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Will I see much of a difference by upgrading from an Etrac to a CTX ?
- Thread starter Dan(NM)
- Start date
sprchng
Well-known member
I have both.
I think you may lose some dependability
CTX has some nice features for detecting and a lot of fluff for other things like a clock (which I like) and the GPS and will seldom use but paid for it.
I like the assignable tones in certain sites and the speed of the CTX but never feel outgunned when using the etrac , which is often due to the available selection of coils which the CTX lacks. The one person iIknow who has the 5 x 10 has had it fail on him as well as the CTX.
See if you can find someone in your area who owns one and go swing it for a day. I did and it didn't dissuade me but I haven't done flips and back twists after I got one either.
I think you may lose some dependability
CTX has some nice features for detecting and a lot of fluff for other things like a clock (which I like) and the GPS and will seldom use but paid for it.
I like the assignable tones in certain sites and the speed of the CTX but never feel outgunned when using the etrac , which is often due to the available selection of coils which the CTX lacks. The one person iIknow who has the 5 x 10 has had it fail on him as well as the CTX.
See if you can find someone in your area who owns one and go swing it for a day. I did and it didn't dissuade me but I haven't done flips and back twists after I got one either.
Other than some of the bells and whistles, there isn't much of an upgrade. That being said, I prefer to swing the CTX because it is easier on my wrist and I can do it all day long without getting tired. I like the color VDI and target trace. Personally, I find the stock coil and 6" coil enough for my hunting needs. I also prefer the wireless audio over the E-Trac. That being said....I still have and love my E-Trac too. For some odd reason...it seems like a find a bit more of the difficult silver with the CTX...but that could just be my perception and love of target trace...lol. I'm a visual person...I had a brief affair with Deus and we didn't agree. 
I will echo what the others are in essence saying. I've swung minelabs for 14 years now out of my 41 total years hunting. Best machines on the market imho. I went from Explorer to the EXII, skipped the SE, got the ETRAC, then the CTX.
My E-Trac was THE most consistent machine I have ever swung on numbers. The ONE thing I disliked most about the CTX was that the numbers are different than the ETRAC....and I never understood why Minelab chose to do that. It would certainly have made it easier to transition from one to the other.
The one thing I LOVED more than any other feature of the CTX was the 5 adjustable bins in ferrous coin. I wish there were one more.
The CTX has been out there for 3 years now. Since Minelab has the ability to offer Operating System level upgrades and yet has chosen not to do so, I see no reason to buy a CTX to get the color screen and co-located target capability, even though that is nice....where I hunt, I am not concerned so much for having that aspect. I hunted mainly TTF on the ETRAC. And I found a LOT of coins and relics. Many were co-located with iron.
The reason I cited the 3 years, is that surely, within the next year or two, we will be seeing a CTZ6060 or something like that. Another whizbang-best-out-there-ever machine that will read the coins etc., while still in the case, turned off......LOL I recently sold my second CTX, and I plan on going back to the ETRAC. I have had two CTX's. I ended up with my second one, becauseI could not believe how I went down in my silver count from the ETRAC and thought that perhaps my first CTX was a bad machine. But the second one did not knock my socks off either. Two Toned Ferrous, and a bit slower was the ETRAC, but imho, the ETRAC is a truely great machine. Conceptually, that ability to modify hunting programs at will and through a computer was enough reason to stay but that machine to begin with.
I will reserve my hard earned shekels for that new machine that is being tested by the folks that are allowed to do that.....I am hoping beyond hope, that the next CTX, CTZ, or whatever they call that machine, will have one more bin, numbers that fall in line with their other machines (THAT should be a major issue to my thinking, as it would allow smoother operator upgrading to a new machine), and oh YEAH!!!, an LED light that will shine onto the ground in front of my coil......WHAT a great idea MAKRO!!!!
It is not a downgrade in the machine to go back to an ETRAC, and it is NOT an upgrade to migrate to a CTX, in my practical experience at least. There are certainly aspects of each that are upgraded aspects, but in reality, isn't it actually learning the nuances of your particular specific machine that will make it or break it for you.
