V3i for Prospecting?

[dbar]

Hi all, I have just put a new V3i on layaway with Kellyco and when I called Whites to ask a question on the best coil for prospecting the guy stated that the V3i was not a good prospecting detector and steered me toward the MXT pro, I was looking for the best multi use detector I could find that would do good as a prospecting detector as well, but I will most likely be using it in parks and beaches. I have owned a ML Sovereign GT and currently am using an older Whites 4900 D Pro Plus.

any comments would be greatly appreciated, I may need to change my order

Dean

 

[Larry (IL)]

I bet White's would like to know the name of who you talked to......... From what I have heard, the V3i is a very good prospector for a general use detector.

 

[Paul (IL)]

I bet Larry is right about Whites would like to know who said that

 

[dbar]

When I called Whites they transferred me to what I think was an exclusive third party distributor for my area who recommended a local store that would match Kellyco's prices and that is why I am looking for some assistance here on this forum, I was not 100% convinced and have bought from Kellyco in the past with no problems. I did some additional searches and found that the MXT is great for prospecting perhaps better than the V3i but I was looking for some input or comparisons. The V3i looks way better for coin and relic hunting as well as beach hunting and at least fair at prospecting.

Does anyone here have experience with both? If so what are the trade offs

 

[Rob (IL)]

I've had both. There is a big price difference. The MXT is a super detector. I had both at the same time and Sold the MXT. The single frequency MXT can't compete at the beach. The V3i is better for coin and jewelry. I've never prospected.

So the guy who gave you the information was not at Whites but a local dealer. Not all dealers are equal.

 

[Carl-NC]

Dean,

On my 3-grain nugget, using the same 6x10DD, both the MXT and the V3i (on 22.5kHz) will give a positive signal at about 2.5". I recall the V3i doing a little better than the MXT on larger nuggets. MXT might have a slight edge with AutoTrac, V3i has a definite edge with salt cancel. V3i has more adjustability for more situations, MXT is easier to use. All said, you won't go wrong with either, so it's down to whether you want cheaper simplicity or pricier complexity.

On dealers, I always recommend starting with a local dealer. They will often closely match K's price, and can help you with support after the sale. If you buy from K, don't expect the local dealer to offer free support on a sale they didn't make.

- Carl

 

[calibil]

I have used the MXT and v-3 for prospecting, the MXT is much easier to set up and handles the hot ground very good, the v-3 can be set up for hot ground to, but it will take some time to tweak the settings to work well.
The MXT has the V-sat like the GMT detector so it will adjust faster than the V-3 in hot ground for a more stable threshold, but that being so, you will no doubt find more coins and jewelry than nuggets, the v-3 is ways more versatile

 

[Scortch]

Blah, works great for prospecting what a load of hoowie that guy is giving you.

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?66,1295563,1295563#msg-1295563

I posted this last year. I have had good success with the V3i in prospecting mode and know several people who have found nuggets from 1/8 inch on up.

Hmm I don't think this link worked.

 

[Larry (IL)]

The link worked fine and yes, I have heard of great results in prospecting mode with the V3i.

 

[kyledfx]

my friend has a very small amount of gold flakes in one of those little water jars, and the v with the d2 in prospect picked it up with low positive numbers at least twice as far away as an older dedicated gold machine. plus you cant beat the v for trash to treasure in parks. get the v and hunt with confidence.

 

[Tom Slick]

I have a V3, MXT Pro, M6 & GMT. Depending on how much prospecting you want to do, you might want to consider a couple of detectors. If you do more prospecting than coin hunting I'd go with the MXT. If you like to do both then consider an M6 & GMT. That way you can have a machine dedicated to each type of hunting. You can pick up both used for less than $1,000 for the pair which is still a lot less than the V3 and the learning curve will be a lot less also. If you want the best Coin and Jewelry detector and may occasionally go nugget hunting, then the V3 would be the best all around machine.

 

[jalon]

I have just returned from central Colorado, near Alma. This is my third season in Colorado with the V3/V3i. In our group we have had MXT's, GMT's, V3's, V3i's and a couple of Gold Bugs. The guys with the green machines were invited, but they didn't show up.

