White's Spectra V3 Field Reports

CyberSage

Elite Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2006
Messages
2,106
Location
Fort Collins, Colorado


Spectra V3 & Vision
Thread.jpg



This thread is for current owners of the new White's Spectra V3 to share there experience and observations. If you have questions about the Spectra V3 this would be a good place to ask those as well. Lets keep focus on the subject matter and refrain from speculation. The goal should be to gain knowledge and obtain accurate facts about the Spectra and learn from others experience while at the same time being courteous of others observations, as they are just that. I will be moderating this closely and will remove any off topic post. Below you will find information and links to documentation. The quick Links will be updated on a regular basis.

Keep Swing'in
Jack


Current Software Revisions
1.0 = original Version
1.1 = Volume control fix.
1.2 = In house fix to use more than one brand of a IC
1.3 = Fixed a audio phase rotation creating a stereo to mono on some units.


Documentation And Manuals
Owners Guide
Field Guide
Assembly Guide
SpectraSound Wireless Headphone Instruction
Spectra V3 Instructional Videos


Spectra V3 / Vision Quick Links

Vision Beach Program Report
http://metaldetectingforum.com/showpost.php?p=375096&postcount=391

Correlate Program for the Spectra V3 (Jack's Program)
http://metaldetectingforum.com/showpost.php?p=362523&postcount=345
http://metaldetectingforum.com/showpost.php?p=379441&postcount=425 Latest revision 9/27/09

Hot Rocks And the V3
http://metaldetectingforum.com/showpost.php?p=330405&postcount=242
http://metaldetectingforum.com/showpost.php?p=328770&postcount=229

V3 Bigfoot Coil Observations
http://metaldetectingforum.com/showpost.php?p=334298&postcount=257
 
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Good idea to get this thread started Jack! Thanks!! I know Lowjiber has one and has been running some actual field use tests. I hope he will post his feelings here, as well as anyone who has used one regardles if you call it a Vision or Spectra V3.
 
What little I know...

Jack...This thread is a good idea.

I bought mine (Yes, it has the "Vision" sticker) about a month ago after a hunt with a friend who had one about two weeks. As most know, I'm a MXT guy who cranks knobs to make adjustments on the fly, so adapting to touch screens is fairly new to me.

Here are my observations so far (only have about 8 hours hunt time on the MD)....

This is not a detector for a begining MD'er IMHO. The machine's ability to adjust so many variables requires some detecting experience to relate the adjustments to the individual circumstances. An inexperienced operator simply cannot justify the cost of the machine if they can't take advantage of it's flexibility IMHO.

Regarding the Sunray DX-1...I would not have purchased a Vision if a SunRay didn't work on it. I'm happy to say that it works just fine. There may be an issue if the user has activated Tx boost, but there really isn't a need to boost transmission when using a probe anyway.

Weight and balance...My main MD is a MXT with a Sunray attached. I purchased another Sunray for the Vision and set the shaft and cuff adjustments exactly in the same positions. With 10D2's on both machines, there is no difference between the two. So, for me, the V feels exactly like the MXT.

On my first hunt, I placed several targets in a tot lot to get a feel for how the Spectragraph worked with the C/J program (3 freqs). I found the machine to be slower to recover than my MXT...so much so that I had to really slow down my swing speed. Later, I discovered that there are several filter and recovery adjustments that can adjust the response/recovery time to suit my habits.

I bought the machine to find deep silver. In the majority of the parks I hunt, the silver coins are deeper than 7-8". The V's deep silver program uses 2.5kHz only and is very deep...albeit requiring a somewhat slow swing speed. I'm just getting used to it, but am recovering wheaties and silver coins down to a true 9 1/2" in an area that I've hunted many times before.

One issue that I had with the machine was VDI wrap-around. I cured it by notching out +94 & +95 VDI's, but later discovered (helps to read the expert manual) that there is a control feature that does it for you in much the same manner.

So...that's my first post regarding my experiences with the MD. I'm just getting to know the machine and really feel that it'll become a favorite...I'm impressed so far.
 
great thread Jack

i'm really looking toward the honest feedback here about this machine , i'm considering to purchase this detector or another later on this year but like to do my homework first .

i know the mxt has a unique and different processor to make the machine recover extremely fast after iron targets and nulls from heavy mineralization ,which is why its a great relic detector even faster than the dfx .

now my question ;is the v3 's processor or processor's capable of that same recovery time or quicker than the mxt and does anyone who has both want to give an unbiased comparison and share the results , i myself and a few others would like to know , thanks

Dan
 
Great report John! Thanks. Are you locking the Spectra into pinpoint mode when you use the DX-1 probe or are you using it discrimination mode? Do your other battery packs for the MXT work in the Spectra?

Keep Swing'in
Jack
 
Great report John! Thanks. Are you locking the Spectra into pinpoint mode when you use the DX-1 probe or are you using it discrimination mode? Do your other battery packs for the MXT work in the Spectra?

Keep Swing'in
Jack
I don't lock the pinpoint on the V. With the MXT, I've always laid the detector down by the hole and pulled the trigger when using the DX-1. Since I was so used to it, I just do the same with the V. Of course, the V locks in pinpoint mode quickly (pull trigger and press enter) and one could easily get in the habit of locking it when starting to dig.

I only use the AAA pack for my MXT, but it is exactly the same as the one that comes with the V. I read (somewhere) that the packs (both AAA and NiMH) are totally interchangable. I can't see why not.
 
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Great reading already, and its the first day! Thanks for setting up this thread.

Basically I am a newbie and proud to say that I purchased the V on April 6th as I wanted to kick start this as a hobby after a hiatus of about 23 years. I rationalized the cost of the V as a belated 50th birthday gift for myself. My wife thinks that I paid about $800. for it but what she did not know is that I had a grand in cash that I pigeon holes away).

