Minelab E trac or Whites Spectra V3i for coinshooting?

[chukers]

I heard switching to the 950 coil will correct this.

yes that is correct no more bottle caps... also pinpointing is dead on!

Chukers

 

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[bonepicker]

Im still using the D2 coil, and i like to use single frequency 2.5 as well. When i do run 3 frequency, i notice that when pinpointing the bottecaps 2.5 is not the dominant frequency. 2.5 is normally dominant on silver.
Maybe the D2 is made for max depth, in less trashy areas. Seems like all of my sites are trashy.
Do you hunt for coins when you use high pro and relic. Does it seem to work better than coin and jewelry?
Normally C&J is the only program i use.

 

[chukers]

Im still using the D2 coil, and i like to use single frequency 2.5 as well. When i do run 3 frequency, i notice that when pinpointing the bottecaps 2.5 is not the dominant frequency. 2.5 is normally dominant on silver.
Maybe the D2 is made for max depth, in less trashy areas. Seems like all of my sites are trashy.
Do you hunt for coins when you use high pro and relic. Does it seem to work better than coin and jewelry?
Normally C&J is the only program i use.

Yes in trashy areas the D2 coil is very noisy... I took the C&J program and modified it to my liking and put the 950 on and I love the v3i now... I was ready to give up on it before I made the changes. There are a lot of programs out there for the v3i you just need to find what works best for you. I hunt with all 3 frequencies... I like to have all the info I can get... but to be honest I only look at the screen once I hear a good signal... I hunt by sound initially.

Chukers

 

[smartmoney]

Chukers does using the 950 lose depth at all versus the D2? Bonepicker...I get the best depth from both the C&J and Hi-Pro programs so they are preferred.

 

[chukers]

Chukers does using the 950 lose depth at all versus the D2? Bonepicker...I get the best depth from both the C&J and Hi-Pro programs so they are preferred.

I have heard that before... and yeah that possible... I don't feel I have lost much if any... I find targets the size of a dime 6 to 8 inches all the time. any deeper than that it too hard to dig that deep in this Texas ground... after that depth the signal starts to get iffy... I have gotten signals 10 inches or more that were so broken I dunno if I should dig them or not, just because of the hard ground. depends on where you are.

Chukers

 

[63bkpkr]

HI there bonepicker,
I'm a White's person myself but I have neither of the machines in this thread. I can hear your pain in that you are expecting more things to happen however, you do have some nice finds. IF you are really unsure of what in the dickens is going on with your machine you should contact White's and ask if they would check the machine out, if yes and even if you have to pay for it send in the machine with your coil and have it examined. Even White's can have equipment problems. And yes you do have some nice finds and yes you are new to detecting and yes your machine has lots of adjustments but if you want to make certain of what's going on send in the machine to verify its condition.

As has already been commented, it takes some time to learn a new machine EVEN when a person has been metal detecting for a long time. For a new detectorist, heck, you've just stepped off into a black hole so you can not expect everything to click all at once especially with a machine as adjustable as yours. So I will ask do you have a test garden? If not and if you have the place to make one, do so as you will learn a lot from it. Maybe someone has published a book on how to learn and use your machine, maybe someone on the Whites forum has some info for you, like deoleslyfox. Gosh TNet is such a good site I'd even forgotten about the Whites forum.

My first "real detector", not a kit or home made machine, was a used White Coinmaster 6000 D and it took me a long time to get used to it. One day I saw an add in the back of a treasure hunting magazine for "How to Get ALL the BEST out of the 6000D", I gulped and sent off for the info. Best $10.00 I'd ever spent in the 70's or since. It was like a different machine AND with those directions I found my first nickle and later found my first Gold ring. I learned the machine so well that after awhile I knew what the target was before I dug it out of the ground, base metal type that is. Then it was stolen! But that is another story, as Lanny says often enough.

Making certain the machine is running right is important as then you will have a tendency to believe it. This will help your inner self and that will be a huge plus for you. Practice, practice, practice on your test garden as well as out in the real world. Work with your machine, that you now know is working correctly, till you learn one specific aspect of it and then build on that knowledge. Right now with possibly going from one setting to the next it would get real confusing about what you are doing, my 6000
D had lots of switches and knobs and it takes time to learn what each one does and how it affects other settings.

Even though I do not own one, I believe you have a very good machine. Relax a bit , learn it and begin to enjoy it.

With all my best wishes for you to have fun and lots of deep targets of excellent quality..........63bkpkr

 

[Smudge]

Hi bonepicker.

I wouldn't sell that V3i. You have no place to move up to from there. You have the right machine.

Now you need to start the second discipline of metal detecting: research!

You're not hitting good stuff because you're not putting you coil over the right dirt. Could be several reasons for this, not the least of which is that its already been hammered by other detectorists.

