Observations - 2nd Hunt With The E-Trac

CyberSage

CyberSage

Moderator
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.

2ndHunt.jpg


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
 
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
 
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
 
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
 
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. :smitten:

Jack
 
CyberSage link=topic=7809.msg90683#msg90683 date=1322055069 said:
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.
Click to expand...

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

Jack
 
Diggler link=topic=7809.msg90687#msg90687 date=1322057340 said:
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.
Click to expand...

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
 
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.
 
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
 
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!
 
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
 
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