Mine lab or Whites detector

Dano Sverige

Silver Member
Aug 10, 2009
2,946
189
SWEDEN
Detector(s) used
(on the dry)Minelab ETRAC, backup x-terra 305.(in the wet ) Minelab Excalibur II
Only used Minelabs so don't know,lol. Best thing to do is just buy a Minelab,give it a go for a while,and if not happy..sell it and get another Whites. :thumbsup:
 

Blind Squirrel

Bronze Member
Apr 15, 2010
1,021
28
NC
Detector(s) used
Fisher F75 SE, Whites PI Pro, Ace 250, Pro Pointer
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
4-H said:
They are both fine metal sensing detectors, but if your interested in sporting a manufacture that is highly involved and concerned in donating for underprivileged kids, then I suggest Minelab or Tesoro. When I spoke to White's a few years ago, their response was, "I'm sorry, but were not interested in helping kids at this time"

That's why I chose to sell for the above manufactures.
Man, that's cold!!!
 

Old Town

Hero Member
Aug 18, 2010
517
6
Key West
Detector(s) used
Fisher, Whites, Tesoro
One of my favorite detectors for years was the MXT. I have several detectors now including a Minelab Soverign and E-Trac. I do not believe there is enough depth difference between these three machines to matter at all.

If I had to do it all over again, I'd not buy the E-Trac and only use the MXT and Tesoro Cibola, Vaquero, or Tejon. For my soil and in air tests the Cibola is the deepest detector I've ever used.

The E-Trac, though nice, is grossly overrated in my opinion. Plenty of other machines can match it in my soil. The Cibola beats it for depth in the field and in my test garden. I wish that it didn't.

OT
 

liftloop

Silver Member
May 7, 2008
3,140
390
lakelinden mi
Detector(s) used
MXTdeepscan 8by14dd, bulls eye 2, 5900diprosl Maxima1500, Master Hunter cx plus Treasure Hound, surf
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Take your detector up her in the U.P. I have a copper conglomerate down about 3.5 to 4 feet below the surfest. I found it with my garret box loop, the Mxt doesn't see it But my 5900 knows it there so bring your detector and witch one finds it, that would be the detector to get. I would like to see if the V3i can find it.
 

Old Town

Hero Member
Aug 18, 2010
517
6
Key West
Detector(s) used
Fisher, Whites, Tesoro
liftloop said:
Take your detector up her in the U.P. I have a copper conglomerate down about 3.5 to 4 feet below the surfest. I found it with my garret box loop, the Mxt doesn't see it But my 5900 knows it there so bring your detector and witch one finds it, that would be the detector to get. I would like to see if the V3i can find it.

I don't understand your point. Why would you want copper conglomerate at 4 feet? All my finds are in the top 12 inches or so. Usually much shallower.

OT
 

m bryan

Hero Member
Jun 12, 2010
691
49
east texas
Detector(s) used
Delta 4000 and Garrett 300 Teknetics T2 Minelab Explorer SE Pro
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Old Town said:
One of my favorite detectors for years was the MXT. I have several detectors now including a Minelab Soverign and E-Trac. I do not believe there is enough depth difference between these three machines to matter at all.

If I had to do it all over again, I'd not buy the E-Trac and only use the MXT and Tesoro Cibola, Vaquero, or Tejon. For my soil and in air tests the Cibola is the deepest detector I've ever used.

The E-Trac, though nice, is grossly overrated in my opinion. Plenty of other machines can match it in my soil. The Cibola beats it for depth in the field and in my test garden. I wish that it didn't.

OT
I've been thinking about the Cibola....It's sound only?
 

Old Town

Hero Member
Aug 18, 2010
517
6
Key West
Detector(s) used
Fisher, Whites, Tesoro
Cibola is sound only and it has a single tone. Variations on the tone shape determine metal type.

No faint sound for deep depth. You either get a beep or no sound. I determine depth by lifting the coil.
 

mainer

Silver Member
May 3, 2005
3,405
38
Maine
Detector(s) used
Minelab Etrac
Fisher F75 SE
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I wouldnt trade my minelab for anything. :icon_thumright:
 

sniffer

Gold Member
Dec 31, 2006
5,906
58
Kansas
Detector(s) used
XP DEUS
I went from a DFX to an E TRAC, there is a huge difference, a dfx will stop when it finds an object, the etrac won't stop at the first object, it will go past it and find the goodies below
 

s.c.shooter

Bronze Member
Jul 28, 2008
1,063
730
SC
Detector(s) used
Minelab Sov- AT PRO - AT Max - Equinox 600
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I have a DFX and it's a great detector but I recently bought a Minelab Excalibur 2 and I've been finding more than I ever have.
 

fistfulladirt

Gold Member
Feb 21, 2008
12,204
4,918
Great Lakes State
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
dirtfishing
Primary Interest:
Other
Hate to say it, but I wish I would have used Minelab first, as now my DFX sits in closet collecting dust, and it wasn't cheap.
 

Old Town

Hero Member
Aug 18, 2010
517
6
Key West
Detector(s) used
Fisher, Whites, Tesoro
It must be my easy soil because I see no advantage at all using the two Minelabs I have over my Tesoro's. In fact the Tesoros are much lighter and the Ciblola is deeper. A little cheaper too.

