I'm not a wise guy BUT!

[dfg4240]

I have had a ton of detectors as you can see including the Xterra 70 and the 705 plus the safari which I really liked=One of my favorites and just recently returned an explorer Se which was sold to me as an SE Pro. The more I get into it buying detectors the ETrac starts to pop up now and I have read in the forums that many who bought the Etrac have returned to the explorer II or the SE Pro.
Is this because it is difficult to learn or not enough time given to learn it.
I have seen the comparison videos of the other machines in head to head comparisons with the Etrac and always thought the Etrac won -sometimes very close and some not even close but I always thought it was an individual thing with these videos.thinking of getting at least an Se Pro but should I bypass the pro and go for the grand slam Etrac.
I am retired and have a lot of time to read and try out.
David

 

[Ray-Mo.]

The number of people who went from the Explorer to the E-Trac and never returned vastly out number those who went back to the Explorers. The E-Trac is so much smoother running than the Explorers with better ergonomics plus faster processor.
Most of those who went back to the Explorers were old dog Explorer gurus who did not want to learn the E-Trac as a new and different machine and tried to make it into an Explorer III which it is not.The learning curve on the E-Trac is much shorter/easier than the Explorers as well.

 

[destructo]

David, I have used explorer xs, explorer 2, explorer se, explorer sepro and etrac twice and still using etrac. all the explorers are good, may give etrac slight edge on speed but they can all get the job done. explorer and etrac are much better than the xterra 70. but price and weight of 70 is nice. i have an xterra 70 and whites prizm v as backups but do all detecting with etrac to learn the machine as much as i can. D.

 

[88junior]

I debated between the Etrac and Explorer and went with the Etrac the only other Minelab I had used was a Xterra-50 which I didn't like!! The Etrac is awesome and I am glad I choose it, it has a learning curve which I am still working on. Andy Sabisch's book and the great folks here have been very helpful at getting me over the learners hump!! And I can't think of any other detector I'd rather have than this Etrac.

 

[Damar2003]

I went from an Omega 8000 to an E-trac and never looked back. The e-trac is an amazing machine. I found 6 times the silver in the first 2 months compared to all of last year.

 

[samuel_schumaker]

Was the se you just recently purchased an se with slimline coil or was it an se with pro coil that just didnt say pro on the detector? I have seen several posts u made about this but i was just curious.

 

[BHNugget]

I just got an E-Trac a couple weeks ago and coming from brand x for a number of years, I found the E-Trac very user friendly.

 

[88junior]

I think he ended up buying a SE PRO I just saw a post he made on the Explorer forum, myself I looked at the simplicity of the Etrac as far as id numbers compared to the Explorer and it was a no brainer
for me which one would be easier to understand and went with my Etrac.

 

[claytargethntr]

I started with an explorer II and was very happy with it. For other reasons I moved to the etrac. Finds fell way off and I found the transition a bit hard. BUT with time put in finds improved and now I am very happy with the etrac.

Claytargethntr

 

[Goes4ever]

I went from the x70 to the etrac, I was already used to multi tone sounds and I feel there was virtually no learning curve at all and I took to the etrac like a duck to water. I feel someone can take the etrac out of the box, change absolutely no settings at all and go out and find deep coins, yes it is that easy and yes it is that good!

Day one when I got my etrac, I took it to a house I pounded with the x70 and the FIRST coin I dug with the etrac was a 8 inch deep barber dime with a nail in the hole with it, right then and there I knew it was an easy to use and very effective machine

 

[utahshovelhead]

I will say this, there are differences between the machines and some of them may be in your favor depending on the site, the way your brain works and the types of targets you hunt. The problem for me becomes one of being " really good" at more than one machine at a time. I stick with the E trac now as it has the bells and whistles I want and I can manipulate it the way I want to hunt and it tends to be faster in its ability to process the info (speed is good) . BUT, I have seen with some of the Ex Xs and the SE pro that they can react differently than the E trac in some situations. I'm not positive but believe that whatever one you become really good at you will have found the targets that we were seeing this on but not if you were used to one and not the other detector.

Thin gold in black sand and or unrealized soil is a good example. The XS we used and the SE can see the target easier than the E trac, never the less they all found the target but the sound was much better on the XS and perked your Brian up right away. The numbers were not so steady. I am also certain that you would have to try this type of test in EVERY hunt site and on the target type you most want, So for me its not worth it to worry about the differences. I feel If I get good at the machine I am using Then my brain will do the work.

Good luck,
SHovelhead