Whites v3i in comparison to the 3030

[stasys]

Albert you are right I dont own CTX and make judgment from your and others CTX videos, but different between us- I have spend with FBS million hours and make repair my self on them, so in this situation I am professor compare with you . for example you never used Long or Smooth respond on Etrac or Tone 1, this can make some different on iffy targets and your coil sweep was not perfect in some etrac videos, but I am sure you will learn Ctx very well. dont take my words seriously. in Germany dig more bad targets and change location for hammered or maybe roman coins. stasys

 

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[logger1]

Albert, 1st thanks for all your work/test on the different detectors. On your test when you had the etrac in that test area did you open your screen up to line 27? I found I get 2" to 3" more depth on the etrac that way than running the stock coin program, in my ground stock coin I would say 8" dimes is about it, in andys program (opened to line 27) 10 and 11" dimes. I have been thinking of tradeing up to a ctx but just not sure its worth the extra $ since water hunting is not allowed in my state, but the better balance would be good as I do get a sore shoulder after swinging the etrac. Not sure if jumping to a ctx would be worth it, I will keep reading and watching.Thanks

 

[earthmansurfer]

Stasys - I do need to try long and smooth - I made a note and forgot! But at least things were equal - I didn't try it with either. Next time out as I hit the spot again today for a few hours and really didn't get any deep coins from the strip. Hey, you are a professor of FBS, but I'm an FBS2 journeyman eheheh. I like pulling your leg like you like pulling mine...

logger1 - Thanks bro. I ran the E-Trac in a low disc pattern. I had 28 on down disc'd out all the way along the bottom. But, I compared it against the stock program (which I ran for 2 weeks or less) and they both hit about the same depth. Perhaps my iron mineralized ground is the reason there. I can't seem to really go deeper than 9", unless it's a large silver I would imagine. On the CTX I started with the same 28 on down and now run 30 on down (I think) but now have opened the left side. If you look at the screen there are 5 boxes across. So, the left two are open and the right three on the bottom are disc'd out. I don't see a difference in depth, still hitting the same but I should check again.

I agree with you, I don't think the CTX is worth the money. I just really loved the E-Trac but the weight killed my back. I don't water hunt but might try it now. Anyway, since I liked the E-Trac but couldn't comfortably use it, I thought to just get one detector and be happy, so I returned my Dues (not a great coin machine for me) and sold my E-Trac = wash. To be honest with you, I think if you weight for the Fisher CZ due at years end you might get something as deep or deeper than the CTX and lighter. I am hoping. I'm not brand loyal but the CTX is my favorite machine. You feel the weight a bit in the shoulders but I notice that is getting less now. My back gets sensitive from it, but it's my back, not the CTX really. Again, I'm saying 20% more machine for 100% more $$$. But I don't see money as money, I see it as points. I mean they just create it, can't get too attached to numbers. If you got the extra money, it would be nice and the waterproof feature makes it easy to clean and not worry about rain.

Good luck,
Albert

 

[Olegrumpy]

Grumble grumble...

The only detectors you can compare are analog one-knob ones. Compadre vs 1212x...for instance.

Add that second knob for the sensitivity, and the comparison will be affected by the (in)experience of the owner.

Is it worth then to mention the tremendous amount of tweakable settings both the v3i and ctx offer? Zillions of possible settings, again affected by the (in)experience of the owners, will result in the comparison being impossible.

As for "my soils", these detectors are designed to work well everywhere. That's why they offer so many options. That's why they have a very long learning curve.

People following the "hype", that is buying a detector because it's new or other social reasons are wrong. They have to buy it because the machine offers a bunch of options/settings they know they really need.

Both detectors are fantastic products. But they are NOT comparable. Both can answer to specific needs or hunting conditions, a hunter realising that will be able to recognise the functions that would be an improvement to his actual gear.

If he sees no need or improvement, he will be wise to save a whole lot of money, or buy accessories for his existing gear.

HH

Grumpy.

 

[pspr]

It might be worth noting that Woodland Detectors is no longer a Minelab dealer according to the Minelab website. That might account for his bashing of the CTX.

