Whites Spectra V3/V3i Coil Problems - Progress Reports And Experiences

[magic]

I don't understand that analogy. A car doesn't need a stereo in order for it to be functional. Not so with a detector and coil.

The V3 doesn't need to use the D2 to be functional either, there are alot of other coils. You can even buy a V3 with another coil instead of the D2 if you so choose.

Epi, As far as me getting close to bashing .....thinkingabout: like I said, I dont bash any detector. Tell me how I am getting close to that?
I do believe I am in the the Whites section of this forum. I am a Whites man and like to learn, good or bad about Whites.
I have no interest in Minelab and talking about minelab in a Whites forum shouldn't happen, Especially switching to one. I dont go to the Minelab section and talk about how my Whites is better or try to tell people to get a V3... so it shouldnt happen here.
I have been on numerous metal detecting forums and some make it and some dont. The ones that do welcome all detectorist and dont put up with people bashing other peoples detectors.

I am not narrow minded but I wouldnt use any other detector other than the v3. I wanted a detector that can do it all if learned properly and this one is it. I have used garrett, fisher, and minelab. I made my choice by what I liked and I didnt go by what other people said because thats their opinion and not mine.

I agree that participation is needed in this Whites forum. Yazoo has contributed alot to this forum but Yazoo (Mike) is my friend and I talk with him daily. Who do you think came up with alot of the programing? I tried to start a tips section in this forum for users but deleted it after some stupid remarks. I am doing some testing for Whites so I do know a little something about the machine. I think this is more of a friends type forum and not so much a true metal detecting forum. I defended Angel when a guy started bashing him and now I get jumped on for trying to defend Whites and the V3.
Too much drama for me... so just read this and delete my account.

Jack,
To answer your question, All the failures was the same... Rx gain dropped and it started acting erratic. It got to where it wouldnt even pick up a dime at 5 inches. I had one that lasted 6 months, two that lasted about 2 months, one for 3 days and the last one was a month. I do know that they are building them different now and I am testing the new build when I get it.
The main thing that seams to trash the coils is heat and strong vibrations like if you were to drop it. The D2 is a great coil and IS my favorite but its problem is that it is just not rugged enough.

[xzlr8n]

Cybersage and Magic,

As a a V3 owner I too am rattled by all the posted problems with the V3. To be honest I respect both of your opinions and experiences, as I incorporate your shared info into my V3 experience. I understand both of your frustrations/praises with the ever evolving Vision/ Spectra V3 and now Spectra V3i roller coaster ownership ride. Thanks for keeping it civil and please keep posting info on what and should become a great detector. To be truthful I'd love to here more of what is good rather than bad with the White's product but the V3 is still evolving and obviously is having some growing pains we still need to hear about. Please stick with this forum and post more if at all possible.

Greatly appreciated,
xzlr8n

[angellionel]

Magic, you misunderstood Epi-hunter's point. She isn't accusing you of bashing a detector or detector company, but she has concerns with your words drifting away from what should be a discussion, albeit infused with expressions of frustration, to that of a personal affront. Also, we do take exception with what you stated about this forum, its not being geared toward helping each other to learn and work through problems we may be experiencing with our machines, whichever machine they may be. If you really believe what you stated, then you haven't been paying attention. You now further suggest that this is not a true metal detecting forum, and that we don't discuss metal detecting related issues, nor that we provide information helpful to our members. Isn't that a form of bashing? Again, I submit that you have not been paying attention.

This forum is fairly young, having a relatively small membership, yet, despite that, the members here have proven to be helpful, informed, and willing to assist others. You really can't do such without being an active member, wouldn't you agree? A forum is what the members make of it. You can have a forum comprised of 10,000 registered members, but if no one, or only a select few, participate, of what use is it? Yes, this is a forum where we all can make long-lasting friendships, that is my hope, but it also offers much in the way of accumulated knowledge and years of experience. I know that I have personally benefited from posts members have made here.

As to what prompted you to make your initial expression, this forum is not geared toward fanboyism of any one metal detector or metal detecting company. If a member brings up a point about another detector brand during a discussion being shared in the White's board, I expect he or she will not be ostracized for such, as if bringing up such a point were some sort of sin. That would apply to any of the metal detector specific boards we have here. As long as it is to make a point, is within topic, and relevant to the discussion, why should it be a problem? Only individuals fiercely loyal to a particular machine or company would object. In such cases, quite frankly, I would prefer such an individual refrain from being an active participant here. This is not a Minelab or White's or Garrett's forum. It is a metal detecting forum.

I do hope you will reconsider your request to have your account deleted. I do believe that you have much to offer to members who own or are looking to own a V3 or V3i. Your input in the white's board would be very much welcomed and valued. I also hope that you won't view our expressions as some sort of attack on you. They aren't. They are intended to clarify intents, and to express concerns about statements we felt were heading in the wrong direction.

Respectfully,

Angel

[Epi-hunter]

The V3 doesn't need to use the D2 to be functional either, there are alot of other coils. You can even buy a V3 with another coil instead of the D2 if you so choose.

