real close to switching to an etrac

[michmark]

I currently use a whites vx3 with some success but i also watch a lot of old coin hunting videos and it seems like 7 out of 10 serious silver hunters use etracs from what i see the etrac might be more stable than my whites anyone have experience with the v and the e both that can give me some advice

[Dig EM]

I came from whites to the E-trac and I love it! I did not have the V3 though, i was using a DFX. I have gone back over a few places that I have hunted to death with the DFX and pulled more item with the E-trac. I was looking into a V3 or the E-trac and went with the E-trac. The CTX3030 is getting mixed results? Maybe the same as the E-trac but with under water capability....

[CyberSage]

I have used the Whites V3 since it's debut in the early Spring of 2009. Last fall I picked up an E-Trac for the first time. WOW! I can tell you the the E-Trac is far better in pulling keepers out of trashy areas. The V3 will null on a lot of coins that the E-Trac easily sees. I still have the V3, and use it on the occasional hunt where depth is needed over separation ability. In my moderate soil the V3 still gets better depth than the E-Trac. That being said, at this stage of the game, as far as well hunted areas go, I believe there are more keepers hiding in the trash, and iron. So if I had to choose one detector over the other, it would be the E-Trac.

Jack

[michmark]

thanks cybersage ,thats the feeling im getting with the vx3 in clean ground it will nail targets but in trash it gets so jumpy on the vdis and tone, from what ive seen on videos the etrac can still get that high tone if theres something good mixed in even if the vdis move around a lot i do use a smaller coil but then i lose depth

[earthmansurfer]

I agree with what Cybersage said. Funny, I really stayed away from Minelabs for years due to all the too positive posts on the forums. I wanted to try to get those results with other machines. My ground mineralization, which isn't terrible though, had other ideas.

Another guy that posts here mntnflyr4fun, also had the same experience as us, going from a V3i to an E-Trac and starting to find deeper coins in hunted out spots. (He just needed a nudge from someone )

In non mineralized ground I think the V3i/VX3 might go deeper, as it also has that Tx mode.

Just a point regarding the V3i/VX3 and E-Trac/FBS machines - I see a few notable differences between them and FBS machines that might explain some of the performance differences:

1 - The Ground Balance on the E-Trac does seem to work differently. It seems more like a ground removal than ground balance.
2 - The V3i seems to run it's 3 frequencies separately, the E-Trac and Fisher CZ's (another depth monster, maybe even deeper than E-Tracs in certain grounds) both combine their frequencies. There has been some debate on this, but I will go along with what Tom D said regarding his observations.
3 - The E-Trac (and CZ's) are putting their energy across 2 frequencies, not 3, that sharing of energy might limit the White's machines some. Whites has even said for maximum depth use a single frequency.
4 - FBS technology sure is doing something with time domain. For example, I agree the E-Trac does better in iron than the V3i, but why? The V3i is noticeably faster! It must be something to do with FBS.

Albert

[michmark]

that is some good information is fbs something whites refuses to use or cant because of patents i do know theres got to be a reason all those youtube silver hunters seem to be using etracs

[Tony Two-Cent]

E-Tracs are terrible machines.

I wouldn't even consider getting one if I were you, especially if you're going to be hunting in Illinois.

[michmark]

ok mr two cent if i were to get one what is the exact adresses of the places in ill. so i know where to avoid lol

[CyberSage]

E-Tracs are terrible machines.

I wouldn't even consider getting one if I were you, especially if you're going to be hunting in Illinois.

Tony!


lol

[Tony Two-Cent]

E-Tracs are terrible machines.

OK, so I lied.

When I got back into the hobby last year after a long hiatus, I did lots of research on all of the available metal detectors. It appeared to me that the most successful detectorists were using E-Tracs, at least for the type of hunting that I do. (Coinshooting in old parks.) I got mine in March of 2011 and I haven't regetted it one bit. I wouldn't trade my E-Trac for any other machine.

thumbsup01

[POKIE73]

i have used whites for almost all of my detecting until last year i too went to a etrac i have never been sorry it has almost been like starting over all the spots that i thought was hunted out are now producing a lot of silver and old coppercoins that i had to have missed with the others not trying to knock whites they are a great machine i probably have found thousands of coins with them but this e trac is a silver finding devil dennis

[mntnflyr4fun]

As Albert stated earlier, I also made the switch from a Whites V3i to an Etrac, and immediately started finding silver in a park I had hunted extensively with both my Whites machines (MXT and V3i) which I had never pulled a silver coin with.

The Etrac finds coins in trash that the V3i won't touch, and the setup is much simplified. It is a deep seeker as well and I have never looked back.....

The one thing that I think the V3i DOES add is the ability to be a reasonable nuggett shooter if you are of a mind to chase gold.

If you are hunting Coins/Jewelry in parks etc....then in my book, the Etrac is by far superior.

[Full Metal Digger]

E-Tracs are terrible machines.

I wouldn't even consider getting one if I were you, especially if you're going to be hunting in Illinois.

I have to agree with Tony on this one! All the seated coins he finds are badly worn and the indian head cents are usually pretty crusty. Seems the e-trac cannot find high-grade coins for anything! You might have better luck in Missouri or Iowa though!