Myers Depot Metal Detectors

Tried out the E-trac last night -first impression

Bonesquat

Bonesquat

Elite Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2010
Messages
8,894
Location
NE Pennsylvania
I I was dying for the UPS guy to arrive last night. I waited until 7:45 for it to get to my house. I was convinced it wasn't coming. I had setup a webcam to look out at the driveway so I could see the truck lights. It finally came!

So I unpack it. First thing to turn me off is that everything feels and looks so cheap and plastic. The E-trac feels much more like a toy than even my old bounty hunter did and it still manages to be super heavy and not very balanced. The MXT feels much more solidly built. The E-trac I'm afraid will break if I bump into a small twig.

The open DD coil hangs on EVERYTHING including mildly tall (3 inch high) grass. I swear I was going to snap the little screw that holds the coil in place. I also don't like the feeding the coil cable up the shaft. Seems to be more of a pain than necessary. Everything just feels 'cheap'.

The CPU is 48Mhz...wow...Uhh couldn't they have opted for at least 200MHz? This IS 2011 afterall (I know they made it in 08) but still. They act like 48Mhz is 'fast'. I know it's just looking into the ground but I mean, c'mon.

All I wanted was for the thing to update me on every target with some sort of number but it kept nulling everything out. I know I'm not doing something right in that department. I'm not really sure where to put the settings at this point. There's no way for me to know which program I'm using.

The screen is terrible and at night I even had a hard time seeing it. I can only imagine how bad this will be in the sunlight.

Despite all the issues above it performed well in my iron infested yard and gave me some surprises. Believe it or not the first time out I KNEW when I had a nickel target. A solid 12-13. I was shocked to see a nickel in my yard when I thought I had cleaned it out of ferrous tones. I also got 3 more old shotgun shells and a cool old spoon buried at 6 inches. Every time it gave me a mixed non-ferrous tone I dug it and only got nails two times. I found some other relics that I had missed many times with the MXT. I'm impressed with the machine's performance. The pinpointing was spot on despite me never using the machine. I could locate a target right away. I hate the pinpoint button but I'll get used it to. I'm still trying to figure everything out but it'll just take time. I've seen the finds on here and heard the success stories so I'm not giving up on it yet. In time I know I'll learn to tame the beast. :)

If any of you have any tips please feel free to share!

-Rick

Edit: the only reason this is partially so 'negative' is because of the price you'd think it'd just 'feel' better. I'm still trying to figure out how it's possible these sell for $1500. I guess had my MXT not been built like a tank I'd not have much to compare it to. Flimsy is a good word to describe the E-trac.
 
Last edited:
I can tell you after 25+ years of detecting (on and off) with the Whites detectors the Minelab Explorer I have blows the Whites and Bounty Hunter out of the water, its extremely easy to use and goes deeper then any other machine I used in the past. I know you have the E-Trac but the technology is similar. Don't let the lightness fool you its a carbon fiber rod that will take more abuse then you can believe. Don't be so hard on the machine till you take it out a few times, I'm sure you'll change your mind once you start finding things that the other MD's passed up
 
The nulling and slow updating sounds like a moving too fast issue. You know when people say you've got to move slow? I don't think most people realize just how slow they mean. When you get to the right speed the screen will update much better, and the nulling will only happen over iron.

Your yard could be like mine in that is must be full of iron because I get a null when I move the coil no matter how slow. Be assured that even though you're getting the nulling, when a good ferrous target is below the coil, and you're moving slow enough, you'll hear it.

Yes the E-Trac is heavy and a bit awkward balanced, but you'll find that front heavy balance will help you keep your coil on the ground. Remember "Low & Slow" is the key and you'll see performance few others can equal.
 
Don't get me wrong, I love the machine. I can tell that it's already outperforming my old machines by far. It picks up goodies amongst junk. I realize I don't 100% like the machine but will in time. I'm NOT giving up on it. I know it's the best and will continue to learn the machine. I tried going slow but then my arm started hurting BAD. Any idea how to set a program? I select on then hit the check mark but I can't tell if that actually chose the program or not. :?:
 
bonesquat said:
I I was dying for the UPS guy to arrive last night. I waited until 7:45 for it to get to my house. I was convinced it wasn't coming. I had setup a webcam to look out at the driveway so I could see the truck lights. It finally came!

