Did I make a mistake?

[Billieg]

Hello guys and Gals,
I've been detecting for over 35 years and have binders filled with coins, buttons and tokens. I live in Fl so I go to the beach a lot and also research old sites on land. I've had a Garretts AT-Pro for a few months now but haven't found much with it. I used to have a Technetics 9000 which I loved but it quit on me. I loved the different tones so you don't have to constantly look at the screen with the 9000. The AT-Pro seems like a good machine but when I buried a quarter 8" deep in the yard it wouldn't pick it up.
I started researching and found the E-trac to be the depth machine. It will be here in a few days so I bought one. Did I make a mistake or will I be surprised?

The 9000 on the first dig on the beach found over 400 bronze/copper coins from the 17 - 18 hundreds and 12 silver reales and 7 gold coins 12 " deep. I was hooked there and then. I really like this forum and find a lot of useful info here.
Thanks for any replys,
BillieG

 

[Ohio Coinhunter]

Hi,

No! Take the time to learn it. It's an awesome detector and deep on silver. Dont get discouraged with the sounds. Get Andy Sabisch's book on the Etrac and Explorer. Watch some videos on YouTube, check out the forum here and the Etrac classroom.
But getting out and putting time in is the best. It's not that complicated of a machine to set up and run. The Audio is what frustrates users especially if they've never used FBS.

 

[IDXMonster]

So in one hunt you found 400+ coins all at 12” deep? Was this a pile of coins? A little bit more detail might be in order there.
Monumental failures have occurred with ANY machine if the time isn’t spent, you know how critical it is to spend the time. This is especially true as stated above with FBS machines. If there is only ONE piece of advice I could give, it is this. Do NOT...and I repeat, do NOT run the machine in an unstable manner. Meaning, don’t run the sensitivity up to the point where the audio becomes unintelligible. When the coil is just sitting still, you had better be hearing a stable threshold hum and that’s IT. Any more Sensitivity at this point will find you exactly NOTHING. Overrunning the Sensitivity will cost you many many deep targets. Start small, work your way into it. And no, I don’t think it’s a mistake in any way, UNLESS you start to think that you’re smarter than the machine. Then it will BECOME a mistake. It knows what it’s doing, drive it around and dig holes where it tells you to. Easy.

 

[Billieg]

Thank you. I bought my first detector in 1984 and went to a small beach in Fl. The beach was a meeting spot for the ferry going to Sanibel Island. there was a small store on the beach in the early 1900's and the owner placed odd coins in a 5 gal jug. The store burnt down and was bull dozed. With blind luck I got a signal and dug. A 1776 English coin along with broken green glass. 399 more followed and I was hooked. Only a few silver and 7 gold but my binders are full of 1700's - 1800's coins from around the world. I don't think I'll ever repeat that find but it's still fresh on my mind. I have yet to receive the Etrac but have been viewing Y-tube vids and looking at this site. I hope it turns out to be as good or better than the Technetics 900.

 

[IDXMonster]

That is AWESOME Billie! That’s the kind of thing we ALL aspire to find, hardly anyone(relatively speaking) ever does. There’s another fellow floating around the forums who has been working a field with a plow drawn hoard, he has found ALOT of silver! On the level of every day coin hunting, the eTrac will serve you well. TRUST it. Let us know when it comes and you get out with it. Just use the basics of detecting as you always have, it’ll be a lot of fun!

 

[Billieg]

Sure thing. Can't wait!

 

[E-Trac-Ohio]

You can't go wrong with an E-Trac ... period.
Hands down one of the best metal detectors ever made - even a lot of the people that bought CTX 3030's when they came out have gone back to E-Trac's.

Good Hunting !

 

[Billieg]

Hello guys and gals,
Haven't received the E-trac yet but the seller said he would priority mail it out tomorrow so I should get it early this week. I think I'm really sick. I bought a RnB Innovations ML 3400 Lithium-Ion Battery For Minelab FBS Metal Detectors on Ebay tonight before I even got the E-trac... The 3400 is supposed to be the upgraded one from 3100.

I also wanted to ask you all if you switched over to blue tooth headphones? On Amazon they have a transmitter and a decent set of headphones for under $80. I have always used wired but the new E-Trac isn't coming with headphones so if I have to buy new ones (the Garrett AT's won't work on the E-trac, I might as well spend the rest of my retirement money on a wireless set. so what do you guys think?
Thanks

 

[MAcle1997]

I've had an E-trac for several years and I'm still surprised by how deep it will detect. I've got really deep coins, 10+ inches, even when using a smaller coil. I hope they are still available when I ready for a replacement machine.

