MineLab E-trac VS XP Deus

[rjm]

Non Deus users seem to think the batteries are a weak point but having used them I think it's the
easiest powered system of any detector. There's no batteries to fiddle with by taking out or putting into
pods...............and charging in the 'field' from one AA battery (if needed) is a brilliant idea!

With the Lithium polymer batteries they can be charged at any time as they have no memory effect. The
life capacity is only effected by the amount you charge in one period. Eg If you discharge a battery by
20% and then charge up, doing this 5 times, is counted only as one full charge!

Bearing in mind the batteries can be FULLY charged a couple of thousand times before capacity drops from
when new to about 80%, it can be seen that the batteries will last quite a while. Indeed, even when the
coil battery is practically discharged when being used, it does not affect the detecting ability of the
machine which is not the case with MOST detectors!

[DEUSBLOKE]

And couple this with the fact it takes a maximum of two hours to charge the coil,backphones and console from flat to full is just great !! waiting all day to charge batteries or 16 hours sucks !!.When ive been out with my Deus for approx 6 hours it only takes 20 mins when i get back home to recharge to max again.BRILLIANT MACHINE !!!! .Also being able to fit a full detector plus equipment and a 73cm draper spade into a regular size kit bag is very very handy !!!

[Chef Geoff]

OK guys enough of the justification from paranoia, as far as I can remember no one has knocked the Deus on DW. And remember it's still £1300 in the middle of a recession.

[tyna]

Very tempted by the Deus (weight and software update capability especially)  but heard a rumour today that they're no good on wet sand.  Don't do extreme beach detecting but need a stable machine that doesn't give off too many false signals (if any) when I do have the urge to search the low water line.  Also the backphones apparently leave a lot to be desired I'm told as they don't cut out unwanted noise - I don't want to have to strain my ears to pick out signals on a windy day.  There again - headphone leads get on my one remaining nerve 

[rjm]

The Deus is very good on wet sand and has a program for that purpose. I have used it extensively on the wet sand.

Personally I love the backphones but I know some don't.

But don't buy one as it's £1300 and we're in the middle of a recession !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!     

[tyna]

"It's always darkest before it turns absolutely pitch black"
Thanks for the info Bob - know anyone who may be in the market for an e-trac?

[DEUSBLOKE]

Very tempted by the Deus (weight and software update capability especially)  but heard a rumour today that they're no good on wet sand.  Don't do extreme beach detecting but need a stable machine that doesn't give off too many false signals (if any) when I do have the urge to search the low water line.  Also the backphones apparently leave a lot to be desired I'm told as they don't cut out unwanted noise - I don't want to have to strain my ears to pick out signals on a windy day.  There again - headphone leads get on my one remaining nerve 

Its not 100% on the beach but its not far off,the best machine i have for the beach is actually the sov elite but most of my detecting is inland anyway.I know of uite a few that use their Deus on the beach and havent had any issues with it but on the beach it wont beat an etrac on depth but it will on speed and shortly the Deus will also be able to be used underwater too.As for the backphones i find them pretty good but xp also have a new set of headphones that are larger coming out in a more traditional style.I havent found mine to false hardly at all but confess ive dug up 3 large bits of iron but then i have with my etrac too.Trust me xp are going to run with this one all i can say is go try one and see if you can borrow one for a day you wont want to hand it back.

[DEUSBLOKE]

May be worth noting that if the backphones are an issue to you there is actually a headphone socket on the Deus so you dont have to use wireless !!! how flexible can you get...minelab shouldve done it ages ago i mean whites have done it with the V3I which ive also had and thats actually not a bad machine and i loved the headphones on that.

[rjm]

I also had the Whites V3, and was going to keep it as a back-up, but after using the Deus I just didn't want to go back to using it so sold it.

Looks like we took a similar course before ending up where we are now........

[rjm]

"It's always darkest before it turns absolutely pitch black"
Thanks for the info Bob - know anyone who may be in the market for an e-trac?

Either put it on Flea Bay or in part exchange with Regton, which will bring down the monthly interest free
payments.

The price of the E T has crashed somewhat in the past 6 months because of the popularity of a certain
machine AND in anticipation of new Monsterlab machine coming out?

