Preferences: Safari vs. E-trac (advice welcome!)

302guy said:
Call or email Bart Davis at Big Boys Hobbies. He's a minelab dealer. And if you are purchasing online he is the guy you want. Bart is a class act. I'm not affiliated with him, in fact I just learned about him last wednesday when I ordered my first detector. But I know customer service. And I prefer to support the little guy. Plus he will meet or beat any deal they give you.
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Thanks for the props! I am there for you with questions and free support for life after the sale. I not only sell them but use them just like everyone here. Experience in the field matters!
 

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halfstep said:
It is all about how well you know your detector. A $200 detector in the rights hands is better than a $1500 detector is the wrong hands. The etrac gives you more detailed info about the target. The safari's discrimination isn't as precise as the etrac's but that doesn't mean the safari's discrimination is lacking. The safari has a discrimination the is more than adequate. I can discriminate the obvious things like pull tabs without any noticeablle effect on missing good targets. If I am hunting a location that has a lot of a particular pull tab, I will block it out so I don't have to be distracted by it. Sometimes you might have 2 or 3 different pull tabs that read different numbers and I will bloack them all out sometimes. The less discrimination you use, the more depth your detector will read. But if you don't get carried away with discrimination, you will have plenty of depth.



You can take some coins and other objects and bury them in a test garden. Mark the locations of the burried targets so you know where they are at. You can practice with the detector and learn the sounds and numbers of different types of coins and common trash targets. Bury the coins 6" and with plenty of room in between the targets. You can practice every day for a week or so and then practice once a week to keep sharp. It will save a lot of time while make your hunting trips more productive.
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Those are all excellent points.

Nicely said.

Halfstep: I recommend the RNB Battery for your minelab....this thing gives you about 25 to 30 hours of runtime on one charge....it's awesome...I got one for x-mas and charged it that day...I've put about 10 hours on it so far...its been well over a month since I charged it and it still gives me a indication of a full battery...little pricey ($129.99)...but i think its well worth it...I was getting about 14 to 16 hours on 8 double A's then turning around a buying 8 or 16 more...got expensive....

Just letting you know...you mentioned how pinpointing was killing your battery
 

dougofpa said:
Those are all excellent points.

Nicely said.

Halfstep: I recommend the RNB Battery for your minelab....this thing gives you about 25 to 30 hours of runtime on one charge....it's awesome...I got one for x-mas and charged it that day...I've put about 10 hours on it so far...its been well over a month since I charged it and it still gives me a indication of a full battery...little pricey ($129.99)...but i think its well worth it...I was getting about 14 to 16 hours on 8 double A's then turning around a buying 8 or 16 more...got expensive....

Just letting you know...you mentioned how pinpointing was killing your battery
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I have 2 safari detectors, one for me and one for the wife. I am planning on buying a couple of those batteries this spring. They look like they will hold a charge for a long time. Replacing batteries in 2 detectors gets expensive. That's 16 batteries at a time. It's good to know that others like those batteries before spending the money on them.
 

Yes you can't go wrong with the RNB battery. I have one as well! Worth every cent! For simplicity sake, say you could buy 130 AA's for $130. 130 batteries divide by 8= approx. 16 sets of fresh batteries to power your detector. Say you get 15 hours out of a set of 8 : that's about 240 hours for $130 in throw away batteries. That's enough to detect for about 4.5 hours a week for a year. So over a period of 4 years you would spend $520! You could buy a decent metal detector for that.
halfstep said:
I have 2 safari detectors, one for me and one for the wife. I am planning on buying a couple of those batteries this spring. They look like they will hold a charge for a long time. Replacing batteries in 2 detectors gets expensive. That's 16 batteries at a time. It's good to know that others like those batteries before spending the money on them.
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Sovereignelite said:
And a lot of the bells and whistles help you be more productive with less time digging junk, frustration etc. I thought about buying a Safari myself but found a nice used Etrac and snatched it up. That said it doesn't have a warranty: a new model will have a warranty which is a big +. Good luck on your choice!
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Now If you purchase an E-trac used that was bought new after I believe July or August 2011 The warranty is transferable. I'm not sure of the exact date if someone know jump in with the answer. I bought a year old E-trac Back in December that was originally purchased in December of 2011 and I was able to transfer the warranty into my name with a simple email to minelab.
 

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Call Bart Davis at Big Boys Hobbies. He also deals with used so he can answer those questions for you. Plus, he isn't just a dealer...he's a user too. I mean a detector user....and just because you make a an awesome deal elsewhere doesn't mean you won't need accessories. But more importantly right now you need answers. And he has those in stock for free.
 

For what it's worth, I have the E-trac and love it . That being said, there is a pretty steep learning curve with the E- trac. Also, it is very heavy compared to other detectors I've used. I have not used mine on the beach yet but it is a phenomonal relic machine. My two cents worth. Happy Hunting.
 

I use a "Detecting Buddy",weight becomes a non-issue. I won't let weight keep me from the detector I want.
Tony in Virginia said:
For what it's worth, I have the E-trac and love it . That being said, there is a pretty steep learning curve with the E- trac. Also, it is very heavy compared to other detectors I've used. I have not used mine on the beach yet but it is a phenomonal relic machine. My two cents worth. Happy Hunting.
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Make sure you also pick up a pin pointer or you may get frustrated in the recovery process. Also, I have an etrac and you can just turn on the factory programs and detect. I have custom programs, but always find myself going back to the factory programs. You don't want to make detecting too complicated when just starting out as you may get frustrated. It is just like taking a kid fishing for the first time, if he doesn't catch fish he loses interest. Realize that metal detecting is a time consuming hobby and you may not have the success that the guys in the videos show. You will dig tons of junk, but don't get frustrated.
 

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