Garrett Z-Lynk + Minelab E-TRAC = FAIL :( *UPDATE*

Waveoff

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I recently received a Garrett Z-Lynk to use with my Etrac as a birthday present. I was hopeful that this setup was going to be awesome and allow me to cut the cord. Previous attempts at using low latency Bluetooth setups were mediocre at best.

The packaging is nice and it looks like a well made setup. Linking up the transmitter and receiver is simple and instantaneous. Unfortunately, I experienced issues with audio quality from the get go. Normally solid sounding tones have a distinct static crackle at the beginning and end of the tone. High tones frequently cut out and mimick nulling. Pinpointing offers crackling sounds with audio that cuts out. Overall, audio quality also sounds muffled.

While searching online for others experiencing these issues, I found several other Etrac users who had the same problems. Someone mentioned that they brought these issues to the attention of Garrett and their solution was to max out the threshold volume and gain. This did not work for me, nor did it seem to work for anyone else. I tried various headsets/earbuds (some with 1/4" jacks) and different 1/4" to 3.5mm jack adapters. The issues remained no matter what combo of equipment I tried using. Now I'm back to square one trying to go wireless on my Etrac. I'll be contacting Garrett to see if they might be able to send me another unit to try. I doubt it'll work since the general consensus seems to be that Z-Lynk and Minelab FBS do not play well together.

On a side note, I accidentally ordered ordered a Z-Lynk for myself from eBay so now I have two of them. The one I ordered came from Casanova's Outdoor Adventure Store in Butler, WI. I asked if I could return the item since I didn't need it. They said I could return it but then cited their return policy in their eBay listing that states they assess a 20% "return inspection fee" and deduct the actual cost of shipping (despite "free" shipping) from the refund amount. So basically, the Z-Lynk cost $127.44 and my refund amount would end up being $95.70. My attempts at persuading them to waive their return policy failed and in the end they ended up being very hostile towards me. Reading some other customer reviews online shows a pattern of similar customer service experiences with these guys. Oh well. Another reason to stick with the sponsors on this site! I'll just keep the Z-Lynk and give it to my girlfriend to use or maybe sell it to someone locally.
 
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I use the zlynk with Garret ms3 wireless head phones on my Etrac and Tesoro's with NO problem whatsoever, great audio, VERY DEPENDABLE so I bought another set.
 
I use the Z-Link on my E-Trac and have zero issues. You sure its not the Z-Link itself?

I use the zlynk with Garret ms3 wireless head phones on my Etrac and Tesoro's with NO problem whatsoever, great audio, VERY DEPENDABLE so I bought another set.

Hmmmm... It's encouraging to hear that you guys are having good luck with the Z-Lynk! Hopefully Garrett can help me out. Both Z-Lynk units I have exhibit the same behaviors. What kind of user settings are you guys running? I tried both units on my two Tesoro's and my White's TREASUREpro. They work fine with those detectors.
 
a little late to this thread party, but wanted to let you know also, I use the zlync with my etrac with no problems (over a year now). You have to rig a bigger rubber band to hold it to the etracs shaft but you allready tackled that issue i bet. I also just bought a Garrot zlync pro pointer to use in conjuction and that works/snycs great too. Hope it works out for ya!
 
a little late to this thread party, but wanted to let you know also, I use the zlync with my etrac with no problems (over a year now). You have to rig a bigger rubber band to hold it to the etracs shaft but you allready tackled that issue i bet. I also just bought a Garrot zlync pro pointer to use in conjuction and that works/snycs great too. Hope it works out for ya!

Thanks for the feedback! I hope I can get it working eventually. What kind of user settings are you running for volume, gain, etc.?
 
*UPDATE* I got it to work!

I emailed Garrett and described my issue. Rusty replied back within a couple of days with some troubleshooting tips. Unfortunately, my issues persisted. While messing around with some cheap dollar store earbuds, I discovered they worked flawlessly with the Z-Lynk! The cheap earbuds have a mono plug on them versus a stereo plug. I'm using them with a 1/4" to 3.5mm stereo jack adapter. I also maxed out the volume limit and volume gain. I use the volume control on the WR-1 to control the volume. So to reiterate my setup that works: WR-1 --> 1/4" to 3.5mm STEREO adapter --> MONO dollar store earbuds.
 
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