problems 5 inches plus

[chris poteet]

Hi everyone.
Running my V3 in stock coin and jewelry program with a 10DD, non-mineralized ground no emi I'm getting 50 cent / dollar signal 5 inches deep and dig the signal to find a copper penny. I can drop the penny back in the hole 5 inches deep sweep my coil across and it says 50 cent / dollar. I can drop a quarter in the same hole and it says VDI 82/quarter, I can drop a dime in the same hole and it says dollar. Can anyone help me or anyone have any advice or has anyone had this problem? Thanks.

 

[TheMarshall]

The basic identity of any designated coin on any metal detector is based on its 'in-air' reading.

Does your V3 accurately identify the coins in air ?

Anything buried in the undefinable matrix of soil is equally as undefinable....TheMarshall.

p.s. If you put a can of beans into your bag of shopping, and then go to the check-out, and the lady swiped the whole bag with her 'reader'

what would the computer register .....Beans..??????????? I think not.

But that's what your expecting from your detector.

Also..drooping a coin in a hole is not a legit. thing, for you are still reading all that surrounds the hole.

 

[jalon]

Chris, I agree with the Marshall, test your coins in the air. If the ID is good, then look at your analyser screen. sounds like there is something else in or near the target hole. Do you have a concentric coil? Since your soil is low minerals, a concentric coil might be a better choice. Since a quarter gives a good ID in the hole, I suspect there is something in there that makes your V3 see the penny differently.
Keep us posted and good luck
John London

 

[Neil in West Jersey]

A quarter will give accurate VDI readings at deeper depths simply because it is larger. The smaller the target, the less accurate the VDI will be as you get deeper and deeper. I dug an eight inch deep quarter that was a solid 83 VDI in a spot yet a dime at the same spot jumped around and read up near 90.

 

[jbow]

I think you'll get better results in non-mineralized ground with a 850 or Super 12 coil.

I agree with the others, you should air test it or at least try it in several different holes. Try it in correlate and in single frequencies. Try it is "coins". Mine seems more stable in coins than in "coin and jewelry".

I'd be interested to know what you find with different programs and settings. Some of my TIDs have been a few numbers off too... then again I have not learned my numbers very well yet. Yesterday I was getting zinc pennies at 52 and .22 casings at 52 in the ground and 47-49 out of the ground..

It's raining today.... and I have a dentist appointment... I don't like either...

J

 

[nw1886]

I've had similar results on target IDing pennys especially. (With my V less so but the DFX could have deep one spike up into the dollar range.) Your going to have to take the Marshall's advice as that is the best way to look at the whole thing. One thing though...once a coin shows up in this "skewed" manner (and it's not caused by an anomaly with just that one hole) expect the whole area and target type to produce similar results. (I've dug as many as a dozen wheats that VDI'd around 15 and quarters at 60 in some spots.) Remember....computation doesn't end with the detector's circuitry and there is consistency with it all. Good luck...these little things ,teach you tons, for finding the nice finds!

 

[chris poteet]

today i put my v in all metal mode to find a spot two foot by two foot void of anyyyyyy other metals to do a test dug a hole 5 inches deep changed my v back to factory coin&jewelry put a penny in and it read VDI 83 pinpointed at 4 1/2 inches deep. put a dime in it read VDI 90 pinpointed at 3 1/2 deep. dug the hole to 7 inches put the penny in and then the dime got VDI's from +25 all the way through +.90 on both coins but dropped a quarter in and nailed VDI 83 pinpointed 6 3/4 deep. I would have expected just a little better performance from such a high $ machine. took my 5900 di pro out checked the same way and the needle was right on all coins and also the pinpointing was darn close.changed to my 6x10 DD and got a little better pinpointing but same results with the VDI/s.should i expect better performance or is that the norm for the V3?

 

[Jason in TN]

n/t

 

[OregonMike]

I had the same problem yesterday. More than once, what I thought was going to be a quarter, (nice loud tone, VDI number in the 80's) turned out to be a cent.
Then, I got an 89 reading and thought it might be a cent too, but it was a silver quarter! Could it be that sometimes the V-3 is "like a box of chocolates"?
PS--My last Merc dime had a VDI of 56.

