After Losing my CTX..Why I'm going back to the Etrac!
- Thread starter rluna
- Start date
Gonebeeping
Elite Member
I have been running in 50 tones with the upper end set at 1150 htz on the Ctx. When I was running in other modes such as Combined I was having to stop and investigate every signal that fell into that upper bin just like you said. In 50 tones I can hear the differences much better and usually tell if its silver or clad. However the Etrac is a beast, I loved mine and would never feel under equipped in the slightest going back to one.
rluna
Elite Member
Thanks much for that update GB. Even if I felt under equipped, it would not
be by much. I mean, I will admit that the CTX is an all around better machine but
when it comes to finding Silver and Copper, I dont think it's better by much at all.
Heres an example:
Went hunting today with a buddy to an old farm house from 1890.
Me with my Etrac and him with his CTX.
During the hunt he commented that he was getting a lot of clad dimes.
I wasn't getting any. So I asked him, the next time you get a clad dime
reading call me over so I can check it with the Etrac. He did that twice.
The first time I said it wasn't a dime and it was a penny.
The second time I said it wasn't a dime and it actually was a dime.
It was reading 12-39 12-40 on his CTX at 4"
For me it was jumping around but never at the numbers for a clad dime.
The main thing was it did not give that Silver sound that I am so familiar with.... and at
4" I dont care what is next to it(within reason) If it's silver it's going to sound off as
Silver with the Etrac. So I wasn't digging any of those signal because I knew it wasn't
Silver, or Copper for that matter because with the Etrac the copper sounds off with a
distinct sound also.
At the end of the hunt he had 10 dimes and I had 1! That one dime that I did actually
dig.....Was Silver!
Now does that mean he wouldn't have got that silver dime if his machine went over it.....of course he would have got it....but he would have dug
10 clad dimes to get it.
Heres the cool part for you Etrac owners....
When I got the signal for that silver dime I called over to my buddy who was about
40 feet away and I said, "This is a Silver!" I didn't say this could be a Silver or
this is possibly a Silver.....I knew it was Silver! And sure enough, it was a 1957 Rosie.
It was the only Silver we got that day unfortunately....it was another one of those old
farms with not a lot of coins
GB, I'm Glad you found a way with the CTX to differentiate the Silver a little better.
At one point I tried using 50 tone to get more of that Etrac sound that
I was use to. It just wasn't the same.
Like I described in another thread, its Kinda like listening to Queens Bohemian Rhapsody
through a 2 inch tweeter……
all the notes and instruments are still there but it just doesn't have the same
effect.
By that I mean I do believe the Ctx 50 tone and the Etrac's Multi tone both do the 50 tones
but there was just not that same effect on the CTX. The 50 tones on the CTX were
just being played differently....Hard to explain.
.
Gonebeeping
Elite Member
I agree with you it's just not the same, especially sound wise, but I wonder how much of that sound difference I would have noticed or even cared about if I hadn't had the Etrac first and gotten so used to it. I keep reading what more experienced folks than myself say about the 2 and try not to make the CTX into a Etrac. I think I was just programed to the Etrac and and now my ears need to be deprogramed, lol.
Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
rluna
Elite Member
Good point as we know the CTX is definitely a really really good machine.
I didn't have mine long enough to truly become one with it but I'll definitely
be anxious to hear your thoughts on the CTX as you do start gelling with it.
Of course if I had not lost mine I would still be swinging it. Would I have kept it??
I dont know... as even in the last few weeks I had it I wasn't any more impressed
with it over the Etrac running the CTX in combined mode. And even during those
last few weeks of having it I was telling my hunting buddy that I wasn't sure if I
was going to keep it or not. I guess I'll never know
.
Good point as we know the CTX is definitely a really really good machine.
I didn't have mine long enough to truly become one with it but I'll definitely
be anxious to hear your thoughts on the CTX as you do start gelling with it.
Of course if I had not lost mine I would still be swinging it. Would I have kept it??
I dont know... as even in the last few weeks I had it I wasn't any more impressed
with it over the Etrac running the CTX in combined mode. And even during those
last few weeks of having it I was telling my hunting buddy that I wasn't sure if I
was going to keep it or not. I guess I'll never know
.
Lets try a little experiment.
The next time you are hunting a park near Racine, leave your Etrac behind, then I will come along and take it.
I will use it for three weeks and if I like it better than my CTX, I will leave mine behind
Just kidding, really, very wll written post with a lot of good information thoughout this whole thread.
Shoot me a PM, we should hunt!
rluna
Elite Member
Lets try a little experiment.
The next time you are hunting a park near Racine, leave your Etrac behind, then I will come along and take it.
I will use it for three weeks and if I like it better than my CTX, I will leave mine behind
Just kidding, really, very well written post with a lot of good information throughout this whole thread.
Shoot me a PM, we should hunt!
Hey Mat, that was funny....until you got me thinking of my CTX and then a tear
came to my eye.
Hey, I bumped into a buddy of yours at Gordon Park last week. He was swinging an
AT Pro with a small sniper coil.....forgot his name.
Ya, we should get together and hunt....I'll pm you.
Rand(nightdigger)
coin chaser
Forum Supporter
Glad to hear you back swinging a minelab man! Congrats on the new toy and good luck out there buddy. You may want to look into a tether for it though.
coin chaser
Forum Supporter
Lets try a little experiment.
The next time you are hunting a park near Racine, leave your Etrac behind, then I will come along and take it.
I will use it for three weeks and if I like it better than my CTX, I will leave mine behind
Just kidding, really, very wll written post with a lot of good information thoughout this whole thread.
Shoot me a PM, we should hunt!
Wait one minute.... Your CTX??? When did this happen?!?! I think a congrats is in order for switching to minelab!
