from the hole with a shovel or such like when hunting an open field and the item comes out with one of the big scoops that removed 8-10" of dirt from the bottom of the hole, or everything from the 8" to the 18" mark. The item was at 10" but the hole is now 18" deep and the item it given credit for being at the very bottom of the dirt that was removed. For a really accurate depth measurement, dig in small increments and use a pinpointing probe.
I have dug larger copper items, the size of a silver dollar, at depths in the 15-16" range with several different detectors dating back to the mid 80's. That is a very deep hole. Twenty four inches is A LOT deeper than that. I've heard of salt water beach hunters finding coins much deeper than coins found inland, but then again, the same type of recovery issues as mentioned above can apply to them as well.
Best of luck in the field.
Rich -
tippyhound
New member
Man I'm sure glad I'm not digging those 2' deep targets. I'd like to suggest you get yourself a good pin pointer, like some one else has said it has to be in the side wall. Rick
niterider_58
New member
Rick that's the best explanation of this for sure I've did it to so I know what your saying, I use to hunt with a guy that everytime he dug a coin it was always a foot deep when in fact it was missed in the hole at 7 inch's or so 
so it does happen.
so it does happen.utahshovelhead
Active member
Put on a 14 inch loop and place a silver dollar 2 ft down in your soil, works for me at 2 ft.
I'm Just SAYN,
Utahshovelhead
I'm Just SAYN,
Utahshovelhead
well i have andy's book..i guess i just didnt understand why the se says 00 fe and the etrac says 12...no big deal just wondering....i hunt the new england fields..and there is at least a foot of soil before i hit the sand..i always take out a perfect shovel plug...would you say thats about 10 to 12"...then i'm digging into the sand...two more shovel fulls...the gold bracelet was a huge hole...no kidding...after the last shovel full it plopped right onto the top of the pile....it was getting dark...so i guess it could have been in the hole...but after every shovel full i would check the hole and the last pile...so who knows.....i just know that the se and e trac go very deep....and they are awesome...today i went out to an old field and found this 2" round locket...still hinged...it says annette on the back of it..pretty cool.. its the same place where we found a 1800 half dollar....i tried to download some pics from my camera but it says my file is to big...so now i have to read another manual...lol.....thanks for all your posts.....ginger
EtracTom-AdirondacksNY
New member
Ginger it has to do with the way the coins/objects and such fall along a line on the machine's screen. On all the Explorers they go VERTICALLY in an S shaped curve thus the 00 FE. On the Etracs they straightened that S curve out and stretched it out from 30 to 50 points and ran it HORIZONTALLY on the Etrac's screen so then all the coins and such are supposed to now fall along the 12 FE horizontal line down the middle center of the Etrac's screen. It's in Andy's book. The Explorers are 30 points Vertically the Etrac is 50 points horizontally for better resolution to help decipher what the coins/objects may be instead of the cursor being bunched up in certain spots on the Explorers screens.
Stated in the book some objects/coins may read as low as 27 FE being deep or near iron or trash so that is why you switch over to the more opened screen in QuickMask (maybe black out 01 and 02 CO and from FE30 down to FE35 the lower bottom of the QuickMask screen.
I switch over from the factory COINS PROGRAM on IFFY signals to the QuickMask screen set up that way to verify what the signal no's and where the cursor is at helps to bring the signal right in solidly.
If the cursor drops down to the far bottom right corner and stays there I know it's IRON and I may open the QuickMask screen wide open white on really really iffy signals and that cursor drops into the corner bottom right it's iron!!.
I've had IFFY signals on nickles and switched to QuickMask and they came right in even though the FE number was way off. Same on a couple of silver coins right up next to iron or more than one coin together or other objects together.
I mostly look at the CO no. and I don't really care what the FE no. is at all. I go by sounds in CONDUCTIVE mode and the factory COINS program and CO no.'s. then on some I use QuickMask to verify IFFY or really DEEP ones before I dig.
Stated in the book some objects/coins may read as low as 27 FE being deep or near iron or trash so that is why you switch over to the more opened screen in QuickMask (maybe black out 01 and 02 CO and from FE30 down to FE35 the lower bottom of the QuickMask screen.
I switch over from the factory COINS PROGRAM on IFFY signals to the QuickMask screen set up that way to verify what the signal no's and where the cursor is at helps to bring the signal right in solidly.
If the cursor drops down to the far bottom right corner and stays there I know it's IRON and I may open the QuickMask screen wide open white on really really iffy signals and that cursor drops into the corner bottom right it's iron!!.
I've had IFFY signals on nickles and switched to QuickMask and they came right in even though the FE number was way off. Same on a couple of silver coins right up next to iron or more than one coin together or other objects together.
I mostly look at the CO no. and I don't really care what the FE no. is at all. I go by sounds in CONDUCTIVE mode and the factory COINS program and CO no.'s. then on some I use QuickMask to verify IFFY or really DEEP ones before I dig.
i did read all that in andy'[s book....i didnt understand it....thanks for clarifying that one for me.....now i know i missed some coins.....uuuhhhggg....when i opened up the quick mask the curser was jumping up into the right corner and center....guess i'll be heading back after the rain stops.....thankyou so much.....i did hear the different sounds too...its going to take awhile to master this machine...the first metal detecter i tried was an se and i only used it about 5 times last year and than this year i was hooked and got the etrac....so i'm reading , listnening and taking advice....thanks again....ginger
EtracTom-AdirondacksNY
New member
If it's jumping UP into the center or upper right areas I DIG IT!! Only when the cursor drops WAY down into the lower bottom right corner do I not dig as it usually always is something iron. If the cursor stays up some and isn't in the bottom corner It could be a good coin with something dragging the cursor way down below the 12 centerline.