Taking the (deeper) plunge???

[CZconnoisseur]

Hey guys I regularly read about all the wonderful finds on this Etrac and also the CTX 3030 forum - there's no doubt that both of these machines will find seep silver but I want to ask anyone who is proficient on both.

I currently use a Deus with the 11" coil and do very well with it around town. The ONLY thing it lacks is the depth on 8" and deeper coins, it's hard to distinguish deep copper and silver items from among EMI and some trash signals (maybe this is lack of exp. on my part, I've come to dig more iffy signals and most of the time, it pays off!)

Some sites I've visited I can't believe the LACK of signals initially, but then I change programs and start getting faint signals which many times are keepers under several inches of fill dirt or sod. I've seen an Etrac and CTX hit a 10" coin and deeper and want to be consistently pulling targets from these depths. There are several sites around here that I'd like to test this theory on, and either of the two machines I think will get me that depth and signal clarity I need.

So which machine would you prefer and why? I don't care about weight, balance, aesthetics...I want it to get the job done. I hunt in rain, cold, wind, heat - whatever is going on at the time within reason, and I've never had any water issues with the Deus - it's a very tough and resilient machine vs Mother Nature.

Thank you!

 

[therover]

n/t

 

[ironsight]

Are you asking opinions on whether to buy an eTRAC or CTX?

 

[CZconnoisseur]

Are you asking opinions on whether to buy an eTRAC or CTX?

Which machine is more consistent on deeper targets? I've heard that the CTX sounds "better" on silver coins - something about a warble-tone that makes it easier to ID coins...any truth to this?

 

[Surfinsafari]

I have hunted with guys that use the CTX and some of them admit the CTX is not much better than the Etrac. The E is hard to improve on, even though it has its cons, it constantly amazes me. I have the means to own a CTX and I stay with the Etrac because it gets the job done. I bought a 2 month old Etrac from a guy who "upgraded" to a CTX. I have stayed in touch with him and the last time we spoke he told me he was getting another Etrac because the CTX was far too gadgetty for him. I thought my Safari was awesome til I bought an Etrac and I see no reason to upgrade on a constantly reliable machine....my 2cents.

 

[BryanM362]

I have hunted with guys that use the CTX and some of them admit the CTX is not much better than the Etrac. The E is hard to improve on, even though it has its cons, it constantly amazes me. I have the means to own a CTX and I stay with the Etrac because it gets the job done. I bought a 2 month old Etrac from a guy who "upgraded" to a CTX. I have stayed in touch with him and the last time we spoke he told me he was getting another Etrac because the CTX was far too gadgetty for him. I thought my Safari was awesome til I bought an Etrac and I see no reason to upgrade on a constantly reliable machine....my 2cents.

That is almost exactly my situation too. Bought my e-trac a few months old from a guy that upgraded to a CTX. He has told me several times he should have stayed with the e-trac. Don't think the CTX is worth the extra $1,000.

 

[ChicagoJohn]

I have hunted with guys that use the CTX and some of them admit the CTX is not much better than the Etrac. The E is hard to improve on, even though it has its cons, it constantly amazes me. I have the means to own a CTX and I stay with the Etrac because it gets the job done. I bought a 2 month old Etrac from a guy who "upgraded" to a CTX. I have stayed in touch with him and the last time we spoke he told me he was getting another Etrac because the CTX was far too gadgetty for him. I thought my Safari was awesome til I bought an Etrac and I see no reason to upgrade on a constantly reliable machine....my 2cents.

I see. I used Safari but I digging more because it tell me something down there but not enough about what is it like Nickel or pull-tabs. I sold it and got E-Trac. Love it and less digging! More nickel than pull-tabs for me. If any metal detector that able to find old coin as deep as 12 to 14 inch then I might buy it! I found coin as deep as 8 inch but cant find at 10 inch or deeper. I bet lot of older coins out there at least 10 inch or deeper in many places where I live.

 

[sprchng]

Are you asking opinions on whether to buy an eTRAC or CTX?

Which machine is more consistent on deeper targets? I've heard that the CTX sounds "better" on silver coins - something about a warble-tone that makes it easier to ID coins...any truth to this?

I think you have this backwards. The etrac has better tones than the CTX just like the Explorer is reputed to sound better than the etrac. I haven't used an Explorer but the etrac is the one with the voice compared to the CTX. The CTX gives a better TID at depth and has two target ID capabilities the etrac doesn't and faster recovery.

I would base my decision on value and dependabilty over performance as that's where the greatest differences lie.
Etrac

 

[bik-il]

I definitely prefer the etrac silver warble over the CTX tones.
The added versatility of the CTX adjustments make it tough to beat though.
Having said that there is very little I have found with either machine that I would not have found with the other.
The CTX makes the dig/no dig decision a bit easier however due to the aforementioned adjustability.

 

[Southwind]

It's a matter of getting used to the CTX sounds over the E-Trac. This idea that "the E-Trac has better silver warble that the CTX" Is not new. THe same was said about the Explorer SE over the E-Trac and the Explorer II over the Explorer SE. It is different, better is a matter of experience with that machine. What is better, is the ID accuracy on the CTX over any of the prior models. Yes at first I thought I liked the tones of the E-Trac over the CTX but I had been using the E-Trac for 5 years. Now I find the CTX far better than the E-Trac. Is it $1,000 better? That is a call hard to make. The CTX has a lot of advantages over the E-Trac but raw depth isn't really one of them. It does find more keepers the E-Trac missed but it is more about the faster processor, ability to see multiple targets under the coil at the same time, handing trash and bad ground better, definitely feels better after 3 hours of swinging.

I've bought and sold several CTX's over the last few years but I own one once again. Every time It has gone against our E-Tracs and come out the more accurate of the two every time! In fact this weekend my buddy got a iffy with his E-Trac and had me check it. The CTX said it was junk. It was a deep rusted nail.