Question for Advanced Etrac Users

What does M stand for in TTFM?

Your question is basically - do Etrac users dig a lot of junk? Answer - It depends on what your threshold for digging is.

I could go to a park and dig 85-90% coins (and at times I do). What I won't be digging then is....gold, deep coins where the TID varies from the expected, interesting bits like keys, badges, old toys, etc.

My choice is based on what I expect to find at a place, how much time I have, and whether I will be able to put in a lot of time at the location in the future.

One piece of advice I give to new Etrac users -- use mutitone conductive. Multitone is overwhelming at first, expecially in trashy areas (so ideally find a cleaner area to start), but your ears get used to it. It allows you to hear that high silver tone sneak in there among other tones and tells you to work the spot to try to isolate it. Your tones will change depending on what your threshold tone is, so pick one threshold and stick with it so your ears get attuned to the target tones. TTF has its place, but you will probably be hunting predominantly in locations where multitone conductive would be indicated. All IMO.

I don't dig lots of junk because I don't use TTF. That mode just isn't usefull for places with lots of non-ferrous trash like aluminum.

When I hunt places for jewelry, I dig the lower CO numbers. I normally am hunting for silver, so I ignore most aluminum junk.

David in DC said:

What does M stand for in TTFM?

Your question is basically - do Etrac users dig a lot of junk? Answer - It depends on what your threshold for digging is.

I could go to a park and dig 85-90% coins (and at times I do). What I won't be digging then is....gold, deep coins where the TID varies from the expected, interesting bits like keys, badges, old toys, etc.

My choice is based on what I expect to find at a place, how much time I have, and whether I will be able to put in a lot of time at the location in the future.

One piece of advice I give to new Etrac users -- use mutitone conductive. Multitone is overwhelming at first, expecially in trashy areas (so ideally find a cleaner area to start), but your ears get used to it. It allows you to hear that high silver tone sneak in there among other tones and tells you to work the spot to try to isolate it. Your tones will change depending on what your threshold tone is, so pick one threshold and stick with it so your ears get attuned to the target tones. TTF has its place, but you will probably be hunting predominantly in locations where multitone conductive would be indicated. All IMO.

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Thanks for the reply.

The M was for mode but I meant TTF. Just a brain lapse on my part.

I guess I am most interested in finding Civil War relics which I try to plan my hunt locations around. If I am able to find coins in the process that is a bonus for me. So I guess that is why I thought TTF would be a good match for me, as I don't want to pass up any possible relics. So it would seam I am digging a lot of targets that someone who is digging for just coins might not waste time with?

Thanks for you comments and advice. Greatly appreciated.

Jeremy

Jason in Enid said:

I don't dig lots of junk because I don't use TTF. That mode just isn't usefull for places with lots of non-ferrous trash like aluminum.

When I hunt places for jewelry, I dig the lower CO numbers. I normally am hunting for silver, so I ignore most aluminum junk.

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Thank you for comments. Thank does make sense to me, so it seems like my averages for digging junk is due to my search parameters and if I want to dig less junk then I have to start hunting for a lower range of targets.

-Jeremy

LetsGo82nd said:

I guess I am most interested in finding Civil War relics which I try to plan my hunt locations around.

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More experienced relic hunters will know better than me, but I think with relic hunting junk comes with the territory. My junk:keeper ratio goes way up when I am hunting an old place because I dig a lot more.

Oh, you should have said you were relic hunting. That's a while different ballgame. You gotta dig the junk in those places. In fact, I have read that there are more and more relic hunters using pulse machines to get really deep targets.

if i'm lookin for silvers or old coppers i use multi tone and dig very little trash, i only use TTF if i'm at a location with alot of nulling

You gotta dig some trash to get the treasure.

I dont recommend TTF. If you are using it and only digging the high sounds, you are missing a lot of good stuff. If you read Andy Sabich's book it will explain it better than I can. I have dug Indian Heads and buttons that read in the low 20's for FE, that if I had been using TTF, I would have passed on. It just depends on how deep and how much iron may be around a target as to what the FE reading will be so I dont pay much attention to it. I generally run Multi tone CO with FE lines 28 and up notched out. Even with this setup I am probably still missing some relics but I primarily look for coins so you may need to adjust yours accordingly and open up to line 33 or so.

