Third and hope to be final upgrade

[Jeremy76]

I am considering what I hope to be my final upgrade. Right now I have the ATP but the curiosity of owning one of the "elite" machines is getting the best of me. I've narrowed it down to two, the White's Spectra V3i and Minelab E-Trac. I probably can't go wrong with either of these machines but still would enjoy some insight from someone who has owned one or both. Thanks for your time and response.

 

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[DeepseekerADS]

I have had the E-Trac for 10 months now, and I've owned 9 other detectors over the years.

First off, I highly recommend the E-Trac - however, that baby takes some serious getting used to. At first I thought there was something wrong with it, even questioned it here.

But the real problem was me and trying to try too many recommended settings versus starting off with the basics - learning the sounds, and learning how to deal with the ground, sensitivity, and falsing.

That took 60+ hours by itself. And I'm certain I'll still be learning next year at this time.

It is a very powerful "different" beast. If you get it, keep the faith - and the patience.

 

[fella]

Had the E-Trac, Whites Spectra Vx3 & the ATP.
I still own my ATP. Why? Because there wasn't one target the ET or Vx3 found that the ATP couldn't. PERIOD! My ATP w/5x8 coil hits solidly 8-9" coins. Same as all my other high end detectors.
Don't know what your primary hunting preference is but if you're mostly a coin shooter, you may want to seriously consider a Fisher CZ-3D. EAISLY deeper than ANY of the other 3 mentioned. LOVES old deep coins & by far the best nickel machine ever made.

 

[xr7ator]

I have the at pro, at gold and a minelab se pro. I've been told the se pro is deeper than the etrak because the etrak has to run all the gps stuff. I've got about 50 to 60 hours in with the Minelab. It's for sale. Keeping my Garretts.
I wish I would have never bought the Minelab.

The at gold was a killer deal at $375. When I need the small coil I grab the at gold.

 

[xr7ator]

I have the at pro, at gold and a minelab se pro. I've been told the se pro is deeper than the etrak because the etrak has to run all the gps stuff. I've got about 50 to 60 hours in with the Minelab. It's for sale. Keeping my Garretts.
I wish I would have never bought the Minelab.

The at gold was a killer deal at $375. When I need the small coil I grab the at gold.

My advice is to try and rent what you are curious about and see if it fits you.

 

[dirtscratcher]

There is a lot of advice I find suspect. You have to ask yourself what kind of hunter is giving what advice. As in park hunter digging alot of clad or a tot lot hunter or someone digging lots of old coins or maybe a relic hunter. When I read about the atp being as deep as the etrac and other top end machines it leaves me scratching my head because I've had just the opposite happen quite frequently with my explorer and t2. I hunt with two guys with atp and one with a atg and we compare signals a lot they don't even see many coins the explorer or the t2 will find.

 

[Tired Rooster]

I have the at pro, at gold and a minelab se pro. I've been told the se pro is deeper than the etrak because the etrak has to run all the gps stuff. I've got about 50 to 60 hours in with the Minelab. It's for sale. Keeping my Garretts.
I wish I would have never bought the Minelab.

The at gold was a killer deal at $375. When I need the small coil I grab the at gold.

The Etrac has no GPS stuff to deal with. That would be the CTX 3030.....and I seriously doubt that it effects it's performance in any way. Etrac is an awesome detector...the Whites is probably very capable too.

 

[xr7ator]

My hunting buddy has the explorer II. He is awesome with it and he really knows his machine. He and his success is the reason I wanted a minelab explorer.
We do the same things, asking each other what they think of a target. I hit on every one he shows me, he does NOT hit on evey one I show him. I have yet to dig something real good that he can't hit on, I admit. The two in mind, one was a copper or brass cool old picture frame. It was about 3" by 2" and a foot deep. Another was a scrap piece of copper about the size of a quarter and again at about a foot deep. His machine made NO noise going over these two targets. On the at pro, solid repeatable high tone.
We have both found goodies left behind by each other! Once he showed me a whetie that I missed...couldn't believe it as I had dug three others right there at the same spot. Same thing for him, showed him a wheatie once and a rosie once as well, that he had just missed. I think he found a super nice SLQ in a real trashy area that I swore I had my coil over and didn't hit on it.
I am a coin shooter and love older coins and.......gold jewelry. Silver jewlery is good, too! I do dig "relics" as well.
I am going to suggest again, and sorry about the double post above, try using what you are thinking about buying before you buy it if at all possible!
I still have a huge amount of respect for the explorer/etrac and think if I had 1000 plus hours in I might think differently.
My buddy admits that he never digs coins deeper than 8 inches. I dug a dime at over a foot this month on such a teenee tiny signal. AT's are great machines if you really learn them.

