First post and I hate you guys.

[Cootie]

Been lurking for a while and then joined. Did a little MDing some 20+ years ago and decided to get back into the hobby. I already had my old 1280X Aquanaught. I put some batteries in it and was good to go. Trouble is all the ponds in my area are abnormally high due to a very rainy spring and summer. Just couldn't get to the depth I wanted to work with out going over my head. So I went out and bought an GTAx 550 at the local dealer. I wanted a machine that was easy to use, turn on and go and find some coins. Did I find coins? You bet I did. Even though I live in an area that has numerous salt water beaches I prefer the woods and ponds. I like to work around the ponds that have limited access from dirt roads with no houses around. Walk the paths and look for old campsites. Been out five times and found just over 150 coins with only two being silver (mercury dimes) and one silver medallion. I was surprised that my part time memory allowed me to recall what little I learned about MDing 20+ years ago but it's starting to come back.
Now if I could just loosen my wallet a little and order a Minelab.

I posted the above in September on another site then started lurking here. Got interested in the Explorer SE Pro and downloaded the manual. Read the manual and got familiar with the SE Pro. When it came time to pull the trigger and order the Pro I threw caution to the wind and ordered the E-Trac and the Andy Sabisch book. I hate you guys, see what you made me do!. The E-Trac will be here in two more days but I'm already peeking out the window for the UPS truck.
Thanks for a great forum. More questions to come.


__________________

 

[gibsondan]

Can't wait to hear about your adventures with the E-trac.

 

[Jason in Enid]

Congrats on your purchase, you won't regret it.

 

[bigjohn070]

Thats how you pull the trigger
Great job. You will not regret it.

HH
BIG JOHN

 

[Crash620]

at my house and it said Cootie on it... Guess you won't have to worry about all that digging and such....

 

[NiagracountyNY]

You made a good choice! If you went with the SE you would have the E-Trac lurking in your mind always If you like the hobby get the very best machine right from the start is what i suggest.Look forward to all your finds.Keep us posted..HH

 

[D&P-OR]

Cootie----You may hate all of us guys right now for "forceing" you to get the Etrac ----BUT--upon staying with the Etrac & learning it--you're going to "luv us" in just a short while for makeing you do this thing!! ----Kiddin aside--you got one of the VERY BEST detectors going, pardner.---------Del

 

[Cootie]

Thanks gentlemen, I'm sure I'll have more questions in the future. I've been hunting old abandoned campsites and coming up with plenty of clad and an occasional merc. I know the silver is there and hope the E-Trac will prove I'm right.
I'm having it shipped to my workplace on wednesday so if it's a nice day I'll leave work and go check out an 200 year old farm I just got permission to do.

 

[Jaybird]

I'm with you, Cootie. I have agonized over what to buy (V3 vrs. E-trac) after surfing through the forums and asking all the questions for some time now. I have been in this hobby for over 30 years. I have owned Whites, Garretts, Compass, and yes even a Minelab XS.My latest is my DFX of 2 years and my backup a Tesoro Vaquero. Recently, I purchased the book by Andy Sabisch on the Explorer and E-trac on E**y. When it came it was autographed by Andy---WOW. I had no idea I had purchased it from the man himself. Anyway, I then Sold my Tesoro and last week ordered an E-trac on another forum. It will be here any day now. It sounds like our paths have taken the same courses somewhat.
Good luck Cootie, with your new machine! Looks like we'll be watching this forum too.

 

[FooserPaul]

It won't be long and his new tolpic will be, "I LOVE YOU GUYS and I WAS STUPID TO WAIT SO LONG" ;-P

I recently upgraded from the Minelab X-Terra 70 to the E-Trac...

I've had 7 Hunts with my Etrac...
1 18K Wedding Ring
4 Sterling Silver Rings
1 1835 Cornet Largie
1 1800 Draped Bust Large Cent
41 Wheat Pennies
9 Silver:
1947 Washington Quarter
1946 Rosie
1943 Mercury
1938 MErcury
1941 Mercury
1945D Jefferson Nickle
1962 Roosevelt
1946 Roosevelt
1919 Mercury

I still could enjoy my X-Terra, but the E-Trac... I LUVetMAAAAAAN! I feel confident that every out will yield something good, silver, and the jewelry has been flowing steady as well... I had 5 rings all year and have 5 in the last 3 weeks now....

