Notka Impact vs Makro Racer? - Photos Posted On Nokta Forum, Wow

[Southwind]

Whoa! Now personal opinion does not make it fact. I will agree US detectors may not be widely used over across the pond, but make no mistake the vast majority of choice here in the states are US detectors. As I posted I will be the first to admit my foreign E-Trac has been a deep coin killer, but I have found more with my US made Garretts, Whites and Tesoros than I will ever with either my E-Trac or Deus. And that is a fact!

Don't mistake a lot of US detectorists using foreign machine as an indicator that they are better. My E-Trac, unless I can find another site needing its special abilities, has pretty much wore out its usefulness. I would never use it as a basic park hunter as long as I got a good old Garrett or Whites. The only reason I like using my Deus over my AT Pro is the Deus is so light and I just can't swing a heavy detector for hours on end any longer.

Here's a "fact" for you. I'll bet you lunch there are far more US made detectors being used in the US than foreign by choice. Even by those who can use whatever they choose. In my opinion there are really only two foreign detectors really popular in the US. That being the Minelab and XP. I will agree US detector manufacturers have fallen behind, be it planned or not, but I wouldn't count them out just yet. Detector technology is always evolving.

Just a note: How many old foreign detectors do you see still in use? I'm talking 20 year old and more. Built to last. I've seen 40 year old Garretts and Whites detectors that still work LOL.

 

[squirrel1]

Metal detecting is a very time consuming hobby. In the last 15 years, for the number of holes dug vs a silver/old copper in the bottom of the holes---Minelabs have ruled the roost!!!!

Just look at this forum under the different detectors. Or is it only Minelab users are the only ones to post old copper and silver--NOT.

As far as White's and their flagships----seems the conversation is mostly about how to get the detector to hunt--run properly...Etrac and CTX users seem to be hunting not always wondering about settings and are posting the coins----in large numbers too.....

 

[Southwind]

Well I can't speak for the rest but as for myself it all went down like this.

For years I used Garretts/Whites/Tesoros and came home with hands full of silver. More silver than I could ever hope to find now. Of course that was a time when there was a lot of virgin sites. Having hammered our local park yet knowing there was more I used the unique ability of the E-Trac to pull more keepers. Not near as many as I have in the past, but with the little time I have now it worked best. My AT Pro hit the gold in tot lots, parks and schools just as well as my Deus, but the Deus is a pleasure to swing and that has become an important issue for me. The right tool for the right job. I would be just as happy with a Whites V3i and my AT Pro you can count on that, I'd just need to change my hunting style a bit.

My personal opinion on why we see so many people posting silver finds say in the E-Trac forum is for the same reason I used it. It did the job of hitting those really deep silver better AND cheaper than what I had. THe E-Trac has a very unique ability to pull silvers from hard hit parks but it is a limited process. For me it was good for about 5 seasons before becoming a paperweight. Now I could take a V3i and pull just as many keepers from any site I have to hunt now. If the AT Pro were as light as the Deus I'd have no use for the Deus either. You probably have noticed the number of posts of hands full of silver has gone way down in the E-Trac forums. It's because like me they have served the purpose and people sell them to the next guy that hasn't burned out all their sites with them.

Again I say it's all about the right tool for the right job and trust me when I say that the right tool isn't just limited to foreign detectors. A lot of Americans are buying foreign detectors to finish off those sites where the other machines have quite producing. Doesn't mean one is any better than the other except in the job at hand. Like myself most avid hunters have hammered their sites with their good old US detectors and are simply looking for something different to pull out a few more keepers. Even a good old entry level detector can pull out some keepers in sites that have been hit by the very best of the best.

I don't mean to leave Fisher and the others out I just haven't used them much.

 

[squirrel1]

Well let's take the park scenario. Parks I would say have been hunted hard starting in what maybe the early 1970s. Then they were hunted in the 1980s. And then came the 1990s and explorers hit the scene. What happened??? The explorer users started mopping up, then the etrac came along only to add to the mop op operations.

