Myers Depot Metal Detectors

ETrac or V3i

Big Treble

Big Treble

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I understand people who have used one or will have an opinion, but my question is for the guys who have used both.

Which seems to be a more accurate deeper machine. I tend to hunt old home sites(woods hunting! house is usually gone) and not parks.
 
Big Treble said:
I understand people who have used one or will have an opinion, but my question is for the guys who have used both.

Which seems to be a more accurate deeper machine. I tend to hunt old home sites(woods hunting! house is usually gone) and not parks.
Click to expand...

I own a V3i and love it, also just bought an E-trac but have not had the chance to use it yet. I'll let you know soon. First impression and from my research the V3i is a better all around machine, with the E-trac being a deeper silver coin detector. If you hunt parks for old coins I'd go E-trac. If you coin, relic, and jewelry hunt then I'd get the V3i.
 
Read the following thread, which started as an explanation of multi-frequency machines but later in the thread turned to how machines, specifically the V31 and the Minelabs use them to optimize the results. There was a lot of information posted after you posted that cleared up the whole concept of those machines for me. It sure makes the decision of which maker and model to choose clearer. I am still a long way off from upgrading but am trying to learn what I might be looking for in the future.

http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=204241
 
Thank Clint for the response, I did read that, and there was good info there. That's what opened my mind to the V3i. Saw several reviews of each, but with most youtube reviews, whichever machine the person is reviewing, it is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

I am thinking if my next step is a higher dollar machine, I like the idea of multiple frequencies to help me from digging total junk when ever possible. When I went from the 350 to ATPro, I felt the iron audio helped me pass more junk up. So my question was not as much why multi was better, but which multi frequency was better.

I guess, I'm also looking for impressions, user friendly features, just overall honest reviews. Maybe someone who has used both on a test field and their impressions of the results.

Thanks again.
 
CoiltoSoil said:
I own a V3i and love it, also just bought an E-trac but have not had the chance to use it yet. I'll let you know soon. First impression and from my research the V3i is a better all around machine, with the E-trac being a deeper silver coin detector. If you hunt parks for old coins I'd go E-trac. If you coin, relic, and jewelry hunt then I'd get the V3i.
Click to expand...


Awesome, waiting to hear.
 
Benefits of the V3i are is customization which can be good or bad, depending on whether or not you're into tweaking settings and making programs, the display is also unmatched by anything on the market, big, bright color HD, you can also run all 3 frequencies, and see how each hits, or run a single frequency for added depth.

Benefits of the E-trac (from what I've seen so far, I just got it) are is simplicity, it goes deep right out of the box, it feels lighter, and the stock coil IMO is better than the d2 on the Whites.

I plan to use the E-trac for deep coin park hunting, and the V3i for relic/coin/jewelry hunting.

You can get them both for around the same price. Both are great detectors.
 
:doah:

Thanks again folks,

And sorry to all those rolling their eyes.......I'll admit I didn't use the search function till I just googled this and find there has been several threads on this topic already......but I did learn more:D
 
I've owned ONLY the V3i in 4 years of the hobby, but I have never ever matched any friends hunting with their Etracs during finding coins and deep silver together.

People from several different detecting discussion over all that time told me to lose the v3i and get the Etrac. I'm stubborn, so I kept my V.

Get the Minelab Etrac is my opinion today for finding deep silver coins. Take that for what it's worth.

I wish everyone who owns a new V3i for successes, better than the Etracs friends I have hunted beside over the years. I just don't believe the V3i will match the Etrac for pure coinshooting, even though I haven't ever swung a Minelab a single time.

If you want the most dexterety in your treasure finds...the v3i is your machine.

Good luck in your decision. Martin

jm2cents
 
In a nutshell, the E-Trac is the better deep coin machine and the V3i is the better all-around detector.

What makes the E-Trac so good at those deep coins is not that it goes deeper but that it makes it much easier for the user to tell a deep coin is there. I did many side-by-sides with the V3i & E-Trac and the V3i could hit pretty much every coin the E-Trac could, but it was hard to tell that deep coin from a piece of trash. The proper thing to say would be the E-Trac makes it easier to find deep coins.

The V3i is the better relic, jewelry and prospecting machine. The display is far better and it is more comfortable to swing for long periods.
 
Have both

Love the Etrac, with a variety of coils, new to the V3i, just picked up the sef 8x6 and 10x12, hope I like the machine as well as the Etrac with a faster swing speed, I will say taking that D2 10 dd coil cover off was a pain in the a-- , ya can't go wrong with a Etrac, after I learn the V31 might think the same, Earl Ps with the etrac 1 extra year warranty 3 instead of two
 
I never liked all the adjustments on the White's top of the line detector since the Eagle Spectrum. I don't want to adjust. I want to hunt. Every time I got skunked I wondered if I had the machine set up correctly. Some guys love the idea of fine tuning a detector to get the most out of it. I always thought I was screwing myself with all the tinkering.

The E Trac is like swinging a cinder block. It is also slow in the iron.

If you want a great detector that is a pleasure to swing and hits coins fast and deep look at the AKA detectors.
 
Martin_V3i said:
I've owned ONLY the V3i in 4 years of the hobby, but I have never ever matched any friends hunting with their Etracs during finding coins and deep silver together.

People from several different detecting discussion over all that time told me to lose the v3i and get the Etrac. I'm stubborn, so I kept my V.

Get the Minelab Etrac is my opinion today for finding deep silver coins. Take that for what it's worth.

I wish everyone who owns a new V3i for successes, better than the Etracs friends I have hunted beside over the years. I just don't believe the V3i will match the Etrac for pure coinshooting, even though I haven't ever swung a Minelab a single time.

If you want the most dexterety in your treasure finds...the v3i is your machine.

