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Nokta Impact vs Etac
- Thread starter Sid in NC
- Start date
shelton7522
New member
You can't compare it. Less iron masking and few times faster and deep enough.
instead of generalizing, especially when I know a lot of people on these forums have no familiarization with any of the FBS series.
But don't buy anything based on looks alone. Tell us WHY you are considering buying the Impact? What type of hunting do you do the most? What sort of environments will you mainly be using it in?
Of them all, the Explorer II was my favorite, but by that I simply mean it was my favorite of the FBS series. I didn't use them all that often or keep them around very long because their very poor balance was not good on my very bad back. Also, their main strong point was for hunting higher-conductive silver coins in low-target sites, but they were/are not all that good for lower-conductive targets, and they are also not a very good pick for the types of sites I hunt the majority of the time.
I principally Coin Hunted from early '65 through the '70s and until mid-'83 and only occasionally wandered out relic Hunting old places in rural settings. But we had some marked improvement in detector technology and design in July of '83 that made a significant change in my driving habits because I was off to the wilds of parts unknown Relic Hunting away from all the urban sprawl. Oh, I still get in my share of Coin Hunting, but the bulk of my search time is Relic hunting, and most of those older sites are quite littered with iron trash. Often in very dense amounts of nails, rusty tin and other ferrous debris.
There have been a good number of makes and models that provided me exceptional performance in those settings, and never were any of the FBS models ranking up there with the better units for dense iron contaminated sites. They have their place, and where I hunt isn't one of them.
That said, every device listed in my Regular-Use Detector Team that travel with me perform exceptionally well in my types of sites that are quite challenging due to building rubble, dense brush, and the almost ever-present ferrous trash I have to contend with. The Impact, using the right coil for the site environments, provides me all the exceptional performance I need. In short, I know what the FBS models haven't done or can't do for me, while I have faith in what my carry-arsenal can excel at.
What it is about the E-Trac that you like? Maybe the better question is this: What are the shortcomings of the E-Trac that you feel need to be addressed, and with that stated do you feel the Nokta Impact might benefit you with more favorable performance where the E-Trac suffers?
Question for you: Your Signature shows the following list of detectors. Minelab Etrac, Tekenetic T2 SE, White Eagle 2 SL, Teknetic 8500B, Garrett ADS Groundhog
Are these the models you have owned in the past and have progressed up to the E-Trac? Or do you still have all these keepsakes? There's only one out of that bunch I would care to own, and have in recent years, to fill my primary search needs, if it had a 5" coil mounted, but otherwise none of your listing would be a benefit to me nowadays. But it is a good thing to have two or three or more detectors in your arsenal that can complement each other, so maybe the Impact is one more you could add to your listing? It is a versatile detector and easy to learn and use.
Monte
The Impact's appearance also appeals to me, but better still is how well it feels in the hand. How nicely it balances, the search coil assortment, the impressive array of adjustment functions/features that are all very simple to manipulate on-the-fly. The reliable performance the Impact provides those of us whop have learned it and use it for the hunting needs we have.Sid in NC said:
But don't buy anything based on looks alone. Tell us WHY you are considering buying the Impact? What type of hunting do you do the most? What sort of environments will you mainly be using it in?
Well, le t me start with this response: I don't and never have cared for the Minelab E-Trac. I didn't like the change to a more abrupt grip angle, and a more abrupt display angle compared to the FBS models before it. I have six or seven friends who have been using a Minelab FBS model since 2001, and when the E-Trac came out, all of them bought one as what they felt was an 'upgrade' from their Explorer II, Explorer SE and SE Pro. Within 4-6 weeks, only one kept his, but the rest of them dumped the E-Trac quickly and went back to an Explorer II. I have owned an SE Pro, 1 Explorer XS and 5 Explorer II's.Sid in NC said:
Of them all, the Explorer II was my favorite, but by that I simply mean it was my favorite of the FBS series. I didn't use them all that often or keep them around very long because their very poor balance was not good on my very bad back. Also, their main strong point was for hunting higher-conductive silver coins in low-target sites, but they were/are not all that good for lower-conductive targets, and they are also not a very good pick for the types of sites I hunt the majority of the time.
I principally Coin Hunted from early '65 through the '70s and until mid-'83 and only occasionally wandered out relic Hunting old places in rural settings. But we had some marked improvement in detector technology and design in July of '83 that made a significant change in my driving habits because I was off to the wilds of parts unknown Relic Hunting away from all the urban sprawl. Oh, I still get in my share of Coin Hunting, but the bulk of my search time is Relic hunting, and most of those older sites are quite littered with iron trash. Often in very dense amounts of nails, rusty tin and other ferrous debris.
There have been a good number of makes and models that provided me exceptional performance in those settings, and never were any of the FBS models ranking up there with the better units for dense iron contaminated sites. They have their place, and where I hunt isn't one of them.
That said, every device listed in my Regular-Use Detector Team that travel with me perform exceptionally well in my types of sites that are quite challenging due to building rubble, dense brush, and the almost ever-present ferrous trash I have to contend with. The Impact, using the right coil for the site environments, provides me all the exceptional performance I need. In short, I know what the FBS models haven't done or can't do for me, while I have faith in what my carry-arsenal can excel at.
Okay, so what types of hunting do you do? Do you encounter very dense, closely-spaced ferrous debris at most sites, or are the places you hunt mainly grassy urban settings?Sid in NC said:
What it is about the E-Trac that you like? Maybe the better question is this: What are the shortcomings of the E-Trac that you feel need to be addressed, and with that stated do you feel the Nokta Impact might benefit you with more favorable performance where the E-Trac suffers?
The Impact has a lot of 'advantages' over much of the competition out there. You just need to be specific as to what application you wonder about as to how the Impact might handle it.Sid in NC said:
Question for you: Your Signature shows the following list of detectors. Minelab Etrac, Tekenetic T2 SE, White Eagle 2 SL, Teknetic 8500B, Garrett ADS Groundhog
Are these the models you have owned in the past and have progressed up to the E-Trac? Or do you still have all these keepsakes? There's only one out of that bunch I would care to own, and have in recent years, to fill my primary search needs, if it had a 5" coil mounted, but otherwise none of your listing would be a benefit to me nowadays. But it is a good thing to have two or three or more detectors in your arsenal that can complement each other, so maybe the Impact is one more you could add to your listing? It is a versatile detector and easy to learn and use.
Monte
Sid, you are very fortunate to get feedback from Monte. His inputs are well-thought-out. And come from many years experience.
Yes the E-trac is a good machine for cherry-picking silver from old-town turf. But no, it's not keen on seeing in/through iron-ridden ruins/ghost-townsy sites.
I just had my Explorer II at a ghost town site and struggled to get perhaps 7 or 8 conductive targets in an hour. Then went back to my truck and fetched my Tesoro Banito, and quickly netted 10 targets in 45 min. IN THE EXACT SAME ZONES. But, conversely, the story would have been different if I was comparing the two machines in deep-turf scenario.
So your question needs to be refined. Perhaps you simply need various machines for various jobs
Yes the E-trac is a good machine for cherry-picking silver from old-town turf. But no, it's not keen on seeing in/through iron-ridden ruins/ghost-townsy sites.
I just had my Explorer II at a ghost town site and struggled to get perhaps 7 or 8 conductive targets in an hour. Then went back to my truck and fetched my Tesoro Banito, and quickly netted 10 targets in 45 min. IN THE EXACT SAME ZONES. But, conversely, the story would have been different if I was comparing the two machines in deep-turf scenario.
So your question needs to be refined. Perhaps you simply need various machines for various jobs