So I unpack it. First thing to turn me off is that everything feels and looks so cheap and plastic. The E-trac feels much more like a toy than even my old bounty hunter did and it still manages to be super heavy and not very balanced. The MXT feels much more solidly built. The E-trac I'm afraid will break if I bump into a small twig.

The open DD coil hangs on EVERYTHING including mildly tall (3 inch high) grass. I swear I was going to snap the little screw that holds the coil in place. I also don't like the feeding the coil cable up the shaft. Seems to be more of a pain than necessary. Everything just feels 'cheap'.

The CPU is 48Mhz...wow...Uhh couldn't they have opted for at least 200MHz? This IS 2011 afterall (I know they made it in 08) but still. They act like 48Mhz is 'fast'. I know it's just looking into the ground but I mean, c'mon.

All I wanted was for the thing to update me on every target with some sort of number but it kept nulling everything out. I know I'm not doing something right in that department. I'm not really sure where to put the settings at this point. There's no way for me to know which program I'm using.

The screen is terrible and at night I even had a hard time seeing it. I can only imagine how bad this will be in the sunlight.

Despite all the issues above it performed well in my iron infested yard and gave me some surprises. Believe it or not the first time out I KNEW when I had a nickel target. A solid 12-13. I was shocked to see a nickel in my yard when I thought I had cleaned it out of ferrous tones. I also got 3 more old shotgun shells and a cool old spoon buried at 6 inches. Every time it gave me a mixed non-ferrous tone I dug it and only got nails two times. I found some other relics that I had missed many times with the MXT. I'm impressed with the machine's performance. The pinpointing was spot on despite me never using the machine. I could locate a target right away. I hate the pinpoint button but I'll get used it to. I'm still trying to figure everything out but it'll just take time. I've seen the finds on here and heard the success stories so I'm not giving up on it yet. In time I know I'll learn to tame the beast. :)

If any of you have any tips please feel free to share!

-Rick
Click to expand...


Speechless.
 
Diggler said:
I deleted my post at least three times... Trying to keep it "Friendly".
Just never heard that much complaining about any detector. :?:
Click to expand...

What do you mean? I said lots of good things about it! I love my e-trac. Just wanted to give first impressions. I'm not going to lie and say I feel it's built like a tank. :lol: Maybe it IS but it sure doesn't feel like it.

It's doing much better than my MXT - just need to get used to it. I'm very happy with my purchase so far. Just wish I had more time to use it. Going out of town this weekend, won't have much time with it. :(
 
Press MENU and arrow over(either left or right depending on where the menu is at) to the first option(User Modes) and pick SELECT and arrow down to the coins mode. This will load up a good general coin pattern.

I run with Sensitivity on Auto +3. Go to the 3rd Option in the menu(Sensitivity) and arrow down to Sensitivity and right arrow till it says Auto. Then arrow down to AUTO LEVEL and set it to +3.

This should be a good basic starting point.
 
Detector said:
Press MENU and arrow over(either left or right depending on where the menu is at) to the first option(User Modes) and pick SELECT and arrow down to the coins mode. This will load up a good general coin pattern.

I run with Sensitivity on Auto +3. Go to the 3rd Option in the menu(Sensitivity) and arrow down to Sensitivity and right arrow till it says Auto. Then arrow down to AUTO LEVEL and set it to +3.

This should be a good basic starting point.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much detector! Now when I scroll down to 'coins mode' it just automatically selects it? How do I go back to where I see the fe-co numbers? Thanks.
 
Coyote65 said:
Just press the detect button again this switches you between the two detect screens.
Click to expand...

Thanks Coyote, I did that but it never tells me if I'm running in coin mode or not. Do I just assume that it is after I press the detect button?

