HI. I am going to get back into the hobby. I used a XLT and IDX PRO for many years.No longer have them.Pretty sure I am going to get a V3i or just maybe go back to a XLT not quite sure yet? I would like to know your opinion on the V3i .Have you upgraded from a XLT to the V3i? I would also like to know your opinion on your upgrade,are you happy with it. I am just looking for information to make up my mind, it will be close to spring before I buy . Thank you.
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V3i or XLT
- Thread starter Mark7
- Start date
Ytcoinshooter
Well-known member
I made that transition and also had the DFX for several years before going to the V3i three years ago. The V3i IMHO is nothing like the top of the line Whites detectors that preceded it. If you want familiarity go back to what you were used to. There are so many differences functionally that my suggestion is to download the V3i manual to browse through the feature sets that set it apart from anything else. Read through the sticky threads here to see how different it really is. It is surely a different animal and I found to be successful with it I have to hunt at a slower pace. With the XLT or even the DFX I could process more ground faster but with the V3i I feel it's how well I process the ground - not how fast. It's is deeper, provides more information to decide on wether to dig or not and has a processor that is much faster than the older whites computerized detectors. I'll stop there and you can investigate for yourself.
You know how everyone always wants the best detector there is. If you buy XYZ there is always that question "Should I have held out for XYZ2." The V3i is completely set up by you so there are no upgrades. I admit it is a little intimidating even for someone like me that has been hunting for years and years, but there is no upgrade. If you have the money and the time to learn the controls you will be glad you bought it, because there is no [size=large]"upgrade."[/size]
Mark7 said:
I used the word upgrade because there is none available anywhere by any brand that is more adjustable. You might be able to get brand A that works from the factory better in your soil but if it don't, you will not be able to tune adjust, and set up like the V3i regardless of the brand you buy, even if it is another Whites Detector. Once you buy the V3i upgrades regardless of brand are not available and if you don't like the way it hunts you can just change it by changing the settings. You will not be tempted to spend more money. I bought mine new and it was not much over $1200.00.
I was just starting my 30th year of metal detecting when I acquired my first of 23 XLT's. That was 20 years ago last March and I sure benefitted from the models I have had since then, and after the XLT acquisition. How did I benefit? Simple ... I used them a lot, and I learned their good and bad points and used them some more to master them.
In the early days in the hobby, from March of '65 to about May of '71, I could only afford to own one metal detector, be it home-built of factory produced. Then in '71, when driving home from my honeymoon and still looking for a job, I stopped at a small shop in Clearfield Utah and bought a brand new White's TR. A '63' that I thought would 'complement' the older Ghost Towner BFO I'd used since the summer of '68. Side-by-side I appreciated learning and using the different detectors.
It was at that time when I decided it wouldn't hurt to own two or more detectors, one to complement the other for different hunting needs, and it would give me a good excuse to tinker with different technology advancements and sort through what was available and try to single out two or three that would make a good 'fit' in my personal detector arsenal. So, for over forty-three years that's what I have done ... own and use a few detectors, and try out many/most others to see if they are a step up on what I like, or not.
Why have I owned 23 XLT's you might ask? Because they work, can work well for some applications, and also because there's no such thing as a 'perfect' metal detector, so they would get sold or traded so I could work with something new and different. Many of the "new and different" were new, but also quite different in performance and less impressive, so I would acquire another XLT to have in my detector arsenal.
As you will note at the bottom of my posts, I own several detectors that usually stay in my vehicle 24/7 ... unless it is too bitter cold like the past several days when I bring them in 'cause I'm sure not going to be freezing my derriere over frozen solid ground. Note that my list shows 5 models, but the Compass TR is only taken along on some 'specialty' trips. The first 4 models are always in my vehicle and ready-to-go. An XLT is NOT on the list, currently, but I am looking for a pristine condition e-series to add back into my detector battery for certain site use, such as more open areas with a sparse target count, like open grassy older parks. It will take the place of my Classic ID.
