OK ALL YOU EXPLORER OWNERS

[beep stick]

if somebody asked me that on the street i would have to say he was smoking E-CRACK.... cause i ain't giving up my S.E for nothin or anybody...you couldn't even pry it out of my DEAD hand cause i fully intend to be buried with my explorer

 

[Dan-Pa.]

You have learned the previous Explorers and the E-trac is just a new animal and is probably the reason for your post, learn the E-trac and then get back to us as the new Kid on the block(E-trac) has impressed many...

 

[BlackX]

I'd trade just to see if I like the E-Trac any better and go back if I didn't.

I would like to take it to this one area I found the Fugio and a number of other colonials at to see if I can find anything the SE has missed there. I'm sure there has to be at least one more coin there.

 

[C&RHunter]

My answer to your question is YES I would trade. I've got an Ex XS (Had another XS for a back up, but sold it after getting the Etrac) and an Etrac....I never use the XS anymore...I really like the XS, but I like the Etrac much more where I've been hunting...I never have figured out what all the fuss was ..etrac versus Explorers???? They look similar but aren't the same machine at all, I've found silver, more than once, with the Etrac in areas that I had pounded with the XS. Maybe I would have eventually found them with the XS..don't know. This post will turn into a "Ford vs Chevy" which is best...It's all in the users personal evaluation of the particular machine and what application there are using it for...coins, relics, beach, etc.. Actually I've liked all of the 7 machines I've owned over the last 30 years, but right now, the Etrac is my favorite. Good Hunting to all, regardless of the Brand or model of detector you're using.

 

[Ray-Mo.]

I would hate to be so stuck on any one machine as to not be open minded enough to at least try a different one,Ray.
PS. think I will even check out the Vision and see what all the uproar is about.

 

[Ray-Mo.]

I dug way more nails with the Se ,rarely dig a nail with the E-Trac and when I do I have a good idea it is junk but dig just in case,Ray
PS 20 E-Trac groupies. You need to get a grip and stop spouting off with the dimwit statements.We all know you are not happy with your E-Trac and that is fine,but that is no reason to belittle all the E-Trac owners.If you are so great with the SE why don't you post some finds and quit trashing the E-Trac and the users of said machine.You do still go coin hunting?

 

[Shambler]

Lets hear a couple of things that are bad about your eTrac, Ray......

I can tell you the good and the bad about all of my detectors - but some folks would rather defend the one they spent the most money on with strange verocity. I hold several people secretly accountable on these forum for leading me into $1000 purchases because of an unwillingness to tell the WHOLE truth.

 

[dreamweaver43]

Found with the etrac in about 3 hours. The site obviously has been hunted, most likely with VLF since there was very little with respect to clad or modern silver/wheats in the to 6 inches.

Boys, it's like fishing. "90% of the fish are caught by 10% of the fisherman. And they guys that know what they're doing, are catching fish."

Both machines are 28BBS technology, they aren't not very different as far as hardware. I'm pretty good the on the explorer series, and I didn't have trouble at first learning the etrac. Or let me restate that, unlearning some of the explorer tendencies. But.......the etrac is way advanced in the amount of information provided to the user compared to the explorer. I don't know about "sheer detecting depth"? I can hit coins at 9 inches with the etrac, and I'm good with that.

If they had sites like this 15 years ago, when they first released the explorer I would love to read the treads. Today we have books, websites, etc. to learn that machine, and it still is considered a "long learning curve". Etrac has been out less than a year. It's a different machine.

I've got maybe 15 hours on the etrac, and I'm really starting to like it........

I'd trade ya.......

Brad

 

[Ray-Mo.]

I have never posted or said the E-Trac is perfect only that it is the best I have used for the type of coin hunting I do.I have put hundreds of hours on it to reach this conclusion.
As for it's negative points ,NOT ANY!!.

Just kidding! The screen still glares to much like the Explorers in brite sunlight.It is hard on batteries compared to some top end machines.It is not as deep as some machines at some sites and conditions.The ferous side sucks in heavy iron unlike the Explorers but the conductive side is great so that is what I use.

It is still heavy, say compared to a F75 but it does not lock on to rusty deep crown caps like a pitbull either.The tonal quality is not quite as good to my ears as the Explorers the Ex 11 being my all time favourite in that area.

I praise a machine on the merits of it's performance for me and the finds I have in my pouch at the end of the day.I never go out of my way to bash any machine just because it did not work for me and try to convince everyone in the world that because of my lack of success the machine is no good and a big waste of money.

Using that reasoning none of the machines I have ever used in the last 35 years were very good because I have never found a gold coin or rare artifact or big diamond and gold ring like some other hunters have with different machines.

I only post about what for and how I use the E-Trac and that is for old coins in the turf.And for that in many of the hard hit for over the last 30 years sites I hunt it excells. I have a the old coins it has located for me to prove it.I was a diehard Fisher man for a lot of years but now I have a machine that works better for me

.Am I in love with the E-Trac,not at all.The first machine I try that out performs it with the finds to back it up will be my next favourite,Ray.