Again, I appreciate the feedback everyone.
 
bonesquat said:
Thanks Coyote, I did that but it never tells me if I'm running in coin mode or not. Do I just assume that it is after I press the detect button?

Again, I appreciate the feedback everyone.
Click to expand...

The pattern will change on the screen between different modes. The pattern you see on the screen is basically your discrimination and it is 100% customizable. I'm still learning mine and don't know it well enough to give step by step instructions.

Read the manual! There's also some youtube vids that helped me, neswiper has some good ones as well as goes4ever and probably a bunch more.

The Etrac is easy to use as far as turn on and go but learning how to use it takes some time.
 
cmbtvet said:
The pattern will change on the screen between different modes. The pattern you see on the screen is basically your discrimination and it is 100% customizable. I'm still learning mine and don't know it well enough to give step by step instructions.

Read the manual! There's also some youtube vids that helped me, neswiper has some good ones as well as goes4ever and probably a bunch more.

The Etrac is easy to use as far as turn on and go but learning how to use it takes some time.
Click to expand...

I tried youtubing some instructional videos but came up short. Feel free to post any that you think would help out a newb.Thanks cmbtvet.
 
bonesquat said:
Thanks Coyote, I did that but it never tells me if I'm running in coin mode or not. Do I just assume that it is after I press the detect button?

Again, I appreciate the feedback everyone.
Click to expand...

I don't mean to be rude but have you read the instruction manual? It explains all the basic functions quite clearly and succinctly. Again, not trying to be crass, but all these questions you are asking can be answered with even a cursory glance at the included instruction manual. If you have the Sabisch book so much the better! I've read that baby about 5 times and still learn something each time. :D
 
stewart73 said:
I don't mean to be rude but have you read the instruction manual? It explains all the basic functions quite clearly and succinctly. Again, not trying to be crass, but all these questions you are asking can be answered with even a cursory glance at the included instruction manual. If you have the Sabisch book so much the better! I've read that baby about 5 times and still learn something each time. :D
Click to expand...

No offense taken. I'm a tard and can't remember anything. I'm going to have to read it over and over again I think. :) Thanks for the comment.
 
bonesquat said:
Thanks Coyote, I did that but it never tells me if I'm running in coin mode or not. Do I just assume that it is after I press the detect button?

Again, I appreciate the feedback everyone.
Click to expand...

You select coin mode from the menu and it never leaves coin mode unless you go back into the menu and select another mode, then press detect button, it will then ask if you wish to apply the selected mode, to which you can choose either yes, no or cancel.

You really should download the emulator and play with it, it operates just like the detector and you can learn all the settings and what they do by messing with the emulator. Shoot I had the emulator a week before I got my detector and from using the emulator and PDF manual I downloaded prior to my purchase, I had most everything figured out by the time I got my detector. I still mess with pattern files on the emulator or pass time through the winter. You can also watch youtube videos on different settings and try them on the emulator, I also use it to kinda train my ear to the different tones. Link below if you don't already have it.

http://www.minelab.com/usa/products/coin-relic-detectors/e-trac?view=faq
 
Coyote65 said:
You select coin mode from the menu and it never leaves coin mode unless you go back into the menu and select another mode, then press detect button, it will then ask if you wish to apply the selected mode, to which you can choose either yes, no or cancel.

You really should download the emulator and play with it, it operates just like the detector and you can learn all the settings and what they do by messing with the emulator. Shoot I had the emulator a week before I got my detector and from using the emulator and PDF manual I downloaded prior to my purchase, I had most everything figured out by the time I got my detector. I still mess with pattern files on the emulator or pass time through the winter. You can also watch youtube videos on different settings and try them on the emulator, I also use it to kinda train my ear to the different tones. Link below if you don't already have it.

http://www.minelab.com/usa/products/coin-relic-detectors/e-trac?view=faq
Click to expand...

Thanks coyote. I had been reading the manual and using the emulator a week prior to owning the e-trac. It helped a little. Unfortunately I'm at work so cannot use it right now. :(

Those youtube videos helped out a LOT. Thanks so much for posting! I think I'm going to try out TTF. That looks amazing!
 
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