Throughout my detecting years, I have seen so many people who upgrade to the newest bestest can't be beat machine out there.....I have been one of them. So many of them do so with the thought that the newest machine is going to be a quantum leap of technology which will let them suck up all the gold and silver that lurks just below their present coil's reach.
Much more important to me now, is having a machine that is a proven quality machine, and one that I have both confidence in, and hours (hundreds) invested in that allow me to read into those nuance factors enough that that machine and I are at one with the targets.....it is not the bells and whistles, it is the understanding of the snaps, crackles and pops that will fill your collection of treasures.
For me personally, my second ETRAC is just around the corner. I will wait for that CTZ6060 to be out a while before I order that newest of the new.....I paid $3000 for what I bought for the CTX, with all the coils I could get for it...and then, the battery compartment showed that the design was NOT quite where it should have been. I don't want that to happen again. Just sayin.
Bottom line, after all this ramblin....I would stick with the ETRAC, and wait a year or so after the next successor to the CTX arrives. IF you can get your coil over the target with the ETRAC, and the right conditions are present, you will see the target. Same thing with the CTX....but for the price, I can buy the ETRAC, and get a whole herd of coils with it. And though I love my Garrett pinpointer, my in line pinpointer for the ETRAC was so much superior. I hope they have a wireless inline pinpointer for the CTZ6060.....
HH
Dennis
My E-Trac was THE most consistent machine I have ever swung on numbers. The ONE thing I disliked most about the CTX was that the numbers are different than the ETRAC....and I never understood why Minelab chose to do that. It would certainly have made it easier to transition from one to the other.
The one thing I LOVED more than any other feature of the CTX was the 5 adjustable bins in ferrous coin. I wish there were one more.
The CTX has been out there for 3 years now. Since Minelab has the ability to offer Operating System level upgrades and yet has chosen not to do so, I see no reason to buy a CTX to get the color screen and co-located target capability, even though that is nice....where I hunt, I am not concerned so much for having that aspect. I hunted mainly TTF on the ETRAC. And I found a LOT of coins and relics. Many were co-located with iron.
The reason I cited the 3 years, is that surely, within the next year or two, we will be seeing a CTZ6060 or something like that. Another whizbang-best-out-there-ever machine that will read the coins etc., while still in the case, turned off......LOL I recently sold my second CTX, and I plan on going back to the ETRAC. I have had two CTX's. I ended up with my second one, becauseI could not believe how I went down in my silver count from the ETRAC and thought that perhaps my first CTX was a bad machine. But the second one did not knock my socks off either. Two Toned Ferrous, and a bit slower was the ETRAC, but imho, the ETRAC is a truely great machine. Conceptually, that ability to modify hunting programs at will and through a computer was enough reason to stay but that machine to begin with.
I will reserve my hard earned shekels for that new machine that is being tested by the folks that are allowed to do that.....I am hoping beyond hope, that the next CTX, CTZ, or whatever they call that machine, will have one more bin, numbers that fall in line with their other machines (THAT should be a major issue to my thinking, as it would allow smoother operator upgrading to a new machine), and oh YEAH!!!, an LED light that will shine onto the ground in front of my coil......WHAT a great idea MAKRO!!!!
It is not a downgrade in the machine to go back to an ETRAC, and it is NOT an upgrade to migrate to a CTX, in my practical experience at least. There are certainly aspects of each that are upgraded aspects, but in reality, isn't it actually learning the nuances of your particular specific machine that will make it or break it for you.
Throughout my detecting years, I have seen so many people who upgrade to the newest bestest can't be beat machine out there.....I have been one of them. So many of them do so with the thought that the newest machine is going to be a quantum leap of technology which will let them suck up all the gold and silver that lurks just below their present coil's reach.
