Opinions on an FBS machine wanted

Been using an Explorer 2 w/10x12 SEF for a while now and it's served me well. Its my old copper/silver deep seeker. The heft of the FBS coil also knocks down tall grass and saplings without chirping. Im one with the machine and can accurately call super deep coins even when the cursor flutters. I may go slow, really slow in fact but I dont think I miss many high conductors in cleaner ground.

While Im only 31, Im beginning to develop pain in my wrist and the Exp 2 isnt helping matters. I recently purchased a V series machine, that while no lightweight itself I find myself reaching for it more as it's ergonomics are better and Im enjoying something different. That said, I will keep an FBS machine around as I just click with them. I recently held an Etrac and it seemed to have much better ergonomics. Im strongly considering getting a used etrac and parting with my exp 2 to help fund it.

Ive toyed w/just getting a procoil for the exp but the etrac has me intrigued. A crisper, more responsive screen would be nice I suppose. Im a tone guy but I do get aggraveted when the cursor hangs up. Theres been much written on the forums. Some say the minelabs regressed a bit as FBS machines progressed. From what I read depth/hot rock sensitivity was slightly reduced over the years. One gripe I had was the worthless PP mode on the EXP, did this improve on the Etrac?

Any of you that went from the Explorers to the Etrac, what was you're take overall?

I use an E-Trac. I shorten the rod length, and let my arm hang, at almost full length full length with a slight forward lean. Every once in awhile I stretch my back, but no arm, or shoulder pain to speak of.

I had 2 etracs, both good machines. The 10x12 sef and 6x8 sef coils were my best coils. The pro coils on both machines were a bit more noisy than the sefs. The deep targets sounded better to me with sef coils. Dimes 8-10 inches came in much clearer for me with 10x12 vs procoil. The etrac is lighter than explorer but still heavy IMO especially if you are having pain. Are you using a harness with your explorer? Overall performance gains will probably not be much if any since you seemed to have mastered your explorer. I've heard explorers are deeper than etrac, never witnessed it though.

I noticed the same thing w/the 10x12 SEF coil vs the 1050 coil. Not sure whether its deeper, maybe, but the deep signals just hit cleaner. Dug alot more 8-11' pennys and dimes after switching. Have not tried a harness, honestly have always thought it sounded ridiculous but hey if it means getting out or not I may have to consider it. 2 1/2 hours is about a max hunt w/the Ex, I can go 4-5 with the whites. Hunting season kicks off saturday and combined with daylight savings I'll be detecting less for awhile. Hoping the break does some good. Ive hit it hard for the last 4 months.

Yes the E Trac is a good machine, but it will do absolutely nothing to help with your pain. In fact the E Trac is heavy as hell after a while. Minelab does absolutely no ergonomic research and incorporates absolutely nothing into the design of their detectors to make them enjoyable to swing. The CTX is still a five pound brick. This is one area where First Texas has lead the field. I gave up on the CTX and swing a Deus. I hate to bring the D word up in every thread, but it is very enjoyable to hunt with in the weight department. The FBS machines are very good hunters. People out there find great stuff with them. But when nature tells you it is time to find something lighter to swing don't keep spending your hard earned money on Minelab bricks.

Its true the Mineola CTX is heavy but you really can't put it in the same class as the Etrac when it comes to balance.

And yes the Deus is much easier to swing so you have lass fatigue because of that but part of that is offset by the CTX ability to id targets better therefore less fatigue digging unwanted targets. My old knees make it harder to get up and down every day.

Both great machines you just have to decide what you prefer. Best deal is own both if you can afford it.
Sorry guys got off post and lost in the moment.

JMO
Pac Man



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/29/2014 10:12AM by Pac man.

Thanks guys. That FBS target ID and audio is just so hard to beat. My partner runs the a deus; not going to knock it and get into details on that machine but Ive used it and Im not interested at this time.

Have developed "golfers shoulder" from swinging the ET on a marathon beach hunt in May. Have had it a year before that and no problems. I have had to start using the Detector Buddy when hunting for more than 2 hrs. It works great except when hot. It will make your armpit sweat bad then. I just can't seem to put the ET down and I have a F75 LTD I use when I can. Found the Deus to be nose heavy with the larger coil on it which can develop into a case of Carpel tunnel in your forearm so not much of a trade to me. Not so much of a problem with the 9" coil.

Well..... if you thing is old silver, the Explorers are hard to beat ... hands down they have a unique tone on silver that the ET dont match. The Exp II also had THE coil everyone wanted when the SE came out because the slim line was just to noisy. They brought good resale prices until the Pro coil came on board. I had an elbow problem too when i used the DFX..... lighter and a faster swing was killing me. Switched to the heavier Exp ... slowed down and the problem never came back. If you want a new machine the ET maybe the way to go.... or even the CTX, i dont think on silver you are going to gain a lot now that you learned the Exp. You may pick up more high freq targets thou because of the faster processor. Weight wise..... your in the same boat. Id go to the Deus for a lighter faster machine with as good a tech. as there is right now before going to the ET or CTX.

Dew



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/29/2014 02:09PM by dewcon4414.

The E-Trac was the most fun of any machine I've used thus far. I'm one of those that loved the sounds. But my back would just cramp up. I still have my E-Trac in a lighter conversion (lot o work) but haven't tried it out yet. (Just around the house - it is better balanced.) Had a CTX and I just loved the speed but the sounds were better on the E-Trac (and as others have said probably better on the earlier machines.

I had a Deus for 3 weeks but didn't enjoy hunting with it as much, was a bit too sensitive for my coin hunting goals. But, I potentially could go back as it is a great machine. Not super deep in my moderate minus iron mineralized ground.
I now have an AKA Signum and it is a bit in between. Not as fun as my E-Trac but deeper than both my E-Trac and Deus were (thus far). Still hoping for a lighter and deeper E-Trac...

