I just got in my brand new V3i with wireless headphones today.
I am not 'brand loyal' to any company. I am 'performance loyal'.
I have never had a White's machine and kinda skipped over them for the other detectors at different performance/$$$ levels over and over. It seemed to be the 'yeah they are American made and been around a while, but that box under the arm and how good can they really be?'
I hunted last year with people who had an MXT Pro, Coinmaster, and SLT and they loved them.
I hunted almost every day last year, sometimes all day, and primarily with my Etrac the whole time (some spattering also with my AT Pro, T2, F2, Xterra 705, and a few others) but I hammered my Etrac into the ground. I can run through every menu... drunk... in the dark...without looking... to 100% accuracy and got to know all 30 audio tones in my head... even when I sleep. I wanted a new machine for 2013. My friends are like 'why would you switch now?'.
Why would I switch? Because it's all about fun... the challenge... and having a good time.
I decided to roll the dice and get a White's machine... and the V3i...
I got it in today...
It was packed well like many other detectors I have gotten
As I put it together, I noticed a lot of similarities... good ones... to other detectors I have had
Such as?
The poles reminded me a lot of the Xterra series poles. Light and tough. The cam locks were sweet. Much better than the AT Pro's cam locks in that they don't just tighten down, but actually tighten down to a 'lock'.
Just like my Etrac, it has both a rechargable pack and one for batteries. A sweet surprise was that White's filled it with batteries for me!
The grip is a lot like the Etrac's grip. Oval shaped with thin tight foam.
The screen on the V3i is absolutely amazing! Color and HD and crystal clear! They advertise 'adjustable brightness', but you can also adjust the font size and night mode type that kinda looks like my Garmin GPS when it switches to darkness and the screen colors/backround switch black/white.
I air tested for a few hours, and the pinpointing was 1" high of center coil and depth was spot on. I know this is nothing compared to 'real-ground' but it gave me some familiarity.
Response time is actually pretty close to my Etrac. I am not sure nothing will be as lightning fast as my T2 (AKA: F75 clone) but it's not a race, and I'll take the accuracy and data analysis over a drag race across a park. Less time digging garbage is more time digging treasure.
The options to customize... PLUS... show data are very very very impressive! I am a tweeker and customizer (I created the original Etrac Target Card and buffed Andy Sabich's park program) and love modifying. Just airtesting with the graphs I was easily able to see how I will be using them comparing juice to junk.
It was nice to see a $1700 detector set up for both the novice and the vet. Turn on and go programs -or- the customizable options of the whole detector. The owner's guide even has a beginner's section as well as an expert's section to cater to all detectorists.
The wireless headphones are very nice. round earpieces and over stuffed. Kinda like Garrett's headphones on steroids. The earphone plus the phone on the headpiece. Syncs perfectly for one word... 'wireless'...
I might have started out with White's top machine they have out right now, but today, I am glad I finally bought a White's machine....
I am not 'brand loyal' to any company. I am 'performance loyal'.
I have never had a White's machine and kinda skipped over them for the other detectors at different performance/$$$ levels over and over. It seemed to be the 'yeah they are American made and been around a while, but that box under the arm and how good can they really be?'
I hunted last year with people who had an MXT Pro, Coinmaster, and SLT and they loved them.
I hunted almost every day last year, sometimes all day, and primarily with my Etrac the whole time (some spattering also with my AT Pro, T2, F2, Xterra 705, and a few others) but I hammered my Etrac into the ground. I can run through every menu... drunk... in the dark...without looking... to 100% accuracy and got to know all 30 audio tones in my head... even when I sleep. I wanted a new machine for 2013. My friends are like 'why would you switch now?'.
Why would I switch? Because it's all about fun... the challenge... and having a good time.
I decided to roll the dice and get a White's machine... and the V3i...
I got it in today...
It was packed well like many other detectors I have gotten
As I put it together, I noticed a lot of similarities... good ones... to other detectors I have had
Such as?
The poles reminded me a lot of the Xterra series poles. Light and tough. The cam locks were sweet. Much better than the AT Pro's cam locks in that they don't just tighten down, but actually tighten down to a 'lock'.
Just like my Etrac, it has both a rechargable pack and one for batteries. A sweet surprise was that White's filled it with batteries for me!
The grip is a lot like the Etrac's grip. Oval shaped with thin tight foam.
The screen on the V3i is absolutely amazing! Color and HD and crystal clear! They advertise 'adjustable brightness', but you can also adjust the font size and night mode type that kinda looks like my Garmin GPS when it switches to darkness and the screen colors/backround switch black/white.
I air tested for a few hours, and the pinpointing was 1" high of center coil and depth was spot on. I know this is nothing compared to 'real-ground' but it gave me some familiarity.
Response time is actually pretty close to my Etrac. I am not sure nothing will be as lightning fast as my T2 (AKA: F75 clone) but it's not a race, and I'll take the accuracy and data analysis over a drag race across a park. Less time digging garbage is more time digging treasure.
The options to customize... PLUS... show data are very very very impressive! I am a tweeker and customizer (I created the original Etrac Target Card and buffed Andy Sabich's park program) and love modifying. Just airtesting with the graphs I was easily able to see how I will be using them comparing juice to junk.
It was nice to see a $1700 detector set up for both the novice and the vet. Turn on and go programs -or- the customizable options of the whole detector. The owner's guide even has a beginner's section as well as an expert's section to cater to all detectorists.
The wireless headphones are very nice. round earpieces and over stuffed. Kinda like Garrett's headphones on steroids. The earphone plus the phone on the headpiece. Syncs perfectly for one word... 'wireless'...
I might have started out with White's top machine they have out right now, but today, I am glad I finally bought a White's machine....