 

[goodmore]

I think his honest report came before his fallout with Minelab. In fact the report might have caused the fallout. But I respect a man who will tell you his honest opinion. I'm sure he has a side to his story. Maybe someday it will come out. He earned my respect and probably the respect of others as well. I wish all detector mags and forums could share honest opinions. After all isn't that all it was? His opinion on detector comparisons. Some day money and manufcturers will not control our hobby. The customers will. There are a few forums where you can express your opinion (preferably with data). If you want to charge 2500.00 for a detector you better prepare for opinions on performance. I tip my hat to the people that go out of their way to compare detectors and put them through some ruff and tuff testing. Especially if their final word might hit them in the wallet.

 

[Woodland Detectors]

With all due respect Dave, I ran an extensive test with the DFX , MXT, CTX, and Tekntetics T2LTD....Unfortunately, the CTX came in towards the bottom in minerlaised ground. As did the Etrac...I have many hours on the Etrac, and wish I had ran this test prior to purchasing bothg the Etrac, and CTX. I have since purchased the DFX, and T2LTD, and am finding things I missed with both the CTX, and etrac in the past. James Bibb, and Sentinal (Josh silva) will both attest to this. Take care

 

[Realredrebel]

I was hoping this thread had died... Arrrrg.

Sent from my iPad using TreasureNet

 

[tnsharpshooter]

Let me understand this. The CTX comes out while the etrac has been out over3 years. And now all of a sudden both the etrac and CTX are worthless in mineralized ground. Just how mineralized does the soil need to be to see theis so called dibilatating performance with the etrac and CTX as compared to the white's machines And what do you attribute all the silver finds with the explorer/etracs? I have a V3i, 2 etrac, and a CTX and to me the V3i is terrible when compared to both etrac and CTX. The V3i is so sweep speed sensivite to find deep coins and it's settings can be like chasing a needle in a haystack. Something else I find a bit strange too is the white's forum. If I was a metal detecting company and I was going to say create a machine that was going to be the end all be all machine(V3i), why wouldn't the company divide their forum into the different models when it comes to finds. That way you could show better the superiority of your new machine. And just where are all the finds with the V3is? I review all the forums regulary and just don't see the quantities found when compared to the minelabs. As a matter a fact why would so many people still be using their old explorers when this socalled V3i is out there? If someone had a V3i and was a hunting with a minelab person and was embarrassing the minelab user on a routine basis, don't you think the secret would be out. And to add, why are all these V3i users out chasing the new Ultimate 13" coil for? I thought the V3i coil setup couldn't be beat for depth and separation. And I haven't saw a single utube video thats reflects this superior performance of the V3i, actually the reverse. I see nothing but bouncing VDis with the V3i and most of the time I'm clueless to what I'm digging. I've read some are even boxing up both their V3i and etrac to buy a CTX. I read numerous posts stating the FBS machines are superior in bad ground compared to traditional VLF machines. And why are so many minelabs sold and why are their flagships priced at or above the white's flagship? It would seem that would be a failure(minelab that is) if the white's V3i was kickin but and taking names over both the etrac(same price as V3i with no colored screen) and CTX. So I asked where are all the utubes showing this superior V3i perfromance? So the minelabs are all bad and the whites and Tekneticsare all good? Well that's ok I'll just keep filling my pouch with silver using the minelabs and leave the V3i inthe closet collecting dust. Ps White's shouldn't be releasing another flagship machine anytime soon since it's the superior machine-right.?? We'll see.

 

[earthmansurfer]

tnsharpshooter - I can agree with most of your post. I really really tried everything with the V3i but it just didn't work in my ground at depth. I do hear the V3i is tops in All Metal mode - but that isn't fun hunting for me.

Woodland Detectors - I am really curious, just like tnsharpshooter said, regarding the FBS machines not performing in mineralized ground. My ground isn't terribly mineralize but it killed the V3i. I knew that machine pretty well and when I did all I could, I went and got expert opinions from the mods and other users. Nothing helped.

