Etrac - There and back again!

Agreed! Been there and back.

I think my list of used detector would outnumber the ones I've never tried. Most have been good detectors as expected, but only a few do I put in the exceptional box. The E-Trac is one. I do believe the CTX 3030 is a better machine, but it becomes a matter of price. If you can afford the CTX then it is better. If not, then the E-Trac is the next best thing. This detector I call my specialized machine as its exceptional at supper deep copper and silver.

As for my all-around detector or the one I chose to use when not using the E-Trac is the AT Pro. I think the Deus is, like the CTX, a better detector but money comes in to play. If you can afford is the Deus is the way to go, in not, then AT Pro gets it done.

pigEye said:

During my career in this hobby, I have owned all of the following machines, and these are my observations of them in my ground.

Teknetics Eurotek Pro - nice intro machine
Tesoro Compadre - fun, simple beep and dig machine
Tesoro Cibola - crazy deep, bullet magnet (my best relic finds)
Garrett ATP - nice, easy cleaning machine
Minelab 705 - good screen, backlight, reasonable depth
Minelab Safari - good machine, but a bit unstable
Minelab Etrac - Best coin machine, deepest with stable-ish tid, can be heavy
Deus 11" and 9" w/remote - Best relic machine, deep, stable, light

Every one of these machines will find targets as long as you manage to get your coil over them. Each has their own particular strengths (and weaknesses). All have respectable depth in relation to modern targets (most coins are between 3"-5").

Having said that, it is my opinion, that the etrac is the best coin machine (and overall machine) for my type of hunting, in my ground.

Let the fighting begin!

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Quite the post.
Almost sounds like you are wanting a brawl here on the forum.

A few things to point out.

For coins 3" deep,,all detectors currently made wearing stock coils,,Etrac less likely to detect (give tone) (locate) on the higher percentage of coins.
Xp Deus, Rutus, Nokta Impact and maybe more will give tone here on a higher percentage of these coins.,,,meaning able to locate.

One thing folks overlook,,as a coin gets deeper,,,if we take all detectors that are truly depth capable here,,on the deeper coins,,,the detectors all start to be able to pick up the same targets moreso.

At depth masking affects all Vlf detectors more closely to one another.

Now this would apply to locating,,not necessarily being able to tell the conductive level of the target.

Actually where the Etrac shines is when targets start getting deeper than 7" deep.

Soil mineral levels here have to be taken into account.
Now if we are talking 5 bar F75 detector indicated ground minerals reading,,your 3-5" coins here, Etrac will indeed show itself on these shallow coins,,,giving better ID on LOCATED coins,,better ID actually than about all detectors made,,probably tied for first place here with Minelab CTX.

Etrac is a good coin detector.
But it won't find all coins in all scenarios,,,or as fast odds wise as some other detectors and coil combinations.

It basically just boils down to whatever floats ones boat,,what they can afford,,how much weight they want to pack around, and how much digging they want to do.

Another way to look at this. In the USA.
In say 1900 if we had all the detectors available we do now,,and I had to pick one to coin hunt,,Etrac would not be my first pick.
In say 1960, if we had all the detectors available we do now and I had to pick, one to coin hunt,,Etrac still likely not my first pick,,but it does move up the food chain,,,due to its depth capabilities,,,and in 1960 I would expect older coins to be somewhat deeper.

Good Id is what makes a coin machine.The better the Id,the better the machine is for a guy after coins.
Good example is the ability to pass over pennies with nothing notched and no discrimination.
All machines will find coins.Not all will Id.

The key thing to remember is.

An Etrac must locate a coin to give this great ID.

For coins it goes right past,,,it can't give any Coin ID whatsoever,,likely will give iron ID though.

Btw,,if folks will notice those who are successful with Etrac,,,they are digging signals beleive it or not that are not "coin ID" and guess what?
They are retrieving coins.

So it is not all cut and dried here with correct ID on good targets.
Colocated targets can be one of the culprits here that causes.

It's been a few years since i had an etrac, really liked it on open pastures but there was also many sites i kinda avoided with it.
Don't think i would go back to an etrac, currently i'm enjoying the Rutus, it's multiple detectors in one, with few negatives and i've been able to sell a few of my more one dimensional detectors that it's replaced.

I have never swung a minelab but I do think they are great machines. I do agree with TNSS that ID is not everything. I have dug plenty of coins with no vdi at all. I have also dug plenty that were just a squeak among the nails. I hunt by sound, yes I dig junk but I have a pretty good pile of good finds and coins too.

Detector said:

Agreed! Been there and back.

I think my list of used detector would outnumber the ones I've never tried. Most have been good detectors as expected, but only a few do I put in the exceptional box. The E-Trac is one. I do believe the CTX 3030 is a better machine, but it becomes a matter of price. If you can afford the CTX then it is better. If not, then the E-Trac is the next best thing. This detector I call my specialized machine as its exceptional at supper deep copper and silver.

As for my all-around detector or the one I chose to use when not using the E-Trac is the AT Pro. I think the Deus is, like the CTX, a better detector but money comes in to play. If you can afford is the Deus is the way to go, in not, then AT Pro gets it done.

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+1.

I'm a big fan of the Etrac and if I didn't have a CTX, I'd still own one. I was amazed at how many deep coins I pulled out of sites that had been hit hard with other detectors. Slow sweep speed is key with these FBS machines.

The CTX is still my go-to machine for coin hunting. Deus for scouting, relics and older sites. ATpro for creek hunting.

Detector said:

Agreed! Been there and back.

I think my list of used detector would outnumber the ones I've never tried. Most have been good detectors as expected, but only a few do I put in the exceptional box. The E-Trac is one. I do believe the CTX 3030 is a better machine, but it becomes a matter of price. If you can afford the CTX then it is better. If not, then the E-Trac is the next best thing. This detector I call my specialized machine as its exceptional at supper deep copper and silver.

As for my all-around detector or the one I chose to use when not using the E-Trac is the AT Pro. I think the Deus is, like the CTX, a better detector but money comes in to play. If you can afford is the Deus is the way to go, in not, then AT Pro gets it done.

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Nailed it! Great hearing from someone with actual experience.

I too came from etrac to 3030. While similar, the 3030 is not just waterproof etrac by any means.

MUCH better machine in MANY ways...most notably faster with more stable and accurate IDs on targets. Having said that I loved my etrac!