Explorer or Etrac

[JohnTN]

I used an Exp II for about 4 years and got to be darn good at digging deepies about every trip. I sold it and am wanting to get another deep park hunter. Back when I sold mine I kinda wanted the SE but as now with the Etrac alot of Guys were saying hang onto your Exp II. Quiet frankly I'm reading alot of things about the Etrac that is cooling me down on getting one.
I suppose the later model SE's got better than the early ones cause I have seen alot of people have great success with them.
Could the Etrac problem be that no one has really mastered the thing yet and there is nothing wrong with these machines?

 

[Erik in NJ]

It's a nice machine - we're still figuring it out here on the forum, but Minelab claims that it's built to exceed the performance of the Explorer.

 

[MattR]

"Hello there John",

You question is valid, but not one that I can answer in specific terms regarding the SE, for I haven't used or owned one.

I have owned the Explorer II, and I am currently using the E-Trac.

What prompted me to reply, was the last part of the query you've posted.

To me, it indicates that you are aware of the possible reason for those negative comments you've heard previously, yet even with such perceptive logic, you have allowed them to 'cool' your interest in the E-Trac.

Can you explain some of those 'negatives' to the readers, so we can understand what it is you've 'heard'.

Maybe then they will be able to respond in a more meaningful way.

We are here to help.............not sell.................MattR.UK.

I've emphasized the section in your post to which I refer.

I used an Exp II for about 4 years and got to be darn good at digging deepies about every trip. I sold it and am wanting to get another deep park hunter. Back when I sold mine I kinda wanted the SE but as now with the Etrac alot of Guys were saying hang onto your Exp II. Quiet frankly I'm reading alot of things about the Etrac that is cooling me down on getting one.
I suppose the later model SE's got better than the early ones cause I have seen alot of people have great success with them.
[size=medium]Could the Etrac problem be that no one has really mastered the thing yet and there is nothing wrong with these machines[/size]?

 

[Rick(ND)]

I have used all the Explorers and now have a E-Trac and my SE Pro and from the little I have used the E-Trac it will be a detector I will be keeping and will sell the SE Pro not because the SE Pro is not good, but I do like the E-Trac much better with the finds I am getting. I have a Friend too that has the SE with the Pro coil and he really likes it and does well with it, but he too tried the E-Trac and his finds are proving to him that the E-Trac will be a keeper and he will probably sell his SE with the Pro coil.
I feel you can believe the E-Trac IDing much better in my opinion and the real iffy ones when dug have been rusty nails that are 9-12 inches deep and seen many coins ID in the disc coin mode in iron while when switching over to quick mask factory pattern the signal will get much better, but the ferrous also will be higher seeing the iron and many will not dig. My Friend had this happen a couple of days ago when he went to a old park the has a lot of iron in it and we have worked to death with every detector you can think of. He got a 10 ferrous and a 46 conductivity in with a few nulls, but it was repeatable so he went to factory quick mask and now the ferrous was 33-35 and hard to get a 10 so he went back to the disc and still got a 10 ferrous and decided to dig. First he went back to the quick mask open so he could hear everything with the X-1 probe. He dug a plug and got a rusty nail than a alum nail and thought that was it, but went back in the hole and still had a good signal in the open quick mask which was another piece of a tin can, but after he got that out there still was another signal which was a little deeper and that was a standing lib quarter at around 11 inches deep. It was wore so bad no date,but has no stars under the eagle on the back, so it must be a 1917. He also got a few Wheaties and a merc too plus a old hotel key fob.
Now I have dug a Wheaties too that was deep in with some rusty nails too that was repeatable in disc, but a little jumpy and going to quick mask it was better, but ferrous now read 34, so back to the factory mode and it still read 11 ferrous, so I dug out a nail then another nail than the Wheaties, so I feel the E-Trac is seeing many coins in with nails the Explorers and others couldn't see.
My impression is good on the E-Trac at this time and even though I am a ferrous hunter I have switched to being a conductivity hunter and find it has been working excellent for me.
Anyone want a good deal on a SE Pro?? the E trac is staying.

