You are viewing this forums as a guest which limits you to read only status.
Only registered members may post stories, questions, classifieds, reply to other posts, contact other members using built in messaging and use many other features found on these forums.
Why not register and join us today? It's free! (We don't share your email addresses with anyone.) We keep email addresses of our users to protect them and others from bad people posting things they shouldn't.
Some people have reported the V3I becomes very noisy after digging or checking the hole or plug. This may be an issue with the V3i AutoTrack in extreme mineralized ground. With AutoTrac set to ON, if you stop over a spot (lay detector down) that has a different ground matrix (maybe over a target), the V3i will continue to track to the new ground (ground + target) where it
Hi Rob, I find the same thing with the MXT, if i have set to +2 or 3 . When i get done digging, i just pull the trigger and off again hunting. I think i may want a V3 soon, I think it works closer to the MXT than the V3I. I don,t like to adjust all that settings. Flintstone
I have a DX-1 pinpointer so it factors into the tracking I am sure. When I stop to dig I normally have to ground balance EVERY TIME to get the detector to "settle down." Maybe it is just very excited about what it just found I don't know!! LOL I know the operator is!
I am using the 'lock track' for this once the detector is balanced, and it seems that is great feature to have that option on the detector. You just do not need to reground balance again at least in the same site.
I have mild soil. What works for me is to gb...locktrac and hunt and occasionally switch to autotrac for a couple minutes to touchup gb then back to locktrac.
It's funny. Several long time experts are now all over the F-75 for lacking an autotrack option. The Chief Designer - Dave Johnson who developrd the Lobo Super Trac, the GMt amd MXTautotrack algorithms, decided for whatever reason that his detectors at First Texas shouldn't have that feature - go figure.
My 02 is this. I hunt trashy old Houses and when I find a target I lay my detector on the ground. Very often right on top of trash. While I am digging the Detector is adjusting to the trash. Without the GB locked, for the first few minutes, my Detector is severly out of tune.
You can G/B in either mode, lock or auto. If you press the menu button before laying down the tracking stops you it will not change the G/B from trash or air.
I have always hunted in Autotrac. Then I put the DX-1 back on my V3i two weeks ago and had to go to Lockrac after ground balancing to settle things down in the trashy areas I hunt. Yesterday, using the SEF 10x12, it easily hit on a quarter at 11" & a dime at least 8" deep in a trashy area of a park I have gone over many times in the past several years.
Every time I think I have a "handle" on what this amazing machine can do I learn something new from this forum to help coax more goodies out of the ground.
I've had my V3i for just over 3 years and the longer I stay with it the more I enjoy it. I had a good understanding of the XLT / DFX and what each fuction did and any cross effect to other settings. I think this made my transition much easier. What I did way back after reading the threads on tracking and after much field use was to ditch the DX-1 (added weight too), run lock trac and re check my GB often. Very important! The biggest help (learning aid) is having some kind of test plot or a few known targets at known depths in my yard. I also set some in close proxomity of iron to better learn how to cope with sniffing out non ferrous next to ferrous. When you can stand over a target and adjust settings to see the effect on the responses the picture becomes much clearer.
Autotrac is a good feature for sure but so many places I hunt are laden with iron or inconsistent ground.
Great detector, bit of a learning curve of course. Out of 140 members in my club I know only one other member for certain who usues the V3i. I can count a few who tried it and sold it.
HH - Bruce
The reason is people are intimidated by all the options. They can't understand that many options and menu choices do not affect performance. I think I wrote a post in the links. If they just concentrated on the performance features. Look at all the people buying the VX3 because it offers less choices. It's the same detector but the user interface just doesn't let you use all the features.There may be detectors that are better at a specific task but the V3i has to be the best do it all detector.
I've got 2 other brand speciality detectors, one which is no longer made. They are great at one task but suck for everything else.
I think you're right Rob. The fellow I bought my V3i from did mention that it was too much for his 64 year old brain to comprehend. At the time I thought that attitude was silly. Just turn it on, select a program and start detecting....can't get much simpler. I like simple but I like the versatility of the V3i even better!