So, I'm curious - what does your ground probe read in your ground that the E-Trac won't run in? I am not saying I don't believe you as I have heard from reputable people that in some bad ground the E-Trac/CTX won't work. But I can't see how the V3i, which has trouble in my somewhat mineralized ground, would perform better in worse mineralized ground The ground probe reading in my ground was around 2% mineralized (low) and -92 to -93 on the VDI (very high). What sensitivity level in auto would the CTX run at? It would be nice to know more about your extensive tests as it could benefit many people looking for solutions, machines for their ground, etc. My pretty extensive tests comparing the E-Trac and V3i on 8" or so targets are all on youtube and settings are given. earthmansurfer69

Albert

 

[Realredrebel]

I have been trying not to add to this post but I feel I must.... I have not used any of the whites machines but I can speak from experience... I go on club hunts once in a while and the other members have whites V3i and fisher f5 machines... I have followed them with my Etrac and found coins 8" or more that their machines never saw... They have done air tests after the hunt to see if their machines would pick up the coins at the depth I did and still their machines would not... I am not saying that the other machines are bad machines all I can say is I will stick with Minelab...

Tim

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[norbyx]

Com'on guys .... who cares if one machine is better than the other, if one can find a coin at 8in and the other can find a coin at 7in.... in the end both are good detectors and every person here has what "he" considers to be the best machine.
Hey we all buy what we think it's the best that we can afford don't we? I think that none of us goes out to a store and says " hey give me the worse machine you got there, I need to hunt some ground and I wouldn't want to find some good stuf"..... We all go an buy what we "think" it's the best.
If there was just ONE certain best machine out there than I think that all of us would be using the same detector.
For me deep finds aren't the main reason you buy a detector, otherwise I would have bought a blisstool and end of story... that thing can find a quarter at 15in or more.... so let's just say that we all love our detectors and Happy Hunting to all of you....

 

[tnsharpshooter]

I'm waiting to hear what the mineabs etrac/CTX do/does better than V3i and DFX. Surely something, or are you afraid to comment maybe and lose your rights to sell White's machines? Why did you buy etrac and CTX to begin with? Is it maybe your minelab buds were kickin your butt when you were using the whites along side with them. The timing of your criticism is very suspicious as well as your test between the detectors. Where's your video to support your statements? All I seem to ever read concerning the V3i is folks comment when they underperform saying things like "uh oh your settings aren't right or your ground balance wasn't done proper, or you were running ground balance in auto and you should have been in manual(locked tracking), or you were in manual tracking and didn't reground balance because the V3i trracking drifts even in lock track. And many more excuses! I really think for the money the ACE 250 is the best. You see how silly this statement sounds. Just what could a person interested in detecting derive from that statement. IMO absolutely nothing! I guess the bottom line is minelab just puts out a better smoke screen than white's. And this American made reference is bogus too. I wonder just where the components inside a white's V3i comes from. Let's hear it White's. Just what percentage of the detector is truly American made. You know back in the 80s the same thing was said of imports like datsun and toyota. This thing buy american wore off when they saw these rice burners going 300,000 miles and the USA equivalents being in the junk piles at 150,000 miles, and the 150000 mile auto cost more.

 

[stasys]

I'm waiting to hear what the mineabs etrac/CTX do/does better than V3i and DFX. Surely something, or are you afraid to comment maybe and lose your rights to sell White's machines? Why did you buy etrac and CTX to begin with? Is it maybe your minelab buds were kickin your butt when you were using the whites along side with them. The timing of your criticism is very suspicious as well as your test between the detectors. Where's your video to support your statements? All I seem to ever read concerning the V3i is folks comment when they underperform saying things like "uh oh your settings aren't right or your ground balance wasn't done proper, or you were running ground balance in auto and you should have been in manual(locked tracking), or you were in manual tracking and didn't reground balance because the V3i trracking drifts even in lock track. And many more excuses!