In the past 13 days I have taken her (the Vision) out on about 8 different days each lasting 2 to 3 hours. Just learning the machine. Honestly, your light years ahead of me in your posts already (terminology, settings, etc.. I hope to catch up one day but in-the-mean-time, I will enjoy the hobby.

Have a blessed evening all!

Don in SoCal.
 
My 1st Real Hunt Using C/J Program

I haven't really been working this detector enough in one mode. I've spent most of my time jumping around through the programs and learning to adjust stuff "on the fly", so to speak.

Today, I spent about four hours using only the C/J program. I'm still rejecting +94/+95 to prevent wrap-around, but dug the Canadian dollar anyway (MXT guy here...always listening). It hit a solid +94/95, but wrapped around.

I was hunting in a moderately high mineralized area. The Vision showed that I was losing 28% of my signal after a good ground balance and suggested a Rx gain of 5. I hunted it at 10 with not a lot of issues.

There is a small tot lot in the park and I cranked the gain down to 1 to get under/near the poles, etc, but hunted the rest of the lot with the gain at 3.

Of the three small jewelry items, only the toe ring is actually marked 925. The charm appears to be silver plate under a loupe and the ear ring's "ear wire" is only gold plated. The ring rang true in the dime range and the other two were in the 45-55 range....using normalized VDI's.

When the ground is balanced and the Rx gain not terribly overdriven, the threshold sound is sweet as butter. I'm not running the wireless headphones (they hurt my ears), but with the wired headset volume at factory setting my KB's sound great.

I use my DX-1 a lot to pinpoint coins down to a little over 3" so I can flip. With the MXT, it's a simple turn of the gain knob to get maximum depth for the probe. Cranking the gain up with the Vision is a little more difficult, but I'm getting used to it enough that I don't lose much time. Most of the time, I don't even have to pull the trigger to pinpoint as the threshold is so pure that I can get right on the target with no extra effort.

Well....that's my hunt and report for the day. Finds are below:
21Apr2.jpg
21Apr1.jpg
 
Good report John. Did you by any chance try to run the C&J program with Mixed Mode enabled? Don't know why the factory program turns Mixed Mode off and I wonder what kind of difference it would make on getting even more depth.
 
I haven't really been working this detector enough in one mode. I've spent most of my time jumping around through the programs and learning to adjust stuff "on the fly", so to speak.

Today, I spent about four hours using only the C/J program. I'm still rejecting +94/+95 to prevent wrap-around, but dug the Canadian dollar anyway (MXT guy here...always listening). It hit a solid +94/95, but wrapped around.

I was hunting in a moderately high mineralized area. The Vision showed that I was losing 28% of my signal after a good ground balance and suggested a Rx gain of 5.
I hunted it at 10 with not a lot of issues.

There is a small tot lot in the park and I cranked the gain down to 1 to get under/near the poles, etc, but hunted the rest of the lot with the gain at 3.

Of the three small jewelry items, only the toe ring is actually marked 925. The charm appears to be silver plate under a loupe and the ear ring's "ear wire" is only gold plated. The ring rang true in the dime range and the other two were in the 45-55 range....using normalized VDI's.

When the ground is balanced and the Rx gain not terribly overdriven, the threshold sound is sweet as butter. I'm not running the wireless headphones (they hurt my ears), but with the wired headset volume at factory setting my KB's sound great.

I use my DX-1 a lot to pinpoint coins down to a little over 3" so I can flip. With the MXT, it's a simple turn of the gain knob to get maximum depth for the probe. Cranking the gain up with the Vision is a little more difficult, but I'm getting used to it enough that I don't lose much time. Most of the time, I don't even have to pull the trigger to pinpoint as the threshold is so pure that I can get right on the target with no extra effort.

Well....that's my hunt and report for the day. Finds are below:

Are you saying the the Vision suggested this based on the input or you changed it based on what you thought? Perhaps I'm interpreting your post wrong. That sure would be sweet if you have a detector that will suggest different settings based on an analysis of ground balance/program/etc.

Thanks.
 
Are you saying the the Vision suggested this based on the input or you changed it based on what you thought? Perhaps I'm interpreting your post wrong. That sure would be sweet if you have a detector that will suggest different settings based on an analysis of ground balance/program/etc.

Thanks.

I read that the Spectra V3 comes with wireless headphones,can you still use wired headphoes if you want to?
After you ground balance, you flip on the Sensitivity Quick Menu and it tells you how much signal it's losing (%), the amount of EMI present, and suggests a gain setting. I just tried to work above the suggested settings...we old MXT'ers are used to noise.:lol:

Yes, you can use wired headphones. The jack is in the back like the DFX and MXT. The wireless set works great, but my ears are very touchy and they press in the center too much. I have a set of KB's with leather cups that I can hunt with all day without discomfort.

Love to see the Vision finds! I saw on another forum were someone was bashing the Vision because no one was posting any finds with it...oh pluuuuuease.
I usually don't post clad, etc. However, I thought some folks might think that the machine is foolproof and only finds silver, gold, etc. I likely won't post the "junk" again, but thought it might let folks see that it's just another detector when it comes to digging zincolns.:roll:

Good report John. Did you by any chance try to run the C&J program with Mixed Mode enabled? Don't know why the factory program turns Mixed Mode off and I wonder what kind of difference it would make on getting even more depth.
Since I'm new to this multi-freq stuff, I never thought of running Mixed Mode.:lol: Will try it next time though.

Thanks Rudy!!
 
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Pricing

Don't have a link to pricing, but I thought I remember it being around $1499.00 without headphones and $1699.00 with (as a list price). Is there a White's dealer in the house?????:lol::lol:
 
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