etrac vs at pro??

[kgramlich]

hi am in the market for a new detector...is etrac worth 2x the amount as a at pro??thanks for any help u might give me...

 

[khouse]

I think the Atpro is a great complimentary machine behind the Etrac. I have never ran a machine with such accurate target ID at great depth as the etrac. The etrac will hit copper and silver at depths you won't believe. Will the etrac find gold rings - you bet. Will it find small gold studs and chains and a few other low conducting jewelry? - not so much. Is it waterproof? Nope. This is where the Atpro comes into play. Having these two machines will cover a ton of hunting types and targets.

 

[bskerj]

I currently go to my etrac. Liked my AT Pro but gave it to my buddy to use so he could get into the 21st century. We hunt side by side and the Etrac seems to find a greater variety of things , and more of it, and as far as silver goes , it is amazing . The AT is a great machine but the Etrac is in a class of its own. With that being said I am looking to pick up a good used AT Gold for prospecting and when I need something waterproof.

 

[mudpuppy]

The ATPro was introduced at just the right time in this market...If my memory serves me right, Gold was @1200 and climbing to 1900...Up until then if a fellow wanted to hunt the water, most all the other rigs were a grand or more, heavy and intended for diving to depths of 250 feet! ...Lots of us sort of lurked their forum to see what all the hubbub was about. It did not take too long for a lot of loyal other brand users to give one a try. We just could not discount the finds those first adopters were making! Like Kenny said, theres several minelab guys that use the Pro in conjunction with their main rig...I guess your decision would boil down into what kind of hunting and location you are in, and perhaps your finances. That said, theres fellows there that hunt deep old silver with good success with the Pro, sure it does not have the technology a Minelab has, but it does have a few features that open up some new sites and especially the waterproof aspect of it..its priced right so that if you ever did get one slightly used and want to sell it, you would maybe not be out too much..

I bought one specifically for hunting GOLD and jewelry in the water, as well as hunting in the rain..If I had to only keep one machine, it would be the Pro...I have a lot of time and experience behind my main dirt rig, but the Pro more fits my style and area of hunting...and, I like GOLD!, and, I HATE to lose a day hunting just because of a little rain! Oh I use them both, but IF I could only keep one...Its not a minelab killer by any means, but it sure gives all other mid priced machines a run for the money..Good Luck
Mud

 

[khouse]

Your dead on Mudpuppy. I can't believe after all this time the other companies have yet to give the ATpro any competition in that price range. Mostly the waterproof aspect of the machine.

 

[Surfinsafari]

I bought an Atpro for my fiance for Christmas and I am excited about getting to use it. My Etrac has amazed me several times at "hunted out" sites, but after watching vids and reading stories about the Atpro on this site I am glad I bought one. We are still below zero here in Illinois but looking at warmer weather coming this week. I have been doing a ton of research and have some good spots to hunt and I am dying to see the ATpro in action. For the price and the features it offers, the ATpro is IMO the best deal on the market.

 

[dbennett7]

the good thing about the at pro is its waterproof capability as far as what one is better it depends on the targets you are looking for i think as far as a coin hunter you will not find anything better than a e trac maybe a 30 30 by minlab but the at pro maybe be better on gold items dennis

 

[Sailorman]

I swing both machines and wouldn't want to part with either one. They each do different jobs better then the other. For hunting in iron trash the AT-Pro with the 5x8 or the Sniper will beat the Etrac with it's much faster recovery. In more open ground the Etrac will get more depth and better target ID at deeper depths, especially on silver. In modern trash it's more about knowing the machine well. The Etrac will usually give a better ID but there are certain screw caps that can drive you nuts that I can usually catch with the AT-Pro.

On a saltwater beach the AT-Pro will start to struggle in the wet sand near the surf zone and really struggle more in shallow water but it's excellent in fresh water. I'm known to push my luck with my Etrac in salt water and do shallow wading with it but knee deep or less. Yeah, I know but I can't afford an Excal right now!

