New machine?

[mastereagle22]

Ok so I think I am FINALLY going to make the big plunge and buy either an SE Pro or an E-Trac.

What I would like are the honest opinions of users of both machines and why you think I should buy the machine you are suggesting. Can you please do this for me?

Thanks.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

DR.ÖTEK Metal Detector, Waterproof Gold Detector, Pinpoint & Terrain Modes, Professional Metal Detector - Grab it through Amazon!

[Iron Patch]

Seems tough to compare because most people I've seen post on this site who bought the E-trac have little (under a year) to no experience on an explorer. They seem to prefer the E-trac.

However, while browsing posts at the Explorer forum I used to post at over 5 years ago the guys with several years experience seemed to prefer going back to their Explorers. Maybe they went back to the old units because it was what they were used to, but I would think if the E-trac had more to offer they would have seen the potential and stuck it out.

My Choice would still be Explorer, an XS or EXII. Hope some day someone visits me who uses an E-trac but I think that's unlikely.

 

[mastereagle22]

Thanks IP. I am leaning very heavily to the SE Pro.

Baldingboy bought one and I have to say I like it. It is a lot quicker than my EX II and seems to be a good machine.

My EX II is a little long in the tooth and I question how dependable it is anymore. So I do NOT want to switch from Minelab and I wanted someone to come on here and make a good case for why buying the E-trac would be the way to go.

 

[rmptr]

There just no doubt ML makes great machines... with a learning curve.
There's probably nothing better than a quality machine you are familiar with!

...and a brand new shiny Xpensive machine can also be motivating, too!

Best
rmptr

 

[diggin jimmy hoffa]

I just switched from the SE to the E-Trac and at first I thought that I had made a mistake, but after giving it some time I can clearly see that I made the right decision to keep the E-Trac. Now I am not the ground pounding die hard detectorist like some here on the forum, but what I found in the E-Trac left me with my mouth hanging wide open. My first hunt I dug a deep wheatie and along with it were 3 rusty nails. Deepest coin find to date was 2 wheaties in 1 hole at 8 inches. My detecting partner has an E-Trac and he dug a wheatie right after that at 10 inches (full length of Sun-Ray probe). My nickle finds this year with the Trac are much higher this year than they were last year.
IMHO I feel that the Trac separates better than the SE does and is not as difficult to operate. Start off using stock coin pattern and get to swinging.
One recommendation that I have would be, is to get Andy Sabisch's book The Minelab Explorer & E-Trac Handbook, as he really explains more on how to operate these 2 machines better than what Minelab does in their users manual.
You can't go wrong with either machine, but I do feel the E-Trac runs more stable than the SE, but that is just my opinion.
Hope this helps a bit from someone who is fairly new to the E-Trac, but not totally green to it as well.

HH

DJH

 

[gibsondan]

The SE Pro and E-trac are excellent top of the line Minelabs. Diehards who own both (and other models) will tell you their detector is the best. And I believe them. Their detector is the best one for them because they've learned it and enjoy success. It's hard to argue with success. On the other hand, newbies who have either the SE Pro or E-trac but don't have the knowledge and confidence that comes from experience may not be as enthusiastic about their detector. Some responses might be jaded. I recommend you read Andy Sabisch's book (The Minelab Explorer & E-trac Handbook) because it lays out very simply the different features of all the Explorer models and the E-trac. You may be more drawn to the SE Pro because you are already an Explorer owner. The E-trac is not an upgraded Explorer. It's different. I have owned other brands of detectors and now own my first Minelab (an E-trac). I chose it because it has the features and capabilities I like the best. The more I use it; the more I like it. Maybe the E-trac is not the detector for you since you are already an Explorer owner. You might be more comfortable with an upgraded Explorer. Definitely not a bad choice. You may opt for a different Minelab - the E-trac. Not a bad choice either. You may like it and take to it like a duck to water or you may feel like you are in unfamiliar territory. I don't know. But I do know that doing a simple comparison of features and capabilities will help you decide which detector is the best for you.

 

[diggin jimmy hoffa]

Don't know if you seen this posted thread here on the forums, but thought I would include it here for you. Gives some idea how the new guys then were doing.

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,218590.0.html

HH

DJH

 

[W6PEA]

I liked the Sovereign GT as a good start out machine. I got my wife a ExplorerSE pro2.

 

[warsawdaddy]

I don't have either one but what I have seen,the only real difference is that the e-trac has the usb port capability.I know the E-Trac weighs in at 4.8lbs w/battery,that's heavy for me.I don't know what the SE weighs in at.About $200 difference in price,so I wouldn't think there was a whole lot of performance difference.The E-Trac is a newer model which accounts for most of the price difference,I would think.Goodluck with your choice.Before ordering online,I would visit a dealer and handle them both in a test bed.Dealer would probably give you the same price as online anyway,I know one that does.

