VX3 Short Reply:
juit: I just got one in pristine condition. ... Why?
juit: Any succesful happy vx3 orwer that want to share their settings? ... No, not really as I wasn't.
juit: How do you vompare it vs a v3i or other machines? ... Simpler, with fewer settings, but similar weaknesses.
juit: Should i keep it? ... I wouldn't suggest it.
Personal Use / Experience Reply:
I was a Master Dealer for White's and have usually owned and used at least one or two favorite White's detectors since my first experience in August of 1968. The original 'Vision' had way too many glitches, some of which I never saw mentioned on the Forums. I had one of the very first out the door. Terrible, and then slow but sure they fixed some of them up. Emphasis on the 'slow' part.
Between the final V3i and VX3, my personal preference was the VX3, and for some folks, depending on the type of sites they hunted and what they were dealing with in site conditions, I still think they are possibly suited for an urban Coin Hunter working parks and schools and sports fields. That's what I used them for to get to know them, and then I started doing side-by-side comparisons in-the-field with the favorites I had at the time (5900 Di Pro ... XL Pro ... XLT ... MXT Pro) for searching those types of sites.
There were other annoying things in performance, but the biggest was a need to use a more 'controlled' sweep speed with the VX3 and V3i most of the time. Kind of a proper sweep speed left or right (not too fast or too slow) and then a 'hesitation' before the return sweep or the unit might not have recovered to respond well (or at all) on a target you just swept over. Just a quirkish behavior.
I worked with several people who had bought a V/V3/V3i or VX3 who had been loyal White's users for quite a while and they felt as I did that their choice of a favorite White's, like one or more of those I had, would easily match or out-perform those new models. I'd gladly grab my XLT or XL Pro to work a site before even thinking about one of the new breed, and in just about any comparison I did on my own or when working with a customer (to include people shopping for a detector as well as those with a new unit and just trying to learn it) the MXT Pro, at the time, was by far the better all-around performing model from White's.
You listed the following in your Signature:
Nokta anfibio ... A better and more versatile unit than the VX3 / V3i.
Whites MXT Pro ... A very versatile detector that used to be a favorite in my Detector Outfit.
Minelab Etrac ... Never owned one but have owned 6 or 7 other FBS models and, for certain applications, they can perform well.
whites idx HOT version "crazy deep" ... I have a very good assortment of great-performing models and coils, and that includes a pretty hot 'modified' IDX Pro.
Your listing shows two models well suited for going after deeper silver and high-conductive targets in old-use grassy sites, and a pair of also talented devices for more universal site challenges that can take on dense iron contamination such as most Relic Hunting sites put in the way.
I don't care for the VX3 or V3i. I think they fall short of all-purpose performance of models like the MXT Pro or Anfibio, and even the good IDX Pro. Out of the entire White's models offered today, the MX-7 is probably their best value and better all-around performing model. If you still have the listed models, I'd encourage you to part with your new device and just get out and enjoy some detecting time with what you have.
Remember, biased opinions are free.
Monte