LetsGo82nd said:

I have had my Etrac for about a month now and have been primarily operating in TTF as I learn the machine. What I like about this setup is that the screen is practically wide open so I feel that it gives me a better chance to learn the tones of different types of items as I dig them up without having to worry about missing any targets.

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You won't hear and learn many tones in TTF (Two Tone Ferrous) as it only has two tones high and low. It is kind of like reverting to an Ace 250, but the tone might be a little better to the ears. Conductive Multi is where you will hear the tones.

To discern silver you have to alter variability, limits, and threshold pitch according to G4Es instructions, but I still can't tell.

http://goes4ever.mymdforum.com/my-settings-on-the-etrac/

What is your total detecting experience?

I think anyone starting out with an E-Trac, even a relic hunter needs to go to a park or totlot and clad shoot, in multi conductive using Goes4ever's settings. Learn in an environment likely to yield success. Relic hunting itself is a little advanced and usually involves more junk.

Junk is highly dependent on where you detect. If you are in a civil war camp that has not been junked up in modern times, then you want to dig junk, because it is old junk. If the spot has been littered, then you are in for some chop, and might want to look for only conductive bullet, button, and coin targets, while trying to avoid the numbers trash is coming in at.

Aluminum cans can sometimes be avoided by noting the VDi number, and lifting the coil above the ground to judge its size. What do typical whole empties come it at 12-37, I think, which could be a gold $10, a button, token, IH cent, wheat, or huge class ring as well. A quarter sized coin on the surface will detect many inches above the ground like a can would, but you do get a feel for it, and sometimes dig the can just to be sure.

I was skipping 12-38 to 12-40, because they are often 1980s era aluminium screw caps from 16 ounce glass soda bottles. Last week I made it a point to dig these at my best site, a 1920s built apartment building, since it was not badly littered in the 1980s, and I found a bunch of wheat pennies in this range including a 1910.

David in DC said:

TTF has its place, but you will probably be hunting predominantly in locations where multitone conductive would be indicated. All IMO.

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The pre-set relic mode on the E-Trac is multi-ferrous, I believe, if my memory of using it as the starting point in G4Es instructions is correct. So it must have some use in relic hunting? Sabisch mentions using it too.

RyanChappell said:

The pre-set relic mode on the E-Trac is multi-ferrous, I believe, if my memory of using it as the starting point in G4Es instructions is correct. So it must have some use in relic hunting?

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No doubt. I mistakenly assumed a semi-new user would be coin and jewelry shooting in parks.

At the risk of contradicting the gospel, I have some alternate ideas about G4E's settings. I would recommend most of them, and you won't go wrong varying by a point or three, but a new user might want to experiment with threshold pitch and fast=OFF.

Threshold pitch - G4E has it quite high. I find this high pitch too high to be constantly in my ears, and it causes the really high tones to be tinny/sqeaky in my opinion. With a threshold in the middle area (15-17) it is more comfortable on my ears, and you will get a fuller sound for the Co 45-48's. It will still be quite distinctive and stand out, just different.

Fast=ON/OFF - I suggest experiment with both. If there are a lot of targets, maybe keep at ON, but if it is not overwhelming I keep at OFF. Reason being is because FAST=ON makes the target id's "sticky", there is some delay between the sound and the id. It also supposedly makes the target ID's less stable. I basically have mine OFF all the time and slow down if the targets are denser.

I haven't noticed much difference between Deep=ON or OFF. Supposedly there is a tradeoff there because the Deep=ON has additional processing.

Not knocking G4E's settings here, they are spot on depending on your preferences, and his site is an awesome resource for Etrac users.

If you're in devil soil like me - buy a compadre, you'll be shocked how much that E-trac is missing in the iron infested zones. Otherwise use a small coil, swing ultra slow and listen for the blips of high tones.

I've used both machines extensively on campsites and the Compadre comes out ahead all the time. I dig way more non ferrous stuff and the quality of my finds are higher since I'm able to sniff out the goods in the iron better. Oh and you'll save your arm from falling off too.

