Setting your pattern on Minelab detectors

[RaZR]

When I want to make a pattern for my CTX or E-Trac I get together the coins and things that I want to include in the pattern. Then I take a piece of Saran wrap and wrap it around the screen. Then as you scan them in the yard you can mark the area they appear with a sharpie. Then build your pattern. Just an idea.

[Digger_O'Dell]

I guess you do whatever works for you, but it sounds like a lot of redundancy since most coins will always be in the same range. But those which are not textbook signals could easily be missed this way. That's why I tend to keep a mostly open screen above about 14 and figure out the signal not only by the VDI, but also the audio. I also resting at 90 degrees to the first passes to check for consistency.

[TerrellR]

All sound advice. I do pretty much the same thing.

[Ken C]

I have a VDI chart for the Minelab if it helps you.

http://www.detectorist.com/images/vdictx3.jpg

[MangoAve]

I had a run with the etrac for a few weeks. It still had a few pitfalls as lower end detectors have. Any twist of the coil caused by twigs or saplings over iron would false it. Big iron you'd hear clear as day. I hated those 1-29 signals. ugh. I did try to run it more open in the relic mode. I didn't particularly like the fact you have to run stuff under the coil just to accept or reject in the grid. I know you can always download a profile online if someone already made it, but I would think you'd miss targets if you couldn't run it under the coil. Kinda like what Chris said. I wish there was a way at least on the computer where you could select vdi from the grid and then download it to the machine. The fellow whom I borrowed it from had a condensed list taped to the frame so he could reference it.