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E-trac vs X-terra

J

jimz49

Active member
I noticed there have been some recent video posts where the e-trac was compared to other machines. Has there ever been a post where the e-trac was compared to either the 705 or 70 x-terra? Sure would like to see the comparison.
 
Digger had a post that he did head to head with them and only had 2 targets found with the Etrac that he wouldn't have found with the Xterra 705.
 
actually, I was looking for a similar head-to-head comparison that was done with other detectors....will the x-terra pickup the targets that the e-trac finds (ID and depth). I'm guessing if you do ID/depth that all the other factors will play a part. The x-terra should have a similar size coil on with a coil freq. that works best for the area where the test is being conducted. I've heard that the x-terra goes as deep as the e-trac, but I'm skeptical.
 
Did he do a video? I would like to see it if he did.
 
The Minelab E-Trac metal detector is going to excel over the X-Terra in most places due to its ability to use 28 frequencies. Some places the X-Terra might be able to compete. Hotter ground or in EMO situations the E-Trac will excell!

Holler if you have more questions!
 
well I can tell you this, I upgraded from the x-70 to the etrac. I thought the x-70 was the best thing since sliced bread, and I told everyone, that I did NOT need an etrac. I was pretty deadly with the x-70. But my buddy is a minelab dealer and he kept after me and promised me I would find more silver, deeper silver if I upgraded to the etrac.

Well when I finally gave in and bought the etrac, I went to places 1st off, that I had literally pounded, gridded and THOUGHT I had hunted them out, well I was way wrong, the etrac found a lot of stuff the x-70 missed, stuff that was masked by iron, stuff that was deeper etc.....

don't get me wrong, I love my x-70 and will NEVER sell it, but the etrac is better, without a doubt. My wife uses my x-70 from time to time, and it is a perfect, simple machine for her to use.

the etrac is a deeper machine
it is multi frequency while x-70 is not
etrac can pull stuff out of iron better, separates targets better
not fooled as easy by deep iron

x-70 is lighter, etrac is not heavy to me but it is heavier..lol
x-70 is simple to use
x-70 is a good all around machine, but the etrac is 2x better
 
thanks for the report Goes4ever. You're right the X70 is a light versatile machine. A real plus is it breaks down for easy transport. I was hoping that I wouldn't be giving up much if any by using the x-terra 70 or 705 over the e-trac, but deep down in I knew better.
 
hi jim, I've been using a X-50 and the X-505 for the past 6 or so years and know it like the back of my hand and like G4e, thought it was the next best thing to sliced bread, lol This past fall I have been Mding with a guy from this fourm, I'm not real sure what his screen name is, something like jim in IA. anyhow, one place that we have been to several times together is a perfect place to MD, mild ground, very lil trash you can't ask for a better place to MD. On some days I kick his but and some days he kicks my but. the only difference between the two MDers is who swings over the better ground that day. One day we went to an older school to check it out. This place had some of the worse soil I have ever MDed. I could not even get a half way good signal there. A few times jim called me over and asked me what I thought of this signal and I said what signal. I'm not picking up anything there or if I did it would be some kind of a junk signal. one time it turned out to be a wheat and the another time it was a Merc. Most of the day we was about bumping in to each other so we was both working the same areas and at the end of the day I got a Merc, a rosie, a canadian large cent and 2 wheat's. Jim got 4 Barber dimes, 2 Merc's a 2 rosies and a bunch of wheat's. That day told me just how good the etrac really is and I need to buy one, lol. The Xterra could not handle that type of soil and I walked over alot of good old coins that day. also, that day Jim or I didn't dig any coins that was deeper then 5". My next Mder will be an etrac. That's my 2 cents worth on the etrac vs the xterra.
 
have walked behind etracs with skilled users operating them with the 705 and picked up silver they missed and am sure they have done the same to me and throw in some other bands that have picked up stuff they both missed.

no one machine can get it all just wont happen, find the best three you like and use them all on the same spot its interesting to see the results.

there are many multiple reasons why this happens but it does :biggrin:

blank planet
 
Just curious Mark....what coil was you using that day at the old school house?
 
