New Zealand Gold Prospecting & Metal Detecting Forums Archive

Sounds good to me - was thinking that might happen. If a lot of reviews start appearing I could always add some brand (Minelab, Fisher, etc.) sub-forums to this area, but was waiting to see how the community uses this spot first ;)

Reckon this is a very good idea, lots of overseas review but its hard to find info on local costs and use for people shopping around. I'll kick in with the 1st review, not the most common detector in NZ but its a start.



Whites Spectra V3i

Cost: $1809.00 USD plus gst
Brought: Kellyco Detectors in July 2011

The V3i is currently the top of Whites range, they threw everything they could think of into this detector and it has an impressive list of specifications. These include wireless headphones, colour screen, true 3 frequencies and the ability to program the settings to a ridiculous degree.

When looking to upgrade from the At Pro I was after for 2 main aspects: Firstly because I live on a restricted land mass (Waiheke Island) so it is very easy for me to hunt out an area. Because of this I wanted a detector that could be programmed for different frequencies, EMI, soils etc. Something that would allow me to tweak it differently and re-hunt an existing area. Also I didn't want the same detector that everybody else was starting to use - i.e. an Etrac, I believe a different detector will find different targets but I also wanted a "top of the line" machine.

After much research the V3i came out at the top of the list. It is not ideal and has some disadvantages, but it does everything the advertising claims and the most limiting feature is its operator - me.

The main disadvantage is its complexity. I started to make headway with it when I stopped thinking of the machine as a metal detector and more as a computer with a coil attached. Don't get me wrong, anybody can unpack it from the box, stick in the battery, select a factory set program and make great finds. But to get the most of the machine requires study and a lot of it. The V3i has taught me more about how VLF detectors work then any forum, blog and book research. This is a huge plus but this "study" has also allowed me to tweak the machine to get great depths in areas the AT Pro couldn't touch.

The machine even has an onboard manual (pressing Menu + Zoom at the same time) that is much more comprehensive then the supplied hard copy manual or DVD. This is great when trying to suss something out while hunting. The Whites Forum is also a gold mine of information including programs written by members and they are even discovering things that the designers weren't aware off.

Why is the complexity a disadvantage when it allows the user to tweak their machine so much? Because I often find myself fiddling with the settings to optimise it instead of hunting! It is also easy to forget a change you had made and thus detune the detector instead of tuning it (although it is very easy to reload the original settings again). Most changes made will effect something else so the worse thing a user could do is to make to many tweaks at once.

Another disadvantage is that it is not waterproof. It can handle a light rain but I now run for cover when it starts to pour down.

The colour screen is fantastic. Not just because it looks good but it is a great advancement in id'ing targets. The colour screen and the 3 frequencies go hand in hand, each frequency can be assigned a colour and since different metals hit harder on different frequencies you can see at a glance what the target is by the dominance of the coloured bars in the spectrograph. There are different analysis graphs that can be used as well (flicking the trigger back, middle and forward easily selects what you have programmed these to be).

The wireless headphones adds a few hundred $$$ to the price but are well worth it. It is so good not being permanently attached to the detector! And they are comfortable enough that I have driven home a few times wearing them without realising it...... Audio is discrimination tones, all metal or a combination of both. It can even have the all metal hum in one ear and the discrimination tone in another or both sounding in both ears. All Metal enables very deep targets to be located when the computer doesn't recongise a target well enough to tone off (+30cm on the beaches).

The factory detector comes equipped with a 10" DD coil. This is a good all rounder - great depth and reasonable target separation. There is also a larger 12" coil (concentric), 9.5 (concentric), 6x10 (DD), 5x3 (concentric) and 4x6 (DD) coil available. I have recently got the Super 12" which works well on the beaches.

The frequencies are 2.5Khz, 7.5Khz and 22.5Khz. These can be used at the same time as the V3i processes each frequency separately but at once, or they can be used solo. If single frequency is used it reaches slightly deeper but it is harder to id targets (about equal to a normal single frequency detector). Generally 2.5Khz is great for picking up deep silver and the 22.5Khz for gold or very small targets. The 7.5Khz is a good all round and using them all at once means you won't miss out on a target. I haven't had experiences nugget hunting with it, but the Whites MXT is popular for this and since the V3i has a higher frequency and can even be programmed to duplicate the MXT I imagine it would be successful.

As an example of its versatility I have made up my own program which discriminates out everything apart from $1 & $2 coins, it sounds off clear on the coins and allows me to use a fast swing speed. This means I can cover a park extremely quickly and be confident that any dollar coins the coil goes over ends up in my pouch. Great way to build up funds for more accessories.

To sum it up, the V3i is a detector a person grows into. The more you learn about operating it, the more you realise there is still to learn. Because of this it requires a lot of patience but a beginner can still pick it up and use it without a problem.

If only it was waterproof! :)

Great review. :)
After reading your review and having trouble ordering an E-trac myself I saw your review and a ton of research and,,, now I am waiting and watching my Fedex tracking numbers. Hopefully the V3i will make it here in the next week :)
Well done :)