The V3/V3i's have not taken a back seat to any of the detectors listed! The ground is severe. The v3i will ground as good as any detector out there. In this environment, 3 or 4 pumps will not cut it! There have been many posts about how to ground balance a Spectra and some have said 15 or 20 pumps. That is absolutely correct and sometimes, more pumping may be required, but the V's will handle the bad ground---period! The procedure only takes a few seconds and your ready to hunt.
I do recommend a smaller coil and slower sweep. Have used the 10" DD and the 4x6 shooter and both work well, but the shooter is my choice up there. There is a lot of mineral noise, popping and whanging. The smaller coil makes it a bit easier to interpret what you hear.
As I said earlier, no detector beat the Spectra's. I cannot say that the V's shamed the other detectors, because we all did pretty well. We were not actually comparing signal to signal, but I did follow one fellow up a hill and found some targets that he missed. He was using a GMT and I think experience was the difference there.
Personally, I think if $$$ are a concern, then the MXT is a good choice, but if you can afford one the V3i is the way to go.
One hell of a metal detector.

 

[wandering Mike]

Dean, if you're using that 4900/D for prospecting and for general purpose detecting you're using one of the best machines made to do it with, but one question first, does yours have the concentric coil or the coplanar coil? See, the coplanar coils of that vintage always had two focal points, wheras the (so called) 6B concentric coils (black label) are null compensated far better, and therefore have only the one focal point.
None of this is important unless you're hunting for small nuggets. Just try to locate a 3 pwt. picker when your coil has two (or more) focal points, it's an excercise in futility.
But the 4900 is a great machine for prospecting. It's not as good as the specialized gold machines but it's the best gen. purpose machine I've used for finding the nuggets. I've used many other machines but I always take my 49'er with me, I take care of it and it's always at my side. I don't need a meter, nor a volume control, and would choose a 4900 over a 5900 or a 6000 any day of the week, it's like a stripped down, hot rodded version of the 6000, it just has what's necessary and nothing more, it does one thing and it does it really well. hope this helps some. 73 Mike

.

 

[wvrick]

I think this speaks for itself.


[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2dsD35dO6M[/video]

 

[dbar]

I really like this 4900/D Pro Plus. I bought it on Craig's list for $20.00 about a year ago and cleaned up the battery contacts and it worked great. I have used it at the beach and have found a lot of clad but at the park I go to there is allot of trash and I have averaged 1 penny or dime per 50 pull-tabs. The guy I bought it from stated that his dad bought it for prospecting in Alaska before he passed away and that he did well with it.

Anyway I am leaning toward a new V3i and a used MXT so my kids can go with me, a couple of my boys have shown some interest. I value this forum and all of your help and comments and I am sure I will be back for help when the V3i shows up. As well as to post pics of my finds


Thanks

 

[Rob (IL)]

I had a 6000 DI series 3 and as I said it still works. It just couldn't perform to my needs looking for the deep old targets.See you when you come back. ROB

 

[Michaeldoc]

I have to agree with those who have prospected with the V3i. While I have bench tested the V3i with my collection of placer gold and nuggets + crystalline gold in quartz, the V3i performs fairly well as gold-only detectors, but I can't vouch for the ground cancelling capabilities since bench testing is an artificial environment and nothing like highly mineralized ground where most gold is found. If all a person wants to do is prospect, then I would opt for the MXT-Pro, GMT and TDI Pro not necessarily in that order. The V3i is an all around very versatile detector, but like any multi-use machines (despite the 3 simultaneously operating frequencies) there are some sacrifices to be had similar to a person being a jack of all trades, but a master at none.

The above being said, there are great deals on eBay for any of the machines I mentioned. I love my V3i, but if prospecting was my main interest then I would settle on a true tested gold machine with the V3i as a backup. However, the bottom line in performance is ALWAYS the skill of the detectorist. If you are new to the hobby whether coin shooting, relic hunting or prospecting the one true way to increase your skill is PRACTICE, PRACTICE and more PRACTICE. It also helps to record your finds in a notebook by noting the detector's settings, ground conditions, etc. at the time when the target was detected. You can go back to this information in the future to review the specifics of each target.

 

[ak_1234]

I know this is an old post - but in case anybody is interested, there's a story on our website about somebody using the V for prospecting

http://whiteselectronics.com/component/story/title/gainesgold.html

 

[dbar]

Awesome story!

I took a small 3 grain nugget and did an air test between a MXT and V3i both detectors had the 6x10. The MXT picked up the nugget with faint chirps but the V3i screamed when the gold passed by.

 

[nw1886]

When the V3i (Vision) first came out, I responded to a guy who asked whether the V can do gold well. I responded back that it would probably be best to go with a gold machine as what can a "general use box" be expected to do in comparison? I was admonished instantly by folks who had truly great results immediately with the factory program.(Hey, a big swallow took that "crow" down just fine.) Was functioning on old prejudices I guess, and definitely deserved the correction. Scott