older whites spectrum eagle [early xlt] provides insights vs e trac

[scrounger d detector collector]

well folks

im here to prove not everything is set in stone. thats what makes the

metal detecting game so exciting. besides the finds. i dunno about every one else

but i really get a kick outta experimenting w the various detectors

i have now had my etrac a year. i have made a few very deep coin finds with it .

coins that i know absolutely no other machines could find. except maybe

other minelabs. like explorer se.

BUT when it all comes down to it, they really didnt have much cash value.

what im really after is gold. now dont get me wrong. i want this machine

in my arsenal. its a big gun and to be used when the right type of game

needs to be bagged.

but it just doesnt seem very fun to use in the trashy parks im hunting.

because of my refusal to spend a lot on gas, im hunting basically the same areas.

once ive cleared these deepies. there just doesnt seem to be more forthcoming. it did the job it was supposed to do so efficiently there dont seem to be more old coins forthcoming.ive been over said old areas
8 to 10x scrubbing w etrac.

due to the frustrating pinpointing of the etrac double d coil. i would end

up using the tesoro silver u max set at zinc penny. to clear off the surface

coins so i didnt have to deal with etrac pinpointing and symphony of tones.

then go after the deep coins w etrac. th only problem here is that while

ive found the old coins they havent been worth a great deal.

and it looks like metals are going to keep rising. so i want the gold.

enter an older whites eagle spectrum.

i really wasnt planning on buying any other detectors for quite a while after

spending the 1500 for etrac. but happened to be at an auction and got her

for 38 dollars. she works great. this is an early version of the whites xlt.

after only a couple days testing her . I LOVE THIS MACHINE. i havent

had a whites machine since a 66T which i bought in 1969 and used as my only machine until 1974 or so.

so i had no experiance using any more modern whites.

i knew whites were VERY popular and now i see why.

this machine solves the problems in between the two detectors i use the most.

etrac and silver umax. and to be honest my focus has changed as well

from primarily old coins to gold jewelry.


the tesoro is a great light machine but is a point and shoot.

ITS MAIN WEAKNESS IS PULLTABS. yes it just loves them. in order noT to dig a ton of them. u must turn the discrim up to reject zinc penny.
SAY GOODBYE TO ANY GOLD JEWELRY !

the etrac finds absolutely everything. its poor pinpointing and symphony of tones GET OLD QUICK. i have at least several hundred hours on it. i really dont want to use a pinpointer. to me its another extra to juggle while hunting.i have read and re read the manual. i tried the jewelry mode and it didnt seem any better. using quickmask seemed like a good idea until i realized many half tabs and assorted junk register the same as jewelry.im pretty sure it can be made to do almost anything but is soo complex. except i tried it on a small 14k charm and it barely would make foil.
sssooooo.insteada trying to interpret what all the numbers are.etc.

here comes the whites. man this baby is actually FUN TO USE.!

ALTHOUGH heavy and clunky. the program was set up by engineers to maximize finds and be EZ TO USE.

and i can find the nickels while ignoring most pulltabs ! great. the whites engineers set it at the best possible notch out. i also love the i.d. part.
it seems to be pretty accurate. i like the actual printout saying QUARTER...
DIME/PENNY.....NICKEL/RING. simple.


so many have said it and it sure seems true

DIFFERENT DETECTORS FOR DIFF SITUATIONS.


UMAX STAYS.....COMPETION HUNTING LIGHT AND QUICK. OR IF UR ARM GETS too sore to swing a heavier unit

ETRAC stays hottest and deepest

but SURPRISE ! looks like whites is what ill end up using most. unless some one can teach me how to make the etrac do the same.

this has been long


bottom line is depth is important but target id and gold sesativity is more important to me now.

i will see how long it takes before one on those ring/foil or nickel/ring signals is actually a gold before i make my final decision.

and ill probably be investigating other id detectors as well.

comments welcome

see u in the field!

oh yeah here is a FINAL COMPARISON. since gold is rare many people use nickels as a benchmark.

saying is find nickels u will find gold. here is how machines did.