Mud-puppy
Forum Supporter
It was like all of ours 'Worst Nightmare' CC...What happened to Brother Rluna.... Like in that one dream when things go really tragic fast with no way out...Well, He's on the rebound and ready to get even! So thats good!
Mud
coin chaser
Forum Supporter
But I was quoting matmit who said "leave his CTX". He was a Atpro swinger in a sea of Minelabs at our Chicago park hunt!
gunwolf
Elite Member
great post... for me I can tell by tone the difference between clad dime and silver dime with my E-trac... I was and still kinda am on the fence about getting a CTX... also as posted above, I can tell an IH, a wheaty, and a memorial copper just by tone alone... I love my E-trac and even if I ever do decide to pull the trigger on the CTX the E-trac will remain with me.
rluna
Elite Member
Glad to hear you back swinging a minelab man! Congrats on the new toy and good luck out there buddy. You may want to look into a tether for it though.
Hey, thanks Lee!
The weight actually doesn't bother me too much....as long as I'm diggin something
every 10 or 15 minutes to give my arm a rest I'm ok.
Well now that I'm thinking about it.....with the Etrac I dont dig a lot of junk or clad
for that matter so quite often it can be a while before I dig something.
And then my arm starts to hurt.
Ok Lee, maybe your right
........ (that was humbling)I still have the sling from the CTX. I think I will zip tie a connecting ring onto the
Etrac like I did the CTX so I can try the sling on the Etrac
.
coin chaser
Forum Supporter
Hey, thanks Lee!
The weight actually doesn't bother me too much....as long as I'm diggin something
every 10 or 15 minutes to give my arm a rest I'm ok.
Well now that I'm thinking about it.....with the Etrac I dont dig a lot of junk or clad
for that matter so quite often it can be a while before I dig something.
And then my arm starts to hurt.
Ok Lee, maybe your right
I still have the sling from the CTX. I think I will zip tie a connecting ring onto the
Etrac like I did the CTX so I can try the sling on the Etrac
.
Very good reply but.... Not because of weight I meant so you don't leave it behind buddy! 
rluna
Elite Member
Oh man! "Tethered".....now I get it. Humbled again
If we ever go hunting together you better keep both eyes on that CTX of yours
.
rluna
Elite Member
As I was reading some threads on the CTX I felt led to give
another thought I have on the CTX/Etrac comparison.
I don't believe the Etrac is a better machine than the CTX.
I thinks its somewhat close....how close?
Well, closer in some areas and not as close in other areas. lol
I just think that, (for reasons I posted) that the Etrac just works
for me better.
Could I find a few more coins with the CTX in the long run?
I honestly believe I could. But for reasons I stated in the
original post, I just enjoy finding the coins I do find with the
Etrac more
Happy Hunting Everyone!!
.
another thought I have on the CTX/Etrac comparison.
I don't believe the Etrac is a better machine than the CTX.
I thinks its somewhat close....how close?
Well, closer in some areas and not as close in other areas. lol
I just think that, (for reasons I posted) that the Etrac just works
for me better.
Could I find a few more coins with the CTX in the long run?
I honestly believe I could. But for reasons I stated in the
original post, I just enjoy finding the coins I do find with the
Etrac more
Happy Hunting Everyone!!
.
coin chaser
Forum Supporter
As I was reading some threads on the CTX I felt led to give
another thought I have on the CTX/Etrac comparison.
I don't believe the Etrac is a better machine than the CTX.
I thinks its somewhat close....how close?
Well, closer in some areas and not as close in other areas. lol
I just think that, (for reasons I posted) that the Etrac just works
for me better.
Could I find a few more coins with the CTX in the long run?
I honestly believe I could. But for reasons I stated in the
original post, I just enjoy finding the coins I do find with the
Etrac more
Happy Hunting Everyone!!
.
Everybody has to find "their" detector. Whats good for the goose is not always good for the gander. If you found what works best for you and what you enjoy using then that truly is the best MD for you. Each person has to figure it out on their own and there is no true right or wrong. It's all about personal preference and what works for you.
Now that you have that figured oh it's time to dig some silver buddy!
rluna
Elite Member
Exactly...everyone's brain is wired differently.
Some are even missing a few wires
........Like the guy who left his CTX at the park 
I already got some silver with in the past few days so I'm already on it
.
Rattlehead
Forum Supporter
Exactly...everyone's brain is wired differently.
Some are even missing a few wires
.
At least you're able to joke about it now. 
Glad to hear that Etrac is already sniffing out some silver for ya!
Dewsweeper894
Elite Member
This is a great thread . For anyone considering either machine one of the most interesting and informative posts ever. One thing is for certain . Both are proven killers . I would love to get out and run with you big dogs someday soon.
Seeing who can lift there leg higher is one thing but I just wanna watch you guys work over some dirt. I have had the chance to hunt with a couple guys on here and found myself sitting back a few times and just observing .
It's amaizing how true hunters can pass threw large chunks of time totally entranced and connected to there equipment and mission. Having an idea of what is going on and then watching a good hunters as they work a site as an outside observer is something to see. Your discription of the machines and sounds seems dead on. Watching a Ctx guys and ETrac working both machines I can actualy see the difference in styles. Very informative and discriptive post guys.
Happy hunting , Dew
Seeing who can lift there leg higher is one thing but I just wanna watch you guys work over some dirt. I have had the chance to hunt with a couple guys on here and found myself sitting back a few times and just observing .
It's amaizing how true hunters can pass threw large chunks of time totally entranced and connected to there equipment and mission. Having an idea of what is going on and then watching a good hunters as they work a site as an outside observer is something to see. Your discription of the machines and sounds seems dead on. Watching a Ctx guys and ETrac working both machines I can actualy see the difference in styles. Very informative and discriptive post guys.
Happy hunting , Dew
