e trac's question :ausflag:

[blowfly1967]

these minelab e trac's are they as good as all the hype being saturated on the forums or are they just another detector being shoved down our faces by those that have been caught.why must i be the only fool?let's sting everbody! x terra's are a joke,slow no disc and tell lies.the wife wants me to get an e trac to find more,but i think it could be a waste of money.i'm a beep and dig person thanks to td.blowfly

 

[Elton]

My main hunting is coins and Old farm sites for farm relics..Se Pro Id's with a better consistency old coins..."FOR ME"... some love the range on the Etrac.
I will say this.. Multifrequency seems to have much better depth over all than single..thats not counting the new Fisher LTD or older F-75 units though. My T2 seems to be able to keep up on depth with the SePro..but does have erractic ID's on deep coins..The Minelabs do not vary much.

 

[Steve(MS)]

You might want to consider a used Explorer XS or Explorer 2 and see how you like it. That way you won't be out
as much money and see if it is your cup of tea.

 

[E-Trac-Ohio]

I spent three months researching different manufacturer's detectors before buying one.
During this time period I talked to - and read the opinions countless user's.
It's the same old argument - my Chevy's better than your Ford - no my Ford's better than your Chevy !
There really is no perfect detector for everyone - everyone has their own opinion of what's the best .

After all of my research I decided to buy an E-Trac. This turned out to be one of the best decisions I've ever made.
I also knew that I was in for a 100 hr. + learning curve to really understand how to use the ET properly.
In my first 50 hrs. with the E-Trac I found - 85 coins - during my second 50 hrs. with the E-Trac I found - 420 coins and 23 pieces of jewelry.

The long time detector user's in this forum are saying how great this machine is - is for a reason.
Many of the E-Trac's that you see for sale with low hour's are because a lot of people don't want to take the time to learn how to use it or they don't like it because it's different than what they are use to.

I spent 1 1/2 hours on the phone with a man that's been using all types of metal detector's for over 30 years.
I asked him what the best hobby type metal detector made was ?
He's said - " no one makes a machine that's even in the same class as the the Minelab - E-Trac - it's the best detector in the world ! "

Good Luck & Happy Holidays ! --- Mark

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Steve's got a good idea. The previous incarnations of the explorer would be very similar, and more cost-effective on the used-market. And to generally answer your question: although I haven't used the Etrac yet, my experience with the XS and the II are that I vastly improved my deep coin finds once I started using the explorer (was pulled kicking and screaming away from my Whites, only because I kept getting my *ss kicked by Explorer users in side-by-side flagged signal turf tests)

 

[7centsworth]

I have to disagree on x-terras being a joke. I have owned to and find lots of coins with mine and they do have disc. You can discriminate anything out that you wish. I think all brands make some good units it is just what you learn and get use to that works the best.

 

[Nauti]

Hi Blowfly,just thought i'd say a few words about minelabs in general.I've never used an e-trac but i have owned a quattro and a sovereign which i now use as my main detector.I have also used detectors from whites,tesoro,teknetics,xp,c-scope,red heat and nautilus.All the detectors i have used have given me good results...i think all the main manufactures are
competing in a relatively even race at the moment.You will often hear people on forums say one machine is the best that has ever been produced but i like to compare finds that people find on club digs and competitions and i can only say this.......i have been on many,many club digs and organised rallies and i have never seen one machine stand out over all others.However,i honestly believe that if you want a detector that will give you excellent results in a wide variety of conditions minelabs multi frequency machines are hard to beat.Take the sovereign for example(which can be set up as a type of beep and dig detector by the way),you can use this detector on the wet sand on the beach and then walk onto a field without changing the settings.....how many other detectors can do that??These machines will cope with almost any soil conditions and in the right hands will produce the finds.I think minelabs top detectors all work on generally the same principals, the only differences are in the bells and whistles on each machine.So if you decided to buy an e-trac you would be buying a really good machine but i doubt it's performance would be any better than the sovereigns....it would just be different to work with.If you like beep and dig detectors the sovereign would probably suit you better.

