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die-hards still here grinding them out!!!

If you own the Etrac... is it worth learning a whole new machine and buying the Nox? Will it do anything the Etrac cant? Other than being waterproof... what advantages does the Nox have... if any?
 
If you own the Etrac... is it worth learning a whole new machine and buying the Nox? Will it do anything the Etrac cant? Other than being waterproof... what advantages does the Nox have... if any?
I use both machines. The Etrac is more accurate and deeper IMO. The nox 800 is faster, lighter, and unmasks better. Just my take on it.
 
Haven't kept up with you guys lately, but good to dive back in to your posts. HH
 
If you own the Etrac... is it worth learning a whole new machine and buying the Nox? Will it do anything the Etrac cant? Other than being waterproof... what advantages does the Nox have... if any?
If you know your Etrac the Nox has no advantages. The serious Etrac/Ctx people who tried the Nox went back to the Etrac or Ctx.

Try to find somebody in your area that would let you use a Nox for a couple hours.
 
Yes Chuck the old coins we dug the ID was very jumpy but if you get glimpses of numbers you like and the tone is there, you better dig. For example one of the coins was a barber quarter at 2 full samson shovels deep. The Id was bouncing between iron and 32 , tone was good in several directions and not in a few directions. I can post a short video demonstrating what i dig ... this was at another site and it was a wheat but will give you an idea what i am doing.
Your absolutely correct I just dug a Mercury dime at over 12” on a beach saltwater beach that was a squeak one way but I knew better I’ve hunted a old hospital many times with my Etrac went back with my Nox same spots small front yards and found lots of coins the Etrac missed And still find old coins there this place has people there all the time detecting most go way to fast from what I see.
Whatever machine you like I can say the nox isn’t perfect but you better listen closely because you will dig more coins if you do when using one I know I do...
Mark
 
I ran the FBS detectors (Explorer XS / Etrac almost exclusively beginning in 2000 until I sold my Etrac about 18 months ago. I have been swinging the 800 almost 3 years.

In the places I hunt, my 800 with the stock 11" is as deep or just a little deeper than my Etrac with equivalent coil. I find more deep keepers with my 800. The 800 definitely unmasks better in both rusty nails and aluminum trash than my etrac with stock coil and does better in areas with lots of big iron. The little audio clues of deep coins / targets experienced with the etrac are there with the 800 as well. I think of both detectors as audio first detectors.

That said, I almost NEVER dug bottlecaps with my FBS machines - bottlecaps ID'd where they do and they were obvious. With the 800, I have to deal with them. There are methods to ID them, but it is faster to just recover them and get them out of the way.

The 800 is lighter. But I think the Etrac (and all the FBS machines) are a higher overall build quality - sturdy - and feel very nice in hand. the 800 has an 'ultralight' feel to it like ultralight backpacking / camping equipment. Not flimsy, but not rugged or tough either.

I like the audio tones of the etrac better. But, the 800 is similar and has been easy to pick up on. The target ID on the 800 is faster, noticeably. the audio is faster too. The 800 has exceptionally accurate target ID in the low and mid conductivity ranges. As the target ID moves up into the US coins region thru cents, dimes, quarters, etc, there is more of a tendency for the ID to be less exact / spread over 3-4 numbers.

I hunted in multi-tones with my explorers and etrac for all those years. I've found the 5 tones in the 800 to be my preference for hunting trashy conductive sites (pull tabs, square tabs, screw caps, zincolns, can slaw) It makes what i call SORTING much easier. For low or moderate trash, I prefer multi-tones.

I find myself missing the familiarities of my etrac on occasion, especially the conductive / ferrous screen. I don't miss the weight. I like the wireless headphones of the 800. I like using the 800 in and around water without worry.

I have gone back thru enough areas previously hunted by many many detectorists, including myself, to know that the 800 is finding TOUGH targets missed or unseen, by other detectors / detectorists to know that the 800 is really good at finding stuff left behind. These aren't coverage misses, but difficult targets co-located w/junk.

Adding a NEL Tornado or Thunder coil to the Etrac is definitely going to give a depth boost. Which is Good. The flip side is it makes it tougher separating multiple conductive targets. Which is bad. It's a trade off. However, Deep coin / target hunting is fun - Just ask Dave (FPD).

I think that like the etrac, time is needed to gain proficiency with the 800 and know the best settings for a region and the nuances of how it responds. If you're killing it with your Etrac, I see no reason to look elsewhere. If your sites are getting thin and pounding them with the etrac is becoming less and less fruitful or empty handed, have a good look at the 800. It does things a little different than the etrac and could find some of those targets missed by all the previous hunters.

Rich -
 
Thanks for the replies. My brother in law owns a Nox800. I’m sure I could try his for an afternoon..but not sure how much I’ll gain in an outing or two? I’m guessing it may be tough in trying to get used to the difference in numbers and tones.. which I LOVE about my Etrac.
 
