V3i and Nickels

eman1000

Hero Member
Feb 24, 2016
728
1,105
Elizabethtown, IN
Detector(s) used
XP Deus ORX, Etrac, F75, Simplex, MX5, V3i, Equinox, Tesoro Vaq, F22
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
This machine doesn't get enough credit for its ability to ID Nickels!

I've only had a few chances to hunt with this machine so far but man does it lock on Nickels at 19. If I get a 19 and a blue bar you can bet the farm it's a nickel. 22/23 probably a pull tab

I dug 6 nickels in one hour and last year I really struggled with the Nox to find Nickels (maybe user error because on the Nox a 13 is a Nickel but it always felt like everything fell between 12-15 on the Nox)
I would love to dig all the low tones but with my schedule I just don't have the time.

So far all the gold rings I have tested are between 9-14 with the large gold around 25-30. I plan to hit this spot and dig all the low conductors and hopefully get a ring or two.


Plenty of 52-55 pennies and 64-68 pennies but if it hit 70 I dug and got a dime almost every time. 83 is also spot on for a quarter.

Really liking this machine!
 

Last edited:

ATPRoDon

Full Member
Nov 26, 2007
132
88
Griffin, GA
Detector(s) used
Whites Surf PI, Whites V3i, Minelab Equinox 800
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I agree on the nickels +19 is usually dead on for 5ct. Never really see a +70 for dime. I have attached my latest ID numbers for the V3i hope this helps. On the Nox 800 usually a 13 is a nickel and if it flickers to a 12 or 14 it’s junk.

ImageUploadedByTreasureNet.com1554296307.968494.jpg
 

OP
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eman1000

Hero Member
Feb 24, 2016
728
1,105
Elizabethtown, IN
Detector(s) used
XP Deus ORX, Etrac, F75, Simplex, MX5, V3i, Equinox, Tesoro Vaq, F22
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I agree on the nickels +19 is usually dead on for 5ct. Never really see a +70 for dime. I have attached my latest ID numbers for the V3i hope this helps. On the Nox 800 usually a 13 is a nickel and if it flickers to a 12 or 14 it’s junk.

View attachment 1698758

Yes,

I wasn't very specific on the Dimes I was hitting 74-76 as your very nice diagram shows. I really think I wasn't patient enough with the NOX and the 1 vdi difference on the NOX is the difference between something good and possibly junk where you see a little more of a gap with the V3i.

Could also be that I just happened on a spot with a lot of nickels as I was at a middle school track I never thought to hunt before. The track has a large hillside on one side and my guess is kids climb up and down this hill and throw there clothes on it for practice. Don't expect to find anything old but it appears to be loaded with clad.
 

ATPRoDon

Full Member
Nov 26, 2007
132
88
Griffin, GA
Detector(s) used
Whites Surf PI, Whites V3i, Minelab Equinox 800
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Okay that's what I thought on dimes. If anybody wants a pdf version of my ID file above just PM me with your e-mail address and I will send it.
 

MackDog

Bronze Member
Nov 20, 2013
1,408
2,735
Spokane Wa
Detector(s) used
Garrett At Pro, 8 x11" and Nel Storm coils
Garrett Propointer er, Pro Pointer AT
White's V3i Standard, 10" DD, 13" Ultimate and 4 x6" sniper, 6 x10 coils, Drect 12 x 15 coil
Whites MX Sport With Detec
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Jefferson nickels are usually right on. Buff's and V's are close. Shield s can be way up there. Know your area and check the depth. The deeper the target the less strength it has. I usually dig all deep solid signals
 

powrsurg

Sr. Member
Jul 5, 2016
319
364
Rocky Point, NY
Detector(s) used
Minelab Equinox 800
Whites Spectra V3I
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
This comment is so dead on. Today I found a coin spill and I realized that nickels were always a VDI of 19 with a straight blue line in right quadrant Polar Plot.
 

Oct 5, 2014
31,886
35,424
Massachusetts
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Garrett: AT Pro, AT Gold & Infinium; Minelab: Explorer SE, II; Simplex; Tesoro: Tejon & Outlaw; White's: V3i
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
Thanks for sharing ATPRoDon! :icon_thumleft:
 

☠ Cipher

Full Member
Aug 16, 2016
165
182
Middleburgh, NY
Detector(s) used
Whites: Spectra V3i, MX Sport, Bullseye TRX. Fisher: F75 LTD, 1280-X, F2. XP: Deus. Minelab: X-terra 70, Garrett: AT Pro, Ace 250, Propointer II. Tesoro: Compadre. Bounty Hunter: LRP, QDP, 3300, 2200,
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I have found this to be the case too. I don't think the V3i gets the credit it deserves in many respects, particularly as the best discriminator out there. If I have to limit my digs on a site the V3i is my first choice. The color coded frequency layout, the spectrograph, and 3 frequency pp are some of the best investigative tools any machine has ever offered. 3 frequency pp is also an amazing tool to separate/distinguish adjacent targets. It's easy to tell where one ends and another begins.

Really, if this machine were waterproofed, converted to lithium ion packs, and offered even a crude imaging program akin to target trace it could be top dog. None of that should be terribly difficult. 3rd party lithium packs are made already. How difficult could it be to waterproof it? We know the answer to that too. We know a private individual did it all on his own. Software is a sticking point. Nobody left at Whites worked on the V3. Nobody there can understand or manipulate/change the code it's written in. Not only is the code itself obscure, it is written in a way that is apparently pretty esoteric to Jeff Foster. But...in the age of nanotechnology, there is no reason that entirely new code could not be written to boot into separately, expanding the capability of this machine. I have even seen that it's possible to house both the V3i and MXT within the same unit, attached to the same coil, and toggle back and forth between them. Think of the value of that. A hybrid that combines two of the best Whites machines into one unit. A tinkerer in his garage can do it on a dare (though admittedly it's not a pretty creation right now), why can't Whites think outside the box like this. Sorry to wander, it's just frustrating to me that this amazing machine was not further developed/evolved while the limited potential of the MX platform has been pursued and refined ad nauseam.
 

powrsurg

Sr. Member
Jul 5, 2016
319
364
Rocky Point, NY
Detector(s) used
Minelab Equinox 800
Whites Spectra V3I
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I hate the idea that I may go out and buy another detector just so that I can have a waterproof one. It just seems silly to me it’s not waterproof.
 

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