New To E-Trac But Experienced With Explorer

[Elevatorguy]

I posted this on the regular E-Trac forum and only got 1 response. Hopefully here it will get some more attention. I bought an E-Trac when they were first released and have probably only used it about 8 times total. I was an experienced Explorer user prior. In my very limited time with the E-Trac I had a few issues. I am looking for opinions and findings on these issues as the machine has been out for a while now and it seems that users here have gotten very good with it. The first was the FE 12 issue. All coins, along with some trash, seemed to hit on the FE 12 line therefore limiting the usefulness of having a big screen diminished down to one single line. It seems like a huge opportunity lost on Minelabs part and an area in which they should have carried over the Explorers display system. The other issue is the inability to usefully use ferrous tones like you can on the Explorer. These 2 problems turned me away from the E-Trac. I am hoping that experience has brought to light the reason for the machine being engineered this way and that someone can explain it to me. Also, any settings that would be helpful to me learning this machine would be appreciated. I am in Massachusetts and hunt open trashy areas like parks and schools almost exclusively. Thanks for any help.

 

[Diggin It]

Go out on the internet and order Andy Sabisch`s Explorer/Etrac book. He does a great job of explaining the ins-and-outs of both machines. There is also a section dedicated to the FE 12 line and various setups too. The book is very in depth and a great read! I`ve read the book cover to cover about 5 times, and I find useful new information each time I go thru it.

 

[D&P-OR]

Elevatorguy----You seem to have a 3 part question & I will try to answer it the best I can.---Hopefully some of our other guys will "chime in" also.---As I'm sure you remember, when the Etrac first came out, there was a "ton" of debate about that FE 12-line.---The idea (as I understand it) was to gain a much more stable (and accurate) target I.D. on the conductive scale (thru an expanded conductivity scale) AND the elimination of "a lot of" ferrous (trash) targets that would have occurred in that FE 12 line region.-----Haveing said all this--I have my FE #'s "blacked out" from 28 on (28 thru 35)---27 & above is open.---The reason being that I have experienced some good targets (coins) hitting on fairly low FE values--on "very rare" occasions as low as FE 27--but the FE #'s can (and do) move (sometimes plenty) --It's because of the minerals/trash in the ground--and the conductive #'s (at those times & A LOT of other times) don't just lock "dead nuts" on either---they will "move" some but they are in a range--and that range is what you look for.--All this isn't even speaking of the cursor & that cursor gives you a TREMENDOUS amount of info.--------The ferrous tones you mentioned---yes, there was/is "blood & guts" (AM) & ferrous tone hunters with the Explorers that were "turned off" on the Etrac at this point.----BUT, there were others that had hunted that style--came over to the Etrac & conductive tones and ended up TOTALLY loveing it!---I have always been a conductive tone hunter so the change from the Explorer to the Etrac (in this regard) wasn't an issue to me.-------The third part of your question--settings----I am going to leave for someone else.----This is turning into a "book". ------Hope this helps you somewhat--I tried. ---------Del

 

[captn_se]

Here's my take on your question.

The only way to get real good with a machine is to use it for many, many hours out in the field. Switching machines only delays your length of time which you will be able to become better with another machine. You need to completely free your mind about old habits you have with prior detectors, even though the machines in question are both Minelabs. It's not easy to do for some. Others have a smoother transition from one machine to another. Since I've been so successful with my SE Pro and know it very well, I didn't feel the need to pull the trigger and invest in an E-Trac. I have hunted with guys who had E-Tracs, and there's no signal that they allowed me to hear that I couldn't hear with my SE Pro. You still have to hunt very slow with either machine to get the real deepies. If not, you will pass right over targets. The FE12 issue with the E-Tracs wouldn't bother me since I hunt exclusively in Conduct sounds. The parks/schools I hunt are more littered with aluminum than iron, and Conduct. is by far the better setting for hunting in high aluminum fragmented ground. I know about 30-40 different Explorer hunters here in CA, and about 98% of those hunters use Conduct. with a little bit of iron masking when detecting for older, deeper coins in our trashy parks out here. I hunt exclusively by sound(don't look at the screen that often), and am able to pass over most all aluminum because it all sounds low pitched in Conduct. I'm mainly listening for the deeper, higher conductors that are mixed in with all the aluminum/shallower clad. As for iron, it took many hours of hunting and digging countless deep iffies to be able to tell the differences between deep iron and a deep silver. I still dig the occasional, good sounding piece of iron, but have been able to minimize digging those targets as I increased my skills of understanding subtle differences in sound of iron and other higher conductors. From your writeup, you seem to have a setup that you are very comfortable and had a lot of experience with on your Explorer. If that's working for you, I don't think you should change a thing. Confidence in a machine is one of the biggest factors in being a successful md'er.