 

[xr7ator]

Not gps, I apologize, its this;
• E-TRAC Xchange USB functionality – create, download and upload your favourite E-TRAC settings and save them to your computer or Xchange them with friends by email.

I have been told that the SE Pro uses all of it spower towards finding deeper targets instead of running this stuff.

I'm sure both detectors, whites and minelab are very capable...they better be for that kinda coin!

 

[dirtscratcher]

My hunting buddy has the explorer II. He is awesome with it and he really knows his machine. He and his success is the reason I wanted a minelab explorer.
We do the same things, asking each other what they think of a target. I hit on every one he shows me, he does NOT hit on evey one I show him. I have yet to dig something real good that he can't hit on, I admit. The two in mind, one was a copper or brass cool old picture frame. It was about 3" by 2" and a foot deep. Another was a scrap piece of copper about the size of a quarter and again at about a foot deep. His machine made NO noise going over these two targets. On the at pro, solid repeatable high tone.
We have both found goodies left behind by each other! Once he showed me a whetie that I missed...couldn't believe it as I had dug three others right there at the same spot. Same thing for him, showed him a wheatie once and a rosie once as well, that he had just missed. I think he found a super nice SLQ in a real trashy area that I swore I had my coil over and didn't hit on it.
I am a coin shooter and love older coins and.......gold jewelry. Silver jewlery is good, too! I do dig "relics" as well.
I am going to suggest again, and sorry about the double post above, try using what you are thinking about buying before you buy it if at all possible!
I still have a huge amount of respect for the explorer/etrac and think if I had 1000 plus hours in I might think differently.
My buddy admits that he never digs coins deeper than 8 inches. I dug a dime at over a foot this month on such a teenee tiny signal. AT's are great machines if you really learn them.

Theres something wrong with a explorer that won't find a coin past 8 inches.

 

[Longhair]

Theres something wrong with a explorer that won't find a coin past 8 inches.

Not if it had a 6"" coil.
Seriously, the OP really can't go wrong with either of the two being considered. He already has the most overhyped detector out there.

 

[fella]

Not if it had a 6"" coil.
Seriously, the OP really can't go wrong with either of the two being considered. He already has the most overhyped detector out there.

No, he doesn't own an E-Trac!

 

[Jeremy76]

I appreciate all of the good advice. Trust me I'm far from seasoned and have no right to dispute depth, findings etc. with any of the machines mentioned. The reason I ask is because I hunt some local parks that have been hit countless times but I would be willing to bet most people hunting these areas are using lower end to middle of the road type machines. I know targets "stuff" have been missed because I have pulled a couple pieces of silver out of the ground using my first machine ACE 250. I would like to extend my hunts to some local fields for Civil War relics as I live in MS and their is an abundance of possibilities. (Private land with permission of course) Depth and separation would be an issue for these types hunts thus my question. I want a machine that will give me the best opportunity. As we all do! Thanks again.

 

[Longhair]

I'm really a Minelab guy, but I'd say that for what you want the V3i is probably the better choice between those two. The E-trac is an amazing coin killer, but for relics the V3i having more user adjustable features would be an advantage.
It takes a technically minded person to get the most out of sophisticated manual features, and it doesn't suit or click with some. So if you decide on the Whites, be ready to take a fair amount of time learning what it can do, because it isn't going to be a snap. If you have a lot of patience, you will be rewarded.

 

[fishstick]

If your gonna be lookin for relics you should think about a T2 or F75!!!! HH..

 

[treasurecoasteric]

The Whites MXT is also a very highly regarded relic hunter in the same price range. In the relic mode the VDI will read "button" "buckle" etc. This isn't really the selling point though, just a cool feature. The bottom line is that the MXT finds stuff and is built to last.

Sent from my BNTV600 using TreasureNet

 

[eagle52]

8" or 9" coin w 5x8 coil ? You must have " AT pro Special " this is stretching a little bit