Albert

i've had a signum and it was no so fun detector for me,now i have a deus which i like better but my appreciation for FBS machines is growing...

Liaso

Thanks all. CTX looks great but hard to justify the significant price jump for my hunting (the wife would kill me lol). I can get a gently used Etrac and a F75/T2 variant for the same price.

Can anyone elaborate on the silver tone being lost on the etrac? Im guessing high conductors like copper pennies and clad dimes have a similar tone, and the smart find along with #'s relays the info? It sounds like with the processor on the etrac the screen is a bigger factor when hunting than the explorers.

Also hows the pinpoint on the etrac? Its basically useless beyond super shallow targets with my exp. Ive gotten pretty good doing the wiggle; but a well executed PP mode is nice.

deadlift - If the CTX wasn't so damn heavy, I would have kept it. Price is relative to me, if I can use a detector for 100's of hours, then I can justify almost any price up to 2,000 or so.

I didn't have the predecessor to the E-Trac but I did have the CTX and it was noticeable how the silver tone was more digital and less analog and withe less warble to it. From what Explorer users
have said, I think it is in that direction but even better on deep silver (where the screen won't register sometimes).

The pinpoint on the E-Trac was fine for me. If I remember correctly you could adjust the strenght, but I might be confusing things. There were two pinpoint options, standard and the auto ratcheting, which I rarely used.

If you want to see some close ups on the screen on some deeper targets (and playing with settings), I filmed a lot 8"-9" targets (about the limit in my ground) with my E-Trac, CTX and Signum (got to 10" twice though!).
[www.youtube.com]

Albert

earthmansurfer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The E-Trac was the most fun of any machine I've
> used thus far. I'm one of those that loved the
> sounds. But my back would just cramp up. I still
> have my E-Trac in a lighter conversion (lot o
> work) but haven't tried it out yet. (Just around
> the house - it is better balanced.) Had a CTX and
> I just loved the speed but the sounds were better
> on the E-Trac (and as others have said probably
> better on the earlier machines.
>
> I had a Deus for 3 weeks but didn't enjoy hunting
> with it as much, was a bit too sensitive for my
> coin hunting goals. But, I potentially could go
> back as it is a great machine. Not super deep in
> my moderate minus iron mineralized ground.
> I now have an AKA Signum and it is a bit in
> between. Not as fun as my E-Trac but deeper than
> both my E-Trac and Deus were (thus far). Still
> hoping for a lighter and deeper E-Trac...
>
> Albert


Look forward to hearing about the signum, been reading up on them and they have my interest but don't see much info. I hear they have good target ID at depth, (for a non FBS machine anyway). I realize she's new to you but so far any other impressions? Ergonomics'?, Sweep speed requirements? Hotter on lower or higher conductors?

Thanks!

The explorers have a very distinct warble, hard to describe but more distinct than etrac and way better than CTX. CTX really has no warble at all.

deadlift - Actually the Signum has a jumpy ID in general, but my ground is somewhat iron mineralized and even the E-Trac had a jumpy Fe number (albeit at 7" or so plus).
They are working on a multi frequency version (simultaneous transmission) and that will LOCK ON, I am really looking forward to that. They also said it is deeper! Wow. (Again, in my ground it was deeper but not sure about in higher mineralized ground.)

I haven't hunted in months but from memory:
Very flexible regarding settings and you can tell it is Russion or European regarding those, hard to describe, sort of like Ferrari's are Italian, BMW's German and Signum is Russian.
I love running the mixed mode with no all metal side! It is quiet and I do well with it, though the guys over at Gary's recommend the mixed mode (aka Nautilus) but it just gets old after a while, but for sure it helps you to "feel" under the ground.
The build is excellent, no problems there. Moving around the menu is nice but it is not nice like a CTX. Ergonomics are excellent as is the weight, couldn't really be better. Sweep speed seems fairly flexible but I go medium slow.
I have the 7khz coil and it is hot on silver and copper, etc. The VDI really jumps on lead but I dig lead balls pretty deep with good audio. (Maybe 7"-8", not as deep as my coins). But you can get a higher frequency coil.

Best,
Albert

Thank you Albert. Will be watching those machines closely going forward.

Think Im just gonna go for the Etrac and see hiw the rest period works out. Maybe look into one of the smaller sunrays or 6x8 Sef to lighten the load and pick at the house sites when needed.

deadlift Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thank you Albert. Will be watching those machines
> closely going forward.
>
> Think Im just gonna go for the Etrac and see hiw
> the rest period works out. Maybe look into one of
> the smaller sunrays or 6x8 Sef to lighten the load
> and pick at the house sites when needed.

The 4.5x7" DD Excelerator coil is by far a much better choice for the small coil on an Etrac

super (VERY) deep coil for its size and can pick thru trash like no ones business

Guys I am now 73 and have been MDing for 44 years and a trick I have used my whole life is to try and use Both arms when detecting,it really saves the arm ,elbow,and shoulder. I gave up my ML 2200 and Extreme because the battery wire made switching arms sooooooo inconvient,my TDI Pro serves me well when gold hunting. This may not work for all,but has been an arm saver for me.

The original explorers is in my view the deepest seeking US silver finder from 10c and up.

Its downfall is its low sens to low conductors. Useless in many environments and giving the UK user the false impression it finds everything.


Now, 14 yers after it was introduced we can talk about it and still it is a super deep silver ID machine.

Maybe the best super deep silver machine made

Unless you pulse and dig just a tad further down.