Waveoff
Elite Member
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.
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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