Minelab E-TRAC Reviews, Price and Specifications

All-Purpose Land Metal Detector with PC Interface

Retail Price $1,895.00

Available Reviews: 3

Avg. Rating (5.0 Stars)

Specifications:

• Full Band Spectrum (FBS) Technology
• 28 Simultaneous Frequencies ranging from 1.5kHz - 100 kHz
• 32bit, 48MHz microprocessor
• USB connector for communication with personal computer
• Software: Intuitive user interface; Fast target processing multi-language functionality
• Auto Ground Compensation - Advanced Digital Filtering
• Target Identification
• Conductivity range: 1-50
• Ferrous content range: 1-35
• Audio Tone Identification: 1, 2, 4 and Multi-tone
• Customizable conductivity/ferrous response
• 4 Audio Tone Settings: Normal, Long, Smooth, Pitch Hold
• 2-Dimensional Smartfind Discrimination
• QuickMask for easy full ferrous discrimination capability
• Depth Guage updates in pinpoint mode; can be turned off by user
• Sensitivity Adjustment: Fully Automatic; adjustable from aggressive to conservative, Manual Settings 1-30
• Sensitivity Gauge: Auto Level, Manual Level and Suggested Level
• Noise Cancel: Automatic and Manual
• Pinpoint: Modulated audio for improved target size and depth identification with new crosshair visual indication
• Low Battery: Audio Alarm
• Batteries: 8 1600 mAh NiMH or Alkaline batteries
• Coil: Ultra Lightweight 11" Double D (DD) waterproof coil
• Visual Display: Large 3/4" grayscale LCD panel with contrast adjustment and backlight
• Headphone Input: 1/4" Stereo Jack
• Threshold: Finer adjust level 1-50; improved stability in high-trash areas
• Recovery Speed: Selectable (Fast and Deep)
• Ground Setting: "Neutral" for most ground conditions, and "Difficult" for more mineralized soils
• Trash Density: Low or high
• Weight: 4.8 lbs with battery installed
• Warranty: 2 years
• System Requirements for E-TRAC Xchange:
  Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows Vista
  Minimum display resolution of 1024 x 768
  USB or USB 2.0 port
  USB Data Cable (included with E-TRAC)
• To learn about the Minelab E-Trac's features, settings and modes, and how they interact with one another, please visit My Search Programs for Minelab E-Trac (and CTX 3030) section.

Reviews:

The Best Out There

by Jason Sevene in Swanzey,NH -

I've owned the E-trac for 2 months now, traded in my Safari for it. Take everything that I had said about the Safari in that review and "super size" it. E-Trac does everything that the Safari does but with much deeper-better descrimination in trashy sites. Much easier to customize to your likings as well. Love it and will not trade it for anything.

Oct 31, 2009

This Machine is Unbelievable!

by Sergei from Upstate NY in Albany, New York USA -

When I tried the Minelab E-Trac for the first time, its performance freaked me out! By using E-Trac, I unearthed more medieval coins at the spot which I had searched “to the last signal” with Explorer II just the day before! E-Trac is truly unbelievable. First of all, E-Trac is different from the Explorer and not an Explorer upgrade, even though E-Trac has the same concept behind its technology and Explorer’s physical body! Because of my long experience with the Explorers, it did not take me too long to figure out the E-Trac’s functions and features, and to create a proper combination of settings for detecting conditions existing at the site I searched, but I have to make a few critical points about this metal detector. First of all, I did not like the way the E-Trac's instruction manual is written. I'm not sure whether it is possible for the person who has never used the Minelab Explorers or never metal detected before to correctly understand everything written in the user's manual! A few points in it were hard to understand on a first reading even for me who had used the Explorers for eight years! The functions and features and their interaction with each other should be explained on a much deeper level and in a simpler language. One certainly has to reread the instruction manual for many times! Right away, while treasure hunting, I noticed the improvement of the Pin-Point function: E-Trac’s pin-pointing of targets was precise and easy, unlike the terrible pin-pointing of Explorers. With E-Trac, I was spending as twice as less time for target recovery! E-Trac’s ability in separating the bad and good targets lying in close proximity to each other is outstanding (when the trash density is set on HIGH)! Certainly, E-Trac makes the Explorer inferior to it and is undoubtedly a real breakthrough, but there are a few inconveniences I experienced with its new visual graphics design and the physical body's design. As I previously did with all my Explorers, I had to reinforce the E-Trac's body to make it rigid and durable, and to prolong its life for years to come (see my article on it here: http://metaldetectingworld.com/06_eq_metaldetector_p1.shtml). On a display, the depth indicator is positioned way too far to the right and hard to see if the protective cover gets dirty – the usual case that occurs while metal detecting in the wet fields during the months of fall. After setting the display’s contrast to the highest setting, I still could not see the readings clearly. During my field-testing of E-Trac at the "hunted out" site, I recovered even more coins than during the previous day I searched this site with Explorer, therefore, all the coins found with E-Trac were masked by the iron nails! This is an amazing result indeed! I could not be satisfied more! Despite a few flaws in its design, E-Trac is a fantastic metal detector and opens a new era of treasure hunting for me! You can read all details on Minelab E-Trac’s performance in my Field Test report: http://metaldetectingworld.com/minelab_e-trac_field_test_p1.shtml
And for more details and operational tips please read my complete review (copy the link and paste it in your browser window): http://metaldetectingworld.com/minelab_etrac.shtml

Oct 15, 2009

Deep and Deadly

by Grant White in Gympie, Qld, Australia -

I purchased my E-trac in late September 2008 and since then have redone a number of my favorite sites around my home town. My first target returned me an excellent 1871 Threepence from 8 inches deep. Not far away I scored an old button from a similar depth. This site has been very popular with detectorists and I had had no luck with my previous detector scratching up anything. Since that first day, I have continued to recover coins, especially the small silver ones, from that site as well as a number of my other well "picked over" sites. I found this detector to be a very easy one to learn, and it has a fabulous ability to pick coins out from amongst a minefield of junk. I love the multilayered audio response system, and it is now like the "music to my ears" - to hear that high pitched coin signal in the middle of a symphony of rubbish signals and blanks. It is well balanced, and although I'm only a small bloke, I find no difficulties in using it for 4 hours at a time. I would give the machine a 4.5 out of 5 because the only small gripe I have with it is the pinpointing. I takes a bit of time to target the signal, though once targeted it always ends up in the middle of the block. All in all, my new E-Trac has really refired my enthusiasm and I now look forward to going over a lot of other sites that are apparently "hammered".

Dec 18, 2008