Scooterjim
Elite Member
Could there be a language setting but it's in German? Spracheinstellungen
My Etrac is dead. :( Send it for repair or get something else?**UPDATE** Repair estimate is in...ouch!**UPDATE 2**Got my detector back but the menus a
- Thread starter Waveoff
- Start date
Waveoff
Elite Member
Not on my repaired machine unfortunately. If they had used a newer motherboard in it that option would be there.
Repair or replace? Financial situations usually answer the question. Me? When a detector dies I figure it is a sign from the Gods to move on. But then it only happened to me twice. Once I sank an older Sovereign. Ruining my hunting trip upset me more than the money for another detector. The other was battery corrosion. So both my fault.
RBachman
Forum Supporter
Here's another way to think of it.
Are you ready to spend the extra $$$ for the CTX? And, would you buy an Etrac in the same condition as yours for the cost of that repair. For example, if the repair is $200, would you pay someone $200 to just have that machine as a spare?
On an upgraded machine, is it time to upgrade? Do you want to upgrade? If so, then subtract the repair costs from the upgrade to consider what the additional cost will be. Using an example of a $200 repair, and a used CTX at $1,000. The $200 is already spent if you plan to continue to metal detect, so the extra costs is really $800 in this scenario. So, does a CTX for $800 benefit you more than a $200 Etrac? Will the CTX help you find enough coin to pay for the difference? What do you consider your fun and enjoyment worth? Do you need the exercise for health? What's the value of health benefits? Maybe fixing the Etrac and buying a CTX for $1,200 (again using the numbers I tossed out) is the way to go. This will get you two detectors for just $600 each. In all, that's less than a couple of 3-day passes to Disney World. Disney World or metal detecting?
A bit more justification like this and you'll own them all. LOL.
For me, it'd be hard to pass on a CTX, and then have the Etrac repaired with the extra $$$ you find.
Are you ready to spend the extra $$$ for the CTX? And, would you buy an Etrac in the same condition as yours for the cost of that repair. For example, if the repair is $200, would you pay someone $200 to just have that machine as a spare?
On an upgraded machine, is it time to upgrade? Do you want to upgrade? If so, then subtract the repair costs from the upgrade to consider what the additional cost will be. Using an example of a $200 repair, and a used CTX at $1,000. The $200 is already spent if you plan to continue to metal detect, so the extra costs is really $800 in this scenario. So, does a CTX for $800 benefit you more than a $200 Etrac? Will the CTX help you find enough coin to pay for the difference? What do you consider your fun and enjoyment worth? Do you need the exercise for health? What's the value of health benefits? Maybe fixing the Etrac and buying a CTX for $1,200 (again using the numbers I tossed out) is the way to go. This will get you two detectors for just $600 each. In all, that's less than a couple of 3-day passes to Disney World. Disney World or metal detecting?
A bit more justification like this and you'll own them all. LOL.
For me, it'd be hard to pass on a CTX, and then have the Etrac repaired with the extra $$$ you find.
Well this just stinks! My Etrac doesn't want to power on. I've tried fresh batteries, a fully charged rechargeable battery pack, cleaning the terminals on the battery packs, cleaning the springs inside the battery compartment, blowing out the battery compartment with an air duster, opening the control box and blowing it out, etc. All I get is a low volume pop from the speaker when I try to power it on. I'm thinking that the repair costs will be pretty high. I'll contact a repair facility and see what they say.
I'm open to getting a different machine though! My short list is as follows:
Another Etrac
Nox 800
Used CTX
Deus
I'm leaning more towards a CTX because the Etrac has made me a fan of FBS. Although, with another Etrac, the coil options are seemingly endless. I like the ID on the CTX and Etrac.
The Nox 800 seems like it can pick through the iron pretty well and pull out some previously impossible targets. However, the more I read and see, it essentially looks like a beep and dig machine like my Vaquero that just happens to have a screen.
The Deus looks pretty nice but seems chattery. That wouldn't bother me too badly since I run my Etrac pretty wide open and it chatters a lot. I do like how it can pick through the trash and go pretty deep.
I'm willing to spend around $1,000 +/- a few hundred bucks.
What to do???
Oh...and please don't turn this into a mudslinging contest about what machine is better!
Waveoff
Elite Member
Thanks for the feedback guys! I got it repaired but I'm kicking around the idea of selling it and getting something else. I want to see if I'm happy with it for about a month before I decide whether to sell it or not.
Waveoff
Elite Member
I can't even imagine what the repair costs would be like on a CTX!
That is weird that they'd have a German demo machine. The only thing I can think of is that the demo machine was just sitting there and they turned it on to see that it powered up and were like, "She works! Let's transplant her motherboard into this broken one!"
Waveoff
Elite Member
Just a quick update here...
Between using the detector and working, I haven't had a chance to mail it back to the repair center. I contacted them and asked if I could drop it off myself on 10/12 since I'm sort of driving past Alum Bank, PA on my way to VA for the weekend. They said that would be fine and that they would fix it while I go grab lunch or something.
I've been making some nice finds with it being in German though!
Between using the detector and working, I haven't had a chance to mail it back to the repair center. I contacted them and asked if I could drop it off myself on 10/12 since I'm sort of driving past Alum Bank, PA on my way to VA for the weekend. They said that would be fine and that they would fix it while I go grab lunch or something.
I've been making some nice finds with it being in German though!
Waveoff
Elite Member
My girlfriend and I stopped by the Detector Center today on the way to VA for the weekend. It's in the same building as Fort Bedford Metal Detectors. This guy answered the door when I knocked and was like, "Hey Fred...remember me?" I instantly recognized the face but am terrible with names. Here, it was this guy Keith that I used to work with years ago when I flew for a company just outside of Cleveland. He owns Fort Bedford Metal Detectors. What a small world!
The Detector Center and Fort Bedford are two different entities even though they share the same building. The guys took my machine back and fixed it while Keith and I caught up. He and my girlfriend knew a bunch of the same people because they both worked the same company many years ago.
I got my Etrac back after a few minutes and she's speaking English again! Apparently they also repaired the screen because the old one had a dent in it. She's as good as new now.
The Detector Center and Fort Bedford are two different entities even though they share the same building. The guys took my machine back and fixed it while Keith and I caught up. He and my girlfriend knew a bunch of the same people because they both worked the same company many years ago.
I got my Etrac back after a few minutes and she's speaking English again! Apparently they also repaired the screen because the old one had a dent in it. She's as good as new now.
Soil Surgeon
Forum Supporter
" All's well that ends well " !
OzarkDetector
Senior Member
Hahahahahahaha !
Waveoff
Elite Member
I did learn a couple more German words out of the whole fiasco so it wasn't a totally negative experience.
