Opinions needed: Upgrading. At Pro w/Nel coil vs. Etrac

[I can dig it]

Hi everyone. I was hoping to get some opinions from people who have owned both the At Pro with a larger Nel coil and an Etrac. I'm currently using the AT Pro with both 5x8 and stock coils. I'm thinking about upgrading and was going to get a Nel Storm or Attack coil but thought maybe money would be better spent selling the At Pro and buying an Etrac. I don't water hunt and I mostly look for coins. I'm just wondering if the Etrac would be worth the extra money and effort over just getting a bigger Nel coil. Thanks in advance.

 

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[Bquamb]

have heard amazing things with the Nel for the ATP - I had an ATP before I traded up for my CTX... LOVE IT.
If you want even more to pay attention to - get the E-Trac. If you want something to Beep then dig - Use the ATP + NEL...

Best of luck!

 

[Pinball]

I just put my order in for the Attack coil for my AT Pro but I can't see it being on all of the time because of the size. I was planing on using it on some spots after I had gone through with my 5x8. First place will be my back yard as I know there has to be some more silver coins still there. There are lots of videos out there about the coils on AT Pros...I am hooked on the Hoover Boys videos right now. Its only money Live large

 

[masterjedi]

I had an AT Pro that I bought new and the NEL Attack was the best coil I used on it. It still would miss many targets that my Fisher F75SE could find so I sold it. I also upgraded to a new Etrac and this thing is amazing. If you have not used a FBS detector you have no idea. You must go very slow with it but it is very deep and has a very accurate VDI.
Good luck in whatever machine you buy

 

[I can dig it]

Thanks everyone for the information. There is a lot to consider. I have been reading that Etrac users dig a lot of nails. Is that true? I don't think I've ever dug just a nail with the AT Pro.

 

[Bquamb]

You can trick the nails as well, but may miss a good target or two if the actual target fools the detector. 90° pinpoint turn is the trick... But like i said, you may be fooled, so if it repeats.... Dig it.

 

[masterjedi]

No you do not dig nails with an Etrac. You just watch your ferrous number. If it's 25+ it's iron and you don't dig it. You will dig less trash with an FBS detector than any other...

 

[TrpnBils]

Thanks everyone for the information. There is a lot to consider. I have been reading that Etrac users dig a lot of nails. Is that true? I don't think I've ever dug just a nail with the AT Pro.

If you're good with an Etrac you rarely dig nails. The only ones I dig anymore are the ones that come up with coins in the same hole.

To your original question: The ATP with that coil might be fine, but that coil is huge and won't do you any good in situations where you have a lot of iron or trash. The Etrac is powerful all the way around and you can put a big coil on it or you can drop down to a 5" coil in high trash and do far better than you ever would in that same situation with the ATP and big coil.

 

[perry2]

I bought the NEL Tornado and used it about 2 hrs For the areas I hunt I find the wgt more trouble than the results

Perry

 

[I can dig it]

Thanks everyone. That's a good price for that coil but I may be leaning toward an Etrac. Not sure yet. I'm trying to do the math as far as selling my At Pro and picking up a used Etrac. I know the Etrac has a learning curve but I don't really mind that. You only have to learn it once...could be and endless lesson though lol. Plus I'm a techy guy and I think I would like all the Etrac has to offer.

 

[Bquamb]

And then, all of the sudden a bent rusty nail appears! They are the Achilles heel of the minelabs and FBS.. But every machine has pros and cons. I use a CTX 3030 and I love it, but wish all the time i still had my ATP. There is a time and a place for VLF, but i do not regret my FBS at all. Do what you like. If you want to bust out the wallet and can justify the upgrade and higher accessory costs... Get an E-trac, you may never look back... But on the otherhand you may love the simple coil upgrade and can judge from there what you want. You can always smell or trade up after

No you do not dig nails with an Etrac. You just watch your ferrous number. If it's 25+ it's iron and you don't dig it. You will dig less trash with an FBS detector than any other...

 

[I can dig it]

What do you miss about the AT Pro? And are ferrous readings different on bent nails as opposed to straight?

 

[Tedyoh]

If coin hunting is your thing get the E-trac.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Used an Etrac for two years and upgraded to the CTX

Once you learn FBS you won't want to go anywhere else. The major negative for me was the weight. The CTX has better balance.

Also, the Etrac & CTX are not meant for competition hunting = that slow swing. My hunting buddy using his Tesoro covers probably twice the territory I do. But using these Minelabs is putting science and intelligence into the ground beneath - that power. I personally like knowing what I have in my hand is going to find something really cool someone else missed.

And of note here about you upgrading to the new coil, you need to question yourself just how much you're going to use that big coil. I put that out there because of my experience. Back when I used my Garrett Deepseeker, I bought a 12" coil for it, and used it only once - too darned heavy to use and justify the expenditure. Will you use the new coil often enough?

 

[PaDirtDigger]

Pinball took my thoughts really, love those IHP's... You know you're watching the hoover boys...

