Waiting for the people excited about this machine

[stumppass]

I don't think they are done yet for the 2012 offering, I believe that they will introducing yet another new machine on or before the May 19Th big Minelab event "National Metal Detecting Day"! They are making such a big deal over this National Metal Detecting Day that they almost have to have something else new to offer.

 

[D&P-OR]

They're going to--it's the new Minelab pin pointer!!!----I mean, ya have to have something to go with the CTX, right??

I don't think they are done yet for the 2012 offering, I believe that they will introducing yet another new machine on or before the May 19Th big Minelab event "National Metal Detecting Day"! They are making such a big deal over this National Metal Detecting Day that they almost have to have something else new to offer.

 

[Gonehunting]

What I am curious about is in the picture it shows the FE-CO screen and there is a line going down on an angle, what do you think this signifies?

2D??? I remember the last time they released a FBS machine and heard all the taunts and jeers, cause I was part of that.. Now that machine is known as one of the best deep coin finding machines.. I don't think they have let all of what it will do out of the bag yet.. Waiting.......

 

[SwampeR]

Agree, much more to come and dealers are being sent to Chicago for a week of special training not your regular ET/Sov.

 

[ecto1]

Here's another interesting question.

The CTX uses FBS 2 and also Quickfind 2. E-Trac has a USB port..... perhaps a possibility for a software upgrade option for E-Trac via USB?

Just a thought.

 

[spoonmann8]

I'm pretty sure the Etrack isn't software upgradable.

 

[Jason in Enid]

The E-Trac was NEVER designed to be upgraded on a home computer. Minelab won't risk losing the software code because it is downloadable.

 

[TreasureHawk]

I have trained my dog to locate treasure.

Time: 3 days

Price: box of dog biscuits.

Return on investment......Priceless

 

[Benedict76]

For me a major improvement would be to be able to switch from multy frequencies to single frequency
like switching to 18 khz when hunting for small gold
(hope my english is ok... it is not my first language)

 

[D&P-OR]

Your English is fine my friend and your improvement suggestion is a very good one.

For me a major improvement would be to be able to switch from multy frequencies to single frequency
like switching to 18 khz when hunting for small gold
(hope my english is ok... it is not my first language)

 

[Old California]

I agree nothing new under the hood for a land detector but a step forward for those wanting advanced Explorer capabities in a waterproof detector, that's my take regarding the new Minelab.

I may spring for one in the future, no hurry though still a couple of months away from swimming season. With luck maybe this years gold jewelry finds will cover the CTX 3030 tab.

Paul (Ca)

 

[Bell-Two]

What I am curious about is in the picture it shows the FE-CO screen and there is a line going down on an angle, what do you think this signifies?

2D??? I remember the last time they released a FBS machine and heard all the taunts and jeers, cause I was part of that.. Now that machine is known as one of the best deep coin finding machines.. I don't think they have let all of what it will do out of the bag yet.. Waiting.......

Earthmansurfer has suggested that it is a "cursor history" where now we encounter the cursor or cross hairs if you will moving depending on the FE-CO numbers appearing then jumping, it may keep a history so you can see the progression of the signals. This could be very helpful in narrowing down the target field in a trashy area.

 

[Critterhunter]

If the battery pack is a more powerful pack then that will add to the power, though the colour screen may use up some.?

No, a bigger battery won't give the coil more power. Only if it's designed to feed more voltage to the coil to generate a larger field. But there are issues with doing that like ground "glare" that can actually give you less depth. Some Sovereign guys who used an amp to put more voltage to the TX winding in the coil got less depth due to this problem. That's why transmit power on most detectors is fixed and can't be adjusted, because there's a limit to just how much is useful to see gains in depth. Much more useful to adjust the sensitivity to achieve that, which is just changing the gain or amplification of the RX (receive coil) signal being received and does NOT change the power the coil is transmitting.

 

[Critterhunter]

I think the Explorer,Safari,Excalibur,Sovereign are on borrowed time, the Terra maybe replaced next year too , that will give them along with maybe another machine in the ET price range a new range within a year or two. Oh and a probe.

No, I highly doubt the Explorer, Excaliber, or GT are on borrowed time. Why? First, the Etrac is different than an Explorer but not better than an Explorer. They are different machines. The Explorer has better audio at depth, while the Etrac has slightly better VDI at depth. Also, some prefer the VDI system on one versus the other. Different tastes for different folks.

As far as the Excalibur goes...It's about half the price of the new machine. Many people don't want to tweak or play with computer screens when water hunting. They just want simple controls and raw power (depth). The Excal gives you that without all the flashy extras. It's also waterproof for diving while this new machine is not. There are some voicing concerns that only being waterproof to 10 feet raises the potential of leaks in heavy waves due to the PSI pressure factor they create, and have seen this problem on other machines that were only built for shallow depths like that. Wave pressure can force past the seals on some of these machines.

The GT? Well, many people like simple controls and just want to hunt. It's still got the raw depth power to match or beat any machine on the market in terms of depth, even among the top Minelab models. These Minelabs are so maxed out in terms of VLF technology and the laws of physics that it comes down to who's using the bigger coil where one machine will beat the other depth wise, and the key to unmasking ability is a coil with a sharp detection field to light up one target while not the other. Slow machines like Minelabs can unmask just as well as a fast machine if your coil's detection field is sharp and you are keeping your sweep speed slow enough.

 

[Big Fang Coin Biter]

I am with you with one exception. I actually think that the Explorer II was a better machine than the ones that followed. I have not used an eTrac so I cannot say there. I did have an SE and mine was a dog compared to my EII. I think something must have been wrong with it (bought new, sent in).

At any rate yes, less bells and whistles and better performance would be refreshing. Light weight would be nice too. Light price...

Take care and HH - BF