For most urban Coin Hunting from '94 through 2001, I grabbed the XLT, but that was only a small percentage of the time I spent detecting. Most often I am hunting building tear-down sites, vacant lots in older neighborhoods where old buildings used to be, hunting renovation work, or preferably getting out-of-town to search my preferred sites. Those would be homesteads, pioneer and military encampments, ghost towns, old recreation sites, and other places that are frequently brushy, have building rubble, and quite often are trashy with a more dense scattering of nails and other small iron debris.
For those places, while I have at times used my XLT's, the slow-sweep/quick-response detectors are usually superior, and that represents the four main-carry detectors in my arsenal. I have spent most of my time working behind a Tesoro since '83, and White's Classic's since '94, and the MXT since it was first introduced. Most of my XLT's have gone and returned during the period since the MXT first hit the market because I quickly found it to be very versatile. With the introduction of the MXT Pro, now renamed the MXT All-Pro, it became my #1 all-purpose detector that I can use anywhere ... successfully.
The first order of business I think anyone should do in making any detector selection, be it their first or moving to a new and different detector, is to think out the types of sites they plan to hunt. Determine which coil/coils will handle the conditions the best, what the trash content might be and how dense the amount often is. Be certain of the types of targets you want to search for, then select a model [size=small](or two or three)[/size] that will best fit the different hunting environments you'll face, as well as be fun to use.
What types of hunting do you plan to do? Coin Hunting, Relic Hunting, Beach Hunting, ..??
What types of site conditions will you likely encounter? Well mannered grassy parks and yards or rugged, rough uneven plowed fields, dirt, wooded and brushy areas, etc.?
City parks and schools, old town sites or abandoned structures, modern types of trash or older litter? Open areas or brushy and confined spaces? It all can make a difference in how able you are to sweep the search coil for peak results, as well as deal with ground mineral challenges, density of trash, and so on.
How much trash, and what type of trash, do you plan to deal with? Will the Discrimination capability be able to handle it and still provide ample recovery time for close-target responses?
I had an XLT at the time and liked the XLT's performance even better. The Upper-end Spectra model went, but ..... I stuck a VX3 in my personal arsenal for a while and was more favorably impressed with it than the V3i. Why? Several reasons. Ample adjustments that were much easier to access. In short, it was a 'simple' V3i that worked very well ..... for more open-area Coin Hunting, and gave me decent depth. But depth isn't always a factor, and the 'Spectra' series have a weird hesitation required before a re-sweep of a target. There are some other little performance quirks that, to me, were/are annoying.
I still like the VX3 more than the V3i, but neither of them are a good 'fit' for me because of the types of sites I hunt and conditions I generally encounter. I kept going back to my MXT Pro then MXT All-Pro to cover the ground I had hunted [size=small](and I did the reverse as well)[/size], and the 'Spectra' series never matched the field performance .... and simplicity .... of the MXT All-Pro. It stays my #1 all-purpose detector, but for some casual and fun detecting, I am looking for another XLT e-series. I prefer it to the VX3 and V3i.
Ask to step outside and sweep the detectors over some targets. If you're in a local detecting club, perhaps someone there will have a Spectra unit and help show you what it can, and can't, do for your hunting style. There are a lot of people who like the new Spectra series and they work for them so, maybe, they would make a good 'fit' for you, but only you can determine if they will or won't. You are taking the time to buy so use it wisely and get some hands-on assistance.
Once you make a decision, V3i, VX3 or another XLT, come meet up with me and we'll go do some detecting. I might have another XLT by then, but I can show you, side-by-side, just how well a simple operation MXT All-Pro can perform.
Yes, I am biased, but the performance of the MXT Pro/MXT All-Pro and the success I achieve tend to prove my conclusion to be a good one.
Been There - Done That, so my selection is/was an easy one. I hope by year's end my carry battery will be the MXT All-Pro, MX5, XLT and Bandido II µMAX. It's tough to find a clean and spiffy condition XLT e-series, but I will.
Monte
In the early days in the hobby, from March of '65 to about May of '71, I could only afford to own one metal detector, be it home-built of factory produced. Then in '71, when driving home from my honeymoon and still looking for a job, I stopped at a small shop in Clearfield Utah and bought a brand new White's TR. A '63' that I thought would 'complement' the older Ghost Towner BFO I'd used since the summer of '68. Side-by-side I appreciated learning and using the different detectors.
