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Question! Is the E-Trac really the best coin detector?

I think the advantage may be the eTrac having the “silver warble” ability. I know with the F75 a couple of times I got penny numbers that turned out to silver dimes. Thus if scanning a new area the first passover might produce silver coins more readily and its then up to you if you want to go back and for that elusive 1909 VDB.
 
I think the advantage may be the eTrac having the “silver warble” ability. I know with the F75 a couple of times I got penny numbers that turned out to silver dimes. Thus if scanning a new area the first passover might produce silver coins more readily and its then up to you if you want to go back and for that elusive 1909 VDB.
The Etrac is a silver/copper hog!---I'm still looking for that elusive 1909-S VDB (San Francisco mint--Victor David Brenner) Lincoln though!:rolleyes:
 
Used one for years. It is an awesome machine...possibly the MOST programable with multitudes of configurations/options and a bit on the heavy side.
Personally...it is toooooooooo complicated for the average detector, notoriously slow recovery speed and a bit too heavy for seniors. It can be quite frustrating in terms of "do I have it set right" for these particular conditions or should I "reconfigure"????

Sold mine and acquired a ML Vanquish...much, much lighter...very very much simpler (read less frustrating)...noticeably faster recovery and highly accurate digital signals. Every bit as satisfied with it!!!
 
All that Monkeys Uncle is true, but there is a short cut if you wanted to hook up with Elmy on the forum. He can give you settings and disc patterns that will get you running the E-Trac like a pro.
I can say I don't know the machine you are running now so I can't say how it will compare with the E-Trac.
I do know I was running a Fisher F75 and my silver count was pretty close to zero. I got the E-Trac and I was back into finding silver and I didn't have a clue how to setup the E-Trac until I hooked up with Elmy.
Elmy and we have both offered help but for most they just blow us off. They have been through a lot on their own and they seem to think they have mastered the E-Trac. I was the same but short of saying I have it mastered. I know that the direction I was leaning on my own kind matched up with what Elmy was trying to tell me. That helped me a lot to kind of let Elmy guide me.
I have 2 E-trac,s now and pretty much everything I do I run by Elmy.
So for anybody out there that is running a E-trac I would suggest you do a master reset on you machine and contact Elmy and get some base settings and base 1-10 coin pattern. He may offer the magic part and I would suggest taking it and try it, it works.

Ron in WV
 
All that Monkeys Uncle is true, but there is a short cut if you wanted to hook up with Elmy on the forum. He can give you settings and disc patterns that will get you running the E-Trac like a pro.
I can say I don't know the machine you are running now so I can't say how it will compare with the E-Trac.
I do know I was running a Fisher F75 and my silver count was pretty close to zero. I got the E-Trac and I was back into finding silver and I didn't have a clue how to setup the E-Trac until I hooked up with Elmy.
Elmy and we have both offered help but for most they just blow us off. They have been through a lot on their own and they seem to think they have mastered the E-Trac. I was the same but short of saying I have it mastered. I know that the direction I was leaning on my own kind matched up with what Elmy was trying to tell me. That helped me a lot to kind of let Elmy guide me.
I have 2 E-trac,s now and pretty much everything I do I run by Elmy.
So for anybody out there that is running a E-trac I would suggest you do a master reset on you machine and contact Elmy and get some base settings and base 1-10 coin pattern. He may offer the magic part and I would suggest taking it and try it, it works.

Ron in WV
Good post and for the most part...true. Elmy is a WIZARD and a Godsend to Etrac users. However...it is still a moderately heavy unit with noticeably slow recovery and will leave many users wondering..."are these the absolute best settings for this site?". With sooooooo many options, one can't help wondering whether they've got it right and "what I missed???", had I tweaked those 3, 4, or half dozen settings one more time. That's the DEFINITION of frustration, to me. IT IS AN AWESOME MACHINE...AND IT IS EXTREMELY CAPABLE...BUT, IT IS ALSO COMPLICATED FOR THE AVERAGE SWINGER.

Me...I'm a senior, thus...too old (read worn out) to swing it for very long and too ornery (read senile) to mess with it. Finally...as yet, they haven't mfg'd the PERFECT detector that finds EVERYTHING.
 
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Ron in WV, Ron in ID here (always wanted to do that….)
I take exception to your F75 conclusion. I do dig silvers here and more recently War nickels and V nickels even more. I believe the problem most Fisher users encounter is the fact dimes and copper pennies often ring in within a number or two of each other. I also get silver rings (and sometimes trash) in those same dime numbers. I’m betting a lot of guys pass on pennies and as such miss the older dimes. Quarters? It hits and I dig, sometimes its falsing and so continues the saga. The Ike dollar and the one silver dollar was spot on.
Hanging with jkline I know the eTrac is better at identifying silver and often I get a weird signal and he runs a second opinion (we sometimes rely on each other for a second look). Only time I saw a complete failure on a silver quarter was the Nox800, simply would not detect it, period.
 
I prefer the etrac over the ctx. Sold my nox.

Where I hunt, I'd be looking for an etrac or f75. They do the job and won't break the bank.

They may be old tech, but they work. Get one, play with it, keep it or sell it. If you don't like it, I might buy it off of you.
 