 

[Brett]

Ok, a lot of good info in this thread already... I'm sure you still don't know which way to go though... well, everyone likes what they like... and it's true if you learn the machine you HAVE it will work wonders for you.

Either machine is going to go deep and give you that signature Minelab sound.

I detected with the SE Pro for a whole summer/fall/and half of a winter... since then I've had the E-Trac.

What you get with the E-Trac is a slightly different angled handle... I would say more confortable.

You also get a much faster and easy to navigate menu. The sluggishness of the SE Pro's menu infuriates me (I'm an electronic engineer, and as a user I just look at it and say.. "this is not what I paid over $1000 for, I wouldn't have let this happen")

You get to have the Smartfind graph AND the digital Ferrous and Conductive numbers on the screen at the same time. You can also invert which one is BIG, so you can have BIG graph and small numbers, or BIG numbers and small graph... I really like having the big numbers at dusk and for night hunting. Oh hell, I like the numbers a lot on the E-Trac because it's very accurate with the numbers. The SE Pro will jump around and you have to really interpret the "dance" of the cursor on the smartfind graph more than relying on the slowly updating numbers. They changed the algorithm in the E-Trac to flatten the ferrous response so that all targets pretty much have an FE of 12, give or take a number. Since the CO scale is expanded from 31 to 50, you get more resolution there to try to figure out what is what, and when you see a 12-47, you know it's a quarter... Andy Sabsich's book details this algorithm change much more if you want to read about it. When the E-Trac hits on something... it seems to really lock in on a number way better than my SE Pro ever did.

The DEPTH and TARGET info actually update in pinpoint mode, and they update more reliably when in your normal motion mode sweeping over a target.

The USB thing is pretty much a gimmick, unless you are into complex patterns... then maybe it would be useful. I have not used it since owning the E-Trac. I just run the default coins program... bingo bango.

You can easily switch to the Quickmask mode to open up your screen on the E-Trac... and while you can do this on the SE Pro, you have to press the button 3 times instead of just a simple toggle ON/OFF with the E-Trac, and because the SE Pro is slow... well, so is just switching between menus. Also, you can mask more than just the ferrous content in Quickmask... you can pull a mask over for the conductive parameter at the same time. I usually just have a FE mask, but in heavy trash (especially foil and pull tabs) it's nice to pull that CO mask over to help isolate the coins.

But wait, there's more!

With the addition of the Trash Density feature, you'll actually LIKE to use masking and patterns. When the Trash Density feature is set to LOW, an unmasked target can be silenced if a neighboring masked target is a stronger signal. When the TD is set to HIGH, it's just the opposite... unmasked targets will sound no matter what... The first time I used an E-Trac, I was amazed by how quiet it was until it hit a good target. This is the feature that really makes the E-Trac worth getting, as if you didn't have enough reasons.

Sure, the E-Trac is more $$$... but I'm sure you already know that and just want whichever detector tickles your funny bone best.

At the end of the day... there is no magic answer... it will be up to you to pick a detector, and make it work for you. If you get it and it doesn't perform well... something's wrong. It could be the detector is just defective, but most likely it will be because you have not given it time to sink in, have not had the patience during the learning process or just have a mental roadblock for whatever reason. All of these top of the line detectors work VERY well. Some have interesting features that seem to set them appart, but if you went on a group hunt with all of them... I bet everyone would average the same number of great finds.

No matter what you decide MasterEagle22, you know you are getting a great machine and it's just going to take time to become "one" with the machine. Good luck and Happy Hunting!!

 

[W6PEA]

I got my wife one of the Explorer SE Pro2's We went out to Baker Ca. This weekend, found a lot of spent shell casings. A lot of bullets, and slugs. Found several coins, 2 quarters, several penny's a nickel and a couple of dimes. Also found a few pieces of quartz with cooper in then. Also a couple rocks with cooper in them. This just out of the box and charged over night. Never used before and or powered up. Until Saturday morning.

 

[TXDIRTFISHER]

I bought a new SE Pro and it is the best detector I've ever had (I've owned 3 models from other manufacturers). I can't speak for the E-Trac. The SE Pro is outstanding and you won't regret buying one.

JP

 

[W6PEA]

I got my wife one of the Explorer SE Pro2's We went out to Baker Ca. This weekend, found a lot of spent shell casings. A lot of bullets, and slugs. Found several coins, 2 quarters, several penny's a nickel and a couple of dimes. Also found a few pieces of quartz with cooper in them. Also a couple rocks with cooper in them. This just out of the box and charged over night. Never used before and or powered up. Until Saturday morning.