TESORO UMAX = NO NICKELS . MUST SET DISCRIM ABOVE nickel OR DIG A ZILLION PULLTABS

ETRAC = WATCHING FOR THE TELLTALE 13-12 READING OR THEREABOUT
TENDS TO NET A NICKEL APROX 1 PER HOUR AND MANY READINGS ARE JUNK.instead.usual hunt bags 2 to 3.

TOOK THE WHITES OUT TODAY FOR ABOUT 2.5 HOURS AND DUG 11 NICKELS USING THE NICKEL/ RING PROMPT. ONLY GOT 1 SIGNAL THAT SAID NICKEL/RING THAT WAS JUNK.

 

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[Bradley137]

The etrac has the accept/reject circuitry to precisely find whatever you're looking for as does alot of detectors out there. And I've found that most of your unwanted ferrrous items will be under 17 on the quick mask. Anything over that will be the better targets. In fact most desirable items are just above that line and nearly on the same line all the way across the board including gold jewerly which occurs at different coordinates all the way across that line. It's not really anything different than what's been known for the last 35 or 40 yrs. with vlf detectors. Small gold starts at the far left of the screen. Then foil,nickels,pulltabs,zinc penny,dime, and lastly, quarters. Old screw caps (crown caps we used to call them) and newer bottle caps fall into this same line along with just about every desirable target you can imagine. Give it a test using these items and any other items you can think of. You'll see nearly a straight line all the way across your etrac screen. It's sad, but it's still the cold hard truth that there's a tight range of the most desirable metals in which all detectors still find difficult to dissect. It's because gold jewelery can occur at any point in this range so anytime you reject one out it could be an awesome gold target. Even though the detector companies have higher priced machines with lots more optional adjustments which do enhance your hunting situation and do enable detectors to adapt to specific situations, they still can't do what we want which is find all the good stuff without digging the junk.

 

[Digger]

I'm working on a new detector that emits radiated isotopes in the ground and then measures the decay to tell the difference between gold and aluminum. Works great, I just got to work on the hair falling out problem.

Yes the White's Spectrum series are a cherry pickers dream. I used the Eagle Spectrum for 18 years and the DFX for 6 years. I just got the E-Trac a month ago and I've found plenty of gold. Getting to the right places to find gold, getting your coil over the gold, and then knowing when your detector has found the gold is the key.

 

[Boilermaker27]

I cannot understand why you spend so much money on metal detectors and yet say that because of your refusal to spend a lot of money on gas you hunt the same areas.

Everyone cringes at the gas pump, even though prices are down, right now about $2.08 in St. Louis. I never let the price of gas stop me because you have to get out into the boonies to find the good stuff.

As for detectors. I am primarilly a relic hunter. I have had many in the last 35 years. I have had three Minelab's and they are good machines but you have to dig really big holes at times because there is a very poor pinpointing circuit in these detectors. Haven't tried the E-trac yet. I always liked White's, however, I bought a DFX and couldn't get rid of it fast enough, confusing and I can guarantee that it could not pick up a minnie ball that was at the bottome of a hole that the Tesoro Tejon picked up easily, even after some serious tweaking and there were two DFX there and neither could pick it up. Seems that the older White's machines were really good machines, Eagle and Spectrum.

I see people bragging on their Ace 250's, Minelabs, White's, Tesoro's, Garrett's, and other machines. Who is to say what is the best machine out there. The best performing machines are those that are in the hands of people who have thoroughly learned their detectors and can hear what their machines are saying to them.

 

[Digger]

The best performing machines are those that are in the hands of people who have thoroughly learned their detectors and can hear what their machines are saying to them.

Very true. I've also found that the detector can vary depending on the person. One person will swear by the same detector that another says isn't worth diddle. It depends on the personal experiences and effort you put into the machine.

I know a guy who bought a Minelab SE and couldn't find nothing, so he sold it and bought a DFX. In just a few weeks he sold it, because he couldn't find nothing, and gave up for awhile. Later he wanted to try detecting again but didn't want the big investment, in case it failed, so he bought a ACE 250. This time he was coached and learned how and where to use his detector, and found some nice stuff. Now you ask this guy which detector he recommends, and he will tell you the ACE 250 out performs them all. And he is right as far as for him.

Personal experience goes along way toward what a person will say is best. The Problem is most won't share the same experience. When they do, that is the indicator of a better than average detector.