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

[I can dig it]

Thanks again everybody. "start a brush fire" lol. But seriously, 30 second sweep speed in trashy areas Whoa, I don't think I have the patience to do that for very long. And 90% of the places I have to hunt are very trashy. Some so bad there is literally trash every few inches. Some people say dig everything. I would NEVER be allowed back at the places I hunt if I did that. This sucks cause I believe when people say how good the Etrac is at finding silver. But it may not work for my situation.

Cincinnatikid mentions the Deus. I guess I can check that out.

 

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[TrpnBils]

Thanks again everybody. "start a brush fire" lol. But seriously, 30 second sweep speed in trashy areas Whoa, I don't think I have the patience to do that for very long. And 90% of the places I have to hunt are very trashy. Some so bad there is literally trash every few inches. Some people say dig everything. I would NEVER be allowed back at the places I hunt if I did that. This sucks cause I believe when people say how good the Etrac is at finding silver. But it may not work for my situation.

Cincinnatikid mentions the Deus. I guess I can check that out.

That ultra slow speed I mentioned is in the worst of the worst areas I have ever hunted. In this site, at the worst part of it, it's not uncommon to dig a good signal, get that good target, and dig 3 or 4 nails in the same hole. I'm glad I do it that way. Most of my average yard searches have a decent amount of trash, but I don't have to go super slow there... The Deus is undeniably faster, but its downfall (from everyone I've talked to...never used one myself) is that at depth its reliability to accurately ID a target suffer. I was considering a Deus for awhile and that's the thing that steered me away from it. The Etrac, and especially the 3030 (which you can find used for about what you buy a new Etrac for) really does well at keeping IDs stable at depth. The Etrac varies its numbers a bit, but mostly with the Ferrous numbers....which most of us don't pay attention to much anyway when we're hunting for coins. A shallow dime might read at 12-44 but a deep dime might read 20-44. We pay attention to the second (conductive) number and just use the first number (the ferrous number) as a general guide.

One more thing - take air tests and test garden tests (in new soil especially) with a BIG grain of salt...but this struck me as something I wouldn't enjoy when I looked at this thread here: http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/deus/240965-xp-deus-conductivity-scale-us-targets.html . There is a list of VDI numbers for the Deus separated by frequency. Depending on what frequency you were running, an Indian Head, for example, could range from 58 all the way up to 85. I personally don't think I would like that much variation. I know the numbers vary with any detector, and I've never used a Deus, but that seemed to me like something that would just irritate me having to remember four different sets of numbers depending on what frequency I've run.

 

[I can dig it]

Yes I understand the issues with air/garden tests. Maybe I'll keep the AT pro for now and add a CTX when the hobby funds allow. I know the At Pro isn't the best machine, but it's recovery speed is almost instant. In trashy areas with LOT'S of targets in the ground, it fires like a machine gun. And I like how the 5x8 DD cuts between targets that are right next to each other like a knife. But this is the only machine I've owned so I really don't have anything to compare it to. Maybe a lot of detectors do that. And also, maybe if I slowed down with the Pro the way I would have to with the Etrac, that might improve performance.

 

[pepperj]

I've hunted beside a few AT Pro while I've used the E-Trac and at the end of the day I've done better, but that could be a lot of factors as I zigged and they zagged. Going from an At Pro to a Minelab will be a learning curve and if you just open it up in relic, two tone ferrous, you'll hear everything no nulling and it will be over whelming also in real iron trashy sites. Though going slow between the signals the machine will shine, the E-Trac also the CTX the processor will be able to keep up by slowing down.
I hunted a small horseshoe park with the SE, E-Trac, and the CTX and the results were interesting as I got more coinage out with the E-Trac over the SE, but when I went up to the CTX it was like hunting a whole new park again with a couple of dozen more silvers and 250+ coins. Most of the coinage with the CTX came up with nails, bottle caps, or the combination something else with the other two. I've gone down to a 8" coil with the E-Trac for balance and arm fatigue and I'm still ok with depth recovery of the finds. It's easier also for target separation in the heavy areas.
I'm thinking of a DEUS as the weight factor is one thing, but given the chance I can still pull 10hr hunting days off with the Minelabs. In looking at the DEUS myself and with a purchaser, we had to question the whole set up, and it seems so flimsy we wondered if it will stand up? Given the amount of users that are out there now using the DEUS it seems not to be an issue. Waving something that weighs 1/2 the weight seems appealing in it self. I witnessed three newbies on the DEUS(not to detecting) this last spring and two were swinging slower and the results were great compared to the one that was going around whipping back and forth all over the fields because it was light and they heard it was a fast machine. So there might be an advantage of just going the pace of what the site dictates and not what we wish it could. Upgrading to one of the three will be a good thing, it's just a question of what to spend and what will best suit your needs for the next few years of hunting.

 

[TrpnBils]

I witnessed three newbies on the DEUS(not to detecting) this last spring and two were swinging slower and the results were great compared to the one that was going around whipping back and forth all over the fields because it was light and they heard it was a fast machine.

To add to this, I think the speed thing isn't so much what the machine is capable of but more of what your brain is capable of interpreting at fast sweep speeds. Going slower allows your brain to process each signal better than if you're whipping around and just hearing noise until the "perfect" signal comes out.

 

[masterjedi]

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

The Deus is super fast deep and sensitive. The problem with it and all non FBS detectors is that it is a beep and dig machine. The VDI is not accurate enough to really know what you digging so you have to dig so many unnecessary targets. The FBS machines you can truly cherry pick a site. Good luck with whatever you buy.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

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

Reminder, you have to be a Charter Member or supporting vendor to sell here...