Bonesquat said:

If you're in devil soil like me - buy a compadre, you'll be shocked how much that E-trac is missing in the iron infested zones. Otherwise use a small coil, swing ultra slow and listen for the blips of high tones.

I've used both machines extensively on campsites and the Compadre comes out ahead all the time. I dig way more non ferrous stuff and the quality of my finds are higher since I'm able to sniff out the goods in the iron better. Oh and you'll save your arm from falling off too.

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Same here, there's this field I hunt that has very shallow coins, but its Rediculiously loaded with iron. I have found 2 1700s coins there with my ATPro and small coil no more than 3 inches deep. Iron is abundant on every swing. I find the Garrett does better at that site. There are parks where old coins are ultra deep and the Etracs the machine of choice. Sometimes the Etrac is overkill and the lower end machines have a huge advantage if everything is not very deep.

Its like taking a drag race car through an autocross course....

Well if I am looking for coins and jewelry then I am in Muti set to 30 on the Variability and Long for the tone response. Now I still dig a fair amount of trash because I have yet to find a gold item so you have to dig in the foil and tab range. What will kill you every time are things like brass/copper washers, the older screw caps and some of the brass/copper items that will ring up exactly like clad coins and pennies in both directions. My trash to coin ratio is about 50/50 some days and other days it is about 30/70. When I am in an area where there is a lot of nulling I slow way down and/or use my 5 inch coil. For the see through to work you have to slow down a lot for it to work. Just think Tai Chi in heavy iron, with the long response tone the good stuff sticks out. Also there are times when you need to set the Sensitivity to either zero or in the minus range. Then adjust your swing speed to where you get the highest number, I will go up or down depending on the area and how fast you swing. The site determines how fast you swing.

Thanks everyone for all the very helpful advice. I was able to pick up a copy of the Sabisch book today from the metal detector dealer and am digging into it. I also went out to a local school today to do some detecting in the stock Minelab Coin mode with Fast: 0N, Deep: ON, Trash: High and Ground: Difficult. I spent about an hour there and was only able to cover about 50m, there were a ton of targets. I netted about 75 cents in clad, no big scores but I think I learned a good bit from the experience and with trying these new settings. My ratio of good targets to bad went up to about 50-50 with these settings at the school.

I think a couple of the biggest mistakes I had been making were:

1. Thinking that the same settings would work at every site.
With your help I realize that different locations call for different setups.
2. I was trying to hunt a range of targets that was far too wide and didn't realize that I was keeping the discrimination far too open for what I really hope to find.
3. I was mis informed about what the term relic stands for. I am really just interested in buttons, buckles and things of that nature which fall within the same ranges as coins. So I was hunting with far too little discrimination.
4. The assumption that TTF was best for every situation. I will reserve that for strictly heavy iron sites from here on out.

This forum as been a huge help, without it I think I would have given up by now. Thanks again everyone for the information and advice.

Jeremy

A smaller coil in really trashy ares REALLY helps on sifting thru the trash.

dogpound said:

if i'm lookin for silvers or old coppers i use multi tone and dig very little trash, i only use TTF if i'm at a location with alot of nulling

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Ditto... TTF is my backup plan for nulled-out hunts (usually old houses.) With a tiny coil, TTF can slice through the mountains of iron !!!! you find at old house sites. But it will take a long, long time to hunt it because you have to visually evaluate every signal on the display.

But I'm after coins.


I just wish the E-trac could switch between the modes with a single key. I hear the new Minelab can do that. Making me jealous.

pocketspill said:

Ditto... TTF is my backup plan for nulled-out hunts (usually old houses.) With a tiny coil, TTF can slice through the mountains of iron !!!! you find at old house sites. But it will take a long, long time to hunt it because you have to visually evaluate every signal on the display.
But I'm after coins.

I just wish the E-trac could switch between the modes with a single key. I hear the new Minelab can do that. Making me jealous.

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I stopped using TTF. With my 8x6 SEF, I just tighten the pattern, crank manual sens up to 24 or so, and pick out the falsies. See through with a tight pattern seems to beat TTF to me.