Gary's Metal Detecting Forum

Gary's Detecting forum => General detecting talk => Topic started by: Keith67 on April 17, 2017, 10:34 pm

Title: So who still uses the E-Trac?
Post by: Keith67 on April 17, 2017, 10:34 pm
When I started researching machines in autumn 2015, the E-Trac continuously popped up as a recommended machine, and about a year ago there still seemed to be a lot of videos and supporting comments for these units.  Is it just my imagination, or has 2016 seen a decline in users and support?  It feels as though more people have thrown in the towel and the stout defence of the E-Trac has declined in numbers.  Just my imagination?
Title: Re: So who still uses the E-Trac?
Post by: nailman on April 18, 2017, 07:26 am
The E Trac is still very popular in our club
I would have one if it wasn't for bad shoulders and the weight issue, borrowed one for a day loved it.
Title: Re: So who still uses the E-Trac?
Post by: JBM on April 18, 2017, 08:19 am
We only have a couple of WHRADA`s 45 members using Minelab these days.

By memory 1 Sovereign Elite one e-trac and a older Explorer.

Happy Hunting,

Jerry.

Title: Re: So who still uses the E-Trac?
Post by: needlegun on April 18, 2017, 08:44 am
Good machine the Etrac.
Everyone should at least try an explorer.
I have a Explorer se  ;)
Along with my Rutus Alter 71.
A very good combo.
Title: Re: So who still uses the E-Trac?
Post by: Keith67 on April 18, 2017, 10:08 am
Good machine the Etrac.
Everyone should at least try an explorer.
I have a Explorer se  ;)
Along with my Rutus Alter 71.
A very good combo.


Heard good things about the Safari too.  I wonder if a lot of it comes down to weight.  As more and more new machines come out that are lighter in design, perhaps this is just getting too tempting.  The weight contrast must be greater in general than when the E-Trac first came out?
Title: Re: So who still uses the E-Trac?
Post by: lifeguard on April 18, 2017, 10:08 am
Good machine the Etrac.
Everyone should at least try an explorer.
I have a Explorer se  ;)
Along with my Rutus Alter 71.
A very good combo.
I had an explorer 2. It is a very good machine. Deep and sensitive. But. They dont like so much the iron. I mean I couldnt set the machine up like a deus to find interesting things from iron.
Title: Re: So who still uses the E-Trac?
Post by: BeePee56 on April 18, 2017, 01:57 pm
Cracking machine,but as others have said the weight is an issue
Title: Re: So who still uses the E-Trac?
Post by: needlegun on April 18, 2017, 03:16 pm
Explorers are not heavy if you use a harness.
Title: Re: So who still uses the E-Trac?
Post by: Ringmoney on April 18, 2017, 04:28 pm
Explorers are not heavy if you use a harness.

No problem when it looks like this, my 1999 first production run Explorer S.
(http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/y387/ringmoney/20170405_2114531_zpsqlkof33n.jpg)
Title: Re: So who still uses the E-Trac?
Post by: nailman on April 18, 2017, 05:04 pm
That looks like a F75

So if Minelab produced slimmer machines in the past, why can't they put FBS tech into a better built go find type machine that would take the coils, I think they've put all their eggs in one basket the ctx3930 and are resting on their laurels
Title: Re: So who still uses the E-Trac?
Post by: Ringmoney on April 18, 2017, 05:24 pm
That looks like a F75

So if Minelab produced slimmer machines in the past, why can't they put FBS tech into a better built go find type machine that would take the coils, I think they've put all their eggs in one basket the ctx3930 and are resting on their laurels

No, this one was rebuilt by myself, originally it looked like every other Explorer.
Title: Re: So who still uses the E-Trac?
Post by: nailman on April 18, 2017, 05:32 pm
That looks like a F75

So if Minelab produced slimmer machines in the past, why can't they put FBS tech into a better built go find type machine that would take the coils, I think they've put all their eggs in one basket the ctx3930 and are resting on their laurels

No, this one was rebuilt by myself, originally it looked like every other Explorer.

