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I'd like to hear some comparisons of the Whites V3 and the Minlab E-trac

No, it will not get deleted unless it gets nasty. We just don't promote comparisons because it is an endless list of this and that and it all boils down to the user, their capabilities and their ground. I am proficient with both and they each have their strong points and weaknesses. If you hunt primarily parks for the deep coins, I would give the edge to the E-Trac, all other kinds of hunting I would recommend the V3. More and more people are more concerned with the company behind the products than the detectors.
 
Larry (IL) said:
No, it will not get deleted unless it gets nasty. We just don't promote comparisons because it is an endless list of this and that and it all boils down to the user and their ground. I am proficient with both and they each have their strong points and weaknesses. If you hunt primarily parks for the deep coins, I would give the edge to the E-Trac, all other kinds of hunting I would recommend the V3. More and more people are more concerned with the company behind the products than the detectors.


I am interested in both. I never hunt on the Beach. I am a coin shooter. Ballfields, Parks, Schools. I live in Middle NC. Very red clay soil. In your hones opinion which would suit me better, Beale.
 
I or no one else can tell you (with certainly) what would be best for you in your ground and level of expertise. It is a personal choice, both would get the job done, I would try each one if you can and see what you like best. If you have a White's M6, MXT, DFX now, the coils are interchangeable with the V3/V3i. Both are very advanced, top of the line detectors, each with a long learning curve to master, but both have turn on and go hunting programs. If it matters, one is made in the USA, the other, Malaysia. Customer service is night and day, read the forums to see what users say. Like I said earlier, if deep coin hunting is your primary mode of hunting, the Minelab's have a slight advantage (in my ground anyway), but the V3 is not far behind. I used to use the Minelab SE Pro for deep coin hunting and my DFX for all other hunting, but now the V3 serves my needs well for both and I sold my SE Pro.
 
You are appreciated my friend !!!
 
I use an E-Trac, and my hunting friend uses a V3. We have both had really good finds; they are both amazing machines(if used properly).

If I could afford it I would own them both!
 
Larry, I see more finds these days on the V3 forum, but you gotta talk them into posting everything they find. I hunted with a V3 user for a while and he found things all the time that he never posted on either big forum (maybe the DFX only forum) I love the idea of the V3 and the idea of buying here in the U.S., but when this discussion come up face to face with other hunters the first that is talked about are the finds on each forum (and other "places" on the web). I'm a minelab believer but I owned a Fisher first. The only thing that got me trying the Minelab brand was the amazing abundance of DAILY finds. Just a thought.
 
You can hear opinions on both sides and wonder just who's being biased. The "unbiased" opinion would be to look in the DFX and V3 forums, then look in the Etrac, Sovereign, and Explorer forums. The big three Minelabs will clean the clock of any machine currently on the market when it comes to depth and unmasking ability, not to mention hunting in heavy minerals or iron. I'm a Whites fan but they have really gone off the deep end with bells and whistles when they should spent all that extra research making a machine that will get deeper and unmask better. What I'd really like to see would be a "Flex 3". On this machine rather than having three preset frequencies let the user select what they are. Going for deep copper and silver? Then set it at say 1.5, 3, and 5khz. Going for gold? Then how about using 12, 14, and maybe 18 or 22khz. Also, don't load the machine down with so much software that it's out of phase with it's self in both VDI and audio. Now THAT'S A Whites I'd own, and I don't need most of the other useless features that will rarely if ever be used.