HH,
CAPTN SE
Dan

 

[bcoop]

Definitely get Andy's book on Explorer's and the E-Trac, this will explain how each setting enhances or limits your detectors capabilities. I really like the way the good targets show up on the 12 line and your Co numbers are normally very close to right on every time. It is an awesome machine and separation between the good targets and the junk laying close together is unbelievable.


Good Luck and maybe some of the more well versed guys can chime in.

BCOOP

 

[Elevatorguy]

Thanks for the replies. You are right I was an all metal/ferrous sounds user of the Explorer. Any settings that can be recommended to help me shorten the learning curve will be appreciated.

 

[Ron (CA)]

I am a long term Explorer user and did not like the FE12 line. I felt it robbed me of info. I am a conductive hunter so the Ferrous tone thin does not bother me. (But Minelab missed the boat on that too)

I have found benefits of the E-Trac over the E and benefits of the Explorer over the E-Trac.

Performance wise I do not feel one is better. Both will find goodies and deep goodies. The E-Trac may be faster, but you have to move slow with either one so it really is not that big of a benefit (in my eyes)

I gave the E-Trac two tries (only 75-100 hours on each try) and have decided I am plenty happy with the Explorer 2 and will keep the E-Trac as a backup or buddy machine. The E-Trac found a lot of stuff but I ended up digging a lot more clad than i had in the past as I think the FE line did not allow enough variation between clad and silver. And the depth meter seems to read deeper than the target really is.

i think if I had never used a Explorer I would have absolutely loved the E-Trac and I recommend the E-Trac to everyone that has never intimately learned an Explorer.

That is just my opinion on the E-Trac-- it is a great machine but I just know the Explorer to well for me to gain any benefit with the E-Trac

These are just my opinions

Ron (CA)

 

[D&P-OR]

Elevatorguy----You're getting more that one response to your question here. ----Best part of it is---these guys know what they're talkin about!---Looks like you've asked for settings a couple of times & nothing (much) has been said in that regard.---If you want mine, shoot me a P.M. & I'll send 'em out to you.----Most of the sites I hunt out here is pretty "mean ground".----Don't know what your ground is like back there?----I just know the settings I use work very well for me.-------Del

 

[Elevatorguy]

Ron,
You hit the nail on the head. I am sure there will be an E-Trac 2 or an E-Trac Pro released sometime in the near future that has the ability to use ferrous sounds in a worthwhile manner and uses the whole screen for feedback on desirable targets rather than just one line.

 

[Elevatorguy]

Thanks Del. I would like to have a look at your setting, along with anyone elses who will PM them to me. Also, I don't want to sound completely negative about the machine. There are features it has that I prefer over the Explorer, like the better balance, the ground mineralization settings, and the faster response time.

 

[D&P-OR]

OK----Sent you a P.M. last night (but you haven't read it yet). ---------Del

 

[Elevatorguy]

Thanks for the settings Del. You have your machine setup very close to the way mine was when I tried the E-Trac before with the exception of your gain. Can I ask why you have your gain maxed?

 

[D&P-OR]

Reason for haveing gain maxed being (probably unlike some of the other guys here) I'm not interested in modulation of deep/shallow targets.---I want all the "bang for the buck" I can get on those deepies.--I would rather find out target depth (via depth guage & after an "interesting" & consistant hit has been acquired).----I'm a tone hunter & I don't usually even look at the meter until this has occured.---As I have often said--tones and consistency of tones come first--everything else comes behind that.---As I mentioned in my P.M.--(with my settings), I'm not sure if haveing deep "on" (as I do) is an aid or a hindrance--it might be "overkill" or at the least, have no further benefit (to my settings).---I do need to experiment with haveing deep "off" more.----Now I'll admit, in quite a few cases, with my settings, I can't tell the difference between shallow & deep targets (audio wise) until I check the depth guage, BUT I can tell you WITH CERTAINTY, running my Etrac like this has found me a lot of deep really tough/difficult targets that I would have walked right over the top of otherwise.----Besides, I'm retired & in no hurry, I'll gladly hunt like this to "get the goods"!! -------Del

 

[Elevatorguy]

Interesting Del. I know with my Explorers if I had the gain set too high I would get a lot of falsing. Is this not the case with the E-Trac? Is anyone else reading this thread running their gain at max level, or close to it?

 

[D&P-OR]

Perhaps you had your sensitivity set too high (for your ground conditions) on your past Explorers.----In any case, the best thing for you to do and you can answer many of your own questions is by experimenting with (at least your main settings) on your Etrac.---So as to see which works best on your hunt sites & in your ground conditions.----That's what is so neat about the Explorers/Etracs, there are so many different ways you can set them up and still get excellent results.---What works well for one individual & in a certain area may or may not work as well for another person in another part of the country.----That's why experimenting with these machines is important--till you see what appears to work best for you & your hunt environment.------Enuff from this ole man, I'll get off my soap box & let someone else take over from here! -------Del