A Whites V3i?

I was looking forward to the Deus coming to the U.S. market, but with the crazy price I am not buying one. So I looked into the Whites V3i and it seem to be able to do everything the Deus can and more. I know it's heavy, and there are hundreds of settings to be confused by, plus I don't know why they still use NIMH batteries when Lithium polymer is the future, but has anyone had a V3i and found it good?

I love to read about the new stuff that is out on the market and I like to understand who and why other users change from one designer to another. Why some stick with only one company..I guess just like my SUV, will I buy from the same company or see what is out there that works better for me as my needs change.

It seems to me there are a lot of players out there as far as machines go...If we could try all the ones we are interested in then we would know more about if they are better then the machines we are using now.

Some of us have a few machines we take out..I have a few and find that from time to time you can find something with a different machine that you missed with your top of the line machine.

I was able to buy the At Pro to see what it could do and found that after spending a full week with it, I would not give it up or put my G2 away. The G2 just was and is a perfect match for me and I understand what it is telling me even on iffy targets. But it was worth the money and time to feel how much I trusted my G2. Not a waste of money or time for me and a friend bought it from me and is doing the same that I did with some of his other detectors.

So from what I have read there are the guys that have detectors that are older CZ and machines like that and in their hands these guys can hunt with the best and keep up or be the leaders with their finds.

Then there are some of the newer machines the ones that I read about that can find the deep silver...The Etrac is one. In the right hands these guys can go to older parks and find that deep silver that is just out of our reach. They have to take their time and listen to what the deep hidden coin is telling their machine.

This is a different type of hunter from most I would guess. Back in the day when I use to hunt parks with my DFX me and my buddy (Rybo) could hear the faint sound of silver, copper and gold and dig down and find that sweet target.

Then I got into relic hunting and now at parks and schools all I find is a lot of trash. Well we all may change how we hunt and where we hunt or the area we live may have less parks and schools and more places to relic hunt.

THE V3i...Oh yeah I almost forgot. I have started to read about this machine even no when it first came out I had a friend that had one and I was not impressed with the machine. Too much to do and not enough time to just dig. He was ajusting all the time while I was hunting and finding targets.

But it now has been maybe two years since it was released and people are starting to understand how to build a program and then tweek it and start to hunt and dig. So on the fly they make a few changes to the program they pick and are on their way. That V3i can be programed beyond my pay grade but if you know what you are doing then this machine could be a machine that can allow you to hunt a lot of different areas and different dirt.

For me what I would want is a detector for parks & schools to help find those deep rings and other coins that have sunk too deep. I would like to stand a chance to deal with the trash and the masking that are hiding deep targets. So is the V3i deep like the Etrac? Can it be programed to be like an Etrac and hunt side by side and keep up with that machine. I think that is what the V3i is all about...how you program it, how you push it. How can it hunt as a relic hunting machine. If you can get its responce as fast as the G2 and LTD the T2 do you lose depth. And now the G2 is deeper as a relic machine.

I think the V3i is for someone that has the time to learn it and push it and knows what it can do, not just think it is doing what they hope it would do.

If I had one I would program it to be like my G2 and test it for depth, masking & recovery and then I would tweek it to see if I could push it do do more and keep testing it with the G2. See what I did right and what I did wrong. So the V3i would be a G2 on a hyper boost mode. But would that work? Did the designers feel you can tweek and push and program and change and not create a machine that was so out of control that you ended up with nothing better then what you already have?

And the color that is cool what would our computers be like in black and white? All the ways you can analize a target on that machine the size of the target the freq it hits hardest on..how many have been able to really tell, till they dig the target and see what they have under the coil?

I am sure there are those that would love that or others that would use it more for coins and trash, it can help if you have the time. I have not read anywhere where anyone has found the perfect way to tell what you have under your coil. Dig and be pleased or move on to the next target.

I think Tom tried the machine and if anyone can understand a machine like the V3i it would be Tom. I don't think he kept it? I am sure at NASA he is tweeking stuff all day and just wants to hunt and be in the game with a machine that is programed more to his liking and all he has to do is make a few ajustments to start his relic hunting.

But it would be cool to see this subject expand on this great forum and see some videos and some programs that would take the LTD or other Fisher and Tek machines and be able to create them on the V3i and then tweek them beyond those machines...Can you do that? I have not seen anything on the White's forum where they even have tried to copy the Etrac program and then imporve it...And of course it has to be all done with the right coil or coils can you match the Fisher, Tek 11DD?