This is getting more interesting please continue.
From my experience Etrac is the same Explorer and CTX what I can say seeing Youtube is the same or very similar to Etrac, looking box size under arm I bet inside Etrac circuitry boards, but shortly Minelab got crazy with CTX starting with price and ending with weight and some CTX occasional drowning .
But I have tested Whites too-DFX and it is disaster except shaft, compare to old explorer--any.

 

[tnsharpshooter]

I just looked at both my rechargeable battery pack as well as my AA pack for my V3i. There's nothing stated on it it was made in the USA. The only thing stated on the 2 items is the decals that are affixed is made in the USA not the battery or the AA pack. Just where are the batteries made white's??

 

[earthmansurfer]

Norbyx - I don't think this is about us caring, per say, which machine is better. It is rather about some perhaps exaggerating or even lying regarding their machines performance. Admitting to getting 7" and saying 11" are two different things. I know for fact but won't mention names, that a few V3i hunters have outright lied regarding the performance of the machine because they are White's guys (I imagine). I have meticulously made comparison videos in my somewhat iron mineralized ground. Ground that has given most machines fits at the 6" - 7" mark (VID wise). I posted these videos and used the feedback to improve things. It came down to mods saying " You have tried everything, you have tried our settings, the machine just doesn't work well in your ground." I have asked for settings, GROUND PROBE READINGS (a key!) and "tricks" regarding how some of these people got there machines to supposedly go deeper and what they give me is one of two things: 1 - The settings I basically used or 2 - nothing. The V3i may be complicated, but there are some core settings that make it quite straight forward. See, I liked the V3i. I wanted to get it to go deeper. I actually stayed away from Minelabs for years as I thought the hype was too much. I disliked all the pics of finds, didn't think it was possible. Well, the V3i caused me to try one out as I knew the ground I was hunting in had to have deeper coins. Within 1 hour I found the deepest coin I have found ever detecting - 8". That continued to the 9" mark. Not super deep, but my ground is tough. And 2" more may not sound like much, but it actually is.

Stasys - The CTX is MUCH MUCH faster than the E-Trac. The E-Trac is a great machine, but the recovery rate is no where near the CTX. They are two different beasts in that department. The CTX will shine in sites with heavier iron or trash. Without those two things you won't see as much of a performance increase (VID's will be more solid, depth perhaps slightly more, but not a whole lot). Their depth is for sure similar but the CTX locks on MUCH better and it works a lot better in mineralized ground as well (though I liked the E-Trac "bounce"!) You can't really say "In my experience...", cause you haven't had a CTX, have you?

I really like the CTX but I don't think the price is fair at 2500. I think it should be a 1900 buck unit. But, money is relative, very relative. It is just supply and demand.

Most guys won't speak out, so I'm backing tnsharpshooter here as I know and have experienced a great deal of what he is talking about. I could care less about brands. I'm even looking forward to Fisher's new CZ, rumored to be due out at the end of the year. This is just about detecting, no more, no less.

 

[stasys]

Stasys - The CTX is MUCH MUCH faster than the E-Trac. The E-Trac is a great machine, but the recovery rate is no where near the CTX. They are two different beasts in that department. The CTX will shine in sites with heavier iron or trash. Without those two things you won't see as much of a performance increase (VID's will be more solid, depth perhaps slightly more, but not a whole lot). Their depth is for sure similar but the CTX locks on MUCH better and it works a lot better in mineralized ground as well (though I liked the E-Trac "bounce"!) You can't really say "In my experience...", cause you haven't had a CTX, have you?

I really like the CTX but I don't think the price is fair at 2500. I think it should be a 1900 buck unit. But, money is relative, very relative. It is just supply and demand.

Albert I never said i have CTX, I can say you have, and I have saw your videos on CTX, its look faster on beep, but my point CTX still old, but ,,Faster,, FBS, For price tag Minelab got CRAZY, its not that I cant afford, it just not logical money numbers for detector with water leaks problem and weight.
You say CTX faster when Etrac, but you can agree its still not good suited for small targets in iron, my suggestion try Tejon with 5 coil and compare what you can get with simple old school detector, used price from 300$.
and remember Minelab did allot videos about Etrac when it was fresh, calling it faster and not Explorer, but in reality 99 or 100 tricks you can repeat with first Explorer from 1999. With CTX stories I can see similarities.
Albert look near you some with Etrac or Explorer and make video.