Good luck in your decision. Martin

jm2cents
Click to expand...

I had the exact same experience. I was a loyal whites guy, upgraded from a XLT to the V3i. I did a TON of hunting with it and was never finding as much stuff as my hunting buddy with an older whites XLT. I figured it was the settings that needed tweaking. I tried everything from the stock programs, to matching other user programs, etc. Long story short, I hated the machine and ended up selling it. I was very upfront with the person I sold it to and said I just can't find anything deep with this machine. It was just too complicated for me. Guy I sold it to had the same issue so he sent it in to whites for a once over. Turns out the unit was faulty from the factory. Whites replaced the coil and the control box. After that, he got a lot more depth with it. I am definitely a 'bells and whistles' kind of guy, and I love having the ability to change settings, etc. However, the V3i was just way too confusing for me. I purchased an etrac from bart at big boys hobbies and never looked back. Took the machine out of the box, turned it on, started swinging and right away finding the deep stuff.

As far as user friendly goes, the Etrac wins hands down, every time. IMO.
 
Big Boys Hobbies said:
Whites V3i Metal Detector more of an all around machine. Tweak settings to your hearts desire.

Minelab E-Trac for the deep silver coins. Its called a silver sucker for a reason! ;)

I prefer the

If you have questions feel free to call. Be glad to go over either with ya.
Click to expand...

I more than likely will call, I did get my ATPro from you and was very satified.

Just doing initial research now, listening to everyone, and waiting to hear what SurfMaster and coiltosoil latest impressions are.

Thanks again to all with informative feedback
 
I have a buddy I hunt with that has the v3i. We compare targets a lot and the Etrac will find anything the V3i does. The only thing I have noticed as that my buddy has a little more difficult time with EMI on the v3i.. its definitely a hell of a machine and if I had the $$ i would get it to hunt along with the etrac.

Both are great but I just love finding coins so I went with the Etrac. That being said I have been able to relic hunt with the Etrac. Its probably not the best machine for relics but will do decent.

At this level you will most likely like either, so coins//turn on and go = Etrac
settings, gorgeous screen, relics and jewelry =V3i

consider your swing speed too.. you just cant go too fast with a minelab machine.
 
Dflan83 said:
I have a buddy I hunt with that has the v3i. We compare targets a lot and the Etrac will find anything the V3i does. The only thing I have noticed as that my buddy has a little more difficult time with EMI on the v3i.. its definitely a hell of a machine and if I had the $$ i would get it to hunt along with the etrac.

Both are great but I just love finding coins so I went with the Etrac. That being said I have been able to relic hunt with the Etrac. Its probably not the best machine for relics but will do decent.

At this level you will most likely like either, so coins//turn on and go = Etrac
settings, gorgeous screen, relics and jewelry =V3i

consider your swing speed too.. you just cant go too fast with a minelab machine.
Click to expand...

The V3i is very underrated when it comes to depth, mostly by people who use stock programs, or don't use the right adjustments. Only a few adjustments actually pertain to depth, or even performance overall. Most of the features are just for user preference such as tones, colors, displays, etc. You can just load the stock coin/jewelry program, bump up gain, disc sens, turn on 5 band filter, and run a single freq. and you will go DEEP. When you get more advanced you can customize it to whatever appeals to you as far as tones, colors, icons, search displays... It's a very good detector, and like you said the display is amazing. I'd recommend it to anyone along with the E-trac. The V3i is slowly replacing my F75 as my main relic detector. Hopefully the E-trac will take it's place as my deep silver detector once I spend more time on it. The V3i has found me some very deep targets, and though I have no had any test garden experiments with it to get actual measurements, it has been my deepest air test detector I've ever owned, and although I know that doesn't mean much in the real world, I found that detectors that air test well usually tend to do well in soil depth.
 
Coiltosoil

Put the new sef 10x12 on the V3i, put it on 2.5 single freq 13 gain , air tested 11 1/2 inches on a dime , I think I will like it :yes::D
 
Surf Master said:
Put the new sef 10x12 on the V3i, put it on 2.5 single freq 13 gain , air tested 11 1/2 inches on a dime , I think I will like it :yes::D
Click to expand...

Try it in 5 band, with tx boost on, it will go even deeper. :D What disc sens setting are you running? I had a video on here getting 14in on a quarter with the stock coil, it was hitting deeper but 14in was digable. I seen one guy getting like 17in? with the super 12 coil, and some custom settings, the videos on Youtube. It goes deep in the ground, I don't even take the F75 out anymore since I found my V3i's sweet spot, it's significantly deeper, although I have a non-boost f75 which could be why. But yeah, E-trac for deep silver and slow park hunting, and v3i for everything else. Can't go wrong with either one, they're booth super deep, possibly the 2 deepest detectors on the market, at least out of the ones I've used.
 
I have owned both and I currently have the Etrac. If you take the time (and I mean a lot of time) to learn the v3i, I am sure it is better than the etrac. I only had it for 6 months or so and thought it was to much machine. It gave me so many reasons not to dig a signal, I am sure I missed a ton of items. The depth on the machine was good, but probably not much deeper than the Etrac. Everyone is so wrapped up in "how deep will it go", and I was too at one point. I guess if you live on the east coast were coins have been laying around since the 1600s, depth would come into play, but here in KS, 1800 coins dont sink past 8 or 9". I switched to the Etrac and my silver count almost tripled, and these were the same places I used the Etrac. I am not sure if I just "jived" with the Etrac more, or it was better at finding the silver among the junk, either way, I love my Etrac.
 
Boils down to what machine you feel more comfortable using and understanding its data. Best case scenario would to be to use/borrow them both from someone during a hunt and you will find your answer.

Brett
 
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