 

[Neil]

thats a great point Neil, works with all the Explorers and Etracs also besides the Sov you mentioned........

"you can use this detector on the wet sand on the beach and then walk onto a field without changing the settings.....how many other detectors can do that??


.

 

[Barry NY]

Buy the best detector you can afford and learn how to use it.
If you don't like it you can always sell it. The most expensive detector will cost you about the same as a cheapie if you want to dump them.
Here's how the money works out:

ETRAC new = $1500
ETRAC used = $1100
Your Loss on sale = $400

"cheaper" detector new = $600
"cheaper" detector used = $300
Your Loss on sale = $300

I have hunted with others who have been MDing for 25 years and have owned every detector there is. They claim the ETRAC can't be beat. I have no opinion as I have only owned an ETRAC as my land detector. My finds have been great since using it for the last few months.

 

[Sonny(IN)]

n/t

 

[JOHNMARKHAM]

humm interesting, im considering an e trac so this has been most helpfull..thanks for info..

 

[go-rebels]

It really depends upon what you want to hunt, and you must make up your mind in that regard before you make your final decision.

There is some very good reading comparing the Explorer vs the Etrac from "Jim Upstate NY". He was one of the original users and found, like me, that the nail falsing was a big disadvantage on the Etrac. And Jim is a big Minelab advocate! He sums it up by saying "I feel like McCain preaching to an Obama crowd over here".

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,838163,838163#msg-838163

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,838001,838100#msg-838100

... and Jim's last posting on the Etrac:

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,922926,923282#msg-923282

 

[Sonny(IN)]

It really depends upon what you want to hunt, and you must make up your mind in that regard before you make your final decision.

There is some very good reading comparing the Explorer vs the Etrac from "Jim Upstate NY". He was one of the original users and found, like me, that the nail falsing was a big disadvantage on the Etrac. And Jim is a big Minelab advocate! He sums it up by saying "I feel like McCain preaching to an Obama crowd over here".

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,838163,838163#msg-838163

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,838001,838100#msg-838100

... and Jim's last posting on the Etrac:

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,922926,923282#msg-923282

I really like the E-trac. It seems to me that most of the people that did not likethe E-trac always seem to compare it to the explorer. I have read that is not a good thing to do as it is not an explorer. I have never used an Explorer so maybe that is one of the reasons that I like the ET and have done well with it finding silver coins this year. I read Jims posts and he seemed to compare all aspects of it to the Explorer. The ones that seem very good using the ET say NOT to compare it as it is not the Explorer... Maybe someone can come up with the answer. jmho....

 

[go-rebels]

Sonny, that's a very fair statement regarding the Explorer, that is, if you've got years of experience with the Explorer then the transition to the Etrac is more difficult. Many that like the Etrac never had the experience behind an Explorer so never had to deal with their prejudices regarding that machine.

It's only natural to compare units of various manufacturers, or even models within the same company. When you've had good luck with the Explorer, as I had, it's difficult to convince yourseft that the Etrac is better, when it just seems 'different'.

 

[jbow]

The worst thing you could do would be to buy an Explorer then an E-TRAC. The E-TRAC is not an Explorer and most of the people who do not like the ET are those who try to make it be a 'better" Explorer, it will not do that. It is a relatively simple machine that excells in finding masked targets in hard hunted sites but it will not pull a bunch of good stuff from a bad site. If you find yourself a good site with good targets that hasn't been hunted or hunted much... most any detector will make great finds.

Like I said, the ET excells at pulling good finds from hard hunted sites, masked targets that other machines miss BUT... that does not mean that it will give you a clear good signal, it will give you an iffy signal that you have to learn to interpret if you want to pull those missed goodies that are still there.

If you want to go out and make consistantly good finds just get whatever machine you are comfortable with, an Exterra will do fine or most any Tesoro, and find yourself a good spot to hunt. That is the trick and that will make your wife happy. It isn't the machine... you need a better site to hunt.

J

 

[Sonny(IN)]

Very well said. I agree 100. Per cent