Whites v3i in comparison to the 3030

[shadowcat1971]

What coil do you recommend with the V3i In highly mineralized

Soil?

 

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[JDug]

What coil do you recommend with the V3i I high mineralized

The coil I saw being used on the V3i today in Va red soil was a 6 inch dd coil , maybe elliptical . I'm on a 3 day group hunt, if I run into one of those guys using it tomorrow I'll ask.

 

[shadowcat1971]

K thanks!

 

[XLTer]

Aside from the disagreements on brand , this is a VERY informative thread . Thank you ALL for posting on your experience with the different makes and models .

 

[Rossiter25]

I have the whites mxt and was was wanting to upgrade to the v3. I know it's not a three freq detector but I think at 6 inches I should at least get a half decent vdi. Last time I was out with my mxt I found 2 war nickels and 7 buffalo nickels. The funny thing is I don't dig nickels. That's just me. The war nickels would read in the +80s to -10 at 6 inches. It reads 20 out of the ground. Reading these posts I am going to do a lot more research.

 

[Rossiter25]

My biggest thing is the whisper in my mineralized soil. At 7 inches there is a whisper I don't want a whisper I want a beep and the screen to tell me what's there the mxt is not cutting it. I feel better now.

 

[norbyx]

My biggest thing is the whisper in my mineralized soil. At 7 inches there is a whisper I don't want a whisper I want a beep and the screen to tell me what's there the mxt is not cutting it. I feel better now.

The mxt is a great detector I had one, I had it at the same time I had the v3i, well I ended up selling the mxt and keeping the v3i, there was no point in having both, the v3i is a superior detector in every possible situation. As for vdi accuracy well the mxt wasn't so bad in my opinion, not as good as the v3i but not bad, at 7+ inches even the v3i is erratic. But if you learn it you will know what you can expect from a deep signal.

 

[MINELABMIKE]

difference between se experianced user and non experienced user

norbyx I have both the MXT and the V3i, back when I was using the MXT my brother and I were about neck and neck for targets in the ground and he has the Minelab SE, since I bought the V3i there's been many times he isn't able to hear what the V3i is at all. The V3i does take some learning but it was very easy for me as I've always had Whites since I started detecting.

with the explorer se with the right settings the se depth is totally unreal, i have always had minelabs

 

[GreenMeanie]

Does your Whites work in the SURF?
Does your Whites have a GPS?
I saved money by running the CTX because it was a land detector and a Ocean machine with whites you would have to buy two machines.
I used both and they both do decent at what they where designed for. But whites service after the sale is hard to beat they just treat you right!

And yes I sold my CTX for now because I hope they fix some issues in the future. For one no matter how much I cleaned my detector the ROD would get stuck every once in awhile they need to fix that somehow because I like to collapse mine when traveling and carrying it. One time I thought the ROD was stuck for good and it finally moved for me.
I had a Battery go down for some odd reason but they sent me a new one right away no questions asked.
All the stories about them leaking and my warranty running out I decided to unload it and wait and see what happens because I mostly water hunted with mine and can't afford another one if it took in water.
If I buy one again I will get the non gps version because I never used that feature along with the wireless.

Buy from Mike at woodland detectors you won't regret it!!! Mike will help you in every aspect of metal detecting. Ask anyone on here about woodland detectors and Mike!

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Hello Junkyarddog,

I too believe people have the coil to high and swing too fast. I am a firm believe in the "low and slow" approach to hunting, it definitely produces more top notch finds for me. Using the White's and Minelab in this fashion really improves the finds. When using my AT Pro and AT Gold, I can move a bit faster. Through many hours/years of detecting I have proved this to be true in my area, my style and my machines.

Regards,

 

[GreenMeanie]

One thing I should have mentioned is Whites should let you UPDATE the software without having to ship it back to them. Just like Minelab does.

 

[gsxraddict]

I've got both, I always use the CTX over the V3I, and I have a lot of experience on both. Now the CTX sits in my closet and I use the Deus, it's better than all of them in the places I use them.

I'm not saying one is a supreme machine, each one is better in different circumstances.

I will say if Minelab got their act together and made a light weight wireless machine with the same recovery rate as the Deus, it would be all anyone needs. Basically, pretty much a Deus with the target trace screen and Minelab depth.

 

[Vino]

I've got both, I always use the CTX over the V3I, and I have a lot of experience on both. Now the CTX sits in my closet and I use the Deus, it's better than all of them in the places I use them.

I'm not saying one is a supreme machine, each one is better in different circumstances.

I will say if Minelab got their act together and made a light weight wireless machine with the same recovery rate as the Deus, it would be all anyone needs. Basically, pretty much a Deus with the target trace screen and Minelab depth.

I agree 100%!!! I have all 3 and i find myself grabbing the deus all the time.
George

 

[Pointman]

I've had all three at one point. I am trying to get a Deus again and I am debating if I will keep the V3I.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

I love all the information the V3i has available through the fantastic screen. You can navigate rather easily through the screens, once you understand their locations.

The XP Deus, does seem to intrigue me with its light weight and wireless control system.

 

[USERNAME IS VALID]

Wow, old and long thread from 2012. Was going back and forth on whether to try a CTX or V3i, I get to the very end and now everyone is pushing the DEUS which I already have. The CTX and V3i still intrigue me though.