LowBoy

TAKE A LITTLE TIME KICKBACK AND WATCH SOME OF MY DETECTING VIDEO'S BELOW ON YouTube

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If you don’t dig it, then how are you going to know what you’re missing!
How can you have your pudding if you don’t eat your meat!

I have a V3i and I'm real happy with it.I'm finding old deep coins and jewelry with it.It suits my style of hunting.It's not hard(to me) to setup.There are a few basic adjustments to tweak the performance and lots of information on how to"tweak it".I handed it to a young lady this evening that had never detected before with a few basic instructions and a little coil control demo she started find coins,wheat pennies,clad and a 1944-D Mercury dime at 7.5 inches.Now she's hooked om detecting.It is very sensitive to small targets.The analyze mode in pinpoint, good audio,spectragragh and VDI just give you more target information.Bill

Remember the XLT comes to mind as I still remember the first time I opened up the manual and said" HUH:"

Fast forward a couple of years and Whites sold a bunch and many excelled with them and they enjoyed a 20 year run.

I see the same scenario for the V3 and although may not be everyones cup of tea surely Whites will sell a bunch and many will become V3 Gurus...Rome wasn't built in a day and the trueabilities won't be had overnight either...

So many detectors so little time at least in my case...

The V3 is a very good detector. As they say its the only detector transmitting and receiving on 3 freqs simultaniously.

What that means for Minelab, you figure out yourself. Keyword is marketing.

Whites is more open on their tech then Minelab is secret. Now what does that mean. Atleast it means that whites is very open cause Minelab is tight as hell exept in marketing, where they rule the game.

Put the V3 in 2,5 only and salt compensate, even Salt....mode.

It goes deep on the silver for sure.

Now...

And it kicks Minelab arse for low conductors while in 3 freq and single high freq. The E- Twelve, sorry, E- Trac, cant match the V3 for low conductors.

Seriously considering one of these and I can get a brand "new" (hardly used) one with a warranty for $1300 with the wireless headphones, but just not sure it's worth the money. I am curious to see what the new Whites machine will have to offer and the price, also looking forward to the F80 which should have been out this year, but I have a feeling that there is not going to be one for some reason. It's not hard, get the G2 and the Omega into a single platform where you can use both frequencies or pick one, get rid of all the processes and just base it all on the BP mode but add a 5 point recovery speed scale to choice from (0 = CL, 5 = fast but less depth), and finally the ability to assign tones for different conductivity ranges, and you make everyone happy for the next 5 years. Problem solved. When are we going to see this happen?

frnifo.........yes E-Tracs/Explorers are a bit weak on low conductors,,,,,,,,,,especially when compared to V3i or 'boost process' (bp) units.
F-80 will be a while.

Thanks Tom, sounds like a perfect excuse for me to pull a trigger on a new detector. Maybe upgrade from the T2 SE to an F75 LTD, but I don't really think I will be getting more usable depth since EMI will have them both running at the same level most of the places I hunt.

Understand. If you want a certified/validated F75 LTD SE........just holler......as I have one in my inventory. If EMI can be mitigated.......performance is stunning. Nearly all of the data in the thread titled "Rcpt Ack of F75 LTD prototype" is applicable to the T2 also.

I have used a v3i for a year now and I'm still amazed by it. I tend to buy/use a machine for a long time - learn your machine. I hunted with an xlt for 11 years before upgrading to v3i - quite a jump in technology. Adjustability to your area/ground/hunting style is infinite. Sensitivity is superb - especially to small and/or low conductors. I enjoy learning this machine - learn this machine and you will have a much better understanding of how metal detectors work. I didn't find it hard to learn or use - once you have basic setup for your area/hunting style - then there are only a few tweaks to optimize - and they're on the screen and can be adjusted and tried "on the fly" while you're swinging. Think I'll be using this one for a long time too! gl and hh

V3i guys, any updates on your machines? As another poster above mentioned, V3i users are starting to really know their machines and if what I've been reading on the forums is any indication. This is a very very deep ID'ing machine. There seems to be quite a bit of success with it over in the UK on hammered coins as well.

I wonder if whites will do something about the older tech rechargeable batteries but the wireless headphones I hear are great.

