I tried to sell my V3 but nobody wanted this awesome machine

[michaelnc]

I absolutely hated this machine when I first got it. I couldn't get it to settle down at all. It turns out I had a bad 10 D2 coil so Whites replaced it free of charge except for shipping mine back. Now I truly believe this is one of the best VLF machines ever made. It hits silver deep,copper deep and gold just as deep. The key is to get it stable. I have found on my machine that I can run the RX gain at 15 and the all metal in the 90's but the single biggest adjustment for stability is the Disc number. When I adjust the RX gain it really doesn't affect stability and neither does the all metal. I've tested this over and over and the single biggest factor on my machine is the disc gain. So I adjust RX at 15 and all metal at the 85 range then adjust disc gain until it starts to false and back off till its stable. In High Pro with RX at 15 and all metal at 85 and disc at 65 I can dig silver dimes at 9-10 inches all day long (in air tests it gets them at 12 inches or better and quarters well its ridiculous). I'm just glad I kept this machine. One key for me has been to learn to trust the V3 and after that the finds are getting better and better. I'll start posting some finds soon as I'm not much of a camera buff but believe me I've owned almost every detector out there and this V3 is right at the top. I haven't tried the Etrac or the G2 or Gold Bug Pro but I may own one in the future. One thing is for sure my Whites V3 has a permanent home.

HH,

Shane

 

[Larry (IL)]

I'm glad you got her to settle down for ya Shane ............. stability is the secret and the rest is gravy.

 

[earthmansurfer]

That is pretty amazing that you are getting dimes that deep with disc at 65. I didn't think it would go that deep. You are right that disc makes all the difference to depth. That is why I generally run my settings (as many of us here do) a bit opposite yours. Just run Rx at 10 or so and see if you can get disc to 85 or 90. Of course this depends on other factors but just try this and see if your depth gets even better. I'm curious if this works even better for you as most people say it does.

Rx precedes the AM and disc channel. So with an Rx@15 and AM@90's sounds really really high but as long as most of your targets are deep I guess you are fine as the pinpoint will hit hard on the deep stuff (but too wide on the shallow).

Thanks for the report, very interesting,
EMS

 

[michaelnc]

I know this sounds backwards but on my machine which is the V3 the disc has very little effect on the depth I can detect. I've read all the programs and tips everyone has posted and they don't work for me. It could just be my machine but I've got it working for me and that is what counts. I got frustrated with all the programs etc.. I was trying everybody else's programs. Now the first thing I do is select my program and set the RX gain and all metal to as high as possible then adjust the disc gain until it becomes unstable then back off slightly and next get a proper ground balance and off I go. Maybe my machine is backwards but the RX gain has a much greater impact on depth than the Disc gain. As far as all metal goes I run it high for the deepies in pinpoint. I just raise the coil when the target is shallow to pinpoint. Maybe I'm dumbing it down but hey its working great.

Happy hunting,

Shane

 

[earthmansurfer]

Shane, I don't think for a second that you are dumbing down or being backwards in your settings. It takes a lot to go against the grain and find what works right for you. Actually, there is a bit of inspiration in what you did/do as we are often quick to hear what works and just copy it without really finding out what works best and you did that! I will actually play a bit with your settings as I'm just wondering how it will affect coins in my ground. (my only real target).

Curious - Do you know what your ground reads at under ground probe and /or do you have any other ground info to share. For one - I'm just curious and for two - it might help others as there have been a few people who had a tough time getting the machine to work. I've had my headaches in a few areas. But as you have found out, once you find what works for you this detector is very very deep and I find it excellent in iron.

BTW - I think your approach with backing off the disc is the right approach. The only thing different I did was (since I read that disc is where the depth is) that I first set the Rx at only 8 or 10 and then get the disc as high as I can. I can run my Rx at 15 in a lot of places but it gets too chatty with the iron. My ground is mild in overall mineralization (1%-3%) but high in iron mineralization (-93 or so VDI), no EMI usually. I usually run the 5 filters.

Keep it up,
EMS

 

[michaelnc]

The overall mineralization is around 2.3-3.6%. The EMI is around .6% and the recommended setting for the RX gain is 15. The iron mineralization is not as high as yours but I run the filter at 10 HZ Band pass because I like a brisker swing. So far its working great. If you get a chance set your RX gain at 1 and your disc at 1. Work the RX up towards 15 and leave the disc at 1. Now keep a low RX and raise disc. The main power is in the RX and the disc doesn't affect depth too much maybe an inch or two. Check a coin target with RX at 15 and disc at 1 and you'll see where most of your depth comes from. Each site is different but so far a high RX and a stable disc setting gets the best depth. Take care and happy hunting.

 

[earthmansurfer]

Thanks for your idea. I'm going to do that next time out, hopefully next week. I'll try to get it on video and compare filters as well. Might as well as I haven't been finding lots of coins the last 2 times out...

Take care,
Albert