Much more important to me now, is having a machine that is a proven quality machine, and one that I have both confidence in, and hours (hundreds) invested in that allow me to read into those nuance factors enough that that machine and I are at one with the targets.....it is not the bells and whistles, it is the understanding of the snaps, crackles and pops that will fill your collection of treasures.
For me personally, my second ETRAC is just around the corner. I will wait for that CTZ6060 to be out a while before I order that newest of the new.....I paid $3000 for what I bought for the CTX, with all the coils I could get for it...and then, the battery compartment showed that the design was NOT quite where it should have been. I don't want that to happen again. Just sayin.
Bottom line, after all this ramblin....I would stick with the ETRAC, and wait a year or so after the next successor to the CTX arrives. IF you can get your coil over the target with the ETRAC, and the right conditions are present, you will see the target. Same thing with the CTX....but for the price, I can buy the ETRAC, and get a whole herd of coils with it. And though I love my Garrett pinpointer, my in line pinpointer for the ETRAC was so much superior. I hope they have a wireless inline pinpointer for the CTZ6060.....
HH
Dennis
Jason in Enid
Active member
I for one saw a good improvement when I upgraded from the E-Trac to the CTX. For me, it is deeper and more stable. The wireless feature makes me hate being tied to any other detector. The ergonomics are WAAAAY better than with the E-Etrac. The fact that I can effectively hunt salt beaches and don't have to worry about dropping it in the water, or rain, is just the icing on the cake. The ability to record GPS points for all my finds is a wonderful feature that most people completely ignore. GPS points have lead me to some great finds I might have never found without. I would never go back to the E-Trac.
- target trace and tt pinpoint
- wireless
- waterproof (upgrade to larger gasket if you worry about leaks). my Excal is for dunking, but I no longer worry about rain or even shallow water using my dirt machine.
- for me personally, I like the GPS too as I am pretty anal about data collecting + its easy to get a prospective site's cords from a web map and place a waypoint in my CTX.
- wireless
- waterproof (upgrade to larger gasket if you worry about leaks). my Excal is for dunking, but I no longer worry about rain or even shallow water using my dirt machine.
- for me personally, I like the GPS too as I am pretty anal about data collecting + its easy to get a prospective site's cords from a web map and place a waypoint in my CTX.
I have to give my two cents... I just purchased my CTX about 1 month ago and have two etracs. I hunt a lot of OLD home sites and trash is always present. I have to say, with confidence, that the CTX along with the 6" coil (and yes I use a 6" coil with my etrac) is more stable in "slicing" out old coins. Other than that, I still have all the confidence in the world with my etrac. I will echo other comments as well, the ergonomic aspect is much better and the wireless headphone... HUGE!!. Good Luck. As you will see, people are passionate about what ever they like...
underwatermetalman
Member
Ok, here are my two zinc pennies worth, I had both the Etracand CTX after a trial period of around one year I sold the Etrac because the CTX proved to be a bit deeper +1" IMHO comparing them side by side on predug targets. I found the CTX faster in signal responses and better able to locoate coins on edge...for some reason I noticed a large difference, my silver count is up, ergonomically it is much easier to swing.
The down sides, occasional lock up, more bottle caps, more expensive, less coil options.
Now my wife has decided to start metal detecting so I wish I wouldn't have sold my etrac...
Joe
The down sides, occasional lock up, more bottle caps, more expensive, less coil options.
Now my wife has decided to start metal detecting so I wish I wouldn't have sold my etrac...
Joe
electricmetal21
New member
The CTX is a lot more expensive than an Etrac. Is it worth spending the extra money to get a CTX? Or should you get an Etrac?
I used to have an Etrac and upgraded to a CTX.
My CTX doesn't appear to have any more depth than my Etrac. Target separation is a little better and, the wireless headphones are nice.
Do I think the CTX was worth the extra money I paid for it?
When I bought my CTX, I didn't pay that much extra because I bought it used and got a good deal on it.
Looking back, I wouldn't have bought a new CTX at the price that Minelab wants for a new CTX. At that price, I would have been better off keeping the Etrac.
I used to have an Etrac and upgraded to a CTX.