The big question is what do you want to hunt and where? I usually use the Etrac as my primary machine but there are places the AT-Pro really comes into it's own.

 

[ironsight]

I think the Atpro is a great complimentary machine behind the Etrac. I have never ran a machine with such accurate target ID at great depth as the etrac. The etrac will hit copper and silver at depths you won't believe. Will the etrac find gold rings - you bet. Will it find small gold studs and chains and a few other low conducting jewelry? - not so much. Is it waterproof? Nope. This is where the Atpro comes into play. Having these two machines will cover a ton of hunting types and targets.

I swing both machines and wouldn't want to part with either one. They each do different jobs better then the other. For hunting in iron trash the AT-Pro with the 5x8 or the Sniper will beat the Etrac with it's much faster recovery. In more open ground the Etrac will get more depth and better target ID at deeper depths, especially on silver. In modern trash it's more about knowing the machine well. The Etrac will usually give a better ID but there are certain screw caps that can drive you nuts that I can usually catch with the AT-Pro....

I also own both machines and couldn't agree more with khouse and sailorman.

Short answer to the OPer's question... IMO yes, the eTRAC is worth the money only if you're willing to endure the learning curve, dig up foot+ deep coins and can afford it. Essentially, get an eTRAC only if you're serious about metal detecting.

Otherwise, the ATPro is also an excellent machine for its price. As mentioned, the advantages over the eTRAC is that its waterproof and being a single frequency detector, it can detect certain small gold the eTRAC can't.

 

[Nuke em]

E.Trac no contest. Had the AT pro when it first came out and was not impressed other than the waterproof bit.
As for prospecting a 705 is good enough or at least as good as the AT pro, or a F75 or something.
I have no trouble finding Gold with an ET if its there and you wont find almost any machine that can give as good target i.d. as an ET , the others are Minelab too . The Explorer and the CTX .

 

[bik-il]

Sailor and Mud said it well.
I had both, loved both.
I found myself using the ATP more and more unless I was specifically land hunting older silver, in which case the ET was hard to beat.
But for going out in the rain, the beach, or whenever I just wanted to get out without putting a whole lot of thought into it I would grab the ATP.
Another point- I never worried about the Pro
and started leaving it in the car, something is never do with the ET.
In terms of sheer fun, you really get your money's worth with the ATP.

 

[Southwind]

I found myself using the ATP more and more unless I was specifically land hunting older silver, in which case the ET was hard to beat.

Dead on with my experience.

 

[looknforgold]

Right before Christmas, I picked up a used AT Pro for $300 bucks cash with no extra's other than the factory headphones. couldn't wait to take it out and I have been very impressed with the unit. it hits hard & fast on nickel type of targets (gold range) like crazy. I can see why guys find some much of the the yellow stuff with this machine, and I hope I can too. the depth is impressive as well as it was nothing to hit targets 7 inches deep running in Pro Zero & Sensitivity cranked up. the response is top notch as well..... now, how do they compare?

I was able to find my first Silver with the AT pro in an iron infested tear out along with a few nickels & wheats, and the next day, I went back with my Etrac to finish the job. I was using a wide open TTF setup in auto +3 and was able to dig a few more wheat's, couple more nickels and a few other little nuggets....... I actually went both directions using both machines covering the 30x50 area.

A few days later, I took my AT Pro to a park and hunted the tot lots and around a few table's... the thing destroyed the small Jewelry and after 2 more hunts, I was amazed by the quarters I had in my finds pouch. I was using a fairly fast pace for surface finds trying to find recently lost Quarters, Silver Rings or Gold. the AT Pro proved it's worth.

So, my final take? the AT Pro is a hell of a backup for my Etrac and can provide me with another tool for other jobs I might need a machine to do. it is not as smooth as my Etrac and the tones & numbers are not as good IMO, which I feel is very important in finding deep Silver.....

