Minelab Explorer II Special Sauce!

[Guinea1]

Lately I’ve been on a bit of a nostalgic trip with regards some of the metal detectors I’ve used in the past that I would really like to own again.  So far, I’ve been incredibly lucky with my reacquisitions, getting exceptional value for money often with additional coils thrown in with the bargain too.  The Minelab Explorer II was one of these such bargains.  The machine its self looks brand new like it has hardly been used.  It came with 3 new looking coils, plus lower stems all of which also look new.  Alas, on two of the coils made by Detech the outer cable coating has started to deteriorate and breakoff.  Fortunately, the inner wires are in perfect condition.  I surmise the person must have sold the detector at such a bargain price thinking the machine had probably reached the end of its functional life, because of the deterioration of the cables on the two Detech coils.  But those of us who’ve detected for a longtime are used to seeing the outer cable deteriorate without it affecting the inner wires.  I’ve even had it happen on a Pro coil fitted to a Minelab E-Trac before!

Anyway, regarding the special sauce.  I’ve owned lots of different FBS detectors over the years and have done really well with all of them.  However, some of my best finds were made with the Explorer II using no discrimination and the sensitively set at 32.  Using it this way can be a real earbashing, but not if you start utilising the high pitch of the iron sounds in conductivity as a sort of threshold looking for the slight flute noise in amongst the iron signals to differentiate the iron tone from good targets.  I’m very fortunate to live in the UK, where every part of the whole country is literally saturated with ancient artefacts just waiting to be unearthed.  For me the Minelab Explorer II definitely has a special sauce that never fails to cook up good finds for me!  Most especially, if you run it flat-out without any filtering bogging it down.  Coupled with a small coil searching trashy areas really provides dividends.  I own quite a few top machines.  And even through technology has marched on somewhat, some of the older detectors from yesteryear can most definitely still hold their own against some of the newer machines available today, if you utilise their highest strengths!  Thanks for reading.

 

      [WA1] 

 [WA1]

[1491]

Well said, and you get a bonus arm and shoulder workout with the Explorer. I will never part with my 2009 ETrac, which is heavy enough to slow me down and keep the swing technique in check. I recently bought an XTerra Elite, which I like a lot. I'll always keep 2 (different) machines in the stable, but may never need another machine unless the old ETrac dies. Your post made me think back to all the detectors I've owned, in order:

Garrett Ace 250 (did surprisingly well with it at the beach, though it was like listening to a bad orchestra)

Minelab Excalibur 1000 (a great beach unit, relic hunted with it too, sold eventually).

White's Dual Field PI (no special memories with it).

Fisher F75 (fun, deep, but build quality of battery springs was crap, rendered machine unusable after a few months)

Minelab ETrac (still my favorite)

Minelab XTerra Elite 

[Bill (S. CA)]

I'm so glad to see someone talking about the Explorer II.  Probably the most productive metal detector I've ever used on the beach.  With the Pro Coil nothing could touch it in its day.  It was also a great park detector.  I still have mine and every time I longingly look at it and think about using it one test swing reminds me how darn heavy it is.  Too much for me nowadays.  And to think I even used mine with a WOT coil at the beach!

[Guinea1]

14 hours ago, 1491 said:

Well said, and you get a bonus arm and shoulder workout with the Explorer. I will never part with my 2009 ETrac, which is heavy enough to slow me down and keep the swing technique in check. I recently bought an XTerra Elite, which I like a lot. I'll always keep 2 (different) machines in the stable, but may never need another machine unless the old ETrac dies. Your post made me think back to all the detectors I've owned, in order:

Garrett Ace 250 (did surprisingly well with it at the beach, though it was like listening to a bad orchestra)

Minelab Excalibur 1000 (a great beach unit, relic hunted with it too, sold eventually).

White's Dual Field PI (no special memories with it).

Fisher F75 (fun, deep, but build quality of battery springs was crap, rendered machine unusable after a few months)

Minelab ETrac (still my favorite)

Minelab XTerra Elite 

I think your beloved E-Trac will definitely continue working for many years to come, as the build quality on it is exceptional.  So, I don’t think you have much to worry about there!   Also, you’ve made a really good choice getting the Minelab Xterra Elite, as lots of peeps rate its performance very highly.  You even have the added bonus of being able to utilise Equinox coils to give you greater choice.  Happy Hunting!

 

[Guinea1]

13 hours ago, Bill (S. CA) said:

I'm so glad to see someone talking about the Explorer II.  Probably the most productive metal detector I've ever used on the beach.  With the Pro Coil nothing could touch it in its day.  It was also a great park detector.  I still have mine and every time I longingly look at it and think about using it one test swing reminds me how darn heavy it is.  Too much for me nowadays.  And to think I even used mine with a WOT coil at the beach!

I remember the dustbin lid size WOT coils very fondly.  Someone in the UK found a hoard with a massive WOT coil on a rally that no one else could get a signal.   From that day on, everyone in the UK using an Explorer was saving up to buy a dustbin lid sized WOT coil!  Apparently, a harness makes the Explorer much easier to swing, but I’ve never tried one myself.     

[Bill (S. CA)]

5 hours ago, Guinea1 said:

I remember the dustbin lid size WOT coils very fondly.  Someone in the UK found a hoard with a massive WOT coil on a rally that no one else could get a signal.   From that day on, everyone in the UK using an Explorer was saving up to buy a dustbin lid sized WOT coil!  Apparently, a harness makes the Explorer much easier to swing, but I’ve never tried one myself.     

I always found the harnesses to be cumbersome and rather goofy.  Weight is still weight so I abandoned that concept after a few feeble attempts.  Really, the Explorer II for park hunting isn't that bad because you tend to stop and start a lot recovering targets. It's at the beach where you really feel it, especially if you go several hundred yards without hitting a target. Then it feels like an anvil on a stick!

[phrunt]

I'm not a harness fan either, I get very irritated using one but Doc makes a reasonably comfortable and effective one.

For me the CTX is still top of the pops unsurpassed for depth on silver, especially with the 17x13 coil, I've never has the pleasure of using an E-trac or Explorer but like they had aftermarket coil choices.

[Bill (S. CA)]

Phrunt, you must be a weightlifter to be able to swing a CTX 3030 with that giant coil!

[EL NINO77]

In my opinion, a CTX 3030 with a large coil in easy terrain will have a range of a silver dollar coin, a good 16"... with a really nice signal... at 17.5" the signal will be cut off.

since in this it can give a nice signal even for 50 eurocents at a depth of 39cm..in terain. so in my opinion a silver half dollar at 40cm is also the same target..

CTX vs ETRAC- Etrac can be a hair deeper..and better /in long or in smoth/separates./FBS/..but in my opinion the CTX is a bit more stable./FBS2/.

In my opinion Minelab will not throw the FBS system away...but it can come with a full-fledged detector style FBS 3 IQ...