Doing some reading on the V 3 forum (Sorry guys but thread is now locked before it turns nasty):thumbup:

[utahshovelhead]

Sorry but every once in a while I check out the V 3 forum to see how they are doing...But that forum just starts to depress me...Poor guys. Thanks all ya for makin life much more fun on the dark side.

good luck
utahshovelhead

 

[jdeiana]

I noticed the same thing, and made a general comment about it recently. Tough times with that machine it seems. Poor guys seem to be worrying more about software upgrades than detecting.

 

[Southwind]

I understand the frustration from both the V3 owners and White's. As a former V3 owner, and as soon as I can afford it I will own one again, I can honestly say the V3 has amazing potential. Dare I say every bit as good as the E-Trac. The advantage of the E-Trac is right out of the box it's a deep coin killer. With a little tweaking the V3 does just as well. I think the V3i, while it seems to be a bad move on the part of White's, is meant to address this issue. White's know they would make some people made, but once the changes prove themselves, all the fuss will stop.

I used both the E-Trac and the V3 head to head and the E-Trac found nothing the V3 could also see, even the very deep coins. What the E-Trac did prove better at was telling the user it was a deep coin. The VDI of the V3 was too unstable to be reliable on the deep ones. The V3i claims to have fixed that.

 

[jimmyk]

My experience with the V 3 was quite different. I tweaked it for several months and couldn't get near the depth of my f 75. I traded it for the E-Trac, which in my experience goes deeper. I found no silver with the V3. Rehunted a particular area with my E-Trac and found a Barber dime at six inches the V 3 missed, along with many other coins the V 3 missed. I'm totally happy with the E-Trac and won't go back. The V 3 has many wonderful features, but for me, the E-Trac is the best coin machine I have ever used in thirty years of detecting Maybe it works better in some parts of the county, but as they say, "different strokes for differnt folks"..

keep on diggin'

jimmyk in mIssouri

 

[Ray-Mo.]

I think some of the die hard V users are spending more time tweaking it and posting about said latest greatest tweaks than I have time to detect.I liked the Vision well enough just not as well as my E-Trac.I find I do not have to waste any of my detecting time adjusting countless settings and variations to find the older deeper coins in my area with my E-Trac.The V is a fun machine and a tinkers dream come true.I think it might have a slight edge for gold jewelery or at least more gold hunters are using it than the E-Trac for jewelery detecting.
I find the E-Trac requires very little adjustment to perform at its peak in any given site and or soil conditions.And most any one who has experienced the E-Trac at its peak should be very pleased with the results.
I read a few folks complaints about the multi flute tones which I find to be one of the greatest audio ID advantages of all the machines available and easy to change to fixed 1,2 or 4 tones for those who are unable to grasp the multi tone advantage.
I have no desire to bash the V3 or any other machine but rather to post the greatness of the E-Trac and at the same time hope that those who hunt the same areas I hunt will not believe me,Ray.

 

[NiagracountyNY]

Ive always been interested in the BEST machine I can get my hands on..if the V3 proved to be that I would have one alrdy I will say In the future(after all the bugs are figured out and they figure out how to tell a ring from a pull tab)I would like to own one.I like alot of the features and I do like to fidle with settings sometimes...But atm the machine needs awhile to be figured out to its full potential.The only reason i would really want the V3 is to find jewlery.I think there is potential there with that analize screen( i do like the color screens too). So hopefully all the V3 users get to work and figure out how to tell a ring from a pull tab for me Then ill get one !

 

[Larry (IL)]

I'm sorry you don't read the V3 forum the same way I do. I read of much praise and success stories with a few complainers who just can't grasp the concept. Both of our forums are full of how-to questions, and we have our share of former Minelab users as you have your share of former and current White's users. I read on the V3 forum of upgrades and repairs in weeks, not months and I have read of a company repairing equipment 40 years old and happy to do it and at a reasonable price too. You can't claim I'm biased either, being a Minelab user/lover as well. Both machines are fantastic, each excel in their own fields. If the V3 forum depresses you, don't go there. (Please)

 

[Elton]

We all know Whites is an amazing company. Service is beyond reproach with them.

The V3 is a new concept in detecting using technology that's been around for a very long time. Wave Meters, Oscilloscopes, what ever you want to call it.

Whites has created a nice do it all detector, Sure there are some bugs..Expected even!!...but the key here is their addressing all issues.