 

[Rick(ND)]

n/t

 

[Erik in NJ]

A lot of guys here have been doing real well with the E-Trac. There have been two or three guys that CLAIM that they do not get the depth they should be, but I have not seen any of them find a deep target with the Explorer somewhere and then run the E-Trac over it and definitively say that it won't register the target. There's a chance that a machine MAY be broken, but no one knows yet - it's just speculation and it's a shame to see posts like yours where people are referring to a supposed "E-Trac problem." I don't mean this in any disrespectful way to you - it's just that it seems that some of the negative posts are creating an undeserved bias "out there."

 

[M.L. Hinds]

n/t

 

[M.L. Hinds]

I was upset at my first dig when I dug a crown cap!! Then I found 2 wheaties under the cap! And started hunting by sound only in multi tone and it hit coins 3 times with iron!! I am sold cause I have used many detectors at this site.. I'll be going to that park again in the morning to see what else it gives up!!!

 

[JohnTN]

When I had my Exp II I was a sound hunter. I rarely used the screen except for the occasional iffy. I used conductive tones, I usually hunted with the iron mask in about -14 or -15. I had alot of luck with the Exp II but I sold it because I did not like the fact that at alot of old homesteads that had heavy iron concentrations the machine tended to mask alot, even with an open -16 iron mask. I would pound these places with the Exp then go back with my Compass GSP and find all kinds of nice conductives I had missed. I had no problem finding 8"-10" coins with the explorer. Even believe it or not once dug a wheat in old fill dirt at 14". So I know what the deepies sounded like and I know that the real deep coins and real deep nails often sounded & reacted the same.
When I seen the little video of the Etrac hitting the coin next to nails I thought FINALLY an explorer that will not mask. That sparked my interest.

 

[Ray-Mo.]

I just need more time to hunt is the only problem with my E-Trac.

 

[M.L. Hinds]

n/t

 

[Jim upstate NY]

As far as I an concerned, they both have advantages over each other,, Funny thing is as much as I don't like the new ferrous mode on the E Trac, I am thinking its going to be better relic machine than a park machine... I just feel the explorer is much better at ID'ing.. I never dug so much junk in a year as I have with the etrac in a month... I am finding good stuff too, but I just find myself ignoring anything below 40 conductive in high trash after digging the lower numbers and coming up with nothing but screw caps and tabs.. The Etrac without a doubt is faster I am seeing it more and more.. Still haven't gotten anything near as deep as I normally do with the explorer but might not be setting it right or not going over anything..

I think the etrac will be better on the relic fields, and foundations. Should be a killer in England, it does good in iron, just get more high tone falsing than I do with the explorer.. I must have at least 50 hours on mine now... and while I can be pretty sure the false is from iron, it still stops me in my tracks on that first sweep over it.. then again I am running pretty wide open.. I gotta say almost all the coins I have got sounded pretty good, so maybe with time you can sort things out on the coins that come in the lower numbers...
but they way everything sounds most targets sound with a solid tone.. where on the explorer most junk warbled and gave different tones from different directions

I am waiting for someone to posts a few three centers, half reales and half dimes they found in trashy parks.. I found plenty with my explorer out of my parks and trashy house sites... so far all I see are pennies and silver, and a few nickels... so it seems a lot of people are ignoring those lower numbers too, and just aren't admitting it I must have dug a hundred 12-14's and only 2 nickels... I am at least 50 50 on nickels I think are nickels on the explorer..

So more time will tell, only had my explorer out once since getting the etrac, I am trying to get used to the tones and hoping a light will come on.. silver is no longer the highest tone, and indians are very mid tone.. with ferrous on the explorer all my coins were high tones, even low conductive ones, so I just listened for round sounds with the higher tones no matter where they read on the conductive scale.. To me the etrac makes almost all signals sound small... can tops sound and read like silver coins to me.. tabs sound round, and they all pinpoint small, unless you use sizing, but its a pain to switch pinpoint modes..

So for me there is good points in both, ad I am gonna keep the etrac. but I am not getting rid of my SE either...

 

[Ray-Mo.]

It will see through trash like you will not believe unless you try it yourself.Coins in the same hole with iron and nails are an every hunt occurance for me. And others as well I am sure,Ray.

 

[jeff & Maria]

was never as smooth and stable as my E trac. My area is loaded with mineralized soil and hot rocks. The audio is different and is just a matter of getting used to it. It is proving itself to be a great investment.