My Etrac is a POS

[CDDZ]

Hello all
I have had my Etrac for about 2 weeks, used it for 40 hours. I have been metal detecting for about 7 Years, last detector was a Bounty Hunter. I will try my best to explain the problems. It chatters(like turning it on in the house) constantly in most places I hunt, I have tried master reset, factory reset, noise canceled several times. The only way I get it to quiet down is to turn the sens all the way down to 4 or 5 or not move the coil. I expect it to false on iron a bit, but all the time is a bit excessive. I have found a few coins... nothing over 4 inches deep. I have tried removing all metal from my person I am about ready to throw the darn thing away. I have used it at several locations, all different surroundings. At my second location I tried today it seemed to settle down.... for a bit. Then on the way out of the park it acted up again, reset etc etc. Went back to the section where it was mostly quiet, better but still a chirp every foot or so. The auto sens was running around 25(A+3) when it was actually running quiet. If I even think of running it in man sens its a no go. I am thinking it is not auto ground balancing. I know I am rambling on, but I think I wasted my money on this one. Minelab is no help, they never return my calls for support. Local dealers(within 3 hours of me) seem unwilling to assist me because I did not purchase it from them. I think I have tried everything and I am ready to give up on it and ship it back to where I got it from, I surely do not want to wait a month for Minelab to "fix" it. The money that I spent on this unit it should work out of the box. Maybe someone in my area(central Ohio) could help me out to be sure that it is a problem with the coil/box and not with me. If anyone has some input on these issues, please let me know. Thanks.

 

[Xmarks]

I hope you get your problem fixed. I used my etrac for about a month and was so frustrated I was ready to send mine back as well.I used an ace 250 before the etrac and it was a HUGE learning curve. I am glad I made the upgrade now though. It took a lot longer to learn my detector than I thought but, I am finely at a understanding level. I still have a ways to go but am making some nice finds while I learn.

What program are you running? All metal mode will drive you insane. Did you make a test garden? If your detector is in fact broke, dont waste time sending it back. Get the problem fixed as soon as you can. The best of luck to you.

 

[CDDZ]

I am Using the stock coin settings with a Sabich(spelling) coin discrimination pattern. I have found coins, but with the sens so low to quiet it down kinda makes me wonder what I am missing

 

[space_weaseal]

I had one for about a mo and sold it. The tones on it just drove me crazy and i did not like the pinpointing on it.
I am sure it works great for some but it just was not a good match for me.

 

[CDDZ]

The tones do not bother me, its the chirps/chatter nulling everywhere I go that frustrates me. :veryangry:

 

[DirtDean]

Sounds like there is definitely a problem either with your coil or the machine itself...I'm assuming your connections are tight, coil cover is clean, etc...Have you tried manually selecting the noise cancel channel? When you noise cancel, are you sure there are no targets under the coil?(check the ground in all metal, find a clean spot then noise cancel) Auto sens +3 running at 25 seems normal enough...hope you get it sorted.

 

[CDDZ]

I am sure there are no targets under the coil, I have held it more than 20 inches from the ground while doing the noise cancel. The cover is one of the first things I checked. For about 45 mins this evening I was thinking great auto sens of 25(A+3) it finally worked its way out.. what ever it may have been, Not the case. Honestly, at times I feel I can't trust what the detector is telling me.

 

[NebTrac]

I would say this is definitly A-Typical. I agree with DirtDean and you are right it shouldn't do this. Sounds like you just got one that's got a "kink". I called Minelab one morning just to confirm if they had my warranties or not. I called about 7:30 am or so their time. A lady answered and told me she was the only one there that early in the morning (I assume she just likes going to work early...I don't know). Anyway she helped me out. So you might try early in the morning. Hope you get it fixed and get back to detecting.

By the way. Do you know anyone with an E-Trac you can swap coils out with and see if that fixes it? I think there was a post on this a week or so back from someone that had similar problems at the beach and the coil was bad...though I think it was a different makers coil. Good Luck!!!!

