V3i vs Etrac

[Texashunter]

Hello All,

I wanted to push out a question to anyone who might be able to help me out. I have been hunting for about 25 years now and have mostly used Whites detectors which I feel have been pretty successful for me. I currently hunt with a V3i with a 6x10 coil. However, my dad recently got an Etrac and has been using it over the past 6 months or so. I have to say, he has gotten pretty deadly with it. He and I have been hunting a park lately and he seems to always walk away with silver and I don't. Recently, he found a Walking LIberty half in an area of the park I have been over a many times. I hate to think of all the "halves" I may have walked over in my 25 years of hunting!!! My question is has anyone on this forum switched from a V3i to an Etrac and how has your hunting changed??? Would you recommend making this change? All the information you can send me would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You,

Texashunter

 

[Scortch]

I switched to the dark side from my v3i. I still use my v3i but the ET is a silver monster, much better for coin shooting.
It seems to me that the V is better at gold, I have found small flake gold at 6 inches with not much problem. Unfortunately it is equally as good at finding lead, aluminum and tin. I've picked up size 4 shot at 3 inches or better on a regular basis. I suppose that would be a plus for relic hunting, dunno don't do much of that in this neck of the woods. Both good machines just a bit different.
In any case I can say with certainty that the E is better at silver than the V.

 

[JamesBondaka]

I agree with the above..

Both are good....because of the different freqs and subtle differences of each detector...your going to get varied results in what you find. You really cant go wrong with either detector...if you practice and LEARN... when you hunt. I have both and it will stay that way until I figure out that only 1 will do the job.

 

[hershey1]

My son has had a V-3 since they came out and had it upgraded to the V-3i and he really likes it. But like the person said before me the E-Trac seems to find more deep coins. But my son mostly hunts civil war relics and does very well with his V-3i so the only time he hunts coins is when he and I go. As far as comparing we don't but in my opinion the E-Trac seems easier to use. I'm no master by any means but I would like to meet the person that has mastered the V. The color screen can be seen any time of the day but I prefer the silver warble of the Minelab. Sounds like you can use either when your Dad and you go out hunting so you are a winner either way. HH

 

[sugar]

i think that from all the evidence of photos you guys put up of the awesome silver finds the etrac is king of silver and agree not so good on gold as some of the other machines but as there are alot of great silver coins hidden deep out there i think alot of fun can be had with the etrac on these well hunted plots also in two tone ferrous it will work through trashy areas and still find that hidden gem giving you a high bleep that many detectorist have never been able to discover

 

[Southwind]

I concur with whats been said so far. When it comes to finding deep copper and especially silver, the E-Trac has the advantage over the V3i. The key to the E-Tracs advantage is the ability to tell the user when a deep coin is under the coil. On the extremely deep coins the V3i, and all others I tested, had a less reliable tone and VDI. The V3i could see the same deep coins, it just wasn't as easy to spot as the E-Trac. The E-Trac is a great deep cherry picker.

 

[Larry (IL)]

You will probably get about three more inches in depth if you use the stock coil instead of the 6X10. The 6X10 is not known for it's depth but for it's separation in trash. We would be happy to help you over on the V3i forum, but if you are only hunting for deep silver and coppers, the ET is king IMHO.

 

[grouser]

I'm also trying to make a choice between the two machines,,,,,, I like the ET but keep getting hung up when I read " not so good on gold" are we talking placer, natural gold in small rice size nuggets or small jewelry and rings? and does the ET hold the edge for target separation do you think?

 

[reltolbert]

If you push the manual sensitivity to 28-30 one can find 6 grain flakes (rice size nuggets) of gold. Detection of larger nuggets is no
problem. I detect small jewelry, gold or silver, items with ease including rings, ear-rings, small gold chains, etc. at auto +3.
I found 2 rings and a ear-ring in less than 2 weeks with my new E-Trac.
Although the E-Trac is not a gold machine, it will find gold.

 

[Southwind]

I'd like to see the E-Trac picking up a rice sized gold flake. I'm not talking about scrubbing it on the coils bottom but a realistic scenario. Put the flake on the ground and run the coin an inch or so above it. Yes, nothing at all. This doesn't take away from the fact the E-Trac is second to none one finding deep coins, it only means it isn't the best on small gold. No big deal in my books. It does fine on average sized gold jewelry.

 

[bcoop]

Do not get hung up on the E-Trac not being a small gold machine. It will find plenty of Gold rings, ear rings and other jewelry. It is not a nugget machine but how many coin and jewelry hunters are nugget hunters. If I was a true nugget hunter I would have a 5,000 dollar GPX 5000 not a 1,400 dollar E-Trac.