It was at that time when I decided it wouldn't hurt to own two or more detectors, one to complement the other for different hunting needs, and it would give me a good excuse to tinker with different technology advancements and sort through what was available and try to single out two or three that would make a good 'fit' in my personal detector arsenal. So, for over forty-three years that's what I have done ... own and use a few detectors, and try out many/most others to see if they are a step up on what I like, or not.
Why have I owned 23 XLT's you might ask? Because they work, can work well for some applications, and also because there's no such thing as a 'perfect' metal detector, so they would get sold or traded so I could work with something new and different. Many of the "new and different" were new, but also quite different in performance and less impressive, so I would acquire another XLT to have in my detector arsenal.
As you will note at the bottom of my posts, I own several detectors that usually stay in my vehicle 24/7 ... unless it is too bitter cold like the past several days when I bring them in 'cause I'm sure not going to be freezing my derriere over frozen solid ground. Note that my list shows 5 models, but the Compass TR is only taken along on some 'specialty' trips. The first 4 models are always in my vehicle and ready-to-go. An XLT is NOT on the list, currently, but I am looking for a pristine condition e-series to add back into my detector battery for certain site use, such as more open areas with a sparse target count, like open grassy older parks. It will take the place of my Classic ID.
For most urban Coin Hunting from '94 through 2001, I grabbed the XLT, but that was only a small percentage of the time I spent detecting. Most often I am hunting building tear-down sites, vacant lots in older neighborhoods where old buildings used to be, hunting renovation work, or preferably getting out-of-town to search my preferred sites. Those would be homesteads, pioneer and military encampments, ghost towns, old recreation sites, and other places that are frequently brushy, have building rubble, and quite often are trashy with a more dense scattering of nails and other small iron debris.
For those places, while I have at times used my XLT's, the slow-sweep/quick-response detectors are usually superior, and that represents the four main-carry detectors in my arsenal. I have spent most of my time working behind a Tesoro since '83, and White's Classic's since '94, and the MXT since it was first introduced. Most of my XLT's have gone and returned during the period since the MXT first hit the market because I quickly found it to be very versatile. With the introduction of the MXT Pro, now renamed the MXT All-Pro, it became my #1 all-purpose detector that I can use anywhere ... successfully.
The first order of business I think anyone should do in making any detector selection, be it their first or moving to a new and different detector, is to think out the types of sites they plan to hunt. Determine which coil/coils will handle the conditions the best, what the trash content might be and how dense the amount often is. Be certain of the types of targets you want to search for, then select a model [size=small](or two or three)[/size] that will best fit the different hunting environments you'll face, as well as be fun to use.
How long have you been out of the hobby?Mark7 said:
What types of hunting do you plan to do? Coin Hunting, Relic Hunting, Beach Hunting, ..??
What types of site conditions will you likely encounter? Well mannered grassy parks and yards or rugged, rough uneven plowed fields, dirt, wooded and brushy areas, etc.?
City parks and schools, old town sites or abandoned structures, modern types of trash or older litter? Open areas or brushy and confined spaces? It all can make a difference in how able you are to sweep the search coil for peak results, as well as deal with ground mineral challenges, density of trash, and so on.
How much trash, and what type of trash, do you plan to deal with? Will the Discrimination capability be able to handle it and still provide ample recovery time for close-target responses?
Why? What prompted you to consider the V3i?Mark7 said:
Why? Why did you like it, and why would you consider something different if the XLT worked well for you in the past?Mark7 said:
Which is why you asked the questions, but the good news is that you've allowed yourself some shopping time to learn more and make a better choice in the end.Mark7 said:
MY personal opinion is that it is an 'OK' detector, but it isn't well suited for ME and the types of hunting I prefer to do. I had an early Vision, a Vision upgrade, a Spectra V3 and then the final V3i. I didn't like them because I like to have ample performance without a lot of fluff and tinkering. I have found the V3i to be too complex and time consuming to have to touch and scroll over and over to try and make the adjustments I wanted.Mark7 said:
I had an XLT at the time and liked the XLT's performance even better. The Upper-end Spectra model went, but ..... I stuck a VX3 in my personal arsenal for a while and was more favorably impressed with it than the V3i. Why? Several reasons. Ample adjustments that were much easier to access. In short, it was a 'simple' V3i that worked very well ..... for more open-area Coin Hunting, and gave me decent depth. But depth isn't always a factor, and the 'Spectra' series have a weird hesitation required before a re-sweep of a target. There are some other little performance quirks that, to me, were/are annoying.