Thanks for clarifying , so when did they start adding concrete to the shafts  ;D ;D
Title: Re: So who still uses the E-Trac?
Post by: kevsat on April 18, 2017, 06:29 pm
the e trac is still the best mchn ive used for finding thin section  at  depth ...nothin ive tried will beat it....as for being heavy ....man up  8) 8)
Title: Re: So who still uses the E-Trac?
Post by: nailman on April 18, 2017, 08:08 pm
the e trac is still the best mchn ive used for finding thin section  at  depth ...nothin ive tried will beat it....as for being heavy ....man up  8) 8)

I'am disabled due to a motorcycle accident I have steel plates in my shoulder, pins in leg and wrist ltd  range of mobility in my shoulder , there's no MAN UP about it they are simply too bloody heavy  :(
Title: Re: So who still uses the E-Trac?
Post by: muckyfingers on April 18, 2017, 08:14 pm
the etrac is a class detector, little on the heavy side... but you get used to it after a while.had some deep finds with mine, still have it but upgraded to the ctx. good choice of coils with the etrac. fantastic on the beach and pasture.
Title: Re: So who still uses the E-Trac?
Post by: muckyfingers on April 18, 2017, 08:16 pm
in your case nailman.........yep, to heavy.
Title: Re: So who still uses the E-Trac?
Post by: nailman on April 18, 2017, 08:31 pm
Yes would have loved one
Tried one for a few hours but the pain later on was bad, that's why the Deus is now my machine of choice
Title: Re: So who still uses the E-Trac?
Post by: MarkSussex on April 18, 2017, 08:35 pm
For me the best combination as regards to a metal detector for depth, is an etrac paired with a 13" ultimate coil, the depths that machine reaches with the right program and that coil is unsurpassed IMO.

If it wasn't for a shoulder injury which pushed me towards the lighter deus, I would still be using that combo today.
Title: Re: So who still uses the E-Trac?
Post by: Keith67 on April 18, 2017, 08:48 pm
Interesting answers and some pattern forming here.  For many the weight is an issue, no doubt.  Also comments in regards working around the iron echo what I have seen before.  The only Minelab user I have seen at my club is actually swinging an X Terra 505.  I do think there is a combination of physical issues and the production of so many newer options, so despite it's great reputation, like all the greatest hits, it's now slipping down the charts.
Title: Re: So who still uses the E-Trac?
Post by: kevsat on April 18, 2017, 10:11 pm
they will always be used by guys who do pasture because youll struggle to find anythin deeper ...they are heavy for sure but i can put up with that cuz you know what theyre capable of finding
Title: Re: So who still uses the E-Trac?
Post by: Keith67 on April 19, 2017, 09:30 am
they will always be used by guys who do pasture because youll struggle to find anythin deeper ...they are heavy for sure but i can put up with that cuz you know what theyre capable of finding


My hit single analogy comes to mind again Kevsat.  At certain times everyone like to "put on a classic" especially if it rocks  ;D
Title: Re: So who still uses the E-Trac?
Post by: Devondeus on April 19, 2017, 12:29 pm
I have an etrac, and have used minelabs for about 12yrs, yes they are a weighty machine, but with a harness, that is not a problem. I would not be surprised to see minelab launch a very light machine in the next few years, similar in weight to the deus, and with the same degree of fine adjustment provided by the deus. XP have set the benchmark, now others will be chomping at the bit for a slice of the market!
Title: Re: So who still uses the E-Trac?
Post by: Redfoot on April 19, 2017, 01:11 pm
I have an etrac, and have used minelabs for about 12yrs, yes they are a weighty machine, but with a harness, that is not a problem. I would not be surprised to see minelab launch a very light machine in the next few years, similar in weight to the deus, and with the same degree of fine adjustment provided by the deus. XP have set the benchmark, now others will be chomping at the bit for a slice of the market!

