spectra v3i vs minelab

[Larry (IL)]

You might not have done anything wrong Albert, it is quite possible that the E-trac works best in your ground and I don't think there is a single person who would blame you for liking the E-Trac over the V in your ground and hunting style. As much as you don't like to hear the phrase, it is the bottom line in detecting.......Use what works best for you, there is no one best detector out there. Those of us who use multiple lines of detectors do just that. My three main detectors are the V3i, Minelab SE and a modified Tesoro Cibola and I use the one that works best for me in different situations. Rob is also a multi line user as many of us are. I am sorry if Rob comes across a little gruff but that is his personality and writing style..... there is little doubt that there are not many V3i users who knows more about the V than Rob and I feel fortunate to have him moderate this forum.

 

[jtalley007]

For years I used an explorer xs, have used the Explorer 2 some, the SE a little and besides startup speed saw little to no difference. I loved the Minelabs for salt beaches but compared to the V3 that is the only are I preferred it.
The V3 is much more sensitive to smaller items and lower conductors.

Since I used the high pro mode which includes an all metal very high power mode it had about 1 1/2 to 2" depth advantage in my opinion. I mainly have hunted civil war relics so that is what my target comparisons were.

I still keep an xs model on hand but never have liked the build quality of the Minelabs even though the technology is good.

I still prefer the American Made, metal cased, well balanced machine for me personally.

When you factor White's customer service into the mix then the scales tip way in favor of White's

I can't wait to try the V3i on salt beaches and some other relic and coin hunting.

I hope my back holds out this year to get in some detecting, I really miss it.

Hope this helps and is not out of line for what we are allowed to say on here. No bashing just sharing opinions

 

[burlbark]

I've been running an E-Trac for a couple of weeks now and having fun with it - I like learning new machines. I still have my V3i though. I'm wondering why my V3i wasn't getting the depth I'm getting with the E-Trac though (8"-9"). I know the V3i is deep, I have tested it as such but I worked this area with the V3i 2X first and didn't pull anything deeper than 4" or 5". I haven't crossed checked signals yet as it's been muddy out there, cold and I'm on a bike! But I did work the same areas.

Here is what I'm thinking, the ground probe says the ground is mild (only 1%) but the iron mineralization level is at -93 to -94. I'm thinking that is where I might be having the problem. I was running the 5 filters as they clearly had the best target response. But, is it possible that at depth a higher filter might cut through the iron mineralization better? I want to take the V3i out there again as I have pulled around 15 coins at 6" to 8", so they are there. I have spoken to another guy on a forum and his ground is like mine but his % is much higher and he is stuck at that 4" to 5" range as well. So I'm thinking it's filters, but it might even be sensitivity, though the V3i was running very quiet and I had much less falsing with it there than with the E-Trac, though both I could tell were falses for the most part.

I'll say this, I very much miss the bright screen and nice backlight. Not good on the E-Trac. The buttons are not nice either, but functional. No menu shortcuts either. I guess like Neil said, we are all looking for that machine and there are pluses and minuses with each.

Thanks,
Albert

My first silver coin with my v3i was at a solid 8+" A matter of fact I had my whole digger in the whole and I still scratched the quarter at the bottom, and my digger is 11". I walked away from it twice because I could not believe I could find a quarter that deep and there was iron all around.

Fast forward a year and I havnt no found any deep coins in that same school yard except a merc at 7" and then I watch a guy walk up with a Explorer and pull a Rosie out at 6" in front of me. you have to dig the iffy signals some times. You want to dig the false signals and get deep trash? No, neither do I. But I know I am missing deep coins and the target ID of the v3i makes it superb in comparison to the competition. Oh did anyone mention small gold?

 

[earthmansurfer]

Rob - I was thinking I might have had the filters wrong on the V3i as I know it's deep. I would like to see others who have similar soil (low mineralized, -92 to -94 VDI under ground probe) post to see if maybe the iron mineralization is the cuprit. My point was, that outside of your unfriendliness in your posts, you skip over my questions. I really wanted to learn from you but it seems like you don't go into dialogues with my ideas. Ok, I guess we are just different and I won't take it personal and move on. But thanks for your help and posts in general - as you said, the posts book had a lot of you in it and I always appreciated that.

Larry - Thanks for your words. But like I said above, I really wanted to figure out what the problem may be. Even though I feel really comfy tweaking the V3i, I am new with it and maybe one of your guys could recommend what the problem may be. I know Rob is knowledgable and that is why I tried getting some more technical answers from him in the past. I don't mind gruff - if you mean a bit direct and to the point, mixed in with a little rawness. I don't mean to talk bad and others can correct me if I'm wrong, but why does he seem unfriendly to me and others? Ah, nevermind, I'll move on but I would like this last V3i in my soil question poked at a bit. I'm still willing to try with it. As I said, I like so much about it and invested a lot of money into it - perhaps there is still a way. And my conditions are pretty typical for Europe, so if we can fix it with me...

burlbark - I am not arguing the depth of the V3i. But after months with it and not finding deep(er) coins I was wondering about my settings - Not the machine's ability to see deep. My question of iron mineralization, which I'm sure I brought up before, has never gone answered by someone with either knowledge of that as it relates to the V3i and/or by someone with similar soil. Wanting to find deeper coins, trust me, I dug iffy signals and I dug worse! LOL - I really tried.

Thanks guys,
Albert

 

[Larry (IL)]

Albert, we are at a big disadvantage in trying to help you because we are on the other side of the world and most of us here in the U.S. have no idea what your ground and hunting conditions are really like other than what is told to us. I wish we could be of more help to you.

 

[Dingo Darnell]

Albert, please continue all of your metal detecting quests. I enjoy your posts and videos... (especially when there's a dog in them )

Considering the reasonably short amount of time you've owned the V3i, the amount of research and study you've accomplished is nothing short of amazing. Thank you for sharing everything with us.

If you want to study the E-Trac or any other detector, that's ok with me. I believe you're a good guy and I appreciate any comments you have... good or bad.

 

[johno]

hey ems good to see your post,, but i have to throw my 2 cents in on a light note.. remember the ole saying , if you got feelings leave outside cause if you bring em into the forums theyll get hurt wether this forum or the others..... lol there,s no mercy , things get pretty hard core when people think someone is comparing ,, thats why alot of forums dont let people.. the words in the forums are powerful media and tector companies know this. thats also why its hard to find a good forum like this one. keep up the good work and continual info on what you think could be the best of the best.. merry xmas and happy newyear to all..

 

[wishiwasngallup]

I love the Whites line. My v3i is the best around and will stay with it. the minelab kinda is like take a guess at what this beep is and mind blowing after a while.

 

[Larry (IL)]

This thread has run it's course and has been closed.