I still like the VX3 more than the V3i, but neither of them are a good 'fit' for me because of the types of sites I hunt and conditions I generally encounter. I kept going back to my MXT Pro then MXT All-Pro to cover the ground I had hunted [size=small](and I did the reverse as well)[/size], and the 'Spectra' series never matched the field performance .... and simplicity .... of the MXT All-Pro. It stays my #1 all-purpose detector, but for some casual and fun detecting, I am looking for another XLT e-series. I prefer it to the VX3 and V3i.
I 'upgraded' to a higher-dollar detector that didn't please me as much as the XLT.Mark7 said:
No, I wasn't.Mark7 said:
And that's the good news. Now all you need to do is gather an assortment of test specimens and go visit a local White's Dealer. Check out the VX3 and V3i for yourself. You have some experience with the XLT so take the opportunity of a few months to go give one a hands-on evaluation.Mark7 said:
Ask to step outside and sweep the detectors over some targets. If you're in a local detecting club, perhaps someone there will have a Spectra unit and help show you what it can, and can't, do for your hunting style. There are a lot of people who like the new Spectra series and they work for them so, maybe, they would make a good 'fit' for you, but only you can determine if they will or won't. You are taking the time to buy so use it wisely and get some hands-on assistance.
Once you make a decision, V3i, VX3 or another XLT, come meet up with me and we'll go do some detecting. I might have another XLT by then, but I can show you, side-by-side, just how well a simple operation MXT All-Pro can perform.
Yes, I am biased, but the performance of the MXT Pro/MXT All-Pro and the success I achieve tend to prove my conclusion to be a good one.Been There - Done That, so my selection is/was an easy one. I hope by year's end my carry battery will be the MXT All-Pro, MX5, XLT and Bandido II µMAX. It's tough to find a clean and spiffy condition XLT e-series, but I will.
Monte
Wayfarer
Member
Mark, Monte nailed it as usual, but I will add my 2 cents. I hunted with an XLT for many years and "upgraded" to a V3i. I struggled with the V3i for about a year and a half, including getting a full warranty replacement (thanks White's!), but finally sold it and downgraded to a VX3 and was much happier.
The V3i is tricky, not because it's so overly complex, you can read the manual enough times to eventually understand all the adjustments, but rather because the many adjustments affect performance in multiple ways that are NOT anywhere in the manual. One example is ground balancing. It's very hard to get a good ground balance using just the method in the manual, and proper ground balance is VERY important to proper operation of the detector. I finally learned to tilt the coil to one side when lowering it the ground to achieve a proper ground balance. If ground balance was off just a little, the detector starts behaving very erratically and you lose good VDI. Autotrac would quickly lose a proper ground balance, over-adjusting one way and then the other way, and so I always hunted in loctrac. But the problem with loctrac is that even the slightest variation in ground would require a rebalance. I learned all this the hard way, through months of frustration and hundreds of hours of use. I eventually got the hang of it, but I was pressing buttons and scrolling through menus it seemed constantly just to keep the detector running well. The ground balance mystery is just one of many examples of how "tricky" the V3i can be.
