Etrac problem...anyone experienced this?

[MercMan]

One of the first things I tried was all three battery packs I have. No difference in any of them.

 

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[dfg4240]

I'm Glad I stumbled on the thread.
I was going to buy a used Etrac in mint shape.
forget it. Over $800 for a circuit board-not worth it
Good luck to you-I had three minelabs but they were the Xterra 70 and the 705 and the Safari and I was just thinking should I get the SE pro or go for the Etrac.
Not even thinking about it anymore.

 

[dfg4240]

Hey-I used to work directly for RCA in the old days-Back when transistors were coming out-I had over 2200 hrs of theory.I went anywhere and got a job because most could not tell a PnP from an NpN transistor. One thing I could do-(with a scope ) is trouble shoot down to the component.Seems like they don't do that anymore. Just replace the whole board.
That stinks-I'm sure they have some boards around and they know probably exactly what component it is but that would mean a cheaper repair.
Hourly rate charge and the cost of the component.
Well I'm sorry for you-especially after all the minelabs you had.-you deserve better than that.

 

[norbyx]

That is very bad news. You need to find an electronic technician, detectors are complicated but many other things are more complicated and still get to be repaired. What you should ask minelab is if the can provide a schematic of the board ( even if I think I know the answer to that)...

Sent from my iPhone using TreasureNet

 

[G.A.P.metal]

One of the mods.here Treasure Hunter knows 2 guys that work on Minelab ...he will see this thread and answer ,i hope

 

[dfg4240]

I know you said you did the factory reset where you hold the on button down but there is also a master reset.On the E-TRAC metal detector, turn on the detector by pressing and holding the power button until the Reset message appears on the screen and the tune plays. Note that some stored information or personal settings are not reset after a factory preset. If you are sure then go to the bottom of the Preferences menu (spanner icon) and select ‘Master reset’.
Just trying to help

 

[MercMan]

I did both resets.

 

[huntindog1]

I am a Electronics Tech by trade, since you can turn the machine over and the problem goes away, that tells me there may be a cold solder joint. Now the issue is that there is surface mount technology most likely on that board. Plus it will be fine pitch meaning it is very small leads on the chips. I used to be able to touch up solder joints on surface mount chips but they have gotten finer and finer. But there is also thru hole technology on boards also that are bigger in size and easier to touch up the solder joints. There could be residue on the board that with moisture made the residue like bloom or corrode. This could cause erractic behavior. Cleaning the board with a circuit board cleaner like from radio shack might help also. Visual inspection of the board with a magnifier glass might show something , you would be surprised as its most likely something simple , most times it is. A good tech always looks for the obvious and most times it makes him look like a genius. Cold solder joints are not shiny but rough in appearance. Good Luck.

 

[jerseyben]

Amen to that. I have brought 2 vintage stereo receivers back to life simply by spraying them down with Deoxit!