NebTrac

 

[CDDZ]

I think at this point a coil check would be the next thing to try out. Called a Local dealer about a week ago, he seemed unwilling because I did not buy it from him:veryangry:. I could probably wait until the SEF are available again or some other after market coil. At least that way if it is a bad coil I could still use the detector while the other coil is being replaced. Just so frustrating.

 

[mike - in]

Do you know anyone that uses an Explorer that you could try their coil for even a few minutes? Doesn't matter what coil just so you can get another one on your machine to test it. Sure sounds like a coil problem to me. Don't give up on the Etrac. If you give up now you will never realize what you are missing. Well worth any wait IMO. Best detector I have used in 30 years and I've used almost all.

 

[EZrider]

Sounds like the coil is bad.

 

[Ray-Mo.]

Sounds like you are use to using a silent threshold machine.Try it in auto sens. coins mode in 2 or 4 tone conductive and perhaps even lower the threshold till just goes silent.The nulling is normal on a powerful machine in disc mode when trash is being disced out.However the E-Trac will hit good targets in the middle of a null and seperate the good from the bad extremely well,Ray

 

[EZrider]

Sounds just like what happend when i bought/used a new SEF coil on mine. I would see if somone cloe by has a coil you can try.

 

[Nick A]

I am in Central Ohio and can help. Also many of us Central Ohio E-Trac users are on the Buckeye Treasure Hunter site, you may want to check it out. I'm sure too that Mike Haer in Lancaster would be willing to help you too. Also the Central Ohio club is having a casual hunt at Goodale on Sunday and a few of us will be there as well. http://www.ohiodetecting.com/calendar-and-meetings.html

 

[Southwind]

Your "problem" sounds just like the description a buddy of mine used to describe what was going on with his E-Trac. Turned out the E-Trac was just fine the problem was the E-Trac was a lot different than what he was used to.

He was swing way too fast which was giving all kinds of peeps pops chirps and nulls. As you know the E-Trac will sound of on all kinds of stuff if moved too fast. I hunt an area where my DFX is virtually dead quiet even with discrimination wide open, yet my E-Trac makes sounds all over the place on targets my DFX doesn't respond to. Slowing his swing Waaaaay down he realized all those peeps pops chirps and nulls were from real targets.

 

[NiagracountyNY]

Sounds like the machine may have a problem ,Id send it back..Good Luck..HH

 

[EladSwerdna]

I switched from an ACE250 to an E-Trac, and I've never had better success. Using the factory settings didn't work for me, so I had to mess with the settings for a good week of hunting till I finally found my sweet spot ; despite what some people may say, the learning curve is not that bad. All it takes is reading, research, patience and practice.

I have found that the E-Trac is VERY SENSITIVE, and in areas with high iron content, even with high discrim/masking it still chirps here and there. This is why you have to scan the ground with your coil slowly, frequently make use of your quick mask, and learn what your machine is telling you.

I wish I could check out your machine for myself to see what's going on with it... the only advice I can give, as others have said, is to find another local minelab user and get their input and possibly try some coil swapping.

 

[hardrock]

In reading your problems, I agree that you must slow down, jumping from what you had to now is a real challenge. First question have you tried to use anything in mode/program other than the factory preset? Stay with the factory sets for awhile first then advance as you do. Do not try downloads until you are real comfortable with the unit.
Get a little garden set up and practice,practice , etc. again SLOW down. The idea to switch loops is good too and once you find if it is that send er back in if necessary. You can adjust from 4 tones to just one if you want. Get Andy Sabish' book and that will help you out also. Just some thoughts on your problem. Take care and good luck.
Hardrock

 

[xGregx]

Is this happening from just one site or anywhere? also are you noice canceling?

 

[geodawn]

It sounds like a possible coil issue. Take off the scuff on that coil and see if the epoxy is cracked or damaged. If you meet up with another minelab user in your area, try out one of their coils that is known to be stable.

I've had pretty much all the higher end detectors and have never had one as stable as the etrac. Then again, I bought mine from space weasle who posted earlier and on the same machine, I'm in love with it and he didn't care for it. Different strokes, different folks.