After reading the "F75Ltd prototype" thread it's clear why Whites chose the round DD coil and it also partly explains the great depth. (pp 8 - 9 got interesting (again)).

Ive never used the V3 either... but i did use the DFX for several years so i can relate to the comment once you learn them you really get an better understanding of how a detector works. In fact id highly recommend anyone interested in detecting read Jeff Fosters book on the DFX. You will be amazed at how much is factory set on many machines. Some of these settings used on the DFX is sure like to have again. BUT... if you dont know what you are doing you can spend more time having to play with the settings than you spend detecting. I am curious why they produced what appears to be a lesser version of the V3I thou. I assume it has to do with price and maybe settings that just werent being effectively used. As a ML user i bought the SE for old coin hunting and no one in their right mind can say the MLs like jewelry. There just isnt a machine that does it all..... so you have to find as they say.... the right tool for the job. I applaud Whites for their openness about their tech.... but... they do like to keep a short leash on releasing their prices.

Dew

detected with whitey's products for a long time!
"cut my teeth" on an old "db4" high frequency (100khz)
tr...this thread has me intensely curious about the new v3
got some readin' to do!..just sayin!

(h.h.!)
j.t.

Dew - It is pretty clear to me that lots of people were having problems with the V3i - just check the forums. Lots of people have the money but not the patience or where with all to figure a complex machine out. So, enter Vx3. It is a stripped version but the same physical machine. It doesn't have as many filters, non normalized ID's, some of the analysis tools (which I like), overdrive power and lot of other options but it is essentially the same in depth from early tests. Check the Whites or Findmall forum for a checklist comparison. I would be quite content with the Vx3 but the price is fishy as follows:

The big THING is is that White's doesn't include the Wireless headphones (they go for $300) nor the rechargeable batteries. So, you "save" quite a bit of money but if you were to buy a Vx3 with the wireless headphones and battery pack you would save... get this... $65!!!

Everybody should read this post on another forum... it's quite interesting!

[findmall.com]

"Happy hunting" - Schultzie

Yes indeed, schultzie...quite interesting...


Steve

Isn't that post from our Lawrenzo/LowBoy?

Yes that was me, I posted that and had a lot of fun with that machine (V3i).I would use it for parks and schools. I mean four bucks an hour in clad is a good way to earn extra money. I have it for about three more weeks. My friend (the owner) hates it...says it has too many VDI numbers and too much to remember and too much to program and that is true..and you may have to dig more but the good stuff like silver comes in from about 60-94.

I programed it to run fast and it is deep but not sure about masking. It has a lot of tones and maybe I have to assign just a few tones to the VDI numbers I want to be alearted to like nickle and silver...On this machine gold can come in at from 0-59 You can create a ton of programs with what ever changes you want and then just use them and name them. Lots of ways to analize a target but on my G2 I do it with my ears. The three freq are great but have not had the time to try one at a time and then hunt say at 2.5 and look for silver and copper. That is another thing I have to do before my friends comes back.

Whites did make a interesting machine and a few years ago I tried one and didn't like it but I think it was the V3 not the V3I and I think the 10 DD is a new coil. Tom would be the perfect guy to crack this machine open and tell us how to program it. My mind does not work that way. I have to read and read and read and then tweek the machine in the field and while I tweek it I have to have real targets in the ground to see what I did right and what I did wrong.

But I got lucky and made a program based on the filter and the recovery speed. It has a lot of stuff that you can program and you may be able to get it do more then the machine you are using. But you have to have a test garden and targets at different depths. There are a lot of things to play with but only about 8 things you have to understad to tweek it.

I hope to take it out a few more times at places I have hunted and may have hunted out just to see what the different freq used one at a time can pull out. I can find a target with one freq and then add the other freq and see what the machine does and then the next freq and then all three so you can see what and how the freq hits on different targets. I would say maybe 2.5 and 22.5 would be what I would try and see if 7.5 would hit harder on buttons and brass. I know you can get more depth that way and it has a boost mode that eats you battery up. But I should be testing it that way and maybe my friend will make me a deal and I will take it off his hands.

LowBoy

TAKE A LITTLE TIME KICKBACK AND WATCH SOME OF MY DETECTING VIDEO'S BELOW ON YouTube

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If you don’t dig it, then how are you going to know what you’re missing!
How can you have your pudding if you don’t eat your meat!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/06/2011 05:31AM by Lawrenzo.