For a mid priced unit how about a low frequency 3 to 6khz machine and a decent coil stock instead of a monster 12" concentric. Give it a 12" Double D or contract with Kellyco to make a 10x12 or 10x14 or so for it. I'd rather see a 15x12 SEF on it but that's probably too big for selling to the masses. I need assignable hi-tones and a good VDI along the lines of the M6/MXT. Now you've got yourself a cheap (say $500 to $600) machine that is custom built to hunt and hunt DEEP for silver and copper, meaning old coins. I'm really let down that Whites seems to have left the low frequency machines they cut their teeth on and gone to the higher M6/MXT one. Great for gold but not giving you max depth for old coins or in heavy minerals, which low frequencies tend to penetrate better. Problem is the old Whites units don't have anybody making a larger DD coil for them in say the 12 to 14" size range, just the 9.5" concentric. Oh sure, there is the 12" Hot Shot concentric but I couldn't get two brand new ones to work on my QXT. I bet there are more of the older Whites out there (QXT, 6000 Pro XL, XLT, and so on) using the same low frequency (and thus coils) than any other models on the market. That makes it seem a PRIME market for somebody to start making bigger 12 to 14" coils for those units in a DD. Now only will they get deep, maybe as deep or deeper than the Minelabs in some situatioins (low ground minerals), but the DD will let them handle trash and minerals a bit better than the 9.5" did. I'd love to see a 15x12 or at least the 12x10 SEF made for these units. It would bring new life back to the old Whites line and at least get them near the ballpark when it comes to some of the deepest machines on the market today....That is, at least closer than any of the Whites are now.
 
:rofl: If someone bases their decision on what detector to buy based on how many finds are posted......they might not be smart enough to use a V......:laugh: I say that with tongue in cheek too, for some, it is just funny, and for others there is a spark of truth. The V is the most advanced and complicated detector on the market and it is not for everybody.

I look for posting finds, especially the better finds to diminish across the board IMHO, it is getting too easy for "Big Brother" to gather information on just about anyone in a matter of minutes and whether you have anything to hide or not............that is scarry.
 
If your analogy is true, DFX hunters don't find anything, V3 users find very little and Minelab users finds almost everything, and you claim the largest (by far) and one of the oldest metal detector manufactures in the world, has gone off the deep end! Hello out there.......anybody home?
 
I want a detector that makes deep finds in difficult conditions - simple.

Post your finds V3 users. Finds sell detectors.
 
Critterhunter said:
You can hear opinions on both sides and wonder just who's being biased. The "unbiased" opinion would be to look in the DFX and V3 forums, then look in the Etrac, Sovereign, and Explorer forums.

Meant to say check all those forums and skim them for quality and quantity of finds. That's a good unbiased way to find out just what these machines are doing. I think you'll be shocked at how many questions are being asked in certain forums to try to get a machine to perform better, while in other forums the vast amount of talk is more about what people have found with their machines. One thing I will say is the Sovereign crowd seems to be more laid back in the forums. Maybe it's this kind of "low profile" machine that attracts those types of people. I've talked with plenty on the phone or via PMs that think this machine is deeper/better in many respects than anything they've ever used, yet they don't seem to want to make such statements in public or brag about their finds. Maybe they want to keep this machine a secret. That's alright, because I do enough talking for everybody. :lmfao:
 
:rofl: Aw c'mon now Critterhunter you ain't heard me get wound up yet!! :biggrin: "I ain't gonna get started on this"---I ain't gonna get started on this"!! :tongue: Boy, I'm sure glad I ain't "brand loyal"--I'd be a wreck--maybe even worse than I am now!---I'm not directing that statement towards ANYBODY---just telling it to MYSELF! :heh: --------Del
 
You know what's funny I took a peak at the V3 forum just now and not one find is posted on page one... just questions about how the F to use it. :confused:

The E-Trac forum on the other hand has lots of finds posts on page one. :minelab:

Not bashing White's - just making an observation.
 
That is true, but if you think that V3 users don't find the goodies because we don't post finds, you are very mistaken. I have encouraged users to post their finds, they just prefer not to, and that is fine, the forum is for educating V3 users and if they choose to post finds, that is fine too. I just read about a post of a single IH find on the ETrac forum........I and many others have passed on that kind of post hundreds of times. Rich made a very interesting story of his adventure and his all day hunt to find an IH made for great reading, that is the way some of the forums roll..........others not.
 
Haha my good friend uses a V3 and believe me I know the machine is fully capable of finding the goodies. We hunt side by side and sometimes examine eachothers target, which makes for some very interesting hunts.

I wish I had hands on experience using the V3 so I could compare it to the E-Trac with more that just 'team spirit' and with less bias.

Like I said I am not for or against either, like I said before if I could own both machines I would.
 
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