Mark
Ripley, NY

 

[Xdigger]

I have tried the E-trac but still grab my XS. From everything I have tried I found there is no difference. To be honest I feel the XS sounds better on deeper silver.

 

[Billieg]

Update:
Got the E-trac and charged the battery. Programmed it and went out for a hunt. Within 28 minutes it died. Ordered The 3400 red RGB battery and charged it up. Went to a local park to test it with the old battery recharged. Turned it on and it flashed some of a screen, grunted and turned off. Tried to turn it on 3 times but the same thing. Put in the new red battery and turned it on. Same thing 3 times.

Came home, went to the front yard and turned it on. It worked like it should but I couldn't read the screen. It's so dim even with the back light on. I got a signal and after pointing it up to the sun and turning it, it was an 12 -36. down deep. I dug and dug and found a twisted copper wire about a foot long.
Ya, it's a deep machine but if you can't read the screen it useless. I just put it on Ebay. If it had a screen you could read I''d give it more of a try but it's too frustrating to keep.

I ordered a Teknetics T2-LTD so I hope it has a much better screen and can find coins. I also looked at the Nos-800 but with the built in battery it turned me off. No spare battery for hunts and send it back for a battery replacement? No.... Besides, is the screen any better?

So the bottom-line to me is I did make a Mistake......

 

[Mark kus]

Update:
Got the E-trac and charged the battery. Programmed it and went out for a hunt. Within 28 minutes it died. Ordered The 3400 red RGB battery and charged it up. Went to a local park to test it with the old battery recharged. Turned it on and it flashed some of a screen, grunted and turned off. Tried to turn it on 3 times but the same thing. Put in the new red battery and turned it on. Same thing 3 times.

Came home, went to the front yard and turned it on. It worked like it should but I couldn't read the screen. It's so dim even with the back light on. I got a signal and after pointing it up to the sun and turning it, it was an 12 -36. down deep. I dug and dug and found a twisted copper wire about a foot long.
Ya, it's a deep machine but if you can't read the screen it useless. I just put it on Ebay. If it had a screen you could read I''d give it more of a try but it's too frustrating to keep.

I ordered a Teknetics T2-LTD so I hope it has a much better screen and can find coins. I also looked at the Nos-800 but with the built in battery it turned me off. No spare battery for hunts and send it back for a battery replacement? No.... Besides, is the screen any better?

So the bottom-line to me is I did make a Mistake......

Sorry to hear

 

[Xdigger]

The T-2 is an awesome detector.

 

[D&P-OR]

Sounds like you were sold a problem (defective) Etrac.-----Questions: Is it under the Minelab three year transferable warranty?-----Whether it's under the Minelab transferable warranty or not it would be a good idea to call Minelab Service and talk to them concerning this.----Did the seller reveal to you these problems? (obviously not)------Unless you let a prospective buyer know what it is doing (and they are willing to deal with it) you shouldn't just pass it on to the next person.-------I'm really sorry to hear of your bad experience---a "working" Etrac is a GREAT machine.

 

[daddyflea]

I own two Detectors an Etrac and a VX3. They are pretty equal if you know how to use them. VX3 is very shallow in Coins Mode always use it in Jewelry. I hate the stock Coil. I use the 6X10 or 4X6. Etrac I hate the stock Coil use the Sunray 8" all the time. Etrac works best if you back off Sensitivity until you get a good solid Background Tone. On both I use the Rattler Head phones wired. The Wireless may be convenient but they wont match wires.

 

[Xdigger]

Hello guys and Gals,
I've been detecting for over 35 years and have binders filled with coins, buttons and tokens. I live in Fl so I go to the beach a lot and also research old sites on land. I've had a Garretts AT-Pro for a few months now but haven't found much with it. I used to have a Technetics 9000 which I loved but it quit on me. I loved the different tones so you don't have to constantly look at the screen with the 9000. The AT-Pro seems like a good machine but when I buried a quarter 8" deep in the yard it wouldn't pick it up.
I started researching and found the E-trac to be the depth machine. It will be here in a few days so I bought one. Did I make a mistake or will I be surprised?

The 9000 on the first dig on the beach found over 400 bronze/copper coins from the 17 - 18 hundreds and 12 silver reales and 7 gold coins 12 " deep. I was hooked there and then. I really like this forum and find a lot of useful info here.
Thanks for any replys,
BillieG

Yes.