No they won't the manufacturers seem to have come to a full stop they have no new ideas the technology is at its limit, the Etrac reaches the same depths as the CTX only one is digital the other analogue, same power in same coil sizes equals same out put so just how can they improve, filtering well the more bells and whistles the slower the swing the longer it takes to process the signal, the less depth you get, even having higher fequencies might not solve the problem, XP were a breath of fresh air it took a little time for them to catch on and become popular but the price is to high and even XP are up against the ideas wall they have turned like minelab to gold detecting end of hobby detecting development and despite all the advances not one decent British detector manufacturer with a decent alternative to either minelab or XP
Title: Re: So who still uses the E-Trac?
Post by: Devondeus on April 19, 2017, 05:03 pm
Guess we will have to wait and see! I do agree that the Brit manufacturers need to get their thinking caps on and pull there finger out of their arses!
Title: Re: So who still uses the E-Trac?
Post by: nailman on April 19, 2017, 09:00 pm
Guess we will have to wait and see! I do agree that the Brit manufacturers need to get their thinking caps on and pull there finger out of their arses!

Agree 100% it  came as a shock to me when the Deus was first realised that it was developed in France and not America or Japan
Title: Re: So who still uses the E-Trac?
Post by: Keith67 on April 19, 2017, 09:20 pm
Guess we will have to wait and see! I do agree that the Brit manufacturers need to get their thinking caps on and pull there finger out of their arses!

Agree 100% it  came as a shock to me when the Deus was first realised that it was developed in France and not America or Japan


Quite a few European countries are producing popular new machines.
Title: Re: So who still uses the E-Trac?
Post by: Peter on April 19, 2017, 09:33 pm
What they do Keith, is RE mash old technology and add a `touch ` of  the latest  in with it . They havn`t discovered anything thats not been out before, although they`d probably like to try to convince you otherwise. :D
Title: Re: So who still uses the E-Trac?
Post by: Keith67 on April 19, 2017, 09:46 pm
What they do Keith, is RE mash old technology and add a `touch ` of  the latest  in with it . They havn`t discovered anything thats not been out before, although they`d probably like to try to convince you otherwise. :D


Fair point Peter, but at least they are producing new machines of some sort and giving people something new to play with.  Nokta, Rutus, Golden Mask, Makro etc they have their fans while the UK sleeps. 
Title: Re: So who still uses the E-Trac?
Post by: Redfoot on April 19, 2017, 11:54 pm
The technology is identical it is the packaging and bells and whistles that are different though by name only some call one thing this another that it is all discrimination sensitivity iron volume reactivity etc. just another name for the same,
Title: Re: So who still uses the E-Trac?
Post by: Keith67 on April 20, 2017, 12:16 am
The technology is identical it is the packaging and bells and whistles that are different though by name only some call one thing this another that it is all discrimination sensitivity iron volume reactivity etc. just another name for the same,


Point taken, and I get that, but kinda makes my point. It's not that the machines are necessarily breaking ground, but people are buying them, and people like them, so why doesn't the UK get involved.  I could understand it if there was an army of people buying Viking and C-Scope and saying "these are as good as all the others" but that's not the case.  And as you point out, it's the same technology but with a few new whistles and bells, so it's strange that if it's really that easy, the UK makers don't make new machines with a few "whistles and bells" too ?  People clearly like trying new machines regardless of the quality of the tech, maybe the Europeans are just being clever while the UK sits on it's fading laurels?

Or....the UK manufacturers have gone in different directions and are happy without the detector market.  And it's as simple as that.
Title: Re: So who still uses the E-Trac?
Post by: Redfoot on April 20, 2017, 12:48 pm
Well the market for metal detectors is split into military for mine detecting, security for shops and detecting weapons etc at airports and public places, hobby for people looking for metal in the ground as a pass time.

military metal detectors range from mine detectors to the magnetic anomaly detectors fitted to warplanes to detect submarines thousands of feet below under the sea (imagine a hobby detector that good we would all have JCB's)

Security metal detectors include commercial detectors like those used to detect metal lodged within timber, as well as concealed metal objects they use more x-ray type scanners these days.

As far as i am aware none of our domestic manufacturers are involved in the other areas to a massive degree