The importance of hunting in multiple directions, regardless of settings; E-TRAC

[Myownwings]

Do this simple test. Place a silver coin on the ground, call this the 6 o'clock position. Place a rusty nail approximately two inches above the coin so that it is oriented at the 9 o'clock to 3 o'clock position. Now, try to detect the coin from the six o'clock position moving the coil so that it is perpendicular with the nail. You won't be able to detect it regardless of settings or discrimination or distance or speed. It will be completely blind to the Etrac. Move 90 degrees so you are detecting parallel with the nail and you will see the coin.

[coinnut]

Yep, the minute you raise the nail above a coin, the masking effect takes over. But luckily, if enough of the coin sticks out, you can sometimes get it from another direction. Most of the videos you see on youtube show the iron nail touching the coin, so it is still able to detect it. But raise the iron above the coin and you have to see enough of the good target in order to detect it. It's a real eye opener isn't it. Now just imagine all the different iron and trash that is all around and above the good targets we are looking for. Someone once said that we find maybe 10 % of all the targets in any given site we detect. I tend to believe them lol Nice subject Myownwings thumbsup01

[jkress]

Great observation MOW.
I have noticed this in the field as well. Not just with iron, but other trash as well.

One particular case, that is similar, is when I was hunting a open stretch of park. Not a lot of trash in this area but definitely a big, treeless area. Nothing but grass. On then end of one of my broad sweeps I heard a peep of a high tone. I stopped to investigate.

From the angle I was sweeping I heard a definite high tone. As I circled, the tone went from high conductive to low pull tab back to high conductive. Sure enough, a Merc was hiding almost next to two pull tabs. From one direction it was complete pull tab... from another it was high conductive. One item can definitely mask the other.

[del]

not only will one target mask another but sometimes you hear both , but neither target is properly represented by the tones . its something in between , heres an example i had just the other weekend a large cent (high tone like a quarter) and a fat indian (low tone like a shotgun shell) sitting just perfect together 4 1/2 inches down . i hear an in between screwcap signal or what a thin indian head penny sounds like , a solid repeatable midrange target.

[BOWSER]

I would expect that many detectors would react the same way or do you think that it is exclusive to minelabs only.

[coinnut]

I would expect that many detectors would react the same way or do you think that it is exclusive to minelabs only.

Pretty much all detectors respond the same way on multiple targets. Some are just better than others at separating or IDing them. Each machine's software will respond to it and it's up to you to learn how to figure it out lol I am convinced that is the reason we can repeatedly go over our cellar holes and then suddenly one day find a large copper It has to be that we hit it from the ideal direction in order to get a good hit.