Mike

 

[andreak77]

You say that your 5900 correctly ID's the penny - how many hours do you have on the 5900 - and how many hours do you have on your V3?
You didn't mention whether or not you performed a manual ground balance. When doing tests I always recommend a manual ground balance. It is also recommended to do a manual GB when the ground changes (soil to grass, gravel to grass or sand).

Many people assume that because of the big $$$ they spend on this unit that it should pretty much do the hunting for them.......that's not the case with this detector. This unit has a lot to offer and therefore has a higher learning curve than other machines.

This is how I explain it to my customers: Think of it like a buying a new fully loaded automobile - It takes time to learn all about it's neat little features, just as it takes practice to figure out how she'll handle curves at high speeds. And just because you already know your old car inside and out doesn't mean that you know everything inside and out about your new car.

Definitely take the advice of the others. Give it some time and you'll see why there are so many happy V3 customers.

Can you tell us what your settings were when you did the test and when you were out hunting?

 

[Lt4ever]

I took it to a school yard where I knew I would find coins. I had no problems with the #'s it was right on every coin from copper, pennies zink pennies, nickles ,dimes quarters.

 

[chris poteet]

The test was done in factory coin&jewelry settings the only change is custom settings for tone ID's. Of course I always do a ground bal. I also checked the location for the test in all metal to be certain there was no other metals present.so there was no other signals to be picked up by my V. also I have tried (ALL) factory programs with my 10 DD & 6x10 coils and still cant get correct VDI readings on penny or dime below 5 inch's.I have owned my 5900 di pro for 8 months and have found hundreds of clad coins and some jewelry.I have been told that 5900 is a good machine to cut your teeth on so i guess you could say I'm pretty fluent on manual settings and adjustments . I owned a DFX 300 for two months prior to my V3 and found Penny's and dimes consistently down to 6 1/2 inches with it. I really love my V3 i have had it now for 3 months and have found around 500 clads with it but every thing has been no deeper than 4 1/2 inches all coming from local parks and (play grounds.) before committing to the V3 I read all of finds treasure forums on the V3 and watched all the whites instructional videos on you tube over and over. back to the test . the v air test a penny out to 9 1/2 inches and a dime to 9 . that is why I quess I'm so puzzled about the VDI #s below 5 inches maybe if i had a fellow V3'r to compair this in a head to head test with the exact same settings? thanks Y'all.

 

[andreak77]

Hmmmm, I spoke with our tech about your situation. He said if it ID's correctly out of the ground but incorrectly in the ground it is most likely the soil conditions - even if in different areas. His suggestions: Try it in single freq, also if you can, go to another area out of town to see if you get the same results. If you don't get the same results then you know it's the soil conditions in your area causing the incorrect ID.

I have a couple of other people that I'm going to contact in regards to your situation. Hang in there, we'll get this figured out.

Andrea

 

[chris poteet]

Thank You Andrea. I'll keep you posted on my results.

 

[Snake Charmer]

I get a lot of laughs out of people who just assume that you don't know what you are doing>>>>..... It happens to me as well on another forum..... fact is that I have had the very same issue for some time no matter what ground I am in and no matter what settings I use..... This is not the norm with the V3.... I am sure... My V3 has much more VDI instability than my DFX.... I finally gave up and am getting mine replaced... I cannot say for SURE it is not me! but darn I don't know what else to try....AND after all this frustration I KNOW THIS MACHINE like the back of my hand now.... The one thing that stays the same is that Whites is the BEST when it comes to assistance and help.... Oh Yeah.... if I find it is just me.... I WILL be embarrased....

 

[Snake Charmer]

BTW you can always expect the VDI's to change some because so many factors figure in to the equation.... size, depth, metal, ground condition, settings..... but you should expect good VDI's MUCH deeper than 5 inches... in most ground.

 

[andreak77]

Yes, I agree it is an assumption because he did not say in his original post when he purchased nor how much time he has had on his unit - In fact he only recently purchased his unit (Feb. 7 to be exact) - 9 times out of 10 the calls we receive regarding issues like these are from customers who just received their units - who took it out of the box with out reading the owners manual or watching the DVD or they have never even owned a detector before, or they want it to do exactly what their other unit does. And sometimes even if they have read and watched the videos they still have trouble.