For coin shooting or the wet sand at the beach an E-Trac will provide as well as any of the Explorers. I have dug some very deep coins and jewelry on the beach with my E-Trac including a childs bracelet about 2 feet deep.

BCOOP

 

[grouser]

Do not get hung up on the E-Trac not being a small gold machine. It will find plenty of Gold rings, ear rings and other jewelry. It is not a nugget machine but how many coin and jewelry hunters are nugget hunters. If I was a true nugget hunter I would have a 5,000 dollar GPX 5000 not a 1,400 dollar E-Trac.

For coin shooting or the wet sand at the beach an E-Trac will provide as well as any of the Explorers. I have dug some very deep coins and jewelry on the beach with my E-Trac including a childs bracelet about 2 feet deep.

BCOOP

this is what I needed to hear,,, I know if I want a nugget machine I need to get a dedicated MD for that purpose,,,, I was worried the etrac was missing jewelry sized gold targets,,,, if the v3i would get nearly the same results as the etrac on coins,,, with the added value of a semi efficient nugget machine ,,, i was thinking it might be a better choice for me,,,, but I truly hate the idea of missing old coin targets,,,,

 

[bcoop]

Trust me, E-Tracs have no trouble finding jewelry. They may not be the most sensitive tool for the job but productive. These pictures are of finds I found while on vacation for 7 days with my E-Trac, not counting all the rusted junk ear rings, sunglasses and all the coins I dug on the beach.

BCOOP

 

[GoVidGo]

I have no idea why people 'say' or 'cant' find gold with the ETrac... one of two things...
#1 they are not using their Etrac correctly, setting correctly, or not know their machine...
#2 using the 'Etrac cant find gold' rumor, and assuming that is the 'weak link'...

I air tested my ETrac a lot setting and downloading programs and have hit gold deep. Seems OK to me...

Buried diff stuff in my yard (test garden), and the gol hit very well...

I also have been out in the field and found a gold stud earing very deep and it hit it well.

I have no idea who started the 'ETrac cant find gold... kinda funny...

 

[JamesBondaka]

Yes, its been said and there is "some" degree of truth to it on very small gold and chains. You very well might have the same trouble with many other detectors. I have found quite a bit of gold of varying sizes but admit that the etrac could be "stronger" on gold, especially the tiny stuff. I would not trade my etrac for anything though, at this time. Its so stable and versatile and just finds me alot of jewelry and thousands of coins....just in 2 years.

I have to places that Ive found lots of old coins and jewelry that have been there for 50 years or longer. Since, Ive been there...when I go back....I find very few things and if its gold...it was lost very recently...nothing thats been there for years. So, I have probably cleaned it out pretty well...I would say. I have tried other detectors there too and find very few additional items. So, it could be that some people have gone to an area with their etrac and haven't found much or found gold.... as there isn't anything(or much) to find. It could be more or less cleaned out. There is always something there but until they invent a standard deeper detector...It might be that be that anyone detecting, would not find too much.

 

[Nuke em]

I can put it this way , When King E.Trac 1st dies , long live King E.Trac the 2nd.

 

[cypearl]

we hunt at the beach with a friend when a gold chain appeared just on top of the sand and minelab explorer ii not e-trac it didnt even sounded anything. I JUST DONT KNOW the reason as well but it rung after several passes but not robust. The other thing i know for sure minelabs are good on silver and cooper even tiny pieces as we found a feet deep "pinhead" tiny ancient greek coins. one at a time.

 

[cypearl]

The most pieces of bcoops are silver anyway in his pictures. and the golds are must be less of 14k so there is more copper inside.

 

[JamesBondaka]

Generally speaking....a lot of metal detectors dont really sound off on gold chains as the signal is spread out as opposed to a solid mass.... same for the etrac. The signal kinda gets lost between the minerals of the ground and just gets "drowned" out. If its heavier gold...then your chances are better but for the fine stuff....it usually doesnt pick it up. If its bunched up...better yet!

The etrac is a computer... it takes its best guess on what is in the ground. It analyzes millions of input signals, computes it and then gives its best guess feedback on what it is....all in a split second. When the etrac has a chance to "work" on the signal for a while(multiple passes)....it further computes the data and maybe comes out with a better(or different)answer on what it is. It is not a absolute but for what it has for data and the time it has to work with....its amazing that it does so well! ....thanks to the micro chip technology.

 

[Bell-Two]

There is an interesting way to look at it, go to the V3i forum and look at the balance of the posts it seems much more about the machine, settings, ground balance, hardware etc and less posting of finds, look at the E-Trac forum much more about the finds! I am not knocking the Whites machines in any way as I have seen some awesome finds made by them, but the proof is in the postings!