Convince me- FOR or against buying a minelad E-Trac- advice wanted...

[mfitzy111]

anyhow - taking a break since the arm issues, deciding I still am totally addicted to MDing- I've been lucky each time I'm out

I'm always finding something interesting, so this is something I want to keep doing-

...aside from the minelab's being expensive (yeah I know $1500 for the E-Trac) tell me what's good and bad about this purchase from you minelab owers- so I can make an informed decision. I seem to notice the minelab being one of the best. I also seem to see that guys posting with a mine lab seem to have some of the better finds- even if it takes me 3 or 4 months to save up is it worth the $$$? I'd like to do some water retrievals- in the local swimming holes (and I know the places around where I live haven't been tapped yet) - I was thinking of doing the E-Trac and Kellyco's buy one get one free deal, and picking up the Viper hybrid so I can play in the water too -I didn't see anything on the minelab that says it can play in the water...so I'm assuming it can't. -so I'm figuring about $1500 for the minelab and another $200 for the viper. close to 2k total for all the goodies....


anyhow- I would like some feedback about what people who started without a mine lab (in my case a Garrett) and progressed in to one might be able to tell me about it- do they regret the purchase? spending the bigger money, on the better product? are they comfortable? light and easy to carry compared to an Ace350. are they easy to learn right out of the box, or am I going to have learning curve like the ace? (I didn't consider the ace tough so far- the biggest complaint is me not carrying a big enough shovel for the task at hand, I've given up going deep for targets because I only had my 6 inch blade.) I've had it for 3 months, and I go out every weekend and some nights after work... it is getting easier to know what it is saying...but I still dig stuff just to see what it is! most times I can guess from signal.

I can say so far my Ace350 has been treating me right, even if I get 'can slaw' (5 cents signals) some times, and pull tabs- that's all part of the hunt right? would investing in a top of the line model improve the depth and quality of my finds? (I'm thinking I haven't found a merc, seated, and only 1 silver- yet! but I find and recover a good amount of clad quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennys...i can say I'm finding plenty of 'stuff' just not silver enough...more a location thing, most likely...

ok, with my arms being messed up (tendons torn from lifting more then MDing-) I've got a few months off to think about what i'm going to do- keep the Ace as a backup, and buy the best I can afford...is what I'm thinking... anyhow...advice wanted...thanks all...

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Agony and Death on a Gold Rush Steamer: The Disastrous Sinking of the Side-Wheeler Yankee Blade - Grab it through Amazon!

[treasurehound]

By all means the E-Trac will be a great investment. You will not be disappointed.

 

[Dano Sverige]

Actually i think he will be ...very quickly!
Etrac is heavy after a while, and very quickly with a 15x12 SEF coil. Also, if you times the learning curve of th ACE by about 20..you'll be around the learning curve for the Etrac!
It does have a waterproof coil, but you're very brave if you stick it in water at that price. If you like danger..then don't drop it, and don't lift the coil above waist height, or water will run down the stem and into the control box...game over!

All in all you'll be taking a massive jump. Just my opinion.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Actually i think he will be ...very quickly!
Etrac is heavy after a while, and very quickly with a 15x12 SEF coil. Also, if you times the learning curve of th ACE by about 20..you'll be around the learning curve for the Etrac!
It does have a waterproof coil, but you're very brave if you stick it in water at that price. If you like danger..then don't drop it, and don't lift the coil above waist height, or water will run down the stem and into the control box...game over!

All in all you'll be taking a massive jump. Just my opinion.

If your easily intiminated by computers and computer programs then it wouldn't be for you.... If computers and computer programs do not intiminate you, but rather you see them as a challange then the learning curve for the Etrac will not be anything you can't handle....There are auto settings to start out with..... If weight becomes a problem you could use a harness... You can hunt salt water beaches with it, but I would not recommend wading very deep with it as controls are not waterprrof, but I know Crackbadger uses his to hunt wet salt beaches and loves it....

 

[wwace]

I was in the same boat as you several months ago, I had a few extra bucks Uncle Sam returned to me so I decided to get a new detector and went for the big E. Etrac should be on everyone's short list if not at the top. Although I have hardly any time on mine I can tell you it is one hell of a detector. call Mike @ Woodland and you will be happy you did.

