My current detector is an Explorer XS, outfitted with a Sun Ray probe and a couple different size coils. Recently I've been seriously considering buying an E-trac. Because the E-trac is a fairly significant investment, I would like to know the opinion(s) of those who have made the switch whether it was worth it. In addition, I would like to know if the Sun Ray probe and the XS upper shaft will fit the E-trac without modification.
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Explorer to E-trac???
- Thread starter jimz49
- Start date
Sun Ray probe should fit, as should the shaft. I love the E-Trac. Depending on the hunting you do, I might recommend one over the other. I think for a relic hunter, the Explorer is the better machine. I think if you are mainly a coinshooter, the E-Trac is right for you. I have literally doubled my silver finds with the E-Trac. I can call out what pennies vs. memorials, silver coins and denominations before I dig them, which is just crazy. The E-Trac suits my hunting style to a tee. So, was it worth it for me? Yes, no question.
The stock Pro coil is great! Separates very well - I see no need for a small coil using the Pro. The ID is amazing on the E-Trac, and it's hot on silver. I am hitting sites I hunted many times with my Fisher CZs and getting silver. It takes a bit to learn the numbers, I hunt with the numbers, not the smartfind (with everything good on the 12 line with E-T, it doesn't mean much, unlike the Explorer). Just get the E-Trac, switch in the Sunray you have and go for it. I have one caveat, and that is that I am not finding much I missed with the Explorer. If I went over a site well with the Exp and the Pro coil, there's very little the E-Trac will get. The E-Trac interface is better though, so easier to use, digging less junk = more time spent digging good coins.
The people who switch from the Explorer to the E-TRAC and don't like it are people who have become really good with the Explorer in AM mode. The AM ferrous on the E-TRAC doesn't have as high of a resolution, IMO, as the Explorer. So if you are used to hunting in AM. ferrous tones, you will have to change your ways with the E-TRAC. The E-TRAC need's a bit of disc in order to perform it's best seperation in iron and trash.
They straightened the conductive line in the E-TRAC so that it does not go from the bottom left toward the upper right, it goes straight up and down. This helps the conductive number stay steady but many of the ferrous numbers are bunched around 12. That said, once you learn it and know a little about the site you are on, then E-TRAC will produce for you because of the reliable conductive number, (no more crosshairs that jump from upper left to lower right). I never use the crossharis with the E-TRAC. The numeric display is all I need. Also, if you use the smartscreen, the numbers are displayed above it for reference.
I used the SE for over a year and it was a struggle for me the whole time. The last few months I began to grasp it by going to AM ferrous BUT. the E-TRAC was easy and productive from day one. I love it!!
I have hunted alongside an F75 and, that day, dug a carved bullet, (from a park that has been hunted hard since the 60s), that the F75 said was trash. It was at about 7" in bad ground. Yesterday I stopped at Springlake park in Atlanta. It is a small pocket park right at the corner of Howell Mill Rd and Collier Rd and a "hot spot" on the Confederate side of the battle of Peachtree Creek, of course it was "hunted out" years ago. I dug a fired minnie, (one of those mushroomed bullets), a 1943 war nickel, a 1953 silver dime, and an artillary frag.
The E-TRAC with the new "Pro Coil" is really a great machine but it is NOT an Explorer, it is different. If you realize that and don't try to make it be an Explorer, you will like it.
It is my favorite machine. I also have a Tejon with a 575 coil that I sometimes use but it has nothing on the ET. A SovereignGT that I think is better on jewelery and especially rings. A T2 that I just bought a small 4.75 coil for and it is a good machine, but again, has nothing on the ET. I keep the ET and the T2 in my truck all the time.
Julien
They straightened the conductive line in the E-TRAC so that it does not go from the bottom left toward the upper right, it goes straight up and down. This helps the conductive number stay steady but many of the ferrous numbers are bunched around 12. That said, once you learn it and know a little about the site you are on, then E-TRAC will produce for you because of the reliable conductive number, (no more crosshairs that jump from upper left to lower right). I never use the crossharis with the E-TRAC. The numeric display is all I need. Also, if you use the smartscreen, the numbers are displayed above it for reference.
I used the SE for over a year and it was a struggle for me the whole time. The last few months I began to grasp it by going to AM ferrous BUT. the E-TRAC was easy and productive from day one. I love it!!
I have hunted alongside an F75 and, that day, dug a carved bullet, (from a park that has been hunted hard since the 60s), that the F75 said was trash. It was at about 7" in bad ground. Yesterday I stopped at Springlake park in Atlanta. It is a small pocket park right at the corner of Howell Mill Rd and Collier Rd and a "hot spot" on the Confederate side of the battle of Peachtree Creek, of course it was "hunted out" years ago. I dug a fired minnie, (one of those mushroomed bullets), a 1943 war nickel, a 1953 silver dime, and an artillary frag.
The E-TRAC with the new "Pro Coil" is really a great machine but it is NOT an Explorer, it is different. If you realize that and don't try to make it be an Explorer, you will like it.
It is my favorite machine. I also have a Tejon with a 575 coil that I sometimes use but it has nothing on the ET. A SovereignGT that I think is better on jewelery and especially rings. A T2 that I just bought a small 4.75 coil for and it is a good machine, but again, has nothing on the ET. I keep the ET and the T2 in my truck all the time.
Julien
I was a long time avocate of the F75. I had one with the sunray probe. I also had a Tesoro Tiger shark for the beach. One of the best things i liked about going to a minlab was that the coil wire is inside the shaft. Your always grabing the shaft with that muddy/dirty glove to check holes etc. What a PTA it was to clean at the end of the day. How many times have you forget to turn the switch back to the coil? Me? Many times. Not to mention the cable getting caught in the brush.
Take a hard look at the Garrett Pro pointer. One of the best things i ever bought.
Take a hard look at the Garrett Pro pointer. One of the best things i ever bought.
Larry--IndianaHVAC
New member
If you are mainly a coin hunter then E-trac all the way! A small coil in extreme trash is just a killer!
LilloEsquilo
New member
All I can say is I have no regrets. Since getting the E-Trac, my good finds have gone way up, searching in places I've already searched with other machines, and that others have searched as well. The E-Trac is the real deal. The Explorer is also a great machine, but I have both, and when I go out the Explorer sits at home and the E-Trac goes and most of the time finds great stuff. Just today I dug my first Large Cent with it, from 1847, that someone shot with a rifle. I live in Southern Wisconsin so obviously you aren't going to find too many Large Cents around here, but the E-Trac sniffed it out.
Just my 2 cents. Your milage may vary as they say. If you are comfortable with your Explorer and getting good finds with it, you don't have to get an E-Trac, but I don't have any regrets.
Just my 2 cents. Your milage may vary as they say. If you are comfortable with your Explorer and getting good finds with it, you don't have to get an E-Trac, but I don't have any regrets.
M.L. Hinds
Member
n/t
Silverbackbob
Active member
on that answer a little?? I've seen it written that if you are more a relic hunter, then get an SE Pro, but if you are mainly hunting for coins, get an etrac. Could you give me the reasons why this statement is true?? Thanks in advance and HH. Bob.
It is good in parks, lawns, fields, and woods. I almost always use the stock "pro coil". The seperation is incredible, it works well in trash and in clean ground. In trash the stock coil will still give you a peep of a good target. It is especially good in old "hunted out" parks for relics and coins but you have to know how to catch those iffy signals because all the good, clean signals are already dug. The ET will make finds in those places that most other machines will miss, at least that has been my experience. I am impressed with the new Whites V-3 too though.
J
J