I agree with you Blank Planet that it's possible to walk behind someone else, even if you're using the same brand and model detector and be able to find targets the other person missed. a lot of factors play into finding a target (swing speed, angle that coil passes over target and personal interpretation of the target information). However, when direct comparisons are made on the same target (as was the case with Mark and Jim at the old school house) then you get a better idea of what one machine can do versus the other. The only question I had for Mark was what coil (size and frequency) was he using. That definitely makes a difference in difficult ground.
 
Mark in S.E. IA said:
hi jim, I've been using a X-50 and the X-505 for the past 6 or so years and know it like the back of my hand and like G4e, thought it was the next best thing to sliced bread, lol This past fall I have been Mding with a guy from this fourm, I'm not real sure what his screen name is, something like jim in IA. anyhow, one place that we have been to several times together is a perfect place to MD, mild ground, very lil trash you can't ask for a better place to MD. On some days I kick his but and some days he kicks my but. the only difference between the two MDers is who swings over the better ground that day. One day we went to an older school to check it out. This place had some of the worse soil I have ever MDed. I could not even get a half way good signal there. A few times jim called me over and asked me what I thought of this signal and I said what signal. I'm not picking up anything there or if I did it would be some kind of a junk signal. one time it turned out to be a wheat and the another time it was a Merc. Most of the day we was about bumping in to each other so we was both working the same areas and at the end of the day I got a Merc, a rosie, a canadian large cent and 2 wheat's. Jim got 4 Barber dimes, 2 Merc's a 2 rosies and a bunch of wheat's. That day told me just how good the etrac really is and I need to buy one, lol. The Xterra could not handle that type of soil and I walked over alot of good old coins that day. also, that day Jim or I didn't dig any coins that was deeper then 5". My next Mder will be an etrac. That's my 2 cents worth on the etrac vs the xterra.
Click to expand...

Great post Mark!
The multifrequency of the Minelab Etrac metal detector can hunt just about anywhere well! Hard to compare it to a single frequency machine of any make.
 
That would be where the FBS machines have the edge EMI, tuff ground, wet sand. better coil options, those would be the 4 reasons for me to buy one not because they find more coins than a 705 but because they are more versatile and can hunt just about anywhere. so that might equate to finding more good targets ?? but for me it just means less equipment to cart around which has to be a plus. question is etrac or safari ? not to sure about screens as a live and die by, take a quick glance at the screen on the 705 but if it sounds good i dont care what the numbers say. its coming out :biggrin:.

blank planet.
 
If FBS is the key, then maybe the question is explorer vs e-trac, especially some of the earlier explorers. Can an explorer II or the early explorer se (non pro) hold their against the e-trac?
 
Hi Jim I was using the 10.5 DD 7.5 coil and that's the only coil i use and jim was using a DD coil and it was a lil bigger around then my coil. that's all the info I known about the coil on his etrac. I feel the DD 7.5 deals with tough ground a lot better then the conc coil do. their has been other times at different places that Jim has called me over to see what I think of a signal he got and most times I don't get a signal or what signal I do get tells me that it's junk and about everytime it turns out to be an old coin.

I'm sold 100% on the etrac
 
Mark in S.E. IA said:
Hi Jim I was using the 10.5 DD 7.5 coil and that's the only coil i use and jim was using a DD coil and it was a lil bigger around then my coil. that's all the info I known about the coil on his etrac. I feel the DD 7.5 deals with tough ground a lot better then the conc coil do. their has been other times at different places that Jim has called me over to see what I think of a signal he got and most times I don't get a signal or what signal I do get tells me that it's junk and about everytime it turns out to be an old coin.

I'm sold 100% on the etrac
Click to expand...
mark as good as you are with your xterra, you'd be killer with an etrac!
 
Mark, thanks for the info. Thats an interesting contrast to what dirtangler said about digger finding all but two targets when comparing the x-terra to a e-trac. Of course, I'm convinced that there are a whole host of issues that come into play when finding targets (mineralization, trash & moisture, to name a few). I think we've all hunted over the same ground more than once and was surprised to find targets we didn't find the first time or second (you get the idea). It's part of the mystery and anticipation knowing that there still may be that one good find waiting to be found.
 