 

[flenj]

If you have a bad shoulder like me check out the XP Deus, it should hit the US market soon.
It's going like a bomb here in the UK.
John.F

 

[Dirty Money]

On your short list should be two detectors: the ETrak and the WhiteV3i. If you are looking for silver, the ETrak seems to be the hot ticket right now. The White's, on the other hand, imho is the better all around machine, finding relics, coins(silver & otherwise), rings and even some gold equally well. White's also has unparalleled service, should you need it(not likely, but s*** happens, as they say). You pay your money, you make your choice. Both are excellent machines.

If your water searching will be fresh water, and not too deep(7'-8'), take a hard look at Garrett's AT Pro. It's not in the same league as the first two, but it's water resistant to 10'. You might be able to strike up a deal with a dealer that handles both. My personal choice there, would be a company called New England Detectors. They handle all the major brands. Look them up on the web. Like any dealer that handles White's, you'll have to give them a call.

HH

 

[mfitzy111]

update to all - I talked to Mike at woodlands, outstanding customer service I might add! ....I did buy a minelab E-trac. I'm very pleased with everything about it so far..for one I like the computer stuff (doing that for a living is fun). I'm not too unhappy about the thing weighing too much, Dano it's not much heavier then my 350/ the bounty hunter I started with weighed more! - and as I use the chest rig I can use 2 fingers to swing it....its even a little more comfortable to swing.

so far I'm impressed with the purchase, working-working-working-working on learning all the new tones...so far it finds stuff for me- and it goes deep. no worries...so far I can say that I'm loving the E-trac's ability to tell me what might be under ground- no I totally can't understand it yet- it tells me something is there, and I'm digging pull tabs/cans/kids cars/clad coins. I'm not much for memorizing numbers- so far I'm working on learning the tones- and I have already downloaded the minelab etrac emulator application - to learn what coins should sound like. it's too bad they don't have a list of stuff like pull tabs, stuff you want to NOT dig up! - and used the USB cable and application to back up my settings Mike Post walked me through setting up. I then found a mode file from a guy (Andy?) who wrote a book on the settings on the e-trac- I downloaded and installed his coin settings. figuring worse case if i mess up- I can restore my own settings from back up if they don't work for me...but totally, so-far-so good. I'm finding I can decipher the tones but still can't find nickels. lmao. the area where I've been practicing has a lot of can slaw, so usually I'm digging that and pull tabs... but it's new and I'm still learning...

anyhow- miles ahead of the Ace350 (not meaning to offend- that's a good machine, as I found goodies with it for months!)...I'm enjoying the E-Trac- its an outstanding machine, now if I could just find a good 'old' place to hunt- and just so everyone understands I seldom put down anyone for having other machines, what ever works for 'you' is good for you- I do this for fun, and have no intention of busting anyone for having a machine that's not a E-Trac- ....

 

[Killer Angel]

Congrats on buying a great machine! Now get out there and swing that coil!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[treasurehound]

Congrats on your E-trac. Mike at Woodland Detectors is the best customer service you can get. He will treat you very well. We can't wait to see your finds with you new machine.

 

[Woodland Detectors]

Congrats on your E-trac. Mike at Woodland Detectors is the best customer service you can get. He will treat you very well. We can't wait to see your finds with you new machine.

Thanks Folks!

 

[djm of PA]

Oh no, not another PA etrac

That should tell you my opinion on them
Once it clicks, you'll be digging more coin than ever before and very little trash, have fun!

 

[teverly]

Actually i think he will be ...very quickly!
Etrac is heavy after a while, and very quickly with a 15x12 SEF coil. Also, if you times the learning curve of th ACE by about 20..you'll be around the learning curve for the Etrac!
It does have a waterproof coil, but you're very brave if you stick it in water at that price. If you like danger..then don't drop it, and don't lift the coil above waist height, or water will run down the stem and into the control box...game over!

All in all you'll be taking a massive jump. Just my opinion.

glad you got your machine..hope you like it!! by the way any machine with a 15x12 coil becomes heavy very quickly..the coil adds at least a couple pounds of weight.and i have hunted in shallow water with mine and never had a problem...