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Glad to have a new to me V3i...

D

detect4coins

New member
I have used many different detectors over the years. Recently, I have been using another manufacturers unit for the past year, and while I like it for the most part, I have never gotten the comfort level that I had with my old Eagle Spectrum. So when I saw a used V3i for sale, I couldn't help myself from picking it up. Boy, am I glad that I did. I could never get the pinpointing on my other detector down well enough for my comfort. This V3i just seems so much easier for me to pinpoint with. Yes, the VDI is not as stable at depth. (At least yet.... I'm still learning the unit after all) But, it has decent ID overall so far, is hot on nickels, and just gives me so much more enjoyment when I search. I think that being comfortable with your detector and enjoying the search is the most important thing in this hobby. And the V3i just fits me better. I look forward to many years of searching with this detector!!!
 
Funny that you mention that. That was one of the first tweaks that I made. I set VDI's from 16-24 to tone# 225. In a one hour hunt today, I found 5 nickels. I was impressed.
 
Nickels here are VDI 18 or 19. I just verified the programming and VDI 17, 18 and 19 are set to tone of 200. VDI of 20 will show up sometimes as the lowest pull tab VDI.
 
Gold ring is always a nice surprise. :thumbup:


Rich
 
Yes they are! I just got a set of Spectrasound headphones for my V3i from that online auction site place for $100. Talk about luck! :)
 
I might have to borrow this trick! :thumbup:
 
It increased my nickel finds a bunch after I did it. In my ground, nickels tend to bounce a bit from the standard 19 VDI, so I expanded the range a bit. Also, that higher tone makes my ears perk up when it sounds off.
 
detect4coins said:
The VDI is not as stable at depth. (At least yet.... I'm still learning the unit after all) But, it has decent ID overall so far, is hot on nickels, and just gives me so much more enjoyment when I search. I think that being comfortable with your detector and enjoying the search is the most important thing in this hobby. And the V3i just fits me better. I look forward to many years of searching with this detector!!!
Click to expand...

In an attempt for you to learn what I had to learn the hard way. I think you'll find that setting RX gain lower and Disc higher will give you much better VDI stability for the deeper stuff and deeper target recovery. I rarely set the RX gain higher then 9 anymore. Rarely I may set RX gain at 10 or 11 but only in sweet soil that are low mineral content, Low EMI interference and Low or unfertilized areas.

The higher you go with RX gain the more ground noise and EMI it will amplify with the V's pre-amp circuitry before the Discrimination circuits determine the VDI of a target and cause major VDI instability. Convince yourself that "Less is More" when it comes to an ideal RX gain setting and a higher Disc setting is better

I routinely run RX at 8 or 9 and Disc between 80 to 90 if EMI conditions allow with the All Metal setting usually at 15 points below the Disc setting as a rule of thumb. When I first got the V My thinking was always Hotter RX has got to be Better right? And I was setting RX at 13,14 or 15 with Disc in the 70's to prevent smearing on the spectra graph. Now I'll lower RX gain before I start lowering the Disc setting in high mineral, High EFi areas.

The RX gain is a per-amplifier for everything the coil reads. Including Ground Noise and EMI. If you amplify too much of the ground noise and EMI with RX Gain it will actually mask out a target, cause Spectra-graph smearing VDI instability and limit your depth significantly in my opinion. Trust me, you'll gain 2 inches in target depth if your soil is anything like mine. Another tip, Swing SLOW. A lot slower than you're probably used too and use the LOWEST ground filters if EMI conditions allow. If EMI is a problem for a particular first try applying transmitter freq offsets before raising ground filters.
 
Thanks for the tip. My Eagle Spectrum was similar with its PAG. It's like the high beams in fog analogy. Sometimes you can have too much of a good thing. :) I appreciate the advice!
 
This may help you a lot. If you're not a member of the Whites Forum, check it out, There is a ton of information available there for the V3i and very helpful people that are a lot smarter than I when it comes to setting up a V3i. Another thing to consider, is... A V3i setup for optimum in one area is rarely optimum for use in another area. This may hold true from my state to you state or even across town in another park or location in your home town. Below are a couple threads from the Whites forum that should get you well under way towards being able to set and understand the settings available on the V

http://forums.whiteselectronics.com/showthread.php?76521-V3i-Beginners-Guide&s=d911f711cf072dc9df77ecc35c4b778a

and

http://forums.whiteselectronics.com/showthread.php?76576-V3i-Beginners-Guide-Important-Correction

In this city's city parks they use a lot of fertilizer that seems to affect the amount of RX gain I can apply when hunting these parks. So I'll cut the ground probe strength recommendations in half when setting RX gain. Meaning when hunting the parks in this town I can get better depth when setting the Strength percentage not to exceed 7.5% then i would if i followed Joe Kools recommendations as written. Why, Something about either the type or amount of fertilizer the city uses affects the V in this area, When hunting other areas, Yards, School grounds etc. I can set it up hotter and follow the 15% recommendation as written.

I also believe a good ground balance is the most critical setting on the V. At least it is for me when I hunt in lock track. If I GB over metal or a deep coin, then deep coins will be masked out from my search. When i power up, I'll pinpoint an area to insure the all metal detection is over a spot free of metals, move and retest to insure I'm ground balanced in a spot free of metal to get a good GB. Another thing I've found that is the Strength reading is over 8-10% then a GB offset of +1 seems to work better for me in getting good VDI readings.
,
 
WyoTrex said:
detect4coins said:
The VDI is not as stable at depth. (At least yet.... I'm still learning the unit after all) But, it has decent ID overall so far, is hot on nickels, and just gives me so much more enjoyment when I search. I think that being comfortable with your detector and enjoying the search is the most important thing in this hobby. And the V3i just fits me better. I look forward to many years of searching with this detector!!!
Click to expand...

In an attempt for you to learn what I had to learn the hard way. I think you'll find that setting RX gain lower and Disc higher will give you much better VDI stability for the deeper stuff and deeper target recovery. I rarely set the RX gain higher then 9 anymore. Rarely I may set RX gain at 10 or 11 but only in sweet soil that are low mineral content, Low EMI interference and Low or unfertilized areas.

The higher you go with RX gain the more ground noise and EMI it will amplify with the V's pre-amp circuitry before the Discrimination circuits determine the VDI of a target and cause major VDI instability. Convince yourself that "Less is More" when it comes to an ideal RX gain setting and a higher Disc setting is better

I routinely run RX at 8 or 9 and Disc between 80 to 90 if EMI conditions allow with the All Metal setting usually at 15 points below the Disc setting as a rule of thumb. When I first got the V My thinking was always Hotter RX has got to be Better right? And I was setting RX at 13,14 or 15 with Disc in the 70's to prevent smearing on the spectra graph. Now I'll lower RX gain before I start lowering the Disc setting in high mineral, High EFi areas.

The RX gain is a per-amplifier for everything the coil reads. Including Ground Noise and EMI. If you amplify too much of the ground noise and EMI with RX Gain it will actually mask out a target, cause Spectra-graph smearing VDI instability and limit your depth significantly in my opinion. Trust me, you'll gain 2 inches in target depth if your soil is anything like mine. Another tip, Swing SLOW. A lot slower than you're probably used too and use the LOWEST ground filters if EMI conditions allow. If EMI is a problem for a particular first try applying transmitter freq offsets before raising ground filters.
Click to expand...
This is exactly my thoughts on the v and just how I run it what a difference from running hot
 
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