A question for owners of both the Etrac and CTX

[Rick73]

I have been detecting for over 30 years and have had some of the top detectors of several leading brands. I was always thinking there was a better detector out there than what I had and I finally found it this spring when I bought a used Etrac. This is a fantastic detector. I have the X-5 and 13" ultimate besides the stock coil. I am thinking of adding a CTX to my arsenal. I strictly search old abandoned farmsteads, country schools etc.. The places I hunt are loaded with old nails and trash. Many of the coins I find are below a bed of nails as the building or buildings were razed several years after some of the coins were lost. I use mainly TTF and love it. I think the ability to add different tones to certain FE/CO groups would be helpful plus target trace. How do some of you Etrac users feel. Are you glad you went to a CTX or do you still use both. Is the CTX easier to swing for extended periods etc..

 

[qkslvr]

I have both. The CTX is better balanced, no more E-Trac shoulder pain for me. I love getting accurate coin ID numbers and digging coins with nails in the same hole. I find myself digging a lot less trash . You can adjust the tone bins as tight or wide as you want. The small coil is a great asset.

 

[doc1964]

I hunted with the E-Trac for 3 years and the CTX since June. Both are superior machines. For me, it's a question of budget more than anything else. The CTX doubles as a water machine and that may or may not be a bonus for you. As far as coin finding capabilities go, I've hunted alongside E-Tracs and they seem to do just as well ID'ing the good stuff. Swinging the CTX all day is much nicer - I certainly don't miss the fatigue or the infamous "Minelab wobble" and I don't worry if it's raining. The wireless is terrific too. Being able to update the firmware on your PC is another bonus. On the downside, if you have and love the inline Sunray probe on your E-Trac, you'll miss that, and you won't have the option of buying less expensive aftermarket coils. Also, the battery life issue seems to be resolved on the "E" with the availability of lithium ion battery packs. All in all, they are both killers and I believe the two best detectors on the market today.

 

[pghmole]

Go for it! You won't regret it at all! Personally I like the CTX much better than my E trac ! I dig a much higher ratio of good targets to junk,I almost never get silver skunked anymore,honestly I go to worked over pounded parks and come away with a few silvers in my pouch 99% of the time and our parks here in Pittsburgh get hit extremely hard with Minelab machines! I do miss my x1 probe though! Merry x mas

 

[silverchef]

Ditto what everyone else said. For me in my soil the CTX just seems to work better. Higher sensitivity and better separation. I don't think anything I have found wouldn't have been found with my Etrac, but it seems the CTX has made me more efficient. It really cleans up those iffy targets. I really like how I can set up targets to sound very different. Like you Rick I used TTF almost exclusively as I just couldn't get used to all the sounds. But the CTX can be set up similar to TTF. I don't know if others experience this, but for some reason my right ring finger gets really sore and sometimes locks up on me at night from gripping the CTX. I think the Etrac is actually easier to swing(my opinion) But since I bought the Ctx my finds have been so good that the Etrac is very lonely and I kinda feel quilty not bringing her out! I actually very rarely use target trace-slows me down! Love the CTX, but keeping my Etrac for now.

 

[Rick73]

I am quite sure I will order a CTX soon. I am amazed at all the finds I had with the Etrac from hunted out areas. One of the things I think I will really like about the CTX are the wireless headphones. Thanks to all who responded.

 

[RetiredVeteranTH]

You know, it is possible to get wireless headphones and use them with an Etrac? I have them on my Sov GT.

 

[Jeff in Pa]

If you have them for your GT then they will also work for the Etrac.

 

[greedykind]

I hunted with the E-Trac for 3 years and the CTX since June. Both are superior machines. For me, it's a question of budget more than anything else. The CTX doubles as a water machine and that may or may not be a bonus for you. As far as coin finding capabilities go, I've hunted alongside E-Tracs and they seem to do just as well ID'ing the good stuff. Swinging the CTX all day is much nicer - I certainly don't miss the fatigue or the infamous "Minelab wobble" and I don't worry if it's raining. The wireless is terrific too. Being able to update the firmware on your PC is another bonus. On the downside, if you have and love the inline Sunray probe on your E-Trac, you'll miss that, and you won't have the option of buying less expensive aftermarket coils. Also, the battery life issue seems to be resolved on the "E" with the availability of lithium ion battery packs. All in all, they are both killers and I believe the two best detectors on the market today.

Couldnt have said it better myself the fatigue for me has moved from the shoulder with etrac to the forearm with ctx but i love the etrac warble and in opinion the nails with ttf is a greater tool than the ctx has you start wondering what if and end up digging the nail just my opinion but i totally agree best 2 detectors on market