kq9dx
New Member
trading my Garrett GTI 2500 for a Whites V3i ...hope the weather holds out while I get a little dig time in...any advice?
GTI 2550 to V3i
- Thread starter kq9dx
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BottleCapKing
Elite Member
trading my Garrett GTI 2500 for a Whites V3i ...hope the weather holds out while I get a little dig time in...any advice?
My first piece of advice would be to google the V3i advanced post book (it is a pdf file called advanced-post-book.pdf)
Read it several times. It is a very important read.
PM me if you have any questions.
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kq9dx
New Member
thanks for the great advice..I can read up on this while I wait to receive my machine, and in the long cold winter months ahead..
The detector does have a way for you to judge soil mineralization.
Filter selection,,,selecting the right one--- big clue to getting the detector to find things.
Recovery rate setting as well.
Stock style battery,,,won't last long in the field.
There is aftermarket,,,it will provide several hours of detecting on one charge.
You might think about a harness too.
Detector is heavy,,,and if you are running stock 10dd coil-- detector out of balance quite a bit.
Good luck
Filter selection,,,selecting the right one--- big clue to getting the detector to find things.
Recovery rate setting as well.
Stock style battery,,,won't last long in the field.
There is aftermarket,,,it will provide several hours of detecting on one charge.
You might think about a harness too.
Detector is heavy,,,and if you are running stock 10dd coil-- detector out of balance quite a bit.
Good luck
Big Treble
Forum Supporter
This^ x 10 but be sure to read the manual 2-3 times prior to the advance post book.
As long as you invest the time into educating your self prior to turning it on you will be good.
Start with hunting in stock programs prior to ANY adjustments. Learn the physical attributes of the tool and how to read th spectrograph, and analyze screens prior to making adjustments YOU may think will work. Be sure you know what each setting will do and how it will affect what happens.
After two years with my machine I just created a new program ( I use spreadsheets) got it set and it SUCKED bad, way too chatty way too much smearing. Not sure what setting I screwed up on, but if I was learning the machine, I would have been extremely confused. This happens with many I presume during the learning.
I relate this to setting up a new rifle & riflescope at the range. There is a issue called "Chasing The Zero" and with all the adjustments on the V3i there can be a similar challenge.
Last thing I would suggest is learn in a park with shallow targets. This will let you dig more items in a shorter period of time. While it might just be clad stabbing and not a high pay off, it is a bit of a win. Learning this at a relic sight or one with deep iron will slow your learning curve.
Martin_V3i
Elite Member
Not meaning to be negative, but the manuals(V3 and V3i) aren't done well. The V3 manual has info that the V3i manual leaves out.
I find it simpler to Google say for recovery delay, "Whites V3i recovery delay" and follow that. I spent hours reading the manuals in the beginning. They are good for a first step though. Can't hurt.
My advice is to not go into trying for max depth settings until you have the basics. Run a factory file, Coin and Jewelry or Relic and then get a feel for the detector. Then work with the filters.
The rest will come to you as time goes along.
Oh, your battery will last longer after you turn down the backlight. You won't need max 20 as it's set to factory.
Have fun!
I find it simpler to Google say for recovery delay, "Whites V3i recovery delay" and follow that. I spent hours reading the manuals in the beginning. They are good for a first step though. Can't hurt.
My advice is to not go into trying for max depth settings until you have the basics. Run a factory file, Coin and Jewelry or Relic and then get a feel for the detector. Then work with the filters.
The rest will come to you as time goes along.
Oh, your battery will last longer after you turn down the backlight. You won't need max 20 as it's set to factory.
Have fun!
Rattlehead
Forum Supporter
If it has the stock D2 coil be sure to do the overload test. Lots of issues with that coil.
towboater2013
Full Member
My advice to you is invest in a rnb innovation lithium ion battery. I got them for all my machines. V3i,Etrac,And At pro hoping they make something for the Fisher F75 Ltd2 also. I hunt for days with these batteries
Martin_V3i
Elite Member
I bought a battery holder for lithium 3.7V lithium batteries(3) and I'm getting nearly 20 hours runtime. Holder is made by a guy using a 3D printer, costs $22/shipping $5. Ukraine. I run 3000mah batteries. The 3700mah batteries get even better. Cheaper than RNB.
metaladdict
Elite Member
Sounds like you got a killer trade!!!
HiOldSilver
Junior Member
trading my Garrett GTI 2500 for a Whites V3i ...hope the weather holds out while I get a little dig time in...any advice?
I think the gents gave some great advice. You surely must crawl before walking and then running. Start with the stock C&J program and dig for a while. After a dozen hunts, bump the juice a bit and get ready to dig deep. Read all you can about the V, it's not a mindless turn-n-burn machine but when it clicks it's worth it. When the V says dig, I don't ask how deep, I just dig......it's always right. I wonder how many deep signals I left behind because I thought, "it can't be that deep". That was when I was new with it, and the hobby. Now I just dig til the silver pops out
I wish it was that easy, but you get the drift. Congrats and keep us posted.
HOS
Trashfinder
Forum Supporter
I still have 2 v3 and have had four and I have never had a 10 dd coil that I could hunt with. Just saying in case you cannot figure out why your detector seems spastic!
Martin_V3i
Elite Member
"I have never had a 10 dd coil that I could hunt with"
X2. You'd think that for what White's retails that coil at, $249.95, it would be special. I still have a hardly used D2 coil laying around gathering dust for years.
It's SEF coils all the way with me these days, aside from the Whites 4x6. The D2 is IMPO a terrible coil to stage on a flagship detector.
My advice is get the 13" ultimate coil and the whites 5.5 elliptical coil, and hunt in auto ground balance and consistency mode if you want accurate target id.
BottleCapKing
Elite Member
The 10D2 is a very good coil. It's one drawback is that it is way too heavy. I have found it gets deep and it is accurate. But, because of the weight, I tend to use my 950 (which goes much deeper than the 10" in some of the places I hunt) or my 6X10 Eliptical. I sometimes use the U13, but, not a huge fan of it. Going to give it another chance this spring before I decide to shelf it or not. I think it might just be a recovery delay/swing speed mismatch for this one.
Porsche914
Elite Member
If you have a test garden, that is a great place to start. Play with all of the stock programs to figure out what you like most.
Go to an area that you know is not trashy but has targets. That way you can play with the settings in a real world environment.
For me the hardest thing to get nailed down was the swing speed and recovery delay. I was using an M6 prior to the V3i. The M6 is really fast and in trashy areas can separate targets quickly.
I like the D2 coil...it is really deep. The 4x6 is a must have for the trash.
Also, sometimes less is more. Some like to run the sensitivity as high as possible to "get the most out of the machine" Sometimes turning it down is the answer. Think low beams in fog. More light does not help in fog.
Look for dirtfishing on youtube....he has some good videos showing the v3 capabilities.
Go to an area that you know is not trashy but has targets. That way you can play with the settings in a real world environment.
For me the hardest thing to get nailed down was the swing speed and recovery delay. I was using an M6 prior to the V3i. The M6 is really fast and in trashy areas can separate targets quickly.
I like the D2 coil...it is really deep. The 4x6 is a must have for the trash.
Also, sometimes less is more. Some like to run the sensitivity as high as possible to "get the most out of the machine" Sometimes turning it down is the answer. Think low beams in fog. More light does not help in fog.
Look for dirtfishing on youtube....he has some good videos showing the v3 capabilities.