I"m happy happy happy with the E-Trac and I'm sure you will be as well...

Paul

 

[E-Trac-Ohio]

Hey Cootie, After reading all the E-Trac posts in this forum I decided to sell my Safari - I bought it brand new and only had it for a month. A tough thing for me to do - I really like the Safari - but I always had the thought in the back of my mind ... Am I missing any good stuff by not having the best - an E-Trac ?

I got my ET about two months ago and it was hands down - the smartest thing I did this year ! After spending 70-80 hrs. in the field with the ET I'm really getting tuned into what it's telling me. The coins are popping out of the ground like crazy now! We got permission to hunt a local - sand bottom swim club that was just drained last month.
I dug ( 51 ) newer coins ( about 80% silver ) and some lower dollar jewelry in five hours yesterday.

Good luck with your new ET !

HH --- Mark

 

[RonnieAZ]

Howdy guys i'm a new e-trac owner also I was pretty bummed out with my new e-trac when I first got it I thought it was junk LOL silly me after a couple weeks of learning I LOVE it it was hard for me to learn after using such a simple detector like the sovereign all the information the e-trac was giving me was overwhelming I thought jesus this thing sucks its telling me theres good targets everywhere I was getting very flustrated, well as you all already know the e-trac was working beautifuly it was my processor "my brain" that wasnt working up to speed yet for me the learning curve seemed to be a little longer than some 2 weeks until I felt comfortable with what I was hearing, long story short its an awesome detector i'm glad I bought it and took the time to learn it, btw I found 2 silver dimes my last 2 days, any how hello everyone good luck out there and I'm happy to be a fello e-tracer - RonnieAZ

 

[idig4]

The hobby is addictive for sure! Welcome and happy hunting!

 

[Cootie]

Late in the afternoon the UPS truck delivered the E-Trac to my workplace. Nasty day weather wise with heavy overcast and drizzle. Spent the remainder of the afternoon with the manual and Andy Sabisch's book. Will go to work tomorrow morning put on some coffee and read a little more. Then it's off to a local campground to take the E-Trac for a spin. Was going to go to an old farm but a friend of mine wants to go there with me and he can't go until Sunday.

 

[E-Trac-Ohio]

Andy's book is a fantastic - the more time I spend with the E-Trac - the more I understand what the book is telling me to do.
I keep re reading the factory manual and Andy's book over and over and after two months things are really falling into place.
Someone in this forum said that it takes approx. ( 100 hrs. ) to learn the full potential of the E-Trac.
After spending ( 75 - 80 hrs.) in the field with mine - I would have to agree with this statement 100% !

HH --- Mark

 

[Cootie]

Well I was going to go into a long description about my first hunt with the E-Trac but that would take forever. Thanksgiving day it was. Went to a small patch of ground at a local campground. It's a small 50 by 50 foot area surrounded by six campsites. Very trashy. I've done this place four times and thought I had it cleaned out. Powered up the E-trac. did the noise cancel. Started to swing the coil and the first thing I noticed is the threshold dropped out. Now how cool is that ! I didn't have to listen to all that trash. I'm so happy I'm ready to did every target. Very first target produced a small lapel pin with a picture of the Mayflower on it at about three inch's deep. The pin is about the size of my little fingernail. I had to use the loupe to see what it was. I'm a little superstitious so I get to thinking it's thanksgiving day and my first find is a pin with the Mayflower on it that I missed with my other detector. This is a good omen. To make a long story short I spent about an hour there and got the usual clad some pennies and some trash. Had fun listening to all the new weeps and other noises. Coolest thing was I was just getting ready to leave and was moving low and slow back to my truck. I was in a complete null when I heard a little high pitched weep. I kept moving the coil around in a null low and slow.It took a while to make it happen again but it did and I dug it up. Wow, a dime at 8 inches in the trash. My only regret is I didn't get an E-Trac earlier.
Do I love you guys? Well.... maybe just a little.

 

[terrywl]

You did not say what the dime was? Did a gopher bury a clad?

 

[Cootie]

You did not say what the dime was? Did a gopher bury a clad?

Sorry about that. It was a dime. Just a clad dime. But I picked up this beauty yesterday in the same area at about six inches deep. The clad was in the pine grove where the digging is easy.The 42 merc was on the edge of a camp site in packed sand and gravel.