My CTX doesn't appear to have any more depth than my Etrac. Target separation is a little better and, the wireless headphones are nice.
Do I think the CTX was worth the extra money I paid for it?
When I bought my CTX, I didn't pay that much extra because I bought it used and got a good deal on it.
Looking back, I wouldn't have bought a new CTX at the price that Minelab wants for a new CTX. At that price, I would have been better off keeping the Etrac.
Johnnyanglo
Active member
Depending upon where you hunt, you don't "need" the CTX if you have an E-Trac. There may be some circumstances where the CTX will do better, and I know from testing there are areas where the E-Trac does better. Neither is particularly deeper than the other. If you can handle the balance of the E-Trac, which is worse, and don't need the CTX's Combined mode, or the CTX's target trace, then stay with the E-Trac.
The main gain with the CTX is that Combined mode can low-tone out iron with an adjustable Fe bin and still divide up the non-ferrous bins. E-Trac TTF low bin is unalterably set to 18-35FE and the remaining non-ferrous bin can't be divided. Generally, you're going to dig anything around the 12Fe zone anyway - unless you like skipping jewelry like thin rings. So the E-Trac is set in TTF with a high tone for non-ferrous - but the CTX can divide that single tone into four adjustable bins. So, that's a nice advantage for people who need tones. But TTF is the next best thing (or 4TF which gives you 2 long non-ferrous bins). In other words, the E-Trac can be set to high tone in TTF from 1-50Co for lower than 18Fe - which is where most good (and junk) targets are going to hit. The CTX can be set to have four tones instead of one high tone. But, for me, I'm probably going to dig any target with a repeatable signal - having four separate tones doesn't help - I'm still going to dig it. Even the low 01-10Co trash signal could be a ring, how you going to know unless you dig?
The Target Trace feature helps identify the target - it does what a jumpy E-Trac cursor does but in colorful streaks. If you understand the E-Trac's behavior amongst mixed targets - you can interpret the cursor's schizophrenia without needing two cursors showing iron and a non-ferrous cursor on the screen at the same time. The edge is to the CTX but if you're an intuitive person the E-Trac will get the job done, just need to be more aware of what the E-Trac cursor is trying to tell you.
So, in real world hunting, the E-Trac can hold its own, especially with someone that understands it nuances. The E-Trac isn't as customizable, but when push comes to shove the real world advantage is probably minor for most types of hunting.
The main gain with the CTX is that Combined mode can low-tone out iron with an adjustable Fe bin and still divide up the non-ferrous bins. E-Trac TTF low bin is unalterably set to 18-35FE and the remaining non-ferrous bin can't be divided. Generally, you're going to dig anything around the 12Fe zone anyway - unless you like skipping jewelry like thin rings. So the E-Trac is set in TTF with a high tone for non-ferrous - but the CTX can divide that single tone into four adjustable bins. So, that's a nice advantage for people who need tones. But TTF is the next best thing (or 4TF which gives you 2 long non-ferrous bins). In other words, the E-Trac can be set to high tone in TTF from 1-50Co for lower than 18Fe - which is where most good (and junk) targets are going to hit. The CTX can be set to have four tones instead of one high tone. But, for me, I'm probably going to dig any target with a repeatable signal - having four separate tones doesn't help - I'm still going to dig it. Even the low 01-10Co trash signal could be a ring, how you going to know unless you dig?
The Target Trace feature helps identify the target - it does what a jumpy E-Trac cursor does but in colorful streaks. If you understand the E-Trac's behavior amongst mixed targets - you can interpret the cursor's schizophrenia without needing two cursors showing iron and a non-ferrous cursor on the screen at the same time. The edge is to the CTX but if you're an intuitive person the E-Trac will get the job done, just need to be more aware of what the E-Trac cursor is trying to tell you.
So, in real world hunting, the E-Trac can hold its own, especially with someone that understands it nuances. The E-Trac isn't as customizable, but when push comes to shove the real world advantage is probably minor for most types of hunting.