Let me be more clear. A detector needs a functional coil to work. The analogy of stereo-to-car vs coil-to-detector is not appropriate. You misunderstood my point by miles. Why am I not surprised?

I thought this was suppose to be an info forum to talk about Whites and how to help each other and work on things together. I have seen nothing on here that is anything like that. I go to other forums to get info and discuss things because that is what they do there. Not in this one.

I let this point go from your earlier thread, but it's really what bothered me most. Did you not see the nine page, 200+ post thread on the V3 started by Lowjiber and maintained by him and CyberSage and Yazoo and many others? And you are telling me that this forum does not have info to help each other out and work on things together? And you don't have a chance to discuss things? Where are you on the White's forum? Because I haven't seen much discussion and helping others from you.

As Jack and George and Angel graciously stated, you are welcome here, if you choose to actually participate. If not, feel free to go over to the other forum where such posts are removed because of the sponsors. There, you won't have to be offended by honesty.

If you continue to bash this forum, I'll be the first in line to remove your account.

I hope you choose to lose your narrow-minded attitude, and contribute to the forum instead of criticizing it.

[magic]

Thanks for your reply's xzlr8n and angel. I understand what you are trying to say. I wish I could get my feelings out by typing like you guys do. Like I said in my original post months ago...no one wants to read through a 9 page post for info. It needs to be broken down into categories like on other forums. I was ignored.. The info here is little more than how to use correlate which is what alot of people are following and is not the best choice for depth or getting to the old stuff. It has been proven and isnt logical.
Epi-hunter.... People go out of this world and live through it with basically only one thing. How they are inside. You sound like a very angry troubled person... May you be the first to delete me so that you may get some satisfaction for the day!
Please delete my account!

[Epi-hunter]

Your account will remain.

Have a nice day, magic. We wish you well.

[del]

wow i go on a camping weekend and i miss in all the fun.

hey Magic . like you i use whites machines and have a loyalty to them as they have built quality products in the past . have they had some problems with some models or coils or other parts , sure just like other detector makers as well they all do at some point. i think Whites is a great company and can stand a little constructive criticism from time to time isn't that what they get when someone tests one of there products in the field open honest dicussion is what they want from field testers , yes why should this place be different then . i really respect the views and ideas you share on here Magic and you have lots to offer .i hope you'll reconsider your stance about forum , as far as Angie goes she is a very warm and generous person that is very passionate about the forum and its people she has come to know and she makes no effort to hide that fact , its one of the things i really appreciate and love about her.


Dan

[Epi-hunter]

as far as Angie goes she is a very warm and generous person that is very passionate about the forum and its people she has come to know and she makes no effort to hide that fact , its one of the things i really appreciate and love about her.

Thank you Dan

[CyberSage]

Thank you Dan

Awww... man, now I am just getting all teared up. crying01 I love you guys. I hate my D2 coil, but, I love you guys. lol

[CyberSage]

***UPDATE***

When it rains, it pours...

I strapped on my V Rated Super12 coil and went to relax for awhile Sunday and hunt another park in my area. Things started out good and then the V3 got noisy and the stability dropped. I had to adjust way down to get it back. My guts wrenched as I did the RX at 15 test. You guessed it, overload. as a matter of fact I had to drop down to 7 before it would work. This is with the TX Boost turned on. This coil tested out OK when the D2 failed just a few days ago. I switched to my V-rated 950 coil and it tested out great. I returned to the big quiet park where the D2 failed and performed the same tests again. This is a bummer. I think I will be sending the whole mess in to Whites. I will get the upgrade and let them deal with the coil at the same time. Man this is not my week. I am looking forward to some quality time with the DFX and Bigfoot coil. Time to rake some Quarters and dig pull tabs.

Keep Swing'in
Jack

[midas]

Jack,
Sounds like the problem is not with the D2 coils, but with the machine itself killing the coils!

One thing I'm confused on, when you say overload at RX15 on the test, do you mean it gives the same overload tone as it makes over a large piece of metal? or is the operation unstable just chirping away every few seconds?

[CyberSage]

I specifically get the overload tone. Not only does it present the overload tone, but individual programs I have set up for the coil do not function without turning RX and DS down significantly. I tried multiple test locations to rule out EMI. I really can't imagine the V3 would be killing coils. My V-rated 950 is working great. I finished my hunt with it. Thanks for the feed back.

Jack

[Cheap Thrills]

This is a bummer. I think I will be sending the whole mess in to Whites. I will get the upgrade and let them deal with the coil at the same time. Man this is not my week. I am looking forward to some quality time with the DFX and Bigfoot coil. Time to rake some Quarters and dig pull tabs.

