Need advice on which detector to buy please... V3, E-Trac or Safari

[Warshrike]

Hi everyone. I am looking for the best overall detector for my tastes. I am moving to South Florida and would like to detect the beaches as well as school yards and such. I want to finde coins, gold, silver. I am NOT much into relic hunting. Anyways, I am considering the Whites V3, the E-Trac and the Safari. Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

PS - I have 2 years experience with an ACE 250 but thats it so far. Thanks!

 

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[fmrUSMC_0844]

I would personally go with the Whites but I am a whites kind of guy/ Plus I dont care for how the numbers read on the minelabs, That ferrous /conductive numbering systems messes with me. All are good machines though. See if you have any local dealers to check them out and play around with them to see which one you like best.

 

[mpostma]

I hunt with a Quattro, the early Safari.
I love the machine. Been hunting with it for two seasons now, and have lots of old silver, IHs, Buffs and V-nickels to show for it.

Having said that I would reccomend the E-Trac wholeheartedly. It uses the FBS technology, recovers very quickly, and gets great depth.

I did hunt with a friend of mine with his V-3 late this summer. Incredible machine to look at, with lots of whistles and bells!
Only problem he had was that he couldn't pick up coins at depth. We hunted side by side all day. I found Mercs, Indians, Liberty Nickels, a silver cross, a spanish dime, and a '45 Washington Quarter. He found some clad, and a Liberty Nickel.

The telling event was when I got a clean clear quarter signal at almost a foot down with the Quattro. My friend came over with the V3 to show me how it looked on the display. Problem was he got no signal! He went back to the truck and got his biggest coil, reprogrammed the machine, and swung it again. This time he got a little bump, but not enough to begin to ID it. He looked at me and said, "Well, it isn't a quarter, whatever it is!" I dug it, and pulled a 1945 Washington from 11"!

So, for my money the E-trac would be a good machine.

Good Luck,
Mark

 

[baspinall]

I am partial to the V3 as well. That being said a buddy of mine has the E-Trac and he cleans up with that machine as well. I don't think you can go wrong with either. Whites has wireless headphones, most will say not that big of a deal but I love that feature. Also with the Whites you can trade custom programs via the wireless with other V3 owners. Not a big deal if you don't know anyone else with one though. I get great depth with mine. Heck I could get great depth with a DFX as well, all in the user. A DFX would be a heck of alot cheaper.

Brian

 

[Jimmy(PA)]

I wish I had this problem and needed this advice. I do use an Explorer and i like its depth but thats about it, the Whites (XLT anyway) has a far superior display, tones, and target ID setup IMO. Not having used a v3 I cant comment on its depth but my XLT found me just as many old targets as my Explorers and CZ's. It all comes down to which feels better for you and which tones you like more. try them both out if you can. Whites and Minelabs are very different machine and both awesome at what they do. I think I would use an Explorer at older sites but I would go Whites at most of my other sites but that being said check out the old issues of W&E treasure and see the stuff Ed Fedory found during his XLT days. The Explorers slow swing speed also annoys me but some like it. I say buy them both!