The deeper coins were there all the while in the 1970s and 1980s--actually they were shallower then than the 1990s and 2000s if you think about it.

And I would even bet on a lot of the deeper coins discovered by the minelabs----if we would have took some of the older supposedly deep seekers and swept the coins----we would have heard them-------but not know they were indeed deep copper/silver..

A person has to keep the big picture in mind.

A minelab provides better TID and tone on average on the deeper coins----add mineral and this advantage is even higher.

And yes I would think folks sites with minelabs are drying up---hence the Xp Deus with its light weight and uncanny abiites in trash/iron have gotten some great following as of late.

As far as VLFs and mineral goes when hunting deeper silver/copper coins---Minelabs and Blisstools are the deepest. With Blisstool the deepest.

The CZ series have pulled their fair share of deeper coins in the milder mineralized soil areas as well.

I think we should all be careful-----ground mineralization is one of the biggest factors to consider when choosing a coin hunter;;;;if one is after the oldies and goodies at the deeper depths.

Sure I can take a White's V3i and dig some deep/deeper coins. But don't expect the see the same great TID you will on the Minelabs most of the time. Meaning one is having to make more educated guesses/digging on the whim. If this is one's cup of tea--more power to them. But some time will be wasted when doing this.

I can think of some of the odd instances I had with the different detectors----but these were isolated occurances not the norm. A person needs to realize.

All detectors will find metal. Some just make it easier and are more proficient in the long run vs others depending on what they are seeking metal wise.

I like using different detectors and have no favorites---I try and realize each one's weakness and key on their strongpoints----one doesn't want to take a knife to a gun fight..

 

[Low-Boy/LCPM]

It is like the car industry the US lost it years ago they were making big cars that loved gas but long story short after how many years did it take the US to catch up? They are in the game now and have been but they let it go and that is what is happening with detectors..

 

[Southwind]

I'll agree squirrel the E-Trac, in my opinion, holds the trophy when it comes to a quick out of the box detector that can tell the user when a deep copper or silver is below the coil. Thus the popularity. Although in most cases we find it is a short lived love. I see the E-Trac as more a specialized detector for me. I'd never use it in a basic hunt I've got my ATP for that job and it does just as well and lighter to boot. The E-Trac, in my opinion, does one thing and only one thing better than the others and that is being able to identify a deep copper or silver right out of the box. Other than that I Have no use for it as I have others that do the job better. Thi9s is why we don't see a flood of gold being posted in the E-Trac forum. Just mainly silver and copper. The Deus's claim to fame, in my experience, is the weight. After swinging a Deus it's hard to go back to anything else LOL. It has better than average depth on coins and a killer on gold but then so does the ATP. I do think the Deus kicks the ATP's butt in heavy iron, but over here in the states that isn't as important as across the pond.

Most of us old US hunters were raised on a detector designed for US soil. For this reason I prefer a detector with a very stable predictable nature and one with a freaking threshold LOL. I was taught that the key to depth is stability and I believe it to this day. When you have a solid stable detector with a nice solid threshold you can kick some butt in any conditions here in the US. Problem is not many meet that criteria anymore. I think White's V3i and maybe some of the newer Garret's might I don't know never used one. Being able to distinguish even the slightest change in threshold is key. In a iron rich environment that is a real feat to accomplish. White's has done it pretty well. Most the other detectors I've tried either snap crackle and pop constantly or null/go silent. I don't like that. Again, the ONLY reason I like the Deus over my ATP for general hunting is the weight. The ONLY reason I liked the E-Trac is our city park. Any other hunting give me the ATP or a V3i.

Oh don't get me started on cars LOL. When I go to a car collectors show here in the US I see no foreign cars except in the Rice Rocket class. Unfortunately we have speed limits here of mostly 65 so having a car that will do 300 MPH isn't very practical. I think your opinion of "catching up" is just that, a matter of opinion. Again I say look at what people collect, even over seas, and I think you'll find more American made cars than you think.

I do draw the line on buying nothing but American cars.