Many have good solid results with the V3..some do not. Many have good results with the Etrac/ Explorer units..some do not...... Time will be the factor here.
As time goes on results in the favorable category will improve. I think what most of us expect is a new machine that is perfect.. Well that's not invented yet.
Are we moving in the right direction sure..So lets be a little patient, not bash what we do not use, or understand totally.......... and see how it plays out.

I love the meter, I like the abilities to be able to change a lot of the settings, and the V3 finds coins..And other items at respectable depths. Many are having great results.....

My advice use what you like, let everyone else do the same, and all of us enjoy the hobby.. The V3 forum is full of help for all who cares to read and use it.

Mr. Larry is correct it's a great forum, modded by caring kind people who will reach out and share good experiences, as well as perceived bad ( Not understanding all) yet. I have a feeling the V3 will be a power house in the detecting community in the near future. I have even noticed a trend that people have bought, and sold only to buy another V3 at a later date.. As more is learned, more is gained on operation capabilities.. So far it's looking good, don't you think ??

 

[Larry (IL)]

From the fingertips of an orator grandeur, with much grace and tact. Thanks Elton.....

 

[glabelle]

I am just getting back into detecting after a 3 year absence. I started in the 60's and have had every Whites machine made. I kept my MXT. Few years ago, with the reputation of being the deepest on silver coins, I got a Minelab. XS, then an SE. I could never get used to the chirpy tones it made. I found it very annoying and not relaxing to hunt with and got rid of it. Deep silver here on the West Coast is getting pretty scarce, but I wanted a machine that could find them, since I just can't give up on coins ;-) I found that the new Minelab can be set to a single tone! So, I looked at the V3 and the e-trac and after much consideration, mainly being influenced by the fact that the Minelab IDs better when the target is deeper, can pick out a coin next to iron, and probably goes deeper because of its 1.5KHz freq. as opposed to the V3 at 2.5KHz chose it. From what I read, they may be equal at the deep stuff, but I can say that at the limit of detection, there seems to be a clearer indication of that from the Minelab. I still have a place in my heart for Whites, and the MXT would be the machine I would grab for casual detecting and jewelry, but I think the Minelab is better for deep silver in trashy/mineralized areas.

George
Aloha
Oregon

 

[montanagold]

I think the V guys are finding so much stuff they don't have time to post. I to have been watching it for a while as well as other forums and it is immediately clear that the SE, Safari and E-trac forum post allot more finds. The V is probably a great machine, I wouldn't know because I don't plan on ever owning one. I don't want to analyze my targets and switch screens to test an look at waves or colored bars. I don't even look at the screen of my E-Trac, I listen and when it tells me to dig then I dig. By the time I was done analyzing a target on another machine I would have already recovered whatever it was I was detecting. All of the other brands are great but I have been watching all of the other forum posts even before the V and always thought that these three always had the best finds and the most. That's why I chose the SE after using others. Happy hunting to all no matter what machine you use. Thanks for leaving stuff for me to find.

 

[BHNugget]

I love the V and wouldn't part with it.At the same time,I plan on paying for an ETrac by putting it to good use.

 

[DirtDean]

I would like to take a V3 for a test drive to see how she handles, but for now my E-trac is still earning it's keep. My first machine was a Whites classic III (pawnshop special) come to think of it, it was a Whites commercial that kickstarted this whole madness for me So Whites will always have a place near n dear to me.

HH everyone

 

[utahshovelhead]

Hi guys,
I didn't mean to start the controversy again!
Just remarking that Our Minelab Forums so totally ROCK with great pics, posts, experience, information and our SO COOL moderators, and not too much complaining and defensiveness.
I just wanna read more about the great finds the New V is making and how the machine sniffs em out of the dirt...that's all.

good luck,
utahshovelhead

 

[RacerX]

I own both machines. Trust me, the ET has nothing on the V other than maybe simplicity.

and of course you're going to see more technnical threads, some with frustration. It's a complicated machine with many adjustments. Some people enjoy that stuff, why knock it?. Here's an analogy - why go fly fishing when you can catch just as many fish with bait? I bet all you making observations about someone elses choice of detector fish with red worms and laugh at the guy waist deep in the water fly fishing.

oh, and I've made a buttload of silver finds with both machines. I think I've posted my finds on the V forum once and the ET forum.............um never. Most have better stuff to do.