Thanks, everyone. Here's some additional info on the DFX vs E-trac. I have a goodly number of hours on both. These are just my experience and opinions and we all know opinion is the lowest form of knowledge. Let me point out that while both machines have tons of adjustments that can be made I've been happy with the factory pre-sets. They work fine for me in the area I usually hunt.
I actually purchased an E-trac first and used it for about 10 hours before I got so frustrated that I sold it and bought the DFX. Why? Because I had trouble wrapping my fossilized brain around "the numbers" and believing that they were telling the truth. I was used to the old Garrett with its needle scale that would point to what it thought was down there. Match the needle with a solid repeatable tone and dig. Of course, it was quite often wrong. The DFX doesn't have a needle but it does give a number and an icon showing what it thinks is down there. There's also a bar graph at the bottom of the screen. Match a solid repeatable signal and a number that looks good to an icon for something worth digging and add a nice solid vertical bar on the graph and it's time to dig. White's even prints the numbers on the control box. It's a great machine and I'd probably still be using it if my wife hadn't fallen in love with it and left me using the Garrett Ace 250 that had been hers. Not knocking the Ace 250 but it sure isn't a DFX.
So there I was about to buy another detector. I started researching different makes and models. Lots of people had recommendations, usually for whichever machine they owned. A few told me I should have stayed with the Garrett Grand Master Hunter because it was a match to or better than anything on the market today. Based on my newly acquired experience with the DFX vs literally years on the GMH, this just isn't so unless someone is of the "if it beeps dig it" mindset. I spent about a week doing online research but my mind kept going back the the E-trac. I thought I knew what was missing with it, no icon. It's comforting to have that symbol telling me what might be down there. But icons are sometimes misleading, too. The E-trac gives something that no other detector (except for the CTX) to my knowledge offers, a numerical reading of the ferrous content of the target. So instead of one number you get two but no icon. It's called a Fe(rrous) - Co(nductive) readout. Most detectors only look at conductivity. I decided the E-trac deserved a second chance.
So let's say you want to hit a place and skim off only the easy targets. It really is easy. Dig only those targets that give a good solid repeatable tone from both directions and start with a 12. As I mentioned in my first post you will quickly learn what second numbers to look for. 12-44s, for instance, are copper pennies. Dimes will come in right around there as well. Clad Quarters will come in around 12-48. Silver coins will vary a little from clad but will normally have that Fe of 12. So do most gold and sterling silver rings. If the numbers are dancing all over the place and/or the tones are scratchy, move on. But what if you want to be sure you got all the good stuff in an area? Then dig those targets that are "iffy". How about going relic hunting? No problem. Set the machine to "Relic" and knock yourself out.
Okay, let me finish up with some general observations:
Neither the DFX or the E-trac are lightweights. Both are well balanced though and will probably feel lighter than the machine you are now using.
I hate to make this next statement because it is mostly subjective but the edge in depth of detection seems to favor the E-trac. That's around here in the highly mineralized soil we have. I can say this, given that I hunt mostly churchyards (with permission from the minister) and parks/schoolyards, either machine will locate targets deeper than I dare dig because the hole would be too big.
Neither machine is cheap to buy although a DFX on the used market usually seems to cost a little less. The release of the Minelab CTX 3030 has caused the price of used E-tracs to fall though. I picked my E-trac up for $1,100 and that included a Sunray inline probe and shipping.
The coil sweep speed of the DFX will be what you are used to with your current machine. The E-trac requires a much slower sweep to be effective. That was another thing that resulted in my selling the first E-trac. I had a speed and rhythm down that was too fast. Now I'm used to making slower sweeps and I have to admit that my arm doesn't get tired as quickly.
So bottom line, which is best? Flip a coin, in my opinion. The learning curve on the E-trac seems to me to be a little steeper. It really is a different kind of critter but now that I've learned to trust it and its ways I look forward to using it for however many years I have left. Could I go back to the DFX? You bet.
Hope this helps,
Storm
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