OT
 

Woodland Detectors

Gold Member
Nov 23, 2008
12,712
141
Toll Free ~ 855~966~3563
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
Old Town said:
It must be my easy soil because I see no advantage at all using the two Minelabs I have over my Tesoro's. In fact the Tesoros are much lighter and the Ciblola is deeper. A little cheaper too.

OT
I am a Minelab and Tesoro dealer. Used them both, The Etrac runs deeper. That's the truth. Why is it always about..."How deep will go?" LOL
 

colorado14ers

Bronze Member
Jul 3, 2010
1,530
6
Naples, Fl
Detector(s) used
whites M6, Surfmaster PI
fistfulladirt said:
Hate to say it, but I wish I would have used Minelab first, as now my DFX sits in closet collecting dust, and it wasn't cheap.

Ill give ya 100 bucks for it? :laughing9: Whites has always been VERY good to me, I accedentaly broke my Prizm 2 once and wanted to see how much it would cost to have it fixed and i had it sent in and they just gave me a brand new Prizm 2!!! Ive never had problems with Whites.
 

Old Town

Hero Member
Aug 18, 2010
517
6
Key West
Detector(s) used
Fisher, Whites, Tesoro
It's been my experience deeper is always better. You cover more square inches per sweep and older coins are far more likely to be found at good depth than on the surface. I've never found a zinc penny deeper than 5 inches and have never found a coin older than 100 years or so, shallower than 5 inches. I find all my old silver and copper coins deeper than 6 inches (99%). At depths of 9-11 inches I find no aluminum trash at all. You get a signal at this depth and it's an old coin or junk of large iron. My finding anyway. You can't get too much depth if old coins are your thing.

I will admit my E-Trac is much better at searching and sorting through trashy areas like parks with lots of pulltabs and junk. There it is superior. But I'm primarily a colonial home yard searcher now. My Cibola is better at searching these old yards that have almost no modern aluminum and crap. I regularly find silver coins at 9- 10 inches with my Cibola or Tejon. My deepest find in the wild is 11" on a silver quarter with the Cibola. Probably the E-Trac would have found this too. But in my test garden at home, the Tesoro models out-deep the Minelabs by an inch or two and do so without having to fiddle with anything. Just sweep that 340 dollar Cibola over a coins at 12" in the garden and get a beep. Swing the E-trac after much fussing with it and get a weak, crappy signal. It detects at 12 inches but not like my cheap Tesoro's that require no real knowledge of operation.

I wish my findings were not so. I've spent a fortune on detectors over the years and find the Tesoro brand superior than anything I've ever used by a few inches but mostly by ease of use.

OT
 

UncleVinnys

Bronze Member
Dec 27, 2007
1,150
170
Hancock Street, Folsom, CA
Detector(s) used
Minelab Equinox 600
I think you could make valid arguments for either machine.
I've had both an MXT and an Explorer II.
I think the Explorer goes a wee bit deeper, but living in California,
where the history is at best 50 years old in most places, there is
not a lot of call for depth.
Most finds in my area are 3 inches or less deep, and the MXT
does a GREAT job of discrimination. But after 2 years and not
a single silver coin, I decided to go with the Explorer.
It's heavier, really good at discrimination too, but still haven't
dug up a silver. :coffee2:
 

fistfulladirt

Gold Member
Feb 21, 2008
12,204
4,918
Great Lakes State
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
dirtfishing
Primary Interest:
Other
colorado14ers said:
fistfulladirt said:
Hate to say it, but I wish I would have used Minelab first, as now my DFX sits in closet collecting dust, and it wasn't cheap.

Ill give ya 100 bucks for it? :laughing9: Whites has always been VERY good to me, I accedentaly broke my Prizm 2 once and wanted to see how much it would cost to have it fixed and i had it sent in and they just gave me a brand new Prizm 2!!! Ive never had problems with Whites.
i haven't had a problem with White's either. The dfx i bought new would not ground balance. THe dealer swapped it out for a demo unit. Works ok, but i use it for the tot lots and shallow clad. You just can't beat an explorer for those silvers at 9-10", beyond the capability of the White's.
 

Coin Digger

Sr. Member
Jul 13, 2008
328
47
Williams County Ohio
Detector(s) used
Whites Classic 3 SL
Fisher F2
Bounty Hunter Platinum
Whites XLT
Nokta Legend
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I was thinking of a Minelab SE or E-Trac also, but I was tired of buying on line and getting a detector that wasn't what I thought it would be or perform as well as expected.

So today I traveled 2 hours one way to Pro/Stock Metal Detectors (http://www.prostockdetectors.com/) because he has an entire arsenal of detectors you can take for a spin.

Well I couldn't wait to get my hands on a Minelab and glad I did. I don't think I would of liked it, there is so many settings I could see myself screwing it up and getting frustrated with it. The gentleman warned me they take time to learn and not everybody gets it.

The difference between the MXT knob controls you have and a Minelab's user innerface are night and day. If money is no object get it, but if it's not you might want to try and get your hands on one and take it for a spin.
 

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