 

[I can dig it]

Have you guys seen some of the comments saying the Etrac hits silver better than the CTX? Does that sound right?

 

[pepperj]

To add to this, I think the speed thing isn't so much what the machine is capable of but more of what your brain is capable of interpreting at fast sweep speeds. Going slower allows your brain to process each signal better than if you're whipping around and just hearing noise until the "perfect" signal comes out.

I've detected many heavy iron sites where if you swing fast it's not going to produce much and it's really the case where it thins out and I pick up the speed. I'll get a so-so sounding signal, and I go over it slowly and it changes totally and it's then better sounding target. I've tested it the other way going slow and getting a nice signal, so I'll do the opposite swing quickly over the target and see if I would of picked it up. Out in the open yes most of the time, in heavy iron more times than not I would of missed it by the masking of the iron. Even in the iron and having everything open swing fast and the machine will pick up the largest target in that spot, slow down and there is more targets than what was first thought. Either way it's one of the two processors, the machine or mine.

 

[Jason in Enid]

Have you guys seen some of the comments saying the Etrac hits silver better than the CTX? Does that sound right?

It sounds like BS to me. I used the E-Trac for 5 years before moving up to the CTX. The CTX is better. There is nothing the E-Trac does better than the CTX.

 

[pepperj]

Have you guys seen some of the comments saying the Etrac hits silver better than the CTX? Does that sound right?

I would have to say the SE was the silver machine over the other two later models. That been said the SE had an unfair advantage because it was hunting urban spaces more that the other two later modals. The CTX will sniff out the silver that are masked by small iron like nails and bottle caps where even the E-Trac missed them. The CTX is just as heavy but it's a bonus that it's waterproof, you can put the headphone module in the pocket and be basically wireless, and it's better balanced so it seems a lot lighter to swing. As for the GPS, and other features that the CTX has-well I haven't used any of them so I can't comment on them.

 

[pepperj]

It sounds like BS to me. I used the E-Trac for 5 years before moving up to the CTX. The CTX is better. There is nothing the E-Trac does better than the CTX.

Jason there's many things, your arm will get tired quicker, it collects mud faster in the web of the coil, need a condom for it when it rains. Oh you said better-

 

[Larwar]

It is funny reading all the posts, what everyone has is the best. I'm not saying that anyone is wrong, but it is important to believe in the machine you have. My point be happy with what you have and enjoy the longer you use it the better you understand it, but then you start to wonder what if?

 

[Iron Patch]

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.

This will be about the 14th year I have answered this question. Yes, you should slow down around heavy trash, but that goes for any other detector... and the emphasis is more about your feet than the coil, since very short med. speed pinpointing type sweeps is what works best. I've seen people take very slooooow wide sweeps and they so don't get it, and that's what i think of every time i read this question.

 

[Roger Mn.]

The big coil will wreck your wrist. I had a 14 inch coil on my DFX and only found one dime at 10 inches and i used it a lot' So i don't believe the big coils are much good and just a wast of money.
Now i had an E-Trac for years and with the coil it came with i pulled 4 Indian Head Cents and 2 Wheat cents at 14 inches deep.
You would do great with an E-Trac . I have found 20 or more silver coins that other detectors had missed because of the minerals in the ground.
The E-Trac is the best detector i ever used other than the DFX.
I always sweep the E-Trac fast. There is nothing slow about the sweep speed . Maybe in high trash.

 

[pepperj]

This will be about the 14th year I have answered this question. Yes, you should slow down around heavy trash, but that goes for any other detector... and the emphasis is more about your feet than the coil, since very short med. speed pinpointing type sweeps is what works best. I've seen people take very slooooow wide sweeps and they so don't get it, and that's what i think of every time i read this question.

So your applying this to all the Explore series? I'll agree the shorter sweeps are better than dragging it out to the full swing.

 

[masterjedi]

It sounds like BS to me. I used the E-Trac for 5 years before moving up to the CTX. The CTX is better. There is nothing the E-Trac does better than the CTX.

JIE... You said it perfectly... "There is nothing the E-Trac does better than the CTX"... But there is nothing the CTX does better than the Etrac than > be kinda waterproof (bad seals), it has better ergonomics, has GPS when it works, that's it for approx $1000.00 more.

 

[pepperj]

JIE... You said it perfectly... "There is nothing the E-Trac does better than the CTX"... But there is nothing the CTX does better than the Etrac than > be kinda waterproof (bad seals), it has better ergonomics, has GPS when it works, that's it for approx $1000.00 more.

Just for your post holiday shopping they have released the 2016 upgrades for the CTX, seal kits, and the arm rest.
What about that feature of plugging it in to get upgrades for the unit through the internet? Oh forgot, that's not a money maker for them.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Just for your post holiday shopping they have released the 2016 upgrades for the CTX, seal kits, and the arm rest.
What about that feature of plugging it in to get upgrades for the unit through the internet? Oh forgot, that's not a money maker for them.

Upgrades through Exchange2 is a piece of cake and it's on the net...

 

[pepperj]

Upgrades through Exchange2 is a piece of cake and it's on the net...

The CD was piece of recycling as the files were messed up, the thing is TH when a person is on satellite or a hub the files don't load up properly. Had the machine into the dealer that does things like that, it didn't happen, sent it into Minelab for a repair this past spring, don't know if they did anything as it came back in the same condition, it didn't turn on once I tried it, then it did, then it died for good. So I have to get it back to them again to start this all over again. I'm not even sure if there is anything in the Exchange2 that would enhance my hunting as I even forgot what it offered, and if I didn't need it back then I'm sure I can live without it now. They should have offered a lower priced unit and kept the program separate for the one that needed it.