Pros: Fast, Light Weight (Unbalanced though) & deadly on small Gold type of items

Cons: feels & looks kinda cheap, Coil Heavy with a way too short forearm area, but no one ever said it was a $1000 machine to start with.... it's the best $300 machine I could have ever bought

 

[Clad2Hunt]

Apples to Oranges for MD's. My preference here, I have an ET and sold my AT. The AT other than being water proof is over rated IMHO. Just a billion out there(due to stupid TV shows) being used so what are the odds you will see a lot of different things being found. Except for getting in the water I would recommend a X-terra 705. Much more flexibility with the number of different coils and has a Gold and Beach mode. Also well balanced and has settings for up to 4 tones and multi-tone. If it rains I throw a neoprene cover on the ET and the 705 comes with one. As far as small gold I dig everything in a tot lot so could use a Bounty Hunter and get by. The iron audio is convenient but the 2 tone ferrous on the ET frees up the processor and it speeds it up but still need to hear it on the ET as still not as fast on recovery. Its as deep as they get for silver and that's my main target. I use a G2 for heavy iron because with dual processors it is fast, well balanced and can still cut the iron off with discrimination. If I know the iron is there I don't need to hear it and recovery is really fast so less likely to have masking issues but still leave it on with the G2. I also believe the reason more small gold is found with the AT is the an elliptical beats a round shape coil every time for ear rings and gold chains with no other metal attached to them. I have found lots of gold rings with the ET and they have a sound all their own. The AT is easy to learn and use but depending on what your using it for I think there are several out there that will give it a run for its money. The ET does have a learning curve and is a little heavy itself. But I'm a coin and ring hunter on both the land and beach and the ET and 705 will do both. The AT just had to spend to much time ground balancing every time I went from wet to dry sand at the beach. Just my experience and not a AT basher.

 

[EOS]

Based on my experinces the E-Trac will outperform the AT Pro on thrasy sites no doubt.
If you walk the E-trac slow and low it will find some deep small silver with ease,compared to AT and Xterra 705.

I picked up the AT pro just for water hunting but have used it on fields in UK and here in Sweden.Very convinient in rain,and in England it tends to rain a lot

The AT pro international at 15 kHz is a fast,deep machine for sure.And pick up small Saxon coins at great depth.
But the sound is hard..the larger the find the higher the signal will be...BANG!! in your ears..not very good at all. What I really mis on the AT Pro is threshold.

So when I used the E-trac I just smile listening to the machines fluty song

Mike

 

[Dale(Ia)]

 

[Tired Rooster]

Why compare these two detectors? Maybe compare the AT to the Xterra?? AT to the Etrac is not really a good comparison argument. Totally different animals with the exception that they both detect metals.......

 

[Dign-nbama]

I personally own both machines, I wouldn't dare compare the 2 to see which one is "so called better".. Both have their strong points and weaknesses, "There is no perfect detector".. That's why most of us have more than one detector,, because where one fails the other excels.. That's why I go back to the places I've already hunted and pick up a few more goodies with either machine, can you go wrong just having an AT, of coarse not, could you go wrong just owning a Etrac, nope.. I just choose not too own just one kind, because I like them both for the machines they are...To me, it's all about having fun,, not which ones the best,,,

 

[roadapple]

Well said!!! I can't agree more, it's all about having fun. I have the E-Trac and a Whites TDI . Totally different machines that have there own purpose in the life of metal detectors and I enjoy what each one can bring to the table. Wouldn't let one go to just down size or for any reason !!! !!!!!

I personally own both machines, I wouldn't dare compare the 2 to see which one is "so called better".. Both have their strong points and weaknesses, "There is no perfect detector".. That's why most of us have more than one detector,, because where one fails the other excels.. That's why I go back to the places I've already hunted and pick up a few more goodies with either machine, can you go wrong just having an AT, of coarse not, could you go wrong just owning a Etrac, nope.. I just choose not too own just one kind, because I like them both for the machines they are...To me, it's all about having fun,, not which ones the best,,,