White's Spectra V3i Tips and Tricks

[vmathieu]

So I've had the White's v3i for about two years now and I feel like I am just now starting to understand how this awesome machine works. I used to have a lot of trouble so I'd like to start thread specifically for this awesome machine which I'm just starting to really get used to and like.

First and foremost I have to thank user @flphil who gave me some great advice.
I was having issues getting more depth out of the machine. Every time I turned the gain over about 3 the machine would just start saying there was metal everywhere. No matter what else I did the the machine just would let it work. The problem was that I couldn't get more than about 4 inches deep. I have a third of an acre and that space gets really small really quick.

At the advice of flphil I turned off two of the three frequencies and only left the 2.5kHz option on. To my excitement the device was able to have the gain turned up to about 6. In searching the yard that I had search at least 40 times, the detector started to indicate signals at between 6 and 8 inches deep. And not just random signals but good, clear, clean signals with VDI numbers in those sweet 80s. I was shocked! It was like having my yard all over again. I must have pulled 50 - 100 coins out of my yard already and to my dismay, I found another handful of coins today. 3 copper pennies, 1 dime, 1 nickel, 1 quarter and one 6 inch piece of copper pipe. I also found some trash (always do) and I was foiled by some foil, but I got my yard back. Awesome advice from flphil and a great time was had again.

Just thought I would share the advice around. Hope it helps anyone out there who might be struggling with me.

-Victor M.

PS. I bought a 4x6 ellipse coil today for the white's so I'm excited to add that to my arsenal and I'll be sure to review it and let everyone know how it works out.

 

[Martin_V3i]

So you can't run three frequencies above Rx 3? There's a big problem if you have to run a single frequency. martin

 

[vmathieu]

So you can't run three frequencies above Rx 3? There's a big problem if you have to run a single frequency. martin

Any suggestions for fixing it? When I set it higher the detector acts like there's random metal everywhere and it jumps around even when the detector's not swinging. I sent it off to White's and they swapped the coil but if I turn up past 3 it stops working.
I'm open to ideas of what the problem might be.
-Victor M.

 

[Martin_V3i]

When will your 4x6 arrive? That small coil takes a full RX 15 for me even with boost on.

I have to assume you have a bad coil. Has your V3i ever worked above Rx3? My immediate suggestion would be to call Mary Hudson at White's in Oregon and have her walk you through a master reset procedure. I've had the same exact situation as you once and the master reset resolved it.

Try the 4x6 first. The coil you have now, I assume the 10"D2, has failed. Have you air tested it? martin

BTW, Whites sent me a new replacement coil once and it was bad on delivery.

 

[tnsharpshooter]

What does your detector sound like in single frequency 22.5khz???

 

[Martin_V3i]

Honestly?, I've never run mine in that single frequency except for maybe once years ago right after getting mine. The V3i should logically be noisier at that frequency due to electro magnetic energy in the air and the ground. A microwave tower nearby will raise hell with the V3i. Maybe one has been built lately. martin

 

[vmathieu]

When will your 4x6 arrive? That small coil takes a full RX 15 for me even with boost on.

I have to assume you have a bad coil. Has your V3i ever worked above Rx3? My immediate suggestion would be to call Mary Hudson at White's in Oregon and have her walk you through a master reset procedure. I've had the same exact situation as you once and the master reset resolved it.

Try the 4x6 first. The coil you have now, I assume the 10"D2, has failed. Have you air tested it? martin

The 4x6 should arrive by early next week (maybe sooner ).

I wasn't familiar enough with it when I first bought it to be able to tell if it had ever been set higher. I did send it back and they swapped the coils out. I just finished making some air test sticks that I'm going to use on the whites this weekend (it's gonna rain) and see if I can get the setting to be higher.

What's the best way to reach Mary Hudson? Or can I call any White's authorized repair?

-Victor M.

 

[Martin_V3i]

If you've not tested it in lifted air yet, take it and hold the coil waist high in front of you while the gain is set to 15, in 3 frequency. If it won't pass that, your coil is bad.

mary Hudson is at the main White's number in Oregon.

Let's start with that test. martin

 

[flphil]

I suspect a bad coil also. When you get the new coil you should be able to run a least +10 in my soil I am able to run max sens(15) without any problems.
HH & Thanks, phil

 

[CoiltoSoil]

It sounds like you have a coil or detector issue, you should easily be able to run the gain at 8, I generally run mine at 13+. If you can't run it over 3 i'd suggest resetting the detector, if that doesn't help, run the coil test as Martin said since some of the V3i's came with bad coils. I generally run gain at 13, disc sens at 89, tx boost on, sens at 7.5, and ground filter at 5. It goes VERY deep.

 

[vmathieu]

Thanks everyone. This might explain why I thought the thing was so finicky. I'll try an air test this weekend. i just made some test target sticks to try it out so I'll see how it works out.
Thanks for the advice.