It's not meant to be an insult by any means. IMHO, I think I'd be doing our customers a disservice if I "assumed" they knew all there was to know about their unit - because if they do then it becomes a whole different conversation. That is why we question them or "assume" - not because we think they don't know any better but because we don't know how long they've used their unit or how well they understand it or if they've even used one before - Once we know their background we know how to proceed in assisting them.

Seeing his reply regarding watching the video, reading the OM and the forums and his knowledge of the unit I know how to proceed - in this case there just may be something out of whack with the unit. Either way I am going to do some more digging with my contacts who test these units for the factory to see if there are some adjustments he could try - that he would understand just by mentioning the adjustments to make. Where as with a novice user it would take a lot longer in assisting them with the adjustments - many times I have to walk them through the process of making adjustments step by step or I mail/ email step by step instructions - I've even gone so far as offering to meet a customer to go over their unit and help them set it up (the day after he got it - never used a detector before).

It's just my way of making sure I am doing everything I can to help my customer. Okay, okay, I'll shut up now.............

 

[andreak77]

Hey there,

Okay, talked with my guy - Here is what he suggested: Since the unit is working fine on quarters then that shows that the V3 is working OK.....he is swinging at the wrong swing speed for the filter he is using....or he has the recovery rate set too low with the wrong filter choice for his area... I'd be looking at the filters/recovery rate/swing speed (not the setting but his actual swing)....if all looks good...then it's him swinging too fast for the V3 to see down to ID the target....I'm assuming that he knows how to do a Proper Ground Balance.....as it could be that as well....if it was doing it on ALL Coins then I might tend to think it was the V3 that is out of calibration.

My suggestions....use C&J Mode since it uses VCO as default....use 5.0 Band Filter....Recovery Rate 80-100....and take his time and swing slow & deliberate....that should see deep....once he sees that the V3 is responding perfect...then he can back off or readjust the # for a better setup for his area.

A lower recovery rate will tend to not properly ID deep targets. A higher recovery rate will and slower swing speed will give the detector a chance to really see the target before it responds.

Give these adjustments a try and let me know how they work out for you.

HH - Andrea

 

[Snake Charmer]

OOPS! Sorry Andrea.... lots of people here give superb advice and professionals like yourself know how to get to the bottom of things. In Fact this forum as well as others keep many new V3 users from getting discouraged and walking away..... That is why I hang out in them.... But Jeepers 5 inches with any coin in most ground with any setting on this machine should give a good reading. lots of guys are getting 12 inches down when tuned just right for their ground.... Even at that and even though I am having the same problem after trying everything I am not absolutely SURE I have not just missed something or that my several coin gardens aren't ALL in weird ground.... I would really like to have an expert user here with me to check side by side..... but I don't know of any locally. I only live 4 hours from the main factory in SH so I may actually go down there when I exchange just to make sure I have not mixed something up. I came from a DFX which I mainly stuck with factory programs which worked for me... I have had a very steep learning curve which I could not have got thru without advice like yours... I have been into every crook and cranny of this machine and still very sloppy VDIs.... deeper than 5 inches... your advice is very good as always... sometimes I get a little frustrated and overstep myself....

 

[chris poteet]

Thanks Andrea! I got out in between rain showers to try the adjustments and they work, only thing is I'm not use to that slow of a sweep speed going to take some adjusting to.now the V3 consistently picks up a penny at ( 8 inches ) I'm am greatly thank full for your expertise,if not for some one with your desire to help with the V I would have just settled with the way it was, or maybe in time i (might) have figured it out with more experience and time logged on my V3,I probably would never though because of my sweep speed , thanks again for your Patience!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! maybe that could have helped snake charmer also . I'm glad i didn't send mine back to home sweet O. I have now learned no matter how well you (think) you know a detector there is always someone who can help you. thank goodness for this forum! PS i can now return to my hunting sites with (great) confidence on finding deeper coins.