I use both machines. The Etrac is more accurate and deeper IMO. The nox 800 is faster, lighter, and unmasks better. Just my take on it.
I ,also use both machines . If I'm in certain areas . The nox is the greatest at collapsing to 22". Goes in the woods. No weight factor(when using a detecting innovations carbon fiber shaft). My finds have been great with the ET but I went over my old sites with the nox.. Bam..what an eye opening..Let me just say ,after going over sites with both machines,I dont believe theres anything left to find..:)
 
I ran the FBS detectors (Explorer XS / Etrac almost exclusively beginning in 2000 until I sold my Etrac about 18 months ago. I have been swinging the 800 almost 3 years.

In the places I hunt, my 800 with the stock 11" is as deep or just a little deeper than my Etrac with equivalent coil. I find more deep keepers with my 800. The 800 definitely unmasks better in both rusty nails and aluminum trash than my etrac with stock coil and does better in areas with lots of big iron. The little audio clues of deep coins / targets experienced with the etrac are there with the 800 as well. I think of both detectors as audio first detectors.

That said, I almost NEVER dug bottlecaps with my FBS machines - bottlecaps ID'd where they do and they were obvious. With the 800, I have to deal with them. There are methods to ID them, but it is faster to just recover them and get them out of the way.

The 800 is lighter. But I think the Etrac (and all the FBS machines) are a higher overall build quality - sturdy - and feel very nice in hand. the 800 has an 'ultralight' feel to it like ultralight backpacking / camping equipment. Not flimsy, but not rugged or tough either.

I like the audio tones of the etrac better. But, the 800 is similar and has been easy to pick up on. The target ID on the 800 is faster, noticeably. the audio is faster too. The 800 has exceptionally accurate target ID in the low and mid conductivity ranges. As the target ID moves up into the US coins region thru cents, dimes, quarters, etc, there is more of a tendency for the ID to be less exact / spread over 3-4 numbers.

I hunted in multi-tones with my explorers and etrac for all those years. I've found the 5 tones in the 800 to be my preference for hunting trashy conductive sites (pull tabs, square tabs, screw caps, zincolns, can slaw) It makes what i call SORTING much easier. For low or moderate trash, I prefer multi-tones.

I find myself missing the familiarities of my etrac on occasion, especially the conductive / ferrous screen. I don't miss the weight. I like the wireless headphones of the 800. I like using the 800 in and around water without worry.

I have gone back thru enough areas previously hunted by many many detectorists, including myself, to know that the 800 is finding TOUGH targets missed or unseen, by other detectors / detectorists to know that the 800 is really good at finding stuff left behind. These aren't coverage misses, but difficult targets co-located w/junk.

Adding a NEL Tornado or Thunder coil to the Etrac is definitely going to give a depth boost. Which is Good. The flip side is it makes it tougher separating multiple conductive targets. Which is bad. It's a trade off. However, Deep coin / target hunting is fun - Just ask Dave (FPD).

I think that like the etrac, time is needed to gain proficiency with the 800 and know the best settings for a region and the nuances of how it responds. If you're killing it with your Etrac, I see no reason to look elsewhere. If your sites are getting thin and pounding them with the etrac is becoming less and less fruitful or empty handed, have a good look at the 800. It does things a little different than the etrac and could find some of those targets missed by all the previous hunters.

Rich -
Rich, that perfectly sums up the experience I've had going with the Nox 800 in favor of my Etrac. Being a small coil ghost town hunter noodling around in the sage brush a lot, I'm shocked at the immediate increase in coins and token finds. Like you, I miss the silver tones of the Etrac but really like the Nox's functionality to set the tone to match the target.

That being said, I'll keep using my Etrac as well.
 
Oh,I agree the nox has its place and it’s a great machine..I didn’t mean to sound like it wasn’t...I just see a lot of posts where coin hunting is the main objective and people saying the equinox is better than a Etrac in that scenario...I strongly disagree.
I took the 800 out to some parks today,had high tones set for 12,13 ,and 18 and up..everything else was a low tone..I dug more square tabs that rang in at 12,13 than I ever have in my life,the Etrac I wouldn’t have dug them..The Visual ID is it’s only downfall in my opinion,too compressed.
I think i would have stopped digging 12,13 in that park
 
Oh wow bummer.
I’m actually back...for some reason the system flagged me for “having multiple accounts”. I have NO idea how it thought that or what the back story is, but a few guys on here were kind enough to message admin and have them take a closer look at things. It got figured out, so it’s all good!
 
I’m actually back...for some reason the system flagged me for “having multiple accounts”. I have NO idea how it thought that or what the back story is, but a few guys on here were kind enough to message admin and have them take a closer look at things. It got figured out, so it’s all good!
Glad your back your always nice to everyone and helpful.
 
Glad your back your always nice to everyone and helpful.
I appreciate that SE! Truth of the matter is, regarding being helpful...I’ve learned ALOT of the “ins and outs” of the Explorer from the past posts in the Explorer Classroom on this site. It is amazing how much there is and could keep a person reading for days, literally!
 
Yes, Kevin is an asset to this forum. I've learned a lot from him.
 
I appreciate all the kind words guys. In all reality, information flows from ALOT of people here to make a bigger and better forum. I want to learn something every time I go out, or read a thread or watch a video. It makes the odds that we will find more and better things that much higher if EVERYBODY relates their experiences. The motto for Wisconsin is “Forward”. I like to think that is our motto here also!
 
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