Start researching you local history and look for those old spots where people congregated but don't anymore. That's where you will find the old interesting stuff. See an old foundation? Hunt it once you've obtained permission if you need it!

Keep at it!

 

[63bkpkr]

Yup Research! Look at old maps, you can even purchse new ones, that's newly printed old maps, from the USGS IF they have any of your area, in California some go back to before the gold rush. ALSO, go outside and look around but make sure you "see" what is there. You are looking for the oldest section of town or the area and that is where the largest, tallest trees are. You are driving down a country road and you drive past two evergreen trees that are planted about 15' to 20' apart but there is nothing else there, the trees likely are the opening of the old driveway. Look for old walls, odd surface features (hills, hollows, weird stuff), sparckles in the sunshine in a field or near a hillside (could be broken dishes from an old house or campsite) and look for unusual plants out in an open area (flowers, palm trees - they are likely the front yard of the old home) Yup research and "seeing what is around you" not just looking at it.

Go have at it...............63bkpkr

 

[Carolina Jack]

My first detector was the Whites XLT, loved it. I also bought the Minelab Solvereign, like that machine as well. My XLT was stolen 2 years ago. I plan on replacing it in a couple months with the V3i, and im getting the excal II for beach and shallow water hunting. When I had the XLT I was told to start with the basic programs, no tweeking, and digg all signals for a full year. Practice, practice, practice. research lots of research. That advice worked great for me. You have one of the best units out there, go out and enjoy!

 

[Viddy]

I just started detecting in Aug 2011, 8 months ago, so I consider myself 'still kinda new'.

I started out on a Minelab X-terra 705, which is a mid level machine and all I could afford at the time, which is still good. I was very fortunate. After 3 months with the 705 I wanted a top end machine.
I got the Etrac. Totally different than the 705. like the 705 on steroids...LOL. But some similar things like the tones and some basic settings. made the transition easier. I guess I went from the Mustang GT to the Lambo...LOL
Since then I have always had about 3 machines, and have had some of the top machines, and have also used some top of the line machines from the main manufacturers even that other people had while out.

Some of the higher end machines I owned were T2 (like the F75), Etrac, AT Pro, and have used a V3i, Cortes, I have and still use a Minelab ETrac as my main unit.

It seems like you are questioning the V3i and what you think about it, compared to if you had an ETrac instead.

In my opinion.... and I am not brand loyal, I am 'performance loyal'...

Both the V3i and ETrac have great stock programs for park, beach, etc.

I think the ETrac's stock programs are little easier to use than the V3i. When you are new, you rely on the stock programs while learning. I had my ETrac for about 4 months and am just now venturing into the custom programs. It takes time to learn either machine and make it routine. The more you go out, the better with the machine you get.
What's funny is that, for some reason, with the ETrac, I learned a modern dime signal/display/sound very well, just from using the ETrac over and over hour after hour in the field. When I hear the tone + the TDI of a dime, I can now almost with certainty KNOW it's a dime. I'd bet money on it. That is from practice practice practice... and I am learning more every day.

Don't write off the V3i. I have heard and believe that it has a higher learning curve than the ETrac, but once you get used to it, and programming it, it's a BEAST!
The worst thing to do would be to dump the V3i, add cash and get an ETrac, get confused on it and wanting to hook it to your laptop and start downloading making programs, not find anything good, then sell the ETrac for a F75, then hear the finds of the V3i and Etrac users and go round and round and waste money and time....

As for the AT Pro? It's my new back up detector to the ETrac for when it rains. My GF uses it and hit some nice stuff in the parks. It's a great machine and in my opinion a fantastic bang for a buck! But, she will call me over with my ETrac to go over iffy signals to decide if she wants to dig. That kinda says something for the Etrac and why it's 2X+ the price of an AT Pro.

just my thoughts. Glad you are getting out and want to learn....

 

[DigHunter]

I have owned the V3i since March and before I spent that kind of money I literally read every post and every review as well as watched every video on the internet, the bottom line is they are both great machines and what won my money was three things in this order. 1 whites customer service is second to none, 2 wireless headphones option and 3 in this day and age in my opinion every digital high end device should have a color display even tho none of the things effect performance or get you better finds.
Anyone who looked around online before making a large purchase would have found by the dozens of posts of people saying the V3i is very complex and has caused much frustration, simply put if you want turn on and go simplicity Don't get the V3i, whites made the vx3 for turn on and go. I will be the first to tell you it is a verycomplex machine but I knew that before I purchased it. After mastering all of the functions and building my own custom programs I am very impressed with the V3i and I have dug many good targets at unbelievable depths although most good targets are 7"s or less I find the really deep stuff including two mercury dimes at 10"s I found a 1938 silver quarter at a measured 14"s and it rang out nicely hence whyi dug and found it. my point is the V3i is a top of the line machine and mastering it gives you the power to literally hunt out a site. As far as the D2 coil and pinpointing I can't believe there are people that can't figureit out, I can easily pinpoint extremely accurately with it. I will say the 6x10 stays on my machine most of the time and is surgically precise in trashy areas, I have recovered many silver's with it and some have been as deep as 8"s
with as many threads and posts out there comparing the two why are people buying the V3i and crying about how complex it is.