I finally sold it last spring and bought a VX3 to see if it was any easier. It was in fact much easier to operate and was as good as my V3i, at least in my soil. If you are dead set on a V-series, I strongly recommend a VX3. Anyway, I hunted this summer with the VX3 and actually rather enjoyed it. Then I got a great deal on an MXT non-pro, which is a detector I've never had the opportunity to use. Right away I liked it. It had that great analog audio I missed from the XLT (crazy to be saying the XLT has "analog" audio, but it sure does compared to the V-series), which was much more communicative than the VERY digital and sterilized audio of the V-series. The MXT ground balance system was FAR superior to the V, it would ground balance quickly and properly and wasn't as sensitive to being off a little bit. You can actually hear the ground balance go from being way off, "weee-owww" to totally balanced out in 2-3 pumps of the coil. Beautiful! The kicker was comparing the VX3 side-by-side to the MXT. I spent about a week in my back yard test garden where I have 5-year-old buried targets ranging from dimes at various depths and closely spaced coins and trash at various depths. The VX3 was no better than the MXT and in fact had slightly less VDI accuracy at depth. Where I could pretty well tell my deep 8" dime was a coin, the VX3 wouldn't be able to do that unless the 7" or less. Not a big difference, but I was surprised that the VX3 couldn't quite keep up with the MXT! And yes, I was swapping the exact same V-rated coils between the V and the MXT. The VX3 was at least as good as my V3i's, so I can say that in my conditions, the MXT performs better. It even separates better in the trash. In farness to the V, the three frequency pinpoint is awesome, really useful, in separating out closely spaced targets. But you have to find the target first without nulling or sounding bad, and lots of targets the MXT would give a decent signal on, the VX3 would miss. So I sold the VX3 and am a happy camper with the MXT.
So that's my experience. Back to your question of coming from the XLT, I'd say the V3i will give you a little better depth, but only if you have everything adjusted just right. It has a pretty display and a fast processor. I had an IDX Pro for awhile that I used with my XLT and that was a great combo. You could even share coils (although I kept the 6 1/2" concentric on the IDX all the time and the 950 concentric or Royal 800 all the time on the XLT). If you're going to have one detector, I wouldn't recommend going back to the XLT. It's a great second detector for fast cruising open parks, especially with the 950 coil, but it falls on its face in heavy trash. That's where your IDX comes in real handy! My recommendation would be to get an MXT. It has a very forgiving sweep speed so you can cruise reasonably well in the open areas and then slow way down in the trash when you need to. It's killer with a small coil like the 4x6 or 5.3 Eclipse. Super fast recovery speed that is like driving a sports car compared to driving a school bus (the XLT). If you're heck-bent on a V3i, I'd suggest the VX3 instead. It does just as well, IMHO and conditions, as the V3i and you can find them used in great shape for around $700-800 and will give you a great feel for the V-series without shelling out $1,500.
That's my 2 cents, ok, 5 bucks :blush:, but after seeing your post about coming from the XLT and considering a V3i, I couldn't resist babbling on!
Welcome back to the hobby! Keep us posted on what detector you end up going with.
Darren
The V3i is tricky, not because it's so overly complex, you can read the manual enough times to eventually understand all the adjustments, but rather because the many adjustments affect performance in multiple ways that are NOT anywhere in the manual. One example is ground balancing. It's very hard to get a good ground balance using just the method in the manual, and proper ground balance is VERY important to proper operation of the detector. I finally learned to tilt the coil to one side when lowering it the ground to achieve a proper ground balance. If ground balance was off just a little, the detector starts behaving very erratically and you lose good VDI. Autotrac would quickly lose a proper ground balance, over-adjusting one way and then the other way, and so I always hunted in loctrac. But the problem with loctrac is that even the slightest variation in ground would require a rebalance. I learned all this the hard way, through months of frustration and hundreds of hours of use. I eventually got the hang of it, but I was pressing buttons and scrolling through menus it seemed constantly just to keep the detector running well. The ground balance mystery is just one of many examples of how "tricky" the V3i can be.