[Pipster]

At the end of the day it comes down to personal choice, If you have an E-trac I would not be thinking of changing to a Deus for a while Stick with it and lean it,
When I first had mine it was a case of OMG what have I done   !!!!!!! ( Would not want to be without it now   )
The Deus is a lot lighter than the E-trac thats why a lot of senior detecorist like them, You can swing them all day with no bad back  
Still confused   use your eyes   on the next rally you go on have a look around see how many E-trac users there are and how many Deus users this should tell you something  
If you still think the Deus is the way forward I would try to sell the E-trac private as  part-exchange wont bring you as much money.
New Minelab coming out don't think so !!!!!!!
Phil  

[Chef Geoff]

I think there will be a lot of disappointed people around if and when Minelab bring out a replacement for the Etrac. Love them or hate them most people would have to agree that when BBS was launched back in 1991 it was head and shoulders above any of the competition, they then reasserted this design advantage with the Explorer XS in 1999 (FBS is only an extended version of BBS. Since then they have added tweaks that have made the Explorers more user friendly.
One area that they have strangely never tackled has been the weight/balance, as this has been an issue on the explorers since day one. The cynical side of me thinks that the reason for this has been either due too arrogance "you want it then this is how it comes" or a weird way of justifying the high price tag (remember that until the White's V3 the next machine in price was nearly £400 cheaper), If you put the Explorer next to any of it's near rivals and asked "Joe Public" to choose the machine that cost £1000, most would choose the Explorer.

I think the next Minelab if staying with VLF is going to be a mix of Etrac, Deus and V3 and any advancements are going to been seen in the coil (again). If you think that the machines from 20-30 years ago all came with a 8" standard coil and the depth increase since then has been in a great part due to standard coils now being 10-11".
XP with Deus have shown the importance/advantage of a faster processors to aid recovery (Minelab will never reach that speed due to the way they use multi frequency) and also (the down side) that you can charge more for apparently less. So the good news for users is that he Deus will wake other manufacturers up to the fact that there is a new serious contender in the neighbourhood and it will make them dust off their design boards and give us some radical new machines.
The future should be to say the least interesting.

[Pipster]

Well said that man 

[DEUSBLOKE]

Hey dont get me wrong the etrac is great and i still have mine and ive been an avid minelab bloke for years but i do feel this Deus is something very different.Ive found a lot of good things with the etrac but in real terms i dont really find it any deeper than the Deus in fact in areas with iron and other junk the Deus goes deeper because it can easily get between it all because of its speed.Now theyve brought out the new coil its added a few more inch to it searching depth without losing the tiny targets.Des Dunne has himself stated minelab do not intend to upgrade or replace the etrac because they dont feel they need to.Thats quite an arrogant attitude really seeing as the etrac was chucked into a shell that was used years ago ie the explorer "s" which i also had and was used on all models afterwards.If minelab went down the road of xp with a lighter machine and upgraded the technology and made it faster they would do better.There is always going to be resistance to new detectors that come along especially if they are expensive but with the Deus people are getting something very different for the money,its not like any other detector it is in my opinion 5 years ahead of the competition.When i only had my etrac i honestly believed it to be the best machine in the world and at rallies i had a big grin on my face and thought "move out for the pros let me have it ! nothing would sway my mind about it.Id read all the articles on the Deus and thought YEAH RIGHT ! but then chatted to guys that actually used them and guys who stock and sell them.After this i was lucky enough to borrow one for a day and took it out with my etrac not expecting anything but an overhyped machine...I WAS WRONG !! the Deus actually does work and does what it states.I wont sell either of the machines but the etrac is now my backup machine.It really comes down to personal preference theres lots of good machines out there but my main machine has to be the Deus now so all i can say is try one and get to know one for a day if poss !!

[rjm]

Some very good posts and food for thought.

With Pipster saying:

"on the next rally you go on have a look around see how many E-trac users there are and how many Deus users this should tell you something"

I would reply:

So many Explorers and E T have been sold over the years that they obviously outnumber any other make, probably by 10:1.   This doesn't really tell you anything. The Deus has only been out just about 11 months so it's a relatively new machine and obviously there aren't that many out per club and they will be in the minority at rallies.

There is always a reluctance to change  anything in life. It's human nature to stick with what you know, so it's going to take some time for the Deus to bite into the market that Monsterlab have dominated.

The Deus was six years in design and creation and was continually improved before it came to the market as technology moved on. And then it was tested for over a year and again improved upon.

Indeed, after nearly a year on the market an update is due out (free) to give it further class leading benefits such as non motion discrimination detecting and a soil/iron mineralisation meter.

I can't say Monsterlab have really updated things since the original Explorer. Just minor tweaks in the same old shell.

I'm waiting with interest to see if Monsterlab bring anything radically different to market.