 

[mntnflyr4fun]

I owned the V3i for over a year, previously owned an MXT for 5 years. I found the V3i to be very frustrating, and found numerous old nails and some clad...then decided to try the Etrac, very first time out at the same park I had pounded for a year with my V, the Etrac grabbed a merc, 3rd time out, same park another merc...loast week a V nickle, same park....now how I could have missed these with the V I am unsure, but what I can say is that the Etrac is a very fast startup machine, and when it hits coins, YOU KNOW IT....no guessing.....the stability of the CO number is a very valuable tool, but its the sound that is killer......the V3i had the worst stability of discrimination of anything I had ever tried.....for me, spending 1500 bucks to beat my head against the wall for a year made no sense....I am a much happier hunter now, and pull 5x the coins with the Etrac than I ever did with the V.

Having said all that, after having the etrac for 6 months, I think the key to the V3i is to keep your fingers out of the menus for a year....it has way to many avenues to kill its performance if you aren't intimately familiar with how it should be working before you start with the tweaking.....Also, make sure you are hunting a site with lots of keepr targets so you can learn what they sound like. I bought the V in order to hunt an old park that had lots of other machines on it before me to look for deep silver, but the lack of good targets I think contributed to the frustration of trying to learn the machine as I was always suspecting that I needed to do more when in fact I probably should have done less....however that same park is where the etrac has gotten the silver....

 

[norbyx]

This discussion has gone on forever, both are great machines, the v3i is a more complete and therefore complex machine than the etrack. That said there is no real winner or looser, just different. Is like comparing a Ferrari to a Lamborghini which is best

Sent from my iPhone using TreasureNet

 

[McKinney_5900]

Well I have had my V3i for 2 years now and given the chance to wind back the clock, I would have gotten either an MXT Pro or an Etrac. The thing just doesn't see targets other detectors see. Lots of experiments in the field with other hunters, using all kinds of different machines. The V3i simply struggles way too much, even after someone's Etrac or other brand machine just read a signal down 6-8 inches. And yes, I have worked the learning curve for the entire 2 years. I am enjoying my backup M6 way better these days though. It out hunts the V3i for coins hands down.

I would vote for the Etrac had to do over again. Etrac peoole just seem to always be finding stuff, even on the slow days when I might find 30 cents and trash.

 

[N.J.THer]

I've never used either but I land hunt with a Whites DFX (love it) and water hunt with an Excalibur 1000 (love it). It takes a long time to learn a machine so don't throw in the towel on the V3i just yet. Your actually doing pretty well for your first season. I know someone that it took 8 years to find a silver coin (he maybe a little slow if you know what I mean) But for someone that has never detected before you are doing great.

I honestly feel that your machine only accounts for 10% of your finds and the other 90% is the user (knowing your machine and your research). I've seen people with 20 year old machines run circles around guys with the latest technology. The difference is that the one user has had 20 years to learn that machine which I would put ahead of technology anyday.

Keep in mind that if you switch to the E-Trac now you are giving up everything you learned so far on the V3i. Coming from a guy that uses models from both companies they are completely different and the switch will not be easy so will most likely set you back instead of pushing you forward.

Now I'm going to throw out a question for the V3i users. My only concern with this detector would be that the color screen would drain the battery too fast. What are your thoughts on this?
NJ

 

[barberman]

I wonder if profit motivates E-Trac sales. A Topeka, Kansas store that sells Whites detectors said the dealer profit on an E-Trac was around $400.

 

[Grizzly13]

Bonepicker, stopping and asking is fine so some will say no ! Not a big deal I have made so many friends by stopping in and just asking. Some I have offered to do some chores around especially older people, I have even let one borrow my truck to get a load of firewood while I detected. But if you still cant do it here is a very cool website HistoricAerials. In my area it dates back as far as 1931 with aerials photos and with a click of the mouse you can bring up a 2008 aerial. You can see where there were homesteads back in the day that are no longer there now. You still might have to ask people to hunt it but it is easier when there isnt a home present. Hope this helps you some, because your biggest problem isnt your machine, I believe you cant find old coins if there isnt any there !

 

[dhearn]

E Trac, easy to use and deep.

 

[Jason in Enid]

I wonder if profit motivates E-Trac sales. A Topeka, Kansas store that sells Whites detectors said the dealer profit on an E-Trac was around $400.

If that shop isn't a Minelab dealer, how could they possibly know what any potential profit would be?

 

[Connecticut Sam]

I have a Minelab which is good but hard to learn.