I finally sold it last spring and bought a VX3 to see if it was any easier. It was in fact much easier to operate and was as good as my V3i, at least in my soil. If you are dead set on a V-series, I strongly recommend a VX3. Anyway, I hunted this summer with the VX3 and actually rather enjoyed it. Then I got a great deal on an MXT non-pro, which is a detector I've never had the opportunity to use. Right away I liked it. It had that great analog audio I missed from the XLT (crazy to be saying the XLT has "analog" audio, but it sure does compared to the V-series), which was much more communicative than the VERY digital and sterilized audio of the V-series. The MXT ground balance system was FAR superior to the V, it would ground balance quickly and properly and wasn't as sensitive to being off a little bit. You can actually hear the ground balance go from being way off, "weee-owww" to totally balanced out in 2-3 pumps of the coil. Beautiful! The kicker was comparing the VX3 side-by-side to the MXT. I spent about a week in my back yard test garden where I have 5-year-old buried targets ranging from dimes at various depths and closely spaced coins and trash at various depths. The VX3 was no better than the MXT and in fact had slightly less VDI accuracy at depth. Where I could pretty well tell my deep 8" dime was a coin, the VX3 wouldn't be able to do that unless the 7" or less. Not a big difference, but I was surprised that the VX3 couldn't quite keep up with the MXT! And yes, I was swapping the exact same V-rated coils between the V and the MXT. The VX3 was at least as good as my V3i's, so I can say that in my conditions, the MXT performs better. It even separates better in the trash. In farness to the V, the three frequency pinpoint is awesome, really useful, in separating out closely spaced targets. But you have to find the target first without nulling or sounding bad, and lots of targets the MXT would give a decent signal on, the VX3 would miss. So I sold the VX3 and am a happy camper with the MXT.
So that's my experience. Back to your question of coming from the XLT, I'd say the V3i will give you a little better depth, but only if you have everything adjusted just right. It has a pretty display and a fast processor. I had an IDX Pro for awhile that I used with my XLT and that was a great combo. You could even share coils (although I kept the 6 1/2" concentric on the IDX all the time and the 950 concentric or Royal 800 all the time on the XLT). If you're going to have one detector, I wouldn't recommend going back to the XLT. It's a great second detector for fast cruising open parks, especially with the 950 coil, but it falls on its face in heavy trash. That's where your IDX comes in real handy! My recommendation would be to get an MXT. It has a very forgiving sweep speed so you can cruise reasonably well in the open areas and then slow way down in the trash when you need to. It's killer with a small coil like the 4x6 or 5.3 Eclipse. Super fast recovery speed that is like driving a sports car compared to driving a school bus (the XLT). If you're heck-bent on a V3i, I'd suggest the VX3 instead. It does just as well, IMHO and conditions, as the V3i and you can find them used in great shape for around $700-800 and will give you a great feel for the V-series without shelling out $1,500.
That's my 2 cents, ok, 5 bucks :blush:, but after seeing your post about coming from the XLT and considering a V3i, I couldn't resist babbling on!
Welcome back to the hobby! Keep us posted on what detector you end up going with.
Darren
OregonGregg
Well-known member
I agree with Monte in that the MXT All Pro will just about cover all your bases. You can go do parks etc and if needed move up to a bigger coil. If you venture into a iron infested ghost town or old homestead site you can put on a 5.3 and tackle tough conditions very well. If never having used a V3i before I would check one out before buying. I bought a VX3 and just did not care for it and ended up selling it. The V series eats batteries like candy, always fumbling with the push button menu and the delayed re-sweep to check a target drove me nuts I can have my MXT Pro or M6 ( MXT little brother) up and running , adjusted and GB in a matter of secs. But of course this is all my opinions and i like to keep things simple and the MXT Family does that and does a great job. However, if menus and buttons are your thing, people have had good success with the V series machines.
I can have my MXT Pro or M6 ( MXT little brother) up and running , adjusted and GB in a matter of secs. But of course this is all my opinions and i like to keep things simple and the MXT Family does that and does a great job. However, if menus and buttons are your thing, people have had good success with the V series machines.[size=large] I used an xlt for three years and still didn't fully get the real hang of it but found enough to keep my interest. Then I thought I might do better with the MXT PRO and now the V3i. Boy was I wrong. The XLT got outdated. That was the excuse to upgrade anyway.The MXT was a perfect fit. The V3i is/ was overwhelming. I'm selling my V3i after only trying it for a year. I liked fiddling with the adjustments but the machine is just too heavy. I swung the XLT and the MXT for hours.Not so the V3l.And as mentioned already, It's a battery hog. I for one am going back to the MXT PRO.
HH[/ size]
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How long have you been out of the hobby?Mark7 said:
What types of hunting do you plan to do? Coin Hunting, Relic Hunting, Beach Hunting, ..??