Bquamb also took some of my thoughts, and i need to go for the less amount of money being spent right now, but i certainly consider an etrac a lot, as i see some decent deals on here from time to time...

 

[tcornel]

have heard amazing things with the Nel for the ATP - I had an ATP before I traded up for my CTX... LOVE IT.
If you want even more to pay attention to - get the E-Trac. If you want something to Beep then dig - Use the ATP + NEL...

Best of luck!

I had the ATP with the attack coil. It is deeper and covers more ground. However I sold them off and bought a CTX. It is like someone opened the curtains in a room. You can find nice used ctx for 1500 to 1700. After the learning curve you will wonder how you ever got along without it.

As far as the etrac goes I would continue to use the ATP and save up to for the ctx as you are buying into older technology with the etrac. There are many threads comparing the difference but if nothing else than for the improved balance and not having to worry about rainy days or damp ground getting to your control box. If you go to the attack coil it will kill your wrist and arm as it is way out of balance.

 

[I can dig it]

I keep seeing where the Etrac has to be worked slow. How slow? I'm one of those skinny guys that can't hold still. I hope I can get used to slow.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

I keep seeing where the Etrac has to be worked slow. How slow? I'm one of those skinny guys that can't hold still. I hope I can get used to slow.

https://www.minelab.com/treasure-talk/e-trac-threshold-and-sweep-speed

E-TRAC - Threshold and sweep speed
April 27, 2011 02:43pm

On the Minelab Owners forum we often see questions concerning Minelab’s flagship FBS metal detector, the E-TRAC.

A couple of regular questions are: Do I need a threshold? How fast should I swing my coil?

The answer to these questions is related, and in this blog I’ll explain why.

Threshold

The E-TRAC’s threshold feature is one of the most powerful tools available to users. To turn the level down until it stops is a serious mistake. Not only will you miss deep targets, you will lose your “feel” of your soil environment. With no threshold you become blind to bad areas of a field, where habitation may have existed.

So the answer to the first question “Do I need a threshold?” is YES!

On page 58 of the E-TRAC instruction manual you can read how to adjust the threshold to optimise audio responses from the deepest faintest targets. It also explains that rejected iron targets will null the threshold, silencing all audio response from the E-TRAC.

It’s these nulls that we will ultimately use to determine the optimum coil sweep speed.

Sweeping the coil

In the E-TRAC user manual (page 28) it states an average sweep speed of four seconds from left to right to left. This average will only be achievable if the iron trash content of the soil will allow it.

As you sweep the coil over an iron target, the E-TRAC will discriminate it, nulling the audio. From this null the E-TRAC will quickly try to recover back to threshold. This time from null to threshold is called the recovery rate.

How fast should I swing my coil?

The iron content of the soil you are searching should determine coil speed. If you pass your coil over the ground and there’s only the occasional iron target (e.g. one piece every few swings), then you can swing briskly at the recommended average.

If however you are detecting an ancient habitation site, heavily contaminated with multiple iron targets, the nulls are likely to never recover if you swing at the average. So you will need to slow down until you hear the threshold recovering in-between all the nulls.

On my best Roman fields I have the worse iron contamination imaginable, it’s not uncommon to have sweep speeds as long as thirty-seconds from left to right to left.

So to recap...

If you turn off the threshold, you will lose one of the E-TRAC metal detector's most useful features… So don’t!

Try to maintain a threshold by altering your sweep speed.

If you sweep too fast over iron-infested soils, you will lose desirable targets in the nulls… so slow down!

It’s far better to sweep too slow than too fast.

 

[TrpnBils]

...and you can sweep slower with manual sensitivity than you can with auto. I look at it not as you "have" to sweep slow but that you "can" sweep slow. When I'm on a new site with a lot of ground I find I tend to speed up. This is amplified then by hunting with a buddy of mine... If he swings his AT Pro much faster across the top of the grass it's going to start a brush fire. I get amped up and find myself swinging too fast sometimes and I almost never find anything. When I force myself to slow down I start finding things at almost every site. I always out hunt him. It's well worth the snail's pace once in awhile but generally you don't have to go that slow....like maybe 4 seconds for a 180 degree sweep (most people don't go that far, I know...but it's good for comparison). In really iron infested areas, I slow down to a ridiculous pace (like that 4 seconds will get me a foot or two) and it always pays off! In those instances too it's better to go with shorter sweeps anyway.

Having said all that, if you can make yourself slow down you'll love the detector. If you can't make yourself slow down and want to blaze through a site it's not the detector for you. As a matter of fact, come and hunt my areas like that...get rid of the garbage for me and I'll come along behind you and grab everything you missed. It will take me longer, but it will be well worth my effort.

 

[CincinnatiKid]

Neither.
Keep the ATP for a loaner.
Forget about an ETRAC, although I did love mine for a while. They're just to slow.
I got myself an XP Deus and ain't looked back!
Since acquiring the Deus, I've nearly quit posting. That's cause Ima diggin'.

I hope everyone has enjoyed their Holidays.
Best of luck/knowledgeable decisions this year!
Peace