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Excalibur II 1000 or E-Trac (beaches and land mainly)

J

jjbond

New member
Hi folks, this is my first post. I used the search engine which was useful but didn't really help with my decision... I was going to get an E-Trac till I noticed the Excalibur II 1000 were reasonable in price on the used market. I compared the two and noticed that the E-Trac is a wider frequency range (up to 25 as opposed to up to 100 on the Excalibur) and am torn on which to get. I don't ever plan on doing any scuba (completely submerged) use of the detector. Mainly it would be for on the beach, in a couple feet of water, on land in parks and perhaps on the occasional trip to Australia for gold nugget trips.

So what I'm curious about is this... is it worth giving up the extra frequencies of the E-Trac for the submerisability of the Excalibur or are they totally different beasts? Is the E-Trac worth spending a couple hundred more to buy new than a used Excalibur II 1000 on E-Bay for the above mentioned uses?

I do like the idea of not being worried about getting an LCD display wet in the rain (am in the Pacific NW) but the smaller frequency range concerns me (but may mean nothing, I'm totally new to detectors).

Thank you all for any suggestions.
Jennifer
 
Drop the Etrac in the water and its dead is what immediately sprang to mind. If its mainly for the beach and the odd trip to the park go for the Excalibur.
I have both(Excalibur 1000 and Etrac) and the Excalibur seems deeper on the beach but the Etrac more sensitive to smaller objects.
I would tend to go for the Excalibur 1000/800 and maybe a GT for inland, they are both basically the same machine one being waterproof and the changeover from one to the other will be hardly noticeable as they sound similar. With luck and patience you could buy both second hand for the price of a new Etrac
 
Thank you Kered, I appreciate your input heaps. :eek:)

Jennifer
 
Jennifer: I do exactly the same kind of detecting you do and I have found two gold nuggets with the Excal 2 1000. It is a great all around detector for the price and while I am still learning it, the discrimination is fantastic. I have found a bucket full of coins with this detector already on the beach and on land. I even relic hunt with it because it is so powerful and you can find BIG target down to almost 3 feet. I have dug cans at over 2 feet with this detector. :ranting: I recently found a solid silver spoon when relic hunting at a cabin site from the early 1800s. That was awesome!

Anyway, I cant speak for the Etrac, because I have never used one, but the Excal is a fantastic machine. In the past I have owned two other Minelab detectors and this is definitely the easiest and deepest for the money. My former SD2200D was a fantastic gold nugget machine, but gosh you dig forever with one of those and it lacks discrimination like the Excal. Get yourself a Garrett PRO POINTER. That has quickened my recovery of coins by 10 fold. It helps you dig as well and in parks and yards it will save you from missing targets. Definitely go ahead and get a Excal and seriously consider the 800 coil as well for the water and for pinpointing capabilities. I have never found as much with any other detector. It takes awhile to learn the tones so you have to dig all targets to learn them at first. :detecting:
Bob
 
Thanks TNBob and others.. I really appreciate the advice... I did end up buying an E-Trac yesterday. It was a hard choice but I wanted to make sure I had the latest and greatest technology... I'm afraid now that I may have the bug and need to supplement it with a 4500 for gold trips to Australia or the interior of BC ... ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh it's a disease. :crazy:
 
A 4500 is the top of the line Gold detector so you cant go wrong there for Australia or out west nugget detecting. You might consider a GPX 4000 for less price and just as good as the 4500 according to a dealer I spoke to. You have to weigh the options on both.
Bob
 
TNBob said:
A 4500 is the top of the line Gold detector so you cant go wrong there for Australia or out west nugget detecting. You might consider a GPX 4000 for less price and just as good as the 4500 according to a dealer I spoke to. You have to weigh the options on both.
Bob
Click to expand...

Thanks Bob... I committed to a used 4500 today at a great price, I'm excited about it coming in and taking some trips to Alaska, Arizona and Australia to play...

Jennifer
:canadaflag:
 
I have "Both" machines. If you are staying out of the water the E-Trac is the way to go. But as soon as you get into the water, the Excal is the best.:thumbup:
 
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