What types of site conditions will you likely encounter? Well mannered grassy parks and yards or rugged, rough uneven plowed fields, dirt, wooded and brushy areas, etc.?
City parks and schools, old town sites or abandoned structures, modern types of trash or older litter? Open areas or brushy and confined spaces? It all can make a difference in how able you are to sweep the search coil for peak results, as well as deal with ground mineral challenges, density of trash, and so on.
How much trash, and what type of trash, do you plan to deal with? Will the Discrimination capability be able to handle it and still provide ample recovery time for close-target responses?
I have been out of the hobby for about eight years. Had back problems then back surgery on my L4 and L5 in 2011.Finally doing well enough to get around again.
I hunt parks,school grounds,wooded areas,places were old structures were,things along that line.One of my favorite places is were the F5 Tornado went thru are area back in 85,What a sight it was just stood there dumbfunded and watch it! Misssed are house by about a 1/4 mile. I coin and relic hunt never really go to the beach.I see a lot of trash in the tornado zone everything is well was the last time I hunted close to the surface.
Why? What prompted you to consider the V3i?Mark7 said:
Well to be totally honest because it is the latest thing out and looked to be the best, BUT ! now that I have had some more time to look into it I am not thinking so much about going down that road. I do not think I will care for it right out of the gate again. Not to say I may someday get one and play with it. I will most likely find a nice in great condition XLT e-series. I am looking at the MXT ALL PRO a bit more now also. I would like to find a IDX PRO in nice shape too, I really liked that detector. To some it up I feel I will go back to what I had to start with I was happy there and add one more detector to the mix down the road a bit.
Why? Why did you like it, and why would you consider something different if the XLT worked well for you in the past?Mark7 said:
Correct. Why would I ? I was very happy with the XLT .I am going back to what I know and Liked.
Monte said:
I have been out of the hobby for about eight years. Had back problems then back surgery on my L4 and L5 in 2011.Finally doing well enough to get around again.
I hunt parks,school grounds,wooded areas,places were old structures were,things along that line.One of my favorite places is were the F5 Tornado went thru are area back in 85,What a sight it was just stood there dumbfunded and watch it! Misssed are house by about a 1/4 mile. I coin and relic hunt never really go to the beach.I see a lot of trash in the tornado zone everything is well was the last time I hunted close to the surface.... Sorry to hear that. I live with back problems and other health issues or occasional injuries that have slowed me down a might, but I haven't stepped away for the hobby. Had surgery in July of '95 for an L5/S1 herniated disk, and that helped, but it was almost twenty years ago. Things are worse and I'm on a surgery list for the L3/L4, but not until my diabetes is under better control.
I still have a few other issues with my back and neck that they can't do anything about. I've been using a cane since '93, have a bad left knee I need a brace for, lost part of my left foot, and have a leg-long blood clot in the left leg from groin-to-ankle. I live in pain and can't hunt like I used [size=small](hike into places, climb hills, travel through woods and rough terrain with out stumbling and falling, and go for hours or day-long without rest)[/size], but I still have done my best to get out and put in as much detecting time as I can. Just too much 'fun' and 'excitement' in this sport to give it up.My main hunt sites are void of people ... unless they are also detecting, as I try to find old homesteads, ghost towns, stage stops, railroad sidings, mining and logging camps/towns, and other more rural hunt sites. However, there are ample urban opportunities to find a lot of 'flash money' and jewelry, but I generally keep a sharp eye out for any renovation work in the more dated parts of the cities I travel through.
Monte said:
Well to be totally honest because it is the latest thing out and looked to be the best, BUT ! now that I have had some more time to look into it I am not thinking so much about going down that road. I do not think I will care for it right out of the gate again. Not to say I may someday get one and play with it. I will most likely find a nice in great condition XLT e-series. I am looking at the MXT ALL PRO a bit more now also. I would like to find a IDX PRO in nice shape too, I really liked that detector. To some it up I feel I will go back to what I had to start with I was happy there and add one more detector to the mix down the road a bit.... Great decision, or 'decisions, really, as I am also keeping a watch for a pristine condition XLT e-series. For me, however, it will just be a 'fun' detecetor to use because I really like it, and it will complement my MXT All Pro, as do some other models, because the MXT All-Pro is still my #1 all-purpose detector. I hunt trashier sites most often and the MXT All-Pro w/6½" coil [size=small](the 5.3 Eclipse)[/size] is tough to beat, and easily out-performs the XLT with the same size search coil [size=small](like my Blue Max 600 or 5.3 BullsEye)[/size] when hunting trashier sites. I wish us BOTH luck in finding a clean e-series XLT.
A good Classic series model is also a good pick for certain uses, and either the Classic ID or an IDX Pro will handle most of the same tasks.
Correct. Why would I ? I was very happy with the XLT .I am going back to what I know and Liked.... I think that's a solid idea. If a person HAS a model they like and know well, then it might not be bad to get a new unit to try it and compare it. That's what I always try to do, but very often the 'new' unit hits the for-sale block and the 'old and reliable' stays in my detector arsenal.Monte said:
Monte
Elton said:
Hello Elton. Been a while. Last communications I remember we had long ago was that you weren't impressed with the V-line of the Whites and quit the V. The truth is Elton...My M6 rocks over the V3i for basics of finding treasure without the grief of tweaking all the time. The V-machines are fun, but not a reletively fun treasure grabber.
I'm invested up to my neck in my V3i with extras, which BTW include coils compatable with the M6, so all of any extra money is all tied up in living, not a new machine to replace the V3i. An MXT pro would be fun to try. martin
Martin:
Yep........ I wasn't impressed much. I like simple operation.That said the XLT is at least 19 years old tech. All I am saying is the V3i is the latest tech.
His post was about the XLT or the V3i. The V3i is the newest along with the VX3 and still in the line up. The XLT is not..
I loved the XLT myself. But if I had a choice between the two in todays market..it would be the V3i series .. if for no other reason than the beautiful colored screen.
Plus I am guilty of not always giving a new machine the time required to operate it to the fullest capacity it's capable of.. I did not give the V3i a fair run.....
I'm sure there are other Whites machines he would love as you state. That are still in the line up. I will stick to my original thoughts though. Between the XLT and the V3i the V3i would be his better choice... In my opinion............My opinion does not necessarily make it so.... just my thoughts on those two machines.
Yep........ I wasn't impressed much. I like simple operation.That said the XLT is at least 19 years old tech. All I am saying is the V3i is the latest tech.
His post was about the XLT or the V3i. The V3i is the newest along with the VX3 and still in the line up. The XLT is not..
I loved the XLT myself. But if I had a choice between the two in todays market..it would be the V3i series .. if for no other reason than the beautiful colored screen.
Plus I am guilty of not always giving a new machine the time required to operate it to the fullest capacity it's capable of.. I did not give the V3i a fair run.....
I'm sure there are other Whites machines he would love as you state. That are still in the line up. I will stick to my original thoughts though. Between the XLT and the V3i the V3i would be his better choice... In my opinion............My opinion does not necessarily make it so.... just my thoughts on those two machines.
jackintexas
New member
Old technology or not, the XLT was away ahead of it's time with technology. Been detecting 38 years. Had about all the better detectors. I have several now, but the for me the XLT is the most fun to hunt with.....Jack
Elton said:
My bad, sorry. The question was indeed between the XLT and the V3i. I've never even seen an XLT up close. One thing I've come to like with the V3i is the analyze modes. That is due in part to the color displays, especially the polar display. I can visually tell if I'm digging a penny or a non-penny most every time simply by shape of the 2.5k green shape.
And I agree with you about how 'fun' the XLT is. I am looking for another pristine condition XLT e-series to add BACK into my personal arsenal, just to complement my MXT All Pro and others I carry along. There are times and places where I enjoy the XLT's performance, and the next one I get I won't let go. I have owned 23 XLTs, so #24 will stay and be my "cruising unit" for old parks and the like. Spring weather will bring some opportunities to get out with an XLT by March, which is when I start my 51st year enjoying this great sport. It will be great to have an XLT in the fold again.
Monte
Monte