PS. A machine is not inferior just because a person uses the same machine for years and gets very good with it and then tries a new or different machine with little success.We all know experience is the best teacher and applies to metal detecting as well as most areas of life.

 

[Rick(ND)]

Myself I would take the E-Trac and run before he changed his mind, but this is me and how understand the E-Trac even though I have used all the Explorers ever made from the time they were made. I see the E-Trac running smoother for me and almost thought it was working when I first tried it as it ran so quiet compare to the Explorers. Now first thing I thought it wasnt as sensitive as my Explorers were, but found it to be actually better on good items. I also found I was picking coins out of area where I had pounded with the Explorer and getting less iron with the E-Trac, but I was only able to use it for about 20 hours before freeze up. The Explorers are a fine detector and as we see some great finds with them posted many times and I know some swear by them as they know them well like JamesND does. For me the E-Trac has worked good for me and when I get to know it even better is when I want to do some actual test with real finds in the ground where it counts. I have a friend that did some test in his test garden and felt the SE Pro seem to see some of his dimes better, but in actual hunts he has seen the E-Trac give a better signal on the deep targets, but the SE Pro seen them to, but not as good of a signal or ID.
I will also say I have to run the E-Trac quite a bit different than I did my Explorers to work for me..

Like I say the E Trac and the Explorers are all the top of the line detectors and all do well once you get to know it and how everyone interprets the signals so the Explorers are for some while the E-Trac for others while some dont like either one as it takes time and patience for some to get to know it to feel comfortable with it and have the confidence in either one.

 

[Derrelld]

Let us know how the pro coil works for you ....once you get it!.............I LOVE IT !!!!!....LIGHT DEEP AND SEPARATES.

Hey Mascard,
I have both the Pro coil,,, and the 10x12 SEF, i would have to say,, i dig a lot less nails with the sef! I cant stand to pass up a iffy jumpy signal,, When i had the pro coil.. I dug a nail every ten feet... Yes it is light,, And it does separate well,, and i have dug extremely deep coins with it. But the SEF does it for me!! I was in a field with a guy a couple weeks ago,, He got a deep jumpy signal.. Asked me to come and check it,,, I ran the coil across it, And NOTHING,, Just knoll!! He was like "YOU ARE NOT GETTING THAT"??? like he knew for sure it was a coin,,, i recheck and rechecked again,,, The only way i got a signal was to lower my iron mask very thin! and still, barely a peep... I was kinda worried thinking i may have not found a coin ,,, He opened the plug,,, dug down about 8 inches,, and pulled a big fat juicy nail,,, I had had big relief when i saw that lol I have had the SEF on for about 4 months,, and i have only switched back to the pro coil once.. Hunted for a half hour,,, and but the SEF back on!! Im not putting down or dissing the Pro at all,... I thought it was a GOD,, when i first received it! Just the SEF works better for me in my dirt!!! Just my thoughts for what it's worth! I saw where you asked someone what they thought of it!! You cant go wrong with either one for finding those deep coins
Derrell

 

[digitrich]

Well Ray, just for that, I hereby elect you president of those twenty groupies

PS: Actually, I must confess, I kind of already had you in mind. No need for the extra credit work

You asked:..........."You do still go coin hunting?"

Almost every day, just not with a machine as magical as yours, which is why I asked if we could meet up two weeks ago under your "sensitivity post on the Etrac forum" while I was in Missouri. You however, did not reply, so I guess I am stuck comparing my Etrac with my SE's instead of with your apparently working well Etrac which probably would have been a little more helpful. Thanks, by the way for the absolute lack of a reply;... no............... I am too busy,........... thanks anyway, .............I'd rather not,........nothing. If my "Etrac bashing" offended you soooo much you could have put a definitive end to it right there, but you didn't, so now I wonder if your 8 and 10 inch deep coins, in dense trash, in areas POUNDED previously with your SE, with you setting your ETrac in plus 6 manual sensitivity with no falsing, maybe something other than you suggest. Guess we will never know. Oh the intrigue, the drama, the bull$#!T. Thanks for the help though, MR. President. So you no longer have a right to bust my 00's otherwise I'll have you impeached and you will just be another title-less coin finder like the rest of us.

 

[digitrich]

If it weren't for your, Jim Pugh's and Marshals posts; the Etrac sales in the states probably would have flopped. My own dealer, who also was a friend, our relationship has pretty much ended due to this whole Etrac thing as apparently he felt my posted observations of my Etrac machines "cost him sales". If I were you, I would call MineLab and ask them for a GPX 5000 as you probably are the chief positive contributor to the Etracs popularity here in the states. You should cash in on that, ......no joke. I am not saying that you are making stuff up or anything like that, but I know as a fact my machine is flawed in countless ways, most are by design and the quicker people realize that the quicker Mine Lab will fix them or produce a new machine without such flaws. If the rumors are, true and Mine Lab truly sold Whites their FBS technology, then they are fools. If Whites figures out how to use that FBS technology with a faster processor that doesn't destroy the TID or tones and allows all metal hunting with out remapping. You, I ,and everyone on this forum will be hunting with a Whites Explorer next year, mark my words.