 

[tnsharpshooter]

So I guess it's fair to say that a white's xlt will find everything a V3i will. I disagree
Same goes for the fisher f5 versus the f75se. I disagree
Recovery speed improvements mean nothing when hunting in trash piles. I disagree
A detectors ability to discriminate means nothing. I disagree
All coils have the same performance in iron and trash. I disagree
The CTX has no improvements that could/will cause you to find a target that would otherwise be missed by explorer/etrac. I disagree
Just curious how many coin/iron and coin/trash arrangements exist in the ground today, I would say several. So you have saw all these different scenarios play out on utube already even though the CTX is only 8 weeks old. Don't think so
I read on another forum there's this Doc who took a CTX out with his buds running an etrac with a 13" ultimate coil, here was what they saw. CTX in auto sensivity was gving clear tone and ID, etrac had to be run even with the large 13" coil at 26 manual sensivity and tone and ID were degraded when compared to CTX.
I have hunted with CTX in a few small sites I pounded with V3i with 10dd coil and 2 different etracs with stock coil, 10x12 sef, 6x8sef, wot coil,sunray x-5 coils. I found coins with CTX at all of these small sites except for one. Granted I didn't find many coins but did find some. And most were on edge. The CTX doesn't false as much as etrac and both the ferrous and conductive numers seem to be spot on when in the ferrous coins target separation. I believe the CTX performs better at higher EMI levels than etrac.

 

[stasys]

So I guess it's fair to say that a white's xlt will find everything a V3i will. I disagree
Same goes for the fisher f5 versus the f75se. I disagree
Recovery speed improvements mean nothing when hunting in trash piles. I disagree
A detectors ability to discriminate means nothing. I disagree
All coils have the same performance in iron and trash. I disagree
The CTX has no improvements that could/will cause you to find a target that would otherwise be missed by explorer/etrac. I disagree
Just curious how many coin/iron and coin/trash arrangements exist in the ground today, I would say several. So you have saw all these different scenarios play out on utube already even though the CTX is only 8 weeks old. Don't think so
I read on another forum there's this Doc who took a CTX out with his buds running an etrac with a 13" ultimate coil, here was what they saw. CTX in auto sensivity was gving clear tone and ID, etrac had to be run even with the large 13" coil at 26 manual sensivity and tone and ID were degraded when compared to CTX.
I have hunted with CTX in a few small sites I pounded with V3i with 10dd coil and 2 different etracs with stock coil, 10x12 sef, 6x8sef, wot coil,sunray x-5 coils. I found coins with CTX at all of these small sites except for one. Granted I didn't find many coins but did find some. And most were on edge. The CTX doesn't false as much as etrac and both the ferrous and conductive numers seem to be spot on when in the ferrous coins target separation. I believe the CTX performs better at higher EMI levels than etrac.

Lets say Ctx is better 5% or 10% in Iron compare to Etrac, but I a bit doubt, now look size and weight of the CTX and look what size your phone in pocked, do you think Minelab putted new brains in the CTX compare to Etrac? I really doubt, what Minelab did with CTX is absolutely not funny and not professional with price 2500$-stupid. Minelab still jumps around old FBS and cant make CTX waterproofed right, with crazy wired headphone jack in detector back, disaster.
Utimate 13 coil are you sure you need it? from my test different coils, I use old 1050 coil with the same success, sometimes people spend more money on something what they dont understand.
Have you try using Etrac or explorer on the belt with extension cable? in the hand just shaft and coil, no paint and detecting day can be more easy and pleasant. Plus detector like FBS performance allot depends from operator.

 

[earthmansurfer]

Here are some videos of the E-Trac Vs. V3i on some deeper targets (The CTX is just more stable at the same depths):

E-Trac & V3i on an 8" Bronze coin:


E-Trac & V3i on a 7" tag encrusted in rust:


E-Trac and V3i on an 8" zinc coin: