Myers Depot Metal Detectors

E-Trac versus Spectra V3i

bruinvikes

bruinvikes

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Dec 20, 2011
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Location
Curtice, Ohio
I will be upgrading from a F2 when I get enough money saved up but I am wanting to know which of these machines would be the better purchase. I really only want advice from hunters that have used both machines instead of hearing from people that own one of them and speak highly of such machine. I don't mean to seem harsh but I'd rather know from knowledge rather than your heart.

I mostly hunt for coins, relics or the occasional jewelry. I rarely hunt in sand and I mostly hunt in the dirt. I am looking for depth and that is a big factor for what I am looking for, but with spending $1,500 on a new machine I will be looking at all the factors that you can tell me instead of only depth. I live and hunt in Ohio and we have pretty good soil in the areas that I hunt. Thank you for taking the time to read my post and any response that you can give! Happy hunting and have a great day!
 
Haven't used the Etrac, so ignore this if you like...

It's generally accepted that if you want turn on and go and deep out of the box, get an Etrac. If you like tinkering with settings to get the machine set perfect for any given ground, and potentially being deeper than the etrac if set correctly, get the V3i.
 
buy used explorer and with the rest money Whites. with explorer you will have the same depth like etrac, the same detector like etrac.
 
Have used Whites (DFX) and Etrac. Whites are great machines but the main reason I changed to minelab was because I didn't want to continually make adjustments and fine tune. I don't get a lot of time to hunt so when I do I want to be able to turn on and swing. I can do that with the Etrac. I'm not sure what depth is like on V3i but my DFX consistently hit targets at 4-5". Occasionally deeper. The Etrac hits consistently at 7-8". Another reason I switched to the Etrac was because I was going to be doing a lot more private property and wanted to make sure I made the best use of my time and could be confident if I got my coil over something good I'd know to dig it. And it has paid off.
 
Stasysba said:
buy used explorer and with the rest money Whites. with explorer you will have the same depth like etrac, the same detector like etrac.
Click to expand...

No, it's NOT. :roll:

The E-Trac is a completely different detector from the Explorer. I have been swinging one for over 4 years I would highly recommend one. However, I have hunted sites with people swinging V3is and they did just fine too.

I think Crumble gave some great advice about comparing the two.
 
hmm

here we go another minelab vs at pro or minelab vs whites or vs fisher

Heres my answer. Go to a local detector store and check which one feels rite for you. Do some demo testing

I have a friend who has the new ctx3030 and I have a whites mxt-pro. many times he has had a really deep target and asked me with my stock 12inch coil to come over scan see what type of reading i get. Well guess what as far as his detector has gotten objects ive scanned them and also have gotten the same or close reading.

Minelab in my opinion is not ALL THAT!!!! Id take a whites mxt or the pro over a high dollar minelab ANYDAY!!!!

which one is better??? who knows??? But the majority of people on here will comment on what they have and say it out hunted this guy and it has gone down to china with finds. Most comments are 90% B.S.

In all honesty they are all great machines. :)
 
I have owned both and done a lot of testing between the two. Both are top of the line detectors and either would do you well. Personally, between the E-Trac and V3i I'd go V3i for the type and places I hunt(Parks/Schools/tot lots/Indian War sites). The E-Trac is one of the best deep coin detectors on the market, but my experience was the V3i was just as deep and a bit better on the jewelry hunting/relic hunting side.

The V3i does take a little more patients to master, and I feel the E-Trac is a little more accurate on the VDI on extremely deep coins.

The tones of the E-Trac are the strong points and jewelry is the weak point.
 
I have a V3i, its depth when custom tuned is miles ahead over how it comes stock. Simply, it can do anything you want it to do in every condition imaginable. It does have a steep learning curve, but it is worth it.
 
Capt. Morgan said:
The learning curve isn't THAT steep.
Click to expand...

Yeah it's not too bad. More settings than most normal metal detectors, but only about 15 settings that effect performance. After using it for a few hunts it all starts to fall into place and starts to become second nature.
 
If you decide on the V3i get it before August 30th. For 200.00 in factory accessories free.
HH. Phil
 
I would try them both out. There are plenty of folks around that use them both. I got to hunt with a guy who has the V3i,it is an impressive machine but may not be for everyone just like the Etrac isn't for everyone.
GL
HH
 
:)

flphil said:
If you decide on the V3i get it before August 30th. For 200.00 in factory accessories free.
HH. Phil
Click to expand...

Yep, I just bought my mxt pro a sponsor and got the 150 free bonus buck. Than yesterday I finally got a pin pointer Garrertt from a sponsor that gave me a SMOKINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG deal.
 
I hunted all of last year with a MXT Pro and made some spectacular finds. It runs super deep with a 12" coil and has very impressive separation with a small coil. It is ultra easy to set up.

But....it left me wanting more bells and whistles.

This year I got the CTX....It is super fun to use and is super high tech but I don't feel that it outperforms the MXT Pro by any considerable margin. The kicker is that it is waterproof and I have doubled my silver count because of this alone.

The etrac is awesome. So is the V3i. Once you get up to that pricepoint, I think they are practically equal...it boils down to user preference/brand loyalty.

FWIW, I feel that the White's hits harder on gold. Maybe its just me.

Also, I prefer the White's VDI (number/coin ID) instead of Minelab (numbers that somewhat identify the coin).
 
gordonquixote said:
I hunted all of last year with a MXT Pro and made some spectacular finds. It runs super deep with a 12" coil and has very impressive separation with a small coil. It is ultra easy to set up.

But....it left me wanting more bells and whistles.

This year I got the CTX....It is super fun to use and is super high tech but I don't feel that it outperforms the MXT Pro by any considerable margin. The kicker is that it is waterproof and I have doubled my silver count because of this alone.

The etrac is awesome. So is the V3i. Once you get up to that pricepoint, I think they are practically equal...it boils down to user preference/brand loyalty.

FWIW, I feel that the White's hits harder on gold. Maybe its just me.

Also, I prefer the White's VDI (number/coin ID) instead of Minelab (numbers that somewhat identify the coin).
Click to expand...

I agree fully to your comment. I hunt with a friend who uses a xp deus and a Minelab ctx3030 and so far he has not out performed me. AT ALL!!!!
 
Thank you everyone for the replies!

hunter081 said:
here we go another minelab vs at pro or minelab vs whites or vs fisher

Heres my answer. Go to a local detector store and check which one feels rite for you. Do some demo testing

I have a friend who has the new ctx3030 and I have a whites mxt-pro. many times he has had a really deep target and asked me with my stock 12inch coil to come over scan see what type of reading i get. Well guess what as far as his detector has gotten objects ive scanned them and also have gotten the same or close reading.

Minelab in my opinion is not ALL THAT!!!! Id take a whites mxt or the pro over a high dollar minelab ANYDAY!!!!

which one is better??? who knows??? But the majority of people on here will comment on what they have and say it out hunted this guy and it has gone down to china with finds. Most comments are 90% B.S.

In all honesty they are all great machines. :)
Click to expand...

Hunter081, apparently you didn't read my thread before posting, it's alright, there's at least one in every crowd.
 
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