Extra detector dilemma....need opinions!

[Ex-Sox]

Okay, I have the Etrac and have decided that I am liking it more than my SE for several personal reasons so I have thought about selling or trading it. What do you think about the F75 and if you have owned both, how does it compare to the SE? Am I messing up.......should I keep the SE? I was thinking that the F75 is lighter but I have had a newer, albeit cheaper, Fisher machine and found it, in my personal opinion, rather cheaply constructed. I have also owned an Xterra 70 and did like that machine as it was light and fast also. Just fishing for opinions. Thanks

 

[Ray-Mo.]

I put a few hundred hours on the F75 when it first came out and it is a great machine but different from Etrac and Explorers and would compliment either very well.As a matter of fact I still have 2 of them and a SE with pro coil but use the Etrac almost all the time at present,Ray.
PS the F75 is light and a pleasure to swing.

 

[EZrider]

BMW or Top fuel dragster? The 75 is like the top fuel, all or none. Nothing would be better if covering a big field "open road" I put alot of swing time on one before going to an E-Trac. I'm willing to say that any Minelab machine is more stable. My theroy is because of a prosseser based machine vs circut. The 75 is instant on recovery, as fast as you can swing it. In order to get the most out of the 75 you really have to run it wide open. I was limited to the places i could use my 75 due to EMI interferance also. A couple of hours of R2D2 screaming in my ear is all i could take, it was mind numbing. Nothing beats the discrim or tones of a Minlab "BMW in mid town traffic" Now i can slow down and take in the sights, people watch while i swing.

 

[christopher-ohio]

I see some US and UK Th'ers going back to an F-75 after an E-Trac and wondering why. I know the F-75 is deep but also rather jumpy, erratic, and EMI sensitive at times too. Ray, I guess I wonder after using the F-75 for all those hours why you still are mainly using the E-Trac but I have to say that your finds speak for themself

 

[Steve from Ohio]

I've owned a Minelab Explorer, I now have an E-trac and I also own an F-75.

I use the E-trac for:
Beaches
really trashy areas like parks. Old houses. Old home sites.
When I want to go the deepest I can possible go in heavy iron infested areas
If I want to find silver and gold coins really deep
For areas that the F-75 cannot......like around power lines and other detectors


I use the F-75 for:
Open fields and beaches but not near wet sand. Ball diamonds, football fields.
areas of little or no trash
when I want to cover a lot of ground fast
for clads
to clean up clads before I hit the area with the E-trac

I don't see the Fisher as being cheaply constructed. It is light and that is where I believe most people feel that the machine lacks in construction. I totally disagree that the F-75 is cheaply made. Far from it. I have not had one iota of a problem with the F-75 in the year I have had it. Fastest processor now being used by any machine.

The E-trac is like a Mercedes ...very refined and smooth. Fun to drive but a bit ostentatious. The E-trac really does attract attention. Very refined and it does what it does better than any other machine.

The F-75 is like a Z-71 Corvette....very fast, very stable at high speed but not really meant for every day driving. It can be used for every day driving but it is not practical. Too much traffic and the Corvette is overkill. Same with the F-75. It sometimes is just too powerful. You have to think what to do to make it work as best it can.

I would say that I use the E-trac about 60% of the time and the F-75 about 40% of the time for my land hunting. Every day is different though. Some days the F-75 is all I want to use and vice versa.

If I am in the water, I use the Excalibur .... of course!

I love my E-trac and I love my F-75. Each has its uses and each excels at what it does. They are tools each with different uses. I would not be without either.

 

[Ex-Sox]

Thanks fellas. Oh and I was speaking of a different Fisher machine that I purchased kind of lacking a quality feel, not the F75. I appreciate your opinions.

 

[Ray-Mo.]

I think the Etrac seperates a little better and is better at hitting coins on edge plus the ID gives more info.I have found you can swing the Etrac quite fast as well on open ground with good results.I have some places I like to hit wide open and cover a lot of ground and the F75 was great for that and much faster than the Explorers but the Etrac has taken most of that advantage away,Ray.

 

[Ex-Sox]

Thanks Ray!

 

[Rick(ND)]

I have the E-Trac, the F-75 and the Sovereign GT and feel they are all very good detectors. The F-75 to me is a bit noisier and loves rusty bottle caps more and find running the small coil with 2 tones instead of the multi tones has made a great improvement and deadly in some of the trashy sites i have hit over my Explorer SE I had before. The E-Trac seem like it too will be as good or better then the F-75 in trash plus better IDing. The F-75 has the advantage on weight and how long the battery last, but the E-Trac and has the advantage on depth and ID while the Sovereign GT is the one I dig lot less trash and more coins with, so it is one I like for those areas you only want to dig when you know it is a good target. I used the GT in a area I hit with the F-75 first and got a sterling silver ID bracelet at 11 inches and a few new pennies, went back with the GT and got a IH penny, 6 wheaties and a barber dime plus 1 V Nickle which shocked me the F-75 didnt see or maybe I didnt get the coil over them, so I dont know for sure if the signals were not diggable readings or I missed them, but so many you wonder.
I have been shocked at how many coins I have been finding in holes with the E-Trac that has nails and other trash in with the coins.

 

[LATiger]

Here's another idea for you. I have had several other brands of detectors including White's DFX, Garrett GTI 2500, White's TDI, and now an Etrac. I recently sold everything except the Etrac. Never owned a Fisher, but the reason for selling all would apply to it as well. I decided to buy another Etrac. Now I have two. I have four coils all of which are interchangeable. Previously, I had a couple of coils for each brand of detector, none of which were interchangeable between machines. Now I have two sets of batteries I can charge up and use in either machine. When a family member or friend wants to join me on a detecting outing, I just give them the other Etrac to use. It is far easier to instruct them on its use when I have an identical unit in my hands, rather than trying to instruct them on a unit of differing brand. Also, if one unit were to go down, I have an identical unit to fall back on. At first thought you might think it is an excessively expensive option, however, the other brand top of the line detectors aren't much less expensive. Furthermore, the ability to use interchangeable accessories such as coils and battery packs offsets some of the cost. This is what I've been telling myself anyway.

 

[Ex-Sox]

Thanks Tiger, I have kind of been thinking along the same lines but more about keeping the SE instead of getting another Etrac. Same batteries, coils, lower rods, etc. etc.................... Plus I am pretty familiar with the SE in case my Etrac has to be shipped for repair or something.. The only hesitation is that the two are just different enough to screw me up!!

 

[EZrider]

Like some here i went from a few detectors to now having one. The Safari seems simple enough and uses most of the same parts. For travel and loaner ive been looking at the Detecter pro line "simple beep and dig" Between the two i'm leaning to the DP because i travel alot.

 

[M.L. Hinds]

You already have the best detector on the market!!! If I were you I would save your money.. Now some would tell you to get some different coils but I know for a fact the stock pro coil will pick coins out even with other metal objects under the coil!! Just listen for the sudden tone changes. If your looking for the mother of detectors you have it!! Just my opinion.. Save for the next Minelab!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Take Care, M.L. Hinds