 

[digitrich]

You can use the Etrac in ferrous sounds, just disc out 1-30 to 1-40 because small iron falses there, EVEN in all metal, it still happens, which is my big beef. Seems easier to use in 2 or 4 tone. In ferrous sounds you will get the same tone from everything that registers on the ferrous 12 line (pretty much.......... the entire universe), not a big deal in a farm field but a deal killer in a park, which is why most hunt in conduct and disc out low iron (high ferrous numbers) but you still have to disc out the high iron falses 1-30 to 1-40, the whole thing was kind of ill thought out, given the fact ML has said they could have mapped out those ID's anywhere on the screen and ferrous content and conduct values are a Mine Lab made up scale. So why they chose to allow small iron to land in the high right side of the screen is confusing to me, or maybe they didn't realize that could be a problem. If their field testers were pattern hunters and just disced that out and told them it wasn't a problem, then that's what the engineers would have done. You know, the old adage: "Don't fix what isn't broken" Hope that helps.

 

[digitrich]

If you are considering the Etrac based on Your Quote above:........... "but want the rachet pinpointing so I can use that detector on nice lawns once in a while without digging the snot out of the yard"; You will be extremely disappointed in the Etrac for that purpose.

I can pin point better with my Se. I cannot tell the difference between large or small targets or their depth with the Etrac by tone, I can with my SE. Because I am generally hunting with heavier disc on with the Etrac, having to disc out from1-30 to 1-40 for small iron, even while hunting in all metal (or attempting to), AND while in pinpoint mode the machine is in all metal, in all metal the machine (Etrac) locks onto the strongest signal, just like the SE. The ratchet pinpointing on the Etrac is not that much of an improvement over the SE, in fact, I think it is the opposite, as I frequently am way farther off center with my Etrac than SE. And my SR Probe seems to work better with my SE. As for the fact that the Etrac screen updates in pinpoint mode, it still does so way slow, real time, I don't think so. In a nut shell, if pinpointing is your desired advantage, I would buy an SE and a SR Probe, which combined would be cheaper and more effective at pinpointing than an Etrac. The SE has VCO variable pitch pinpointing that is as accurate if not more accurate then the Etrac's sizing pinpoint mode. As for the normal (ratcheting) pinpoint mode of the Etrac, I use the sizing mode (non ratcheting) not liking the shrinking (disappearing) effect of the normal (ratcheting) mode. In clean ground it may be an advantage to use the normal ratcheting mode on the Etrac, but then I could do that with my SE manually just by hitting the pinpoint button while being just off center of the target.
The Etrac is kind of a love<>hate machine. Just seems the more people loved their previous Explorer and used it in all metal, the less advantage they will probably get from the ETrac.

I have and still do have a harder time pinpointing with accuracy with the Etrac compared to my SE's, even after more than a few hundred hours of Etrac use, but I could be stupid.

 

[Ray-Mo.]

First of all you should have sent me a PM and I would have noticed it.I paid little attention to the sen. post as it was more of a joke than a serious post.And also sorry about using the term dimwit.

Second I have no interest in compensation for posting my enthusiasm for a great machine that has helped me find many old coins.

Third of all I do not care who makes the next best coin machine,If it works better for me that is what I will be using.

Fourth if you get a chance to get down this way again send me a PM and I will be happy to go detecting with you.

Fifth if I had as many years on the Explorers as you and some others I might not like the E-Trac as well as I do.

Sixth if the weather ever gets nice I will be hunting a lot more and criticizing posts a lot less.

Seventh That is all for now I am going to go lurk on the Vision forum ,Ray.

 

[digitrich]

"Sixth if the weather ever gets nice I will be hunting a lot more and criticizing posts a lot less."

You and me both, it's fricking snowing here again

Just thought by now I would have gotten better results with this machine and although I can honestly say I have found a few coins with this machine that I don't think I could have found with my SE, they are all shallow and in very dense trash, and far and few between. I tried an experiment the other day, where I lowered my sensitivity to manual 7 on the SE and I actually found targets, shallow in dense trash that I missed running the same machine over the same ground in higher sensitivity. Learn something new every day, at least trying to.

 

[Ray-Mo.]

Another thing that makes a huge difference in either machine is the pro coil.I saw your opinion of the 10 x12 and had the exact same opinion and posted such right after they came out and got my hands slapped.I am a little leary of the 8x10 now because of the glowing reports are amost to good but will probably try one and see.I think you get my drift,Ray.
PS if they are that good they would sure be nice to have.

 

[king-ghidorah]

"Sixth if the weather ever gets nice I will be hunting a lot more and criticizing posts a lot less."

You and me both, it's fricking snowing here again

J:

It was about 60

 

[Shambler]

I guess we know how this guy would vote:

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?44,933599