 

[scotty544]

Wow, old and long thread from 2012. Was going back and forth on whether to try a CTX or V3i, I get to the very end and now everyone is pushing the DEUS which I already have. The CTX and V3i still intrigue me though.

Lol me too, just found this post today and read the whole damn thing...I have a V3i and a Xp deus, got a 3030 in route! I love the V and the Deus but I will have to part with one probably. ...any takers?

 

[migrider56]

I have a V3i and CTX 3030 I prefer the V3i over the CTX for its better at determining what target is than the CTX , I have had CTX since they first came out. It is a great detector but still gets fooled more than V3I on targets. I am still learning the V3i and the more I learn the better it gets.

 

[GreenMeanie]

What he said.
I have had both and he sums up my thoughts exactly.

Mike - I can agree with a lot of what you are saying:

Nails - Yes, the CTX will false on them more than the V3i did (and the V3i was better than the E-Trac). That said, I don't dig a lot of nails, maybe 2 per hunt, not bad for 20 hours on a machine.
Recovery - Yes, the CTX is not as fast as the V3i. But it's also not as fast as the Omega 8000 which I also had. But in moderate plus iron, the E-Trac outperformed my V3i and Omega. Don't expect FBS machines to do as well in recovery speed tests. Check my videos out, I tested the CTX and it is pretty fast, but no, it's not as fast as the V3i and maybe close to the Omega. My bet is they put the chip in the coil to get it where it is, again because FBS is different. You can't compare it in quite the same way. I tested the V3i to no end and yes, you could adjust the recovery speed to no end. But, you know what I found? Not once on a real world target did it matter on hitting it. I could slow it down and it hit it - signal was longer. I could speed it up and it clipped it. I'm sure there will be times when that changes, but my point is, it doesn't appear to be a big deal outside of preference.
Coil must clear target to VID - Yes, I've mentioned this in my videos. It is substantially better than the E-Trac in that you don't always have to clear the coil. I do find this annoying at times, but not a deal breaker. It doesn't ever cause me to miss targets. On the V3i, it has a similar problem. The VDI is often skipped on swings for no reason, not as bad, but it is skipped (and not due to recovery speed, not sure what it is, but on some sweeps it doesn't hit the target, not a big deal either though. Saw this in my videos and others videos.)

But here is where I disagree point blank though, at least in my soil. I have videos to back it up and I tried most settings.
Depth - I tried to get depth from the V3i in my somewhat iron mineralized ground (Ground probe said 1%-2%, VDI at -92 to -93). In 3 frequency, most of the time it was 7" max and at that level an on the VDI was all over the place. I don't find 7" particularly deep. And I find 3 frequency a blast to hunt in (love the pinpoint). But if I have to hunt in single frequency, well then I would rather not hunt. And in single frequency I couldn't hit the many 8" coins I found on the E-Trac. I know others have said different but I tried everything and I have it on video. I think it is my ground to be fair as the V3i is a great machine, just not in my soil. Thus far the CTX is hitting 8" coins MUCH BETTER than the E-Trac - and again, I got it on video. Lack of depth is what drove me away from the V3i. I also have a friend with worse soil than me who found the same to be true.
Analysis - There is not much on the CTX that you need to do in the way of signal analysis. The V3i allows the 3 frequency analysis in pinpoint and I have always missed that. For jewelery hunters the analysis features on the V3i could be nice, but I was never able to use it with certainty and it didn't go beyond 6", just like target trace on the CTX. On the CTX the one thing I do analyze is comparing signals via the shortcuts (settings and tone ID modes) - same as on the V3i essentially. I love the CTX's target splatter, VERY SIMILAR to the V3i's that I remember (which is adjustable). I am not sure what you mean with analysis slowing you down on the CTX as the V3i has a lot more of it and I often played with settings on targets, but I think that is up to the user, not a bad thing on either machine if you don't want it to be.

For all the adjust-ability of the V3i, I have to say, I eventually settled on settings I liked (and didn't tweak so much, it just slowed things down) but I do wish the CTX had more adjust-ability (again, not a deal breaker). But there is a thread on a forum from a tester where we are putting suggestions in and Minelab will include some of those (like iron volume) in a software update in the future. Very very nice feature to have, like on the Deus.

Something to add:
Balance - The V3i's balance was worse than the E-Trac. Most say this, but not all. Perhaps we have different injuries and we feel it differently. One thing is sure, the CTX, as heavy as it is, is perfectly balanced. I feel it in my shoulders but it's not like a back pain, easily can handle it (so far).

Is the CTX worth $2500? I say no (I don't waterhunt), but I bought it because I loved the E-Trac so much but my back couldn't handle the balance. The V3i's screen is better than the CTX imo, better contrast. Now I'm happy, but broke. If money was an issue, I'd go back to the Omega 8000. On coins it is VERY CLOSE in performance to the E-Trac and V3i, sooo close. Not as deep but still nice.

Regarding Woodland Detectors review - I'm not saying he's wrong in his soil, but there did seem to be something personal to his review. He could have worded it differently being that he is a dealer, that didn't make much sense.

So, a lot of guys are saying certain things, but I back it with video. Since you have a few machines, it would be nice to get your words on video. And this isn't a challenge to you. All I'm saying is it's a help. In my ground I show one thing and in your ground you can show the V3i performs. I don't care about the brand, just the result. No machine is perfect is what I have found. We have to accept each machines shortcomings.

Videos - http://www,youtube.com/user/earthmansurfer69?feature=mhee