Is the V3i a reliable detector?

[filternozzle]

I'm not an owner but have been thinking about making a purchase for over 12 months now. What I would like to know is whether this detector suffers from any particular problems? I ask because it doesn't seem to be very popular here in the UK and I have noticed in general that owners do not hold on to them for very long. However, on paper the V3i looks to be a super detector in the making.

 

[Rob (IL)]

Of course they are reliable. You would have to ask guys on your side of the ocean why they don't use them. Not all detectors work for all types of detecting and you guys do a different type of hunting then we do. Let me know what they don't like about the V3i.

 

[Larry (IL)]

I think what contributes to the turnover rate is some people just don't want to spend the time it takes to learn the V3i, after all, it is the most advanced detector on the market. The V3i comes pretty much a turn on and go hunting detector here in the States but it takes some special tweaking to get the best from it on your side of the pond. I have heard of specialized programs some use over there to deal with all of the small iron and small silver.

As far as reliability, I think the few bugs the initial V3 had has been taken care of years ago, I seldom hear of problems with the V3i.

 

[burlbark]

It is 100% reliable with that super duper Whites customer service.

I have had mine for 3 years now? And I have had zero component failure of the detector.

I have had some coils go bad from either being in the trunk of the car or being jostled around, and a battery pack finally gave out on me, but still works for 5 hours in my wifes DFX.

 

[h2oyo]

Its a great detector built like all other Whites, yes its reliable and very hard to beat. I agree about the learning curve. I picked mine up used with over 15 months of warranty left on it. I think some people get it and because they don't take the time to learn it think its to hard or they don't find things because they don't know how to set it up for there area and tried to make custom programs. It will work anyplace if you take the time to learn the machine and what it can do.

 

[5900_XL-1]

I'll try this one more time since my post from about an hour ago disappeared. I have owned a V3i since 2010 and it is special when tweaked, but the thing has day to day failures in the same spots it worked perfectly the day before. All settings the same, fresh GB, "same bat channel, different bat day."

The V3i is "emotional" day to day. I count the V3i as 50-50 in reliability.

 

[burlbark]

I'll try this one more time since my post from about an hour ago disappeared. I have owned a V3i since 2010 and it is special when tweaked, but the thing has day to day failures in the same spots it worked perfectly the day before. All settings the same, fresh GB, "same bat channel, different bat day."

The V3i is "emotional" day to day. I count the V3i as 50-50 in reliability.

And as we all know you are not able to determine what is causing the inconsistencies you are seeing. Its either EMI or coil temperature instability, bad coil.

The v3 series is very demanding on coils. Today I had allot of falsing in a wet marshy area, I could hold the pinpoint down and literally cook the ground under the coil till it started to motor boat. Must keep the coil moving in ground like that and turn down the gain and disc.

 

[filternozzle]

I'll try this one more time since my post from about an hour ago disappeared. I have owned a V3i since 2010 and it is special when tweaked, but the thing has day to day failures in the same spots it worked perfectly the day before. All settings the same, fresh GB, "same bat channel, different bat day."

The V3i is "emotional" day to day. I count the V3i as 50-50 in reliability.

Thanks 5900_XL-1, the reason I asked the question in the first place was I had heard similar reports from previous owners. They said the exactly same thing and Whites were not able to ID the problem.

 

[Larry (IL)]

All settings the same. The V3i is "emotional" day to day.

The V3i is just a machine and the answer to your problems is the first sentence Martin. Hunting conditions change from day to day, especially EMI sources. You MIGHT have a bad coil but I would guess it is your environment that has changed, not your detector.

When you are running the V3i on the edge of stability for maximum depth, the first thing you should do before every hunt is to adjust your detector for stability and that usually is just a Sensitivity or Gain adjustment. You may have had your V3i since 2010 but it seems that you have not learned how to use it well yet.........

 

[Rob (IL)]

I will give you the same advice I have given you over the last 4 years,"If you are not happy, sell it and get a detector that works better." Why keep a detector that doesn't meet you expectations? Four years is a long time.

My V3i is handling the Texas dirt just fine, which I find quite mild..

 

[burlbark]

Post removed by request.

 

[Rob (IL)]

We are off track on this post.

 

[cypearl]

I think what Martin said It is the same to all detectors, the deference is just because those other brands it is possible that they are using auto sensitivity and they have the habit to cease on deep targets. But V3i still responding on weak signals. I had the same question with Martin although in the beginning when I first bought my V3i, and I bought another detector that had no complaints from users to see if is true but as far as I' m using this brand I am missing my V3i. Hope this helps.