Observations - 2nd Hunt With The E-Trac

[CyberSage]

I went out Friday afternoon again to the the old park a couple blocks from my house. I went back to the trashy area where I found the Silver Dime in my first hunt with the new E-Trac. I started griding the area and digging a few more targets. I knew they were probably junk, but wanted to correlate what I was seeing and hearing with the the actual buried object. I was very pleased to see the level of sensitivity to small conductive targets. Note the partial Wheat Penny slice , and quarter section of a Tax Token in the below picture.



Along with the junk that I dug up, I found two Wheats as well. There really is no mistaking a coin hit. There is a lot of noise to deal with, but I am used to this from using the Whites V3 in trashy areas. The consistent rhythmic hits of good targets contrast themselves clearly against the Calliope of sound. I was just blown away by the level of separation I was getting with an 11 inch coil. Before I called it a day I walked over to the corner of the park where I buried a clad Dime a few years ago at about 8 or 9 inches. The E-Trac had no problem seeing this target. I did make the observation that changing the ground condition setting from Difficult to Neutral gave me a much better response tone, and the CO/FE didn't jump as much. I am looking forward to going out Saturday for some real hunt time.

Jack

[Cheap Thrills]

Nice going Jack , I can't wait to see the results of todays hunt . |

[Jason in Enid]

Congrats on the great hunt. It sounds like you are really learning your new E-Trac fast.

[RaZR]

I love mine! Glad to see you're getting the bugs out and setting it up your way.
And am i reading right? You got silver the first time out! Well, that's how it works.
Mine keeps finding deep silver everywhere i go. Good luck and have fun working that E to the max. I think you'll like it too!

HH

[earthmansurfer]

Congrats on your new machine Jack. I really look forward to a fellow V3i user giving some info on the E-Trac. I will probably join you after Xmas with an E-Trac (or it's replacement!) so am looking forward to your astute observations as usual (especially since you know the V3i's sound - please keep up the comparisons). In particular the VDI locking on, depth and tones.

I actually hunted a very old park today and got skunked outside of clad (lots). I was shocked as I have never been skunked at a new location and think the V3i had a little bit of a problem with the ground. Curious now how the E-Trac would handle bad iron mineralization.

Great luck (and congrats on that silver! Good Omen.)
Albert

[earthmansurfer]

Hello again Jack,

I just saw your latest E-Trac Video, wow! How many silvers was that? LOL
So, I get the feeling that your V3i is going to be seeing less time on them silver hunts.

How are you liking the E compared with your V? I'm really curious.

Great job and continued good luck,
EMS

[CyberSage]

Hello Albert,
I am focusing on learning the E-Trac at this point, but the V3 is not going anywhere. The V3 definately has a place in my tool box and will still get lots of use in the future. I am still very young on the E-Trac, but it is feeling very comfortable to swing at this point. In my moderate soil I am seeing just a little better penetration into the ground with the E=Trac. It is very noisy with the more relaxed discrimination mask setting, but so is my V3, so I am used to that aspect. Like the V3, the E-Trac seems to transcend conventional wisdom when it comes to separation in trashy conditions. The swing speed is much more forgiving on the E-Trac, and the hits in and around trash are more pronounced in their response. I was initially concerned about depth, but the Silver Dime at 11 inches on the first hunt put those worries to rest. My only complaint so far about the E-trac is the display is hard for me to see. I have adjusted contrast settings to no avail. I guess I need glasses. lol I will be doing some more in depth testing and comparisons in the future, but for now I am just going to focus on learning the new machine, and digging lots of Silver.

Jack

[Diggler]

My only complaint so far about the E-trac is the display is hard for me to see. I have adjusted contrast settings to no avail. I guess I need glasses.

I was about ready to throw in the towel on the Etrac because of the glare issue. Then I installed a DayView NuShield. Problem solved. In fact I completely forgot about the issue until I read your post.

[CyberSage]

Thank You Diggler!
I just ordered the cut-to-fit version. Looking forward to this. I just Googled &quotayView NuShield, and it took me right to the web site. My eyes thank you!

Jack

[earthmansurfer]

I was about ready to throw in the towel on the Etrac because of the glare issue. Then I installed a DayView NuShield. Problem solved. In fact I completely forgot about the issue until I read your post.

I just ordered one as well. In case others didn't know it, at the bottom of the screen at http://www.nushield.com/buy.php in the drop down menu you can select Minelab and then E-Trac (only choice under Minelab). It said at the bottom - 2 for $15 as well as 3 clear screen wipes for 2 bucks. They have very reasonable shipping (to Europe) as well.

Thanks for that tip,
Albert

[martymco]

anti glare shield is just what I've been looking for,
thanks fellas

[DirtFisher]

Welcome aboard! I've had my E-Trac for about 2 weeks. I liked it so much I bought another one. I, too, just ordered two of those anti-glare protectors. The E-Trac is significantly deeper seeking than my V3i where I hunt.

[CyberSage]

The anti glare sheilds are a no go for me. They just made the screen more blurry for me. I could not even see the screen indoors without the backlight on. I guess I am going to stick with the bare screen for now. I think I just need glasses. lol Oh well it was worth a try. Hello Dirtfisher, the E-Trac is deeper running for me as well. It does not hit as hard as the V3, but it still lets you know there is a good target down there to be had. I am really enjoying mine, and it is just magic in the trash.

Jack

[DirtFisher]

Hi CyberSage. Sorry the the screen protector didn't work for you. Did you try it outside?

Did the screen protector come pre-cut or did you have to cut it yourself? I couldn't figure this out on the website.

Thanks!

[earthmansurfer]

Jack, there are other screen protectors as well. Mine hasn't arrived yet so can't comment. But I cut a phone protector to fit my V3i and it really works well, quite noticeable.

I'm enjoying the E-Trac as well. My only complaints thus far:
Needs a much stronger backlight for day use as well as a better anti-glare screen.
Faster recovery between targets.
Needs better tactile buttons - just like the V3i would be perfect. (This is noticeable when you wear gloves.)
Would be nice to have a way to jump to the last adjusted settings when testing out a target, instead of at the top of the menu.

I bet you the next E-Trac fixes all the points but maybe not the last...

Albert