Great Post(s) Lawrenzo. I've learned a fair bit about the V3i from your questions on the other forum.

The big question I have about it now, that you brought up, is unmasking. How well does this machine work in iron, and in particular, European iron. I know they are having some success in the UK but I don't hear much about it. Since the recovery speed is very adjustable (along with the filters as you mentioned), I would think you could use it around lots of iron. A very experienced poster mentioned that the V3i has an uncanny ability to pick out good signals in trash/iron and you can use it with a slower recovery speed and swing there, and just listen for the good tones mixed in (I think the AT Pro has a bit of this ability from reading on it as well.)

Thx again

That would be the next test in iron and the only way you will know is to see if your targets are mixed with iron. On the G2 an axe head and horse shoe hit very high on the VDI and are a solid hit. But I am not sure on the V3i..I will try and use the G2 and the V3i and find some buttons and see what the V3i hit on. Today we found some WW1 buttons and a button from 1890s and they hit anywhere from 50-65 and on a small button it hit on 35 on the G2 the 35 VDI would hit at about 70 or so. So you do have to dig more in the V3i..it may not be a great relic hunter but I would need a friend to use my G2 and I would use the V3i and we would both hit the same target and see what comes out of the ground.

LowBoy

TAKE A LITTLE TIME KICKBACK AND WATCH SOME OF MY DETECTING VIDEO'S BELOW ON YouTube

[www.youtube.com]

If you don’t dig it, then how are you going to know what you’re missing!
How can you have your pudding if you don’t eat your meat!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/07/2011 03:11PM by Lawrenzo.

Lawrenzo, if you could compare the G2 to the V3i in iron, that would answer A LOT of questions. I'm pretty sure the V3i will do great, but might need some playing (and there in lies the problem in the field.)

I am really only a coin hunter, so for me, it's coins with a lot of iron around (but not necessarily nails). I look forward to your results.

I can tell you that the problem with the V3i is that it has so many VDI# so if you are hunting iron the machine is going to give you a lot of tones. Now you can program all of this but the VDI scale is different from the Fishers and Whites so I think that a small coil would help. I am not there yet as far as real hardcore relic hunting on this machine and only have it for a few weeks. But I found out you can program it to not disc out any targets so the V3i is not trying to compute that info and slowing the machine down. You can assign the VDI you don't want to hear a 0 tone and so you won't hear that VDI but if you have another taret mixed in you would hear that kind of like the split tone on the G2.

LowBoy

TAKE A LITTLE TIME KICKBACK AND WATCH SOME OF MY DETECTING VIDEO'S BELOW ON YouTube

[www.youtube.com]

If you don’t dig it, then how are you going to know what you’re missing!
How can you have your pudding if you don’t eat your meat!

Well, my V3i arrived on Monday and I am pretty damn impressed by it. I haven't had any problems playing with it as I read up on it a ton as well as read the manual(s) quite a few times. I roughly posted the following on another forum but will also post it here as the depth of this detector is insane. I totally believe the reports of digging coins at a foot after how this hit on the few coins I tested in the ground. I would love to compare the recovery speed to a Deus or F75 but there isn't one around. I ran the recovery delay at levels they don't touch in America and it still went deep and sounded off on so much in the garden. Reminded me of when I had a T2. :

Stock coil, Rx10, Disc 95, Recovery Delay 60, Filter 5 pass, 3 freq. Best Data, No ground balance on the below numbers (it was on auto trac, oops).
0.3 % EMI (perfect)

Air Test
Coin (Clad)************VDI*****************Depth
Quarter*****************83*******************13"
Dime*******************78********************11"
Penny******************54********************12"
Nickel******************19********************12"

Ground test - I don't have anything really in depth regarding maximum to report. Would be nice to note some of your deeper finds here along with the pertinent info.

I can easily hit a non silver dime at 9" using the above settings and with 9% ground probe reading (at the top end of low mineralization).
I can easily hit a silver dime sized target at 9" using Rx 8, Disc 90, Recovery at 65 ish, 10Hz band, 3 freq Best Data, auto trac - clean area of ground. I could also hit the target with the Deus program (85 disc, recovery delay 20, same other settings) - I was shocked it was so deep.
I would venture to say the max is probably quite a few inches deeper if I change the settings.

Good to see this data............and the EMI numbers presented truly tells a story......for base-reference.