Hate to say it but the E-Trac and CZ's are dinosaurs
Processor are just to slow.
So am I....have you ever seen a dinosaur eat with a spoon or fork ?
Probably wouldn't know what to do but eat it also.
Same way I feel when I pick up the latest, greatest detector.....the cost ?
I always eat it!
The etrac always brings the treasure home with me.
If I fail, it was my fault....not the dinosaur's.
 
I really do struggle with comments about the etrac being an awkward machine to adapt to, it's the best laid out machine as regards menus of any of the explorer range.
Recovery speed/processor speed call it what you will is fine, and I work some really iron infested sites. I appreciate here in the UK we dont have to cherry pick as such, but once you buy one even if you sell it on, I'm pretty sure you'll go back.
 
I really do struggle with comments about the etrac being an awkward machine to adapt to, it's the best laid out machine as regards menus of any of the explorer range.
Recovery speed/processor speed call it what you will is fine, and I work some really iron infested sites. I appreciate here in the UK we dont have to cherry pick as such, but once you buy one even if you sell it on, I'm pretty sure you'll go back.
Most try to overthink the etrac ...If you do, you will have a lot of trouble using it.
 
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The E-Trac is what ... the third generation of that series? The Safari and Quatro dont count.

Here is my take on the E-Trac ... it is heavy ... no doubt about that.
The display is to dim in the sunlight.
There is a lot of hodoo and vodoo about programing the thing.

On the plus side it is a very stable machine in conditions that will shut down other detectors.
The screen is a grid and you can visually see where the target comes in. FE on one scale and conductivity on the other.
All the programs do are notch or blank out certain areas of that grid so you dont hear them.
I ran mine as open as I could and when I heard a good sounding signal I looked at the display to see where it registered.
The only adjustments I ever made after selecting a pre-programmed mode was sensitivity, threshold, and volume.
Simple enough.

I still think it will beat the Equinox on old buried silver coins ... Beach or Land, Saltwater or Fresh ... the Deus II Mabey not ... jury is still out on that one.
Definitely the most stable detector I ever used on a low tide salt water beach.

I currently have a deal to trade one of my new Nokta Legend detectors for a used but nice E-Trac.
Should have never sold the one I had but I am sure most of the readers know how that goes.

So bottom line is ... there is no real best detector ... except the one you think is best for you.
 
I have been running a F75 in my area since 2010 and I am on my 3rd F-75 now and it is the Ltd and upgraded when the offer came out. I still have the F-75 Ltd. I also have a number of coils for it, like the 5"DD, 3.5 x 6.5 concentric, the stock 11"DD, a 5x10" DD and a 10" concentric coil.
Now I didn't say in my above post that every bodies F-75's has stopped finding silver, but for me in my area I have to hunt, my silver count was getting pretty low. I started looking for another detector and I found a new E-Trac in 2017 and bought it. Even though I didn't have much more than knowledge then what I read in the owners manual my silver coin count went up about 75% for what was left of my first year using the E-Trac with the stock 11" coil in my area.
Since then I have bought several coils for the E-Trac and when I got the word that the factory was no longer making them I found a used junker E-Trac that still works and bought it. I just wanted a backup for the rest of my days of detecting.
I know some have stated that the E-Trac has slow recovery speed and it is a bit on the heavy side for those getting up in years. I know I can't speak for those old folks because I am only 74 and am about 150lbs. So for us young guys the E-Trac fits right in as we slow down from old age the E-Trac is ready for us. One of the nice things about a slower swing speed is better target separation and a little easier on the back, but the depth is way better than anything the F-75Ltd can do.

Ron in WV
 
Ron in WV, Ron in ID here (always wanted to do that….)
I take exception to your F75 conclusion. I do dig silvers here and more recently War nickels and V nickels even more. I believe the problem most Fisher users encounter is the fact dimes and copper pennies often ring in within a number or two of each other. I also get silver rings (and sometimes trash) in those same dime numbers. I’m betting a lot of guys pass on pennies and as such miss the older dimes. Quarters? It hits and I dig, sometimes its falsing and so continues the saga. The Ike dollar and the one silver dollar was spot on.
Hanging with jkline I know the eTrac is better at identifying silver and often I get a weird signal and he runs a second opinion (we sometimes rely on each other for a second look). Only time I saw a complete failure on a silver quarter was the Nox800, simply would not detect it, period.
Ron in WV would not say he got a 75 % improvement on silver with the etrac if it was not true. When I got mine , I got more silver the first year than with 10 years of using my old detector. You have an experienced hunting friend that can teach you the etrac out in the field. Your silver count will go up.
 
Ron in WV would not say he got a 75 % improvement on silver with the etrac if it was not true. When I got mine , I got more silver the first year than with 10 years of using my old detector. You have an experienced hunting friend that can teach you the etrac out in the field. Your silver count will go up.
Even compared to the newer units like the Deus 2 ?

Thank you for your advice!
 
Even compared to the newer units like the Deus 2 ?

Thank you for your advice!
Why would I need a new detector when mine still brings home silver/gold/ or copper treasures every hunt ?
Been there, bought the latest , greatest and sold them at less than I paid for them to learn my lesson.
I simply re-learned the etrac and found my way to make it work.
 
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