Since my name came into this discussion, let me explain how I did my tests. But before I do that, let me say that I don't disagree that the E-TRAC is top notch when it comes to sorting out coins from adjacent targets. And I also agree that, those of us who have hunted the same ground with different detectors will likely find coins that we somehow missed on previous hunts. In an effort to determine whether this phenomenon could be solely attributed to the detector, I put my E-TRAC and X-TERRA 705 up against each other, head to head, in a park that has been used extensively for nearly 150 years. But instead of hunting for a couple hours with one detector, then hunting for a couple hours with the other detector, and claiming one was superior to the other because I found more coins with it, I gridded off an area, hunted with one detector and marked every target with a colored golf tee. Then, before digging any of the targets, I rehunted the same area, working the same direction, with the other detector. On this pass, I rechecked all the targets intially found with the first detector to make sure I could find them with the other detector. And I marked any new targets found with the second detector (and missed by the first detector) with a different colored marker. Then again, before digging any of the targets found with either detector, I rehunted the same area with the first detector to see if I could figure out why I missed them on the first pass, with the first detector. And once again, I marked any new targets that I may have missed on the first two passes with yet another color of marker. And then, before taking out my digging tool, I checked those additional targets with the other detector again,to see why I may have missed them on the previous run. To try to make comparisons as "fair" as possible, I used my 6-inch DD at 18.75 kHz on the X-TERRA and my 6-inch EQ2 coil on my E-TRAC. I set both detectors up using minimal discrimination, multiple tones. (conductive tones on the E-TRAC) I did this test on several occassions and dug literally hundreds of targets. Long story short...... the majority of the initial "misses" can be attributed to the operator. Whether I didn't overlap my swaths, was sweeping too fast or simply didn't hear it, 99% of the targets were either found or confirmed by both detectors. In regard to the other 1%,,,,,, I found two coins with the E-TRAC that I would not have dug while using the X-TERRA. One was a Standing quarter that was surrounded by old square nails. On the E-TRAC, I could work the coil slow enough to isolate the quarter. With the X-TERRA, the deep ferrous tones overwhelmed any high tone that would have alerted me to a coin. The other coin turned out to be a silver dime that was on edge. The E-TRAC gave a very brief high tone. Obviously enough to make me leave a marker and later dig it. But even knowing something was there, I could not isolate it with the X-TERRA enough to make me stop and dig, if it were a "real hunt".

These tests are time consuming and frustrating to complete. But in order to prove to myself that one detector would find coins that the other one wouldn't, I needed to do them. After all, I enjoy digging old coins as much as the next guy and want to make every effort to not leave any behind. I think too many times folks assume that just because the new detector finds things they missed before, it is all to the credit of the new detector. Having used nearly every detector available over the past 40 years, I believe it is more a matter of understanding the functionality of your detector, applying that knowledge and knowing what the detector is telling you when it does pass over a target. There may even be something to be said for paying more attention to a detector that costs more money than the one you had before. Regardless, my tests revealed (to me) that there are coins hiding out there that can be found with the E-TRAC that I would have missed using the X-TERRA. In the "head to head" testing I did, that was two coins, to be exact. And again, that is two coins out of dozens of hours of testing and literally hundreds of targets located.

So the questions for me are....what are the trade offs? If I am hunting an area that is yielding coins, and I can cover two - three times as much ground (in a given period of time) using the X-TERRA compared to the slower sweeping E-TRAC, wouldn't using the X-TERRA make more sense? On the other hand, if I am in an area that is loaded with trash, particularly ferrous trash, doesn't the functionality of the E-TRAC justify the slow sweep and less ground covered? I say yes to both questions. That is why I own them both and why I call them my dynamic duo. JMHO HH Randy
 
One of my Friends (James ND) has a Explorer XS and does real well with it and another one has the E-Trac like I do. One will do better then the other one week and then the other will do better the next week, but we have notice the E-Trac seems to get just a little deeper, but not much and will pick out coins in with nails a bit better. We seen where the E-Trac will say a possible coin while the Explorer XS says more trash then anything else and when dug is a deep coin. The E-Trac will find more nickles and seen the E-Trac ID a deep Barber half the Explorer said was a penny/dime. Over all it average about just as many finds when on one of their hunts, but the E-Trac seems to get more in with nails and I notice the E-Trac runs so much smoother than the Explorers and has a faster recovery speed and for me a better ID
The one thing to mention is James with the XS has used one of these since they came out and has thousand of hours on it, in fact wore out 2 of them as it was cheaper to get a used one than fix his, so he knows his Explorer XS well so he has a slight advantage of knowing his detector well.
 
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