 

[CoiltoSoil]

Also check your ground filters, a wrong filter can cause some stability issues.

 

[Martin_V3i]

You wrote in your original post, "I have a third of an acre and that space gets really small really quick.

Are you only hunting at one location? I'm confused. martin

 

[vmathieu]

Okay tried the Master Reset

Okay so I tried the master reset. I found it on the thread:
http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=178703

The instructions were easy to follow and well outlined how not to brick your detector.

I did the master reset and did an air test but to no avail. 2-3 is the max gain I can set it to without having it wig out on me.

Guess I'll have to call White's tomorrow. I know their customer service is great and all but I really don't want to be without my machine for a week.
-Victor M.

 

[vmathieu]

You wrote in your original post, "I have a third of an acre and that space gets really small really quick.

Are you only hunting at one location? I'm confused. martin

Well, I'm kind of new so I haven't really had much opportunity to find others to hunt with and less experience with finding new places. I'm not native to Connecticut so I don't have the luxury of family property or family friends to ask. If I was back home in California I'd have all kinds of real estate access.

Anyway until I make some friends in the area who detect, I'm just testing in my yard and trying to get my bearings. Plus, we finally just got good weather that gets us out of the snow and cold.

-Victor M.

 

[Martin_V3i]

Well, I'm kind of new so I haven't really had much opportunity to find others to hunt with and less experience with finding new places. I'm not native to Connecticut so I don't have the luxury of family property or family friends to ask. If I was back home in California I'd have all kinds of real estate access.

Anyway until I make some friends in the area who detect, I'm just testing in my yard and trying to get my bearings. Plus, we finally just got good weather that gets us out of the snow and cold.

-Victor M.

My point I was going to make is that you need to take the V3i to another location to test, in case your particular yard has become a hot spot of EMI. There's surely a public park or a public school(weekend testing) to try it there for a sanity test. A local airport boosted their microwave/radar clost to me, causing problems.

I certainly know your situation in the isolation within you own yard. I got my V3i in 2010 and as God is my witness, I hunted my yard for a year, except for one occasion when I visited my family in Arkansas. I have hundreds of hours here hunting a half acre front yard. You and are so much alike in this. I still have limited areas to hunt due to the fact I'm shy concerning the legalities.

There are several members here on this board who can attest to my "year at home" hunt. I was 8 minutes away from a park I coulda hunted but didn't.

 

[Martin_V3i]

You might think of waiting on the delivery of the 4X6 coil next week. You couldn't likely ship it out until Monday anyway. If you do get the 4x6, airtest it in lifted air with no targets, and get it to take 15 gain, your old coil now is bad.

If the coil is all there is to it, you can just send the coil back and stillhunt your yard with the small coil, and you'll find stuff to-boot, trust me. If you sent the machine off, it'll be way more than a week being gone. I always send mine to Oregon so it takes time.

 

[CoiltoSoil]

You might think of waiting on the delivery of the 4X6 coil next week. You couldn't likely ship it out until Monday anyway. If you do get the 4x6, airtest it in lifted air with no targets, and get it to take 15 gain, your old coil now is bad.

If the coil is all there is to it, you can just send the coil back and stillhunt your yard with the small coil, and you'll find stuff to-boot, trust me. If you sent the machine off, it'll be way more than a week being gone. I always send mine to Oregon so it takes time.

I agree, and from what I understand White's often sens out new coils without even receiving the old one first. So I'd wait to run the coil test on the new coil like Martin said, this way you can determine if just the coil, or the whole detector needs to go back to White's.

 

[vmathieu]

Thanks for the advice all. I got this machine handed down to me from a friend (a REALLY good friend) and I knew it was good but it always seemed so fickle that I couldn't do more with it than my Bounty Hunter or Ace 350 so I have been limiting what I was doing with it. If I can get this working again it would be great to have this awesome detector working to its full potential. I never would have known there was an issue before this I would have just assumed that I didn't know how to properly use it and it would have collected dust being second best to a coin shooter. Way to sad for a detector like this.

-Victor M.

 

[CoiltoSoil]

Thanks for the advice all. I got this machine handed down to me from a friend (a REALLY good friend) and I knew it was good but it always seemed so fickle that I couldn't do more with it than my Bounty Hunter or Ace 350 so I have been limiting what I was doing with it. If I can get this working again it would be great to have this awesome detector working to its full potential. I never would have known there was an issue before this I would have just assumed that I didn't know how to properly use it and it would have collected dust being second best to a coin shooter. Way to sad for a detector like this.

-Victor M.

Once you get the issue fixed and can run the gain at 8+ you will see a huge increase in depth and performance. Like I said I normally run the gain at 13, at that level you will be getting double the depth easily.