Minelab E-TRAC
Price: $1500
Number of Reviews: 32
on 4 pages.
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Minelab E-TRAC
Etrac
John in Iowa -
I have had this machine for a couple of months and absolutely hate it.
I have been detecting since 1976 and have used compass and whites detectors. All I can find with this etrac is surface coins and trash. I wish that I would never have wasted the money on this machine.
Aug 22, 2010
3 Yes
9 No
Great Machine
Detector in UK -
The E-Trac is a very good detector,
but to get the most out of it you do have to take the time to master it.
If you are willing to take the time to learn it, you will love it, and should be able to find things other detectors have missed.
But learning it is vital, it will not do all the work for you, it gives you lots of information, but you need to take the time to learn what the machine is telling you to get the most out of it.
I think this really is the best detector in the world, but you must put some time into it to get the most out if it. I suspect some who have given it a bad review, may be those that have not taken the time to fully learn the machine.
Reading the Andy Sabisch book on the explorer/etrac is vital in my view.
It is easy to get started with, but to really see why this is such a great machine, you have to take the time to master it.
You will probably reach a point where everything "clicks" its like a lightbulb going on when you figure the machine out fully and realize what it is capable of.
Good Luck
Jul 26, 2010
7 Yes
1 No
Power and Simplicity
Artur C. in Duluth MN -I've reserved writing a review on the E-Trac until I've used it for at least 200 hours. Having used the machine above that threshold I can finally write an accurate review of this machine from Minelab. Please note that these are my experiences in mid to difficult soil. My objectives are coins and I have not tried to use this machine on a salt water beach.<br /> <br /> I use this machine alongside my DFX, and have found that the DFX is now collecting dust as this has become my primary machine for all my coin hunting needs. <br /> <br /> A quick explanation is necessary to get a feel for the comparisons I will make in this review, specifically to White's users thinking about purchasing a Minelab. Firsts, I feel that the E-Trac is superior to the DFX in the same respect that it is superior to the V3, not by the raw depth which it achieves, but more of how it interprets and responds to signals in the ground, the operator inputs in regard to settings, and the legibility of what the machine is telling you. The E-trac is more of a behind the scenes detector as opposed to a fully customizable detector such as the White's E-Series and Spectra series detectors, in other words, think of the Minelab being akin to operating a Mac or Windows versus a White's operating in DOS. The e-trac constantly makes adjustments in a way which are out of the operators control, yet optimize search conditions to the ground being detected, Whites top of the line machines can reach the same potential through user programmed data. In summary, when used side by side, you simply don't have to worry about making adjustments on the Minelab while achieving excellent results, results which take time to set up on other machines. This is difficult to put into writing, but it makes sense when you use the machines side by side.<br /> <br /> Depth: The deepest machine I've operated, while retaining good target and tone ID. It looses a bit of depth in bad soil, but losses are minimal. It will pick over places other have missed, as it has produced in sites I've previously gone over with other machines in the past.<br /> <br /> Discrimination: Outstanding. The machine will not false unless the target is borderline on the smartfind discrimination pattern. IE, if it's blocked out, it will null with no other spurious sounds. An incredibly quiet machine. From the perspective of a brand new user who has never held a metal detector this is what one would imagine a "discriminator" ought to do.<br /> <br /> Iron Rejection: Good, and while there are tricks to finding iron, it will get fooled on nails now and again. By the nature of the way it uses discriminates via ferrous reading and conductivity it will produce a nice silver tone on some iron targets. I think the V3 and DFX are a tad bit better at allowing the user to determine whether its iron or not via the signagraph display. Still, when it does discriminate it out... it nulls and that's that.<br /> <br /> The DD coil: makes for a great separator and good coverage though it pinpoints like a DD... sometimes it's an inch or two off the mark. The build quality of the coil is excellent although the spoked design can get badly caught in tall grass or if you are hunting woods, will get stuck on small twigs etc. A small gripe, but very annoying. The coil cover which comes with it accumulates a lot of dirt and debris as do most other coil covers.<br /> <br /> Battery Life: is adequate. About 8 hours on a full charge with no back light. Quite a bit longer on alkalines. If you are heading out for a long hunt, have an extra battery pack.<br /> <br /> Buttons: Good quality and good feel although the verdict is still out on their durability.<br /> <br /> Screen and Backlight: The screen is excellent and legible although the backlight is a bit dim during the "still light enough to see hours" where it doesn't do much good.<br /> <br /> Menus and operation: Good, but it takes a bit of getting used to what gets saved and what doesn't under some of the user modes and discrimination patterns. Once you do get them saved, recalling is very easy and does not require much effort.<br /> <br /> Quickmask and Smartfind: When I purchased this machine I assumed I would simply only look at the digital numerical readouts, in reality I now only look at the smartfind grid. It's easy to get used to and very accurate. The quickmask screen is pretty ingenous, you can load a secondary rudimentary discrimination pattern or simply go all metal and simply toggle between each by the simple push of a button. An excellent tool for sniffing out iron targets or targets which fall right on the edge of the discrimination pattern.<br /> <br /> Auto-Sensitivity: All in all this is more of a user preference thing. I have found that that machine is at optimal setting at autosens +3. It is on the edge of stability, this can be confirmed by going to manual and cranking it up, the machine becomes very unstable. My dislike of this feature it that the E-trac will sometimes ratchet down the sens to a very low setting without alerting you, meaning you can miss deep targets if you aren't keeping an eye on it.<br /> <br /> Depth Meter: Bad. It's simply inaccurate on anything beyond the size of a penny. The easiest way to find depth is in the pinpoint mode, by listening to the target, though it will get you in the ballpark. From experience the White's meter is superior.<br /> <br /> Pinpointing: Good to excellent with a DD, though it takes some getting used to. The coil needs to be detuned by pressing the pinpoint button over the target to get an accurate pinpoint. Again, here I like the trigger system White's detectors use. It's simply more convenient, and I assume easier to fix if the mechanism finally wears out.<br /> <br /> Build Quality: Not bad, though not as good as my White's detectors. The coil and shaft are quite good. The standard arm cuff is bad, the strap that it comes with is so bad I don't want to think about it. I'm still not sold on the rubber battery cover either. I feel like I'm going to loose it at any second. Overall the machine has stood up to abuse well so far.<br /> <br /> The Tone ID: I hate tone ID, but Minelab did it right on this machine. It's consistent and really the only way to use the e-trac. A totally different experience from the quasi-tone-id on other machines.<br /> <br /> Customer Support: Haven't used it yet, and somehow I don't think it would be the same trouble free experience I've had from either Garrett or White's. I can't make a judgement here though since I've not used it.<br /> <br /> Overall my experience and results have been excellent. I have made comparisons to White's by virtue of many years of experience with White's machines. To be sure, for depth both are virtually identical, although you need minimal experience on the Minelab to get its full potential. This is not true of either the V3 or DFX.<br /> <br /> Here is what I would like to see on this machine which isn't available. Non-motion all metal mode and modulation.<br /> <br /> Overall I would recommend this machine to both the veteran hunter and the complete nOOb. It has virtually no learning curve, it's almost at maximum potential right out of the box and it works as one would assume a metal detector should. Quiet, deep and easy to use.
Jul 19, 2010
21 Yes
2 No
Detecting in new Zealand
Silver Slayer in Invercargill, New Zealand -It's been awhile since I wrote anything, so here goes it, I have detected with tesoro's and whites, garrett and minelab, all the detectors had good and bad points, but after a hard save and long wait I finally managed too pinpoint the detector I thought suited me and my hunting style.
After watching countless videos, and reading tons of reviews I came too the minelab e-trac. Some keen too hunt with this detector I didn't read the manual, me and my buddy shot to a really old park that we had pounded, he has a minelab excalibur, and I got a hiding most days as he is a wizard at digging deep silver, right off the mark the etrac hit on to a solid beep, found a silver.
Not only was I looking for old silver and copper coins but mostly depth, one tough thing to grasp was the co-fe reading as I had not enough experience to have an idea on what I was digging.
We have found a narrow track between some trees that Mike had found some truly fantastic coins, and we thought it was all hunted out....
well the first beep was faint and only one way but as we dug about 14-19 inches which is standard hunting for good coins in this park, up came a tiny silver coin, English and over a hundred yrs old.
Unreal, I ended up with four more hundred -plus coins out of that tiny area, I hunted a few days later in a old reserve with Mike, and for the first time since I have been detecting bet him in old silver coins, on was a 130yrs old, thanks for the dream coming true Minelab.
Jun 18, 2010
10 Yes
1 No
E-Trac Gold
JohnApthorp in Dubbo, NSW, Aust -I was losing faith in the E-Trac until I discovered I was the one with the problem. My first Gold nugget weighed in @ 50.3 grams. The next was 2.2 grams @ the 5 inch mark. Add that to the $400 + coins, then I rate this detector as better than most.
Apr 07, 2010
3 Yes
8 No
E TRAC TRAINING
MEL CHIZDIC in AK -I have a tdi whites.
So I got this 4 coins after doing 500 coins in the park, I now have over 2000 coins, 20 wheats
couple silver dimes, not much silver?
They dumped fill dirt on this park when they made it. Back in 64, I have dug my handle below
turf on my 18 in wilcox shovel
the heavy silver must be deep.
I go back and forth with the tdi now that I have a
diGGer 14 in coil, they arer both deep machines
I'm new @ this
I GOT THE GOLD PA
COOL DOWN LOAD PATTERNS
EDIT PATTERNS
ACCEPT TARGETS @ A WAVE
REJECT TARGETS @ A WAVE
COMBINE PATTERNS
USER MODES
USERS PATTERNS
SEF COILS
SMART SCREEN
QUICK MASK
IM NEW AT THIS
BUT ITS ALL GOOD
Mar 20, 2010
1 Yes
40 No
Better Than An Explorer SE Pro?
R.L. Johnson in NE Ohio -I have had every Explorer model made and I have used all of them hard. I always bought and tried the newest models that the other manufacturers came out with, but I always ended up with an Explorer. I always made great finds with any of the Explorers that I had.
My last Explorer, the SE Pro I used for over a 1000 hours last year. I hunt every day, weather permitting and it was the best Explorer in my opinion. The Pro coil was a contributing factor to forming my opinion.
I had also bought a Pro coil for the detector I had before the Se, an Explorer 11. It was and is an awesome accessory to any Explorer. Anyway, I resisted purchasing an Etrac as my SE always produced deep coins from the hunted out parks I frequented. Last Dec. I traded two for one and bought an Etrac. The season was all but done here in NE Ohio and I played around with the menu in the house.
The week before Christmas, the ground thawed and I took my new toy to the park where I spend half of my time. This park still produces, but not much silver. I set the Etrac up with a wide open screen(no disc). I tried to mimic the Iron mask screen I used on all of my other Explorers. After an hour of hunting I had a bunch of deep rusty nails on one clad coin.
It was only 38 degrees and I was not real high on my first hunt with the Etrac. As I was hunting back to the car to leave, I remembered what my dealer and good friend told me. Use the factory coin program and disc out most of the sliver of black in the top right corner. I quickly did this and I also switched to manual sens of 21. I turned and headed back to the trashy area where I have found many coins from the late 1800's, including a 1885 V nickle.
I swear in less than 5 minutes I got a deep signal that would pop through in only one direction and nulled in the other directions. It did sound good so I dug. Found a rusty nail at 6 inches and rescanned the hole and got a 12-44 number. From 8 inches a silver dime. In the next half hour I found 6 deep(8to 9 inches) wheats that were all close to trash. By this time I was freezing, but I had one more similar area of this park to try. It was at the bottom of a long hill that empties onto a old picnic area. I made one 75 to 100 foot pass along the bottom of this hill and started finding older coins immediately. First a mercury dime and 5 more wheats. I was truely amazed as I had hunted and rehunted these exact spots many time with my other Explorers and other top of line detectors.
It is scary to think that a green rookie could take this detector and make finds like this within hours of turning the Etrac on. The greatest task a new Etrac user will face is pinpointing with the dd coil and learning to creep the coil. If one does this, anyone can find deep coins in the factory modes with little or no programming.
Jan 28, 2010
56 Yes
5 No
Top of the line machine
Jason Sevene in Swanzey,NH -I upgraded from the Safari which is an outstanding machine and have used my E-trac for about 3 months now and can honestly say that this machine is out of this world. Take everything that I said in my Safari review and "super size" it. It is absolutely killer in trash infested cellar holes here in New Hampshire and has incredible discrimination in the ferrous trash that litters these sites. It is very well balanced and feels very well made and solid to me. Check out my finds under CONDUCTOR7E on findmall and northeast metal detecting forum,(NEMDF), if you doubt it's performance. George Streeter from Streeter's Electronics recommended this machine as the best out there as a general purpose land/relic machine and after using this machine and getting to know it, I see what he means. Go low and slow through the iron crap and you will see how it picks through it and nails the goodies. I usually run quickmask set anywhere from 19-23 ferrous with conductive tones. Yes, I have great sites available and have found literally HUNDREDS of old coins, coppers, wheats, silver, colonial buttons, 4 complete colonial shoe buckles and other relics, almost all with this E-Trac!I do not work for Minelab nor am I endorsed by them or anybody else, just a regular guy that is addicted to this great hobby and gets out when I can. You do your part and the E-trac will do it's part and you will walk away, as I have, making some truly great finds.
The best I have used to date.
Dec 10, 2009
32 Yes
2 No
Minelab Etrac-worth the price!
Broc in Orange County, NY -The Minelab E-Trac Rocks! There are no two ways about it. I updated from a Whites DFX three months ago and am totally impressed by the E-Trac. The machine is well balanced, durable, easy to use and is very simple to learn. Minelab did a great job in engineering this unit. Took me all of about 1 hour to get down the basics and was on my way. I went to a local park to “kick the tires” on the unit and immediately began pulling coins within minutes. The depth on this thing is awesome. The E-Trac was finding signals in areas that I had hit previously which my DFZ did not pick up. In short, I would recommend the unit to anyone.
Dec 04, 2009
17 Yes
4 No
Simply Excellent
Mpratt in Texas -I've had my E-trac for a month now, and love it. The E-trac is locking on to targets that are deep and 'iffy' with my older white's detector. For a high-end detector that is arguably the most technologically advanced, I thought there was almost no learning curve. I'm not a tech guy...I have a hard time programming my VCR. I'm just running the factory coin setting and getting superb results. Slick machine...very well put together. I read hundreds of reviews all over the net before purchasing, including reviews on talk forums like findmall, treasure quest, friendly forums, etc. and I honestly couldn't find a negative review. Not even one. This site has the only three negative Etrac reviews in existance, most likely from the same person who can't afford one.
Dec 03, 2009
16 Yes
1 No