Explorer SE or E-Trac?

brokenarrow

Full Member
Jan 20, 2009
247
4
San Antonio,Texas
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT PRO
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
ok this question is for both explorer and e-trac users. :dontknow:
i have an explorer.......but two guys i know hunt with e-tracs and they both tell me to trade it for an e-trac.
now im still learning the explorer and my finds arent as frequent or as good as these two other guys i know and im sure the machine has alot to do with finding good stuff but i also believe that skill with that machine is just as important. now i just need some input on this subject. i think maybe after i become skillfull with my explorer then maybe ill trade it for an e-trac....or am i just short changing my self and lagging behind because of my choice of detectors?
now on the other side of the coin, another hunting buddy of mine uses a Garrett 2500 and he has found some of the nicest and oldest coins out of all of us and my other hunting buddy uses a whites m6, and he always has the biggest coin count out of all of us as well and he also finds his fair share of silver. ive yet to find a true silver coin. i know its probably me and not my explorer which tells me that unless Bryce is hunting side by side to me, an e-trac really wont make to much of a difference. what do you all think? any feedback would be appreciated. :icon_scratch: :icon_scratch:
 

gibsondan

Full Member
Nov 15, 2008
178
1
The common thread with your friends and their different detectors is that they obviously have learned their machines very well. And you will too with your Explorer. It's an awesome detector. Just get out there and hunt and have fun.
 

Dano Sverige

Silver Member
Aug 10, 2009
2,946
189
SWEDEN
Detector(s) used
(on the dry)Minelab ETRAC, backup x-terra 305.(in the wet ) Minelab Excalibur II
The Etrac will crush all those machines lol..BUT,you have to know what you're hearing and how to set it up correctly! There's a huge learning curve for Etrac.
The thing is,as i see in signatures all over.."if you don't walk over it,you ain't gonna find it!"
Your friends are walking over the finds,and they probably know their machines well.Etracs an advanced explorer really.More bells and whistles,but you have to learn them and what they do or are capable of doing.Once you manage it though..damn it's good! :laughing9:
 

LI Tom

Bronze Member
Oct 19, 2006
1,035
169
Is the E-Trac going to justify the the cost in performance improvement over an Explorer?My used $400 Explorer XS is going to find most of what an E-Trac can find.If someone gave me one,would I use it?Sure,but I'm not paying $1300 for one.HH
 

dirt doctor

Sr. Member
Aug 31, 2006
432
94
California Bay Area
LI Tom said:
Is the E-Trac going to justify the the cost in performance improvement over an Explorer?My used $400 Explorer XS is going to find most of what an E-Trac can find.If someone gave me one,would I use it?Sure,but I'm not paying $1300 for one.HH

These are pretty much my sentiments exactly Bert . Over the years I have went thru a lot of detectors and as it was said , It is mostly about walking over good targets and knowing your detector . I'm getting older now and want to spend more time hunting with a couple of machines I know really well rather than participating in " the grass is greener on the other side Syndrome" . I'm pretty happy with what I have now and am still learning a lot on both detectors . I also have friends that stepped up up to the E-trac and are happier with them . Are you comparing signals when your buddies are finding stuff before they dig it up ? You may find your SE is more than adequate .
I am currently hunting a small spot with both my SE and my M6 and doing a lot of coil switching with both of them and just when I think I've got it cleaned out , I find something that keeps me coming back . The biggest thing with the SE is going real slow and keeping your sweeps close together . I thought I was going slow enough before but I was wrong .Good luck with whatever you decide . :thumbsup:

H H ,
George
 

John S

Jr. Member
Dec 5, 2005
48
3
I have had the SE & e-trac. If I were you I would stay with the SE , sounds are much better and it is not that that much better it the trash on the ID. The e-trac is ok but if I had it to do over I would stayed with the SE.
 

Digger

Hero Member
Mar 24, 2003
740
186
Dodge City Kansas
Detector(s) used
XP Deus, E-Trac, Makro Racer 2, DFX
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Putting aside any personal feelings, I'd say the obvious improvements is a faster processor and better ergonomic. I owned the SE and didn't really care for it for these two reasons. If I hunted solo then the SE would have been OK, but I hunt with guys using White's, and I found myself lagging behind on every hunt. The SE was also very hard on my back. With the E-Trac I have to problems keeping up, and I haven't noticed the problem with weight like I did with my SE.
 

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