Keep Swing'in
Jack

I feel for ya' Bro , I once had to send 2 machines ( not White's ) in for repair at one time ( and it took more than a month and a half to get them back ). Meanwhile my larger coil on my remaining machine (also not a White's ) took a dump and I sent it in ) . The coil came back repaired in about
a couple of weeks along with a form letter saying they replaced with a new coil . I knew it was the same coil because there was a distinctive scratch I had put on it . So for a couple of weeks all I had was the one machine with a tiny sniper coil ( I did find a couple of shallow silver Roosies and quite a bit of clad with it though) . This machine ( which I bought used ) was an earlier predecessor to that company's latest top of the line detector and although I did find a couple of spectacular shallow finds with it I later traded it because The build quality on it was as if it had been put together by drunken Chimps and I could never get even near the depth with it it was supposed to get . A friend of mine said he knew a guy who wanted one of these machines because of it's light weight . I disclosed my disatisfaction and all the things I repaired on this machine and he still wanted to trade his Explorer SE for it , done deal ( the SE owner had a history of shoulder problems and had come to hate the SE ) .
Now I have my butt covered by having four different detectors made by four different companies and I have muliple coils for 3 of them . All four are simple to run with the SE being the most complex . If one or three have issues I now have four and don't plan on buying any more .
Right now I'm having some issues with a 4x6 shooter coil for my M6 ( I believe it's a shorted wire)
I'll be sending that in .
It's good that you sent the whole messin , it will give White's a chance to do an autopsy and perhaps aid in finding a solution to these coil problems .I'm betting you will me making some nice finds with your old trusty friend the DFX while you are waiting .Best of luck Jack , I am rooting for you !!

Baba

[coinnut]

Here's my biggest concerns over the coil situations. From what I gathered and this may not be correct, but I thought there was an epoxy problem which when exposed to higher temperatures or just the normal shrinkage due to drying, caused the coils to get out of null (Or out of tune so to speak). This is a problem which has me wondering? I have a 6x10 DD coil which just stopped working. I assumed a broken wire, but not sure. Since coils are not easily repairable, I just junked it and took the loss. But something is nagging me about their coil construction all together. My 4x6 DD coil for my DFX bought many, many years ago was a wonderful coil when new. But after about a year, I was unable to get it to operate at the same preamp that I got before. Also my depth was just about cut in half. I'm wondering if the epoxy problem is more noticable as the coils get larger. My 8x14DD? coil from Whites was no good from the start. I couldn't run any more than a preamp of 2 and a low sensitivity. So it seems to me that any coil I get using that same method of construction is either going to lose depth as it warps out of balance, or just die out or in the case of the very sensitive V3, would false incredibly? Any constructive thoughts from everyone would be appreciated on this theory. Have anyone elses coils just got tired and lost depth? I want a V3i as a second machine, but I can't see getting one if all of my coils will go bad on me. I buy a lot of coils too lol

[CyberSage]

Thanks Baba!

I will send it all in when I get my D2 coil and test it again. I still have the DFX to stave off withdrawal. If the time comes. I still use the 112 SEF and it hits very nicely. I still feel very capable of pulling deep coins with this coil, but miss the sensitivity and super accurate frequency response of the D2. I have had a love/hate relationship with the D2 going on over 3 years now. In the last 5 months it's been a dream to use and I had not switched out coils hardly at all in that time frame. I would like to see this all resolved soon, not just for my sake, but for Whites customers in general. I know there trying to make it right now, but it's been 3 years.

Jack

[CyberSage]

Well Coinnut, I don't know much about coil construction, but I can tell you that my second D2 coil went bad after snapping on a coil cover. I have always felt that something broke loose with that gentle snap. Since then I have learned to really baby my coils now. I never leave coils in a hot car in the summertime. Windows stay cracked and I park in the shade. The vast majority of time I am hunting grass.So the coil just glides across with no bumping. I had one of the first Super12 coils made on my DFX and it is still working to this day as far as I know. I traded it to a hunting buddy for the SEF. He uses it now on the MXT. Your theory makes a lot of sense though. Thanks for the input.

Jack

[Cheap Thrills]

That makes a lot of sense you may have a real good theory there George . I'm curious to see what others say on this . It does seem that the older style non-epoxy coil are hardier and you don't get the falsing when you hit weeds and twigs . This may be a dumb question but do most , all or any detector companies test each and every coil before they put it in the box ?

[CyberSage]

I would think that there is some kind of quality control in place. I have never had a bad coil off the shelf.

[coinnut]

I'm pretty sure every company tests their coils to some extent. What worries me is that it's possible that all of our coils are getting out of adjustment as soon as we start using them. If there is an issue with any make of detector's coils, then we have some thinking to do. I know some coils seem to be industructable and others are gone very soon after. I'm wondering if all makes of coils use the same packing method to set their coil wire with. This may be the reason some people have done side by side comparisons of the same machines with the same settings and on the same marked, non dug targets and got different results. We have always blamed that on the machine being made on a Monday or Friday lol But it may just be the coils all along. There has got to be an easy way to set the coils or maybe just leave an adjustment screw on the bottom of the coil that we can tune them with every once in a while. There must be some kind of variable coil that can be adjusted, like a potentiometer is for resistance. They could even offer tune ups of the machine and make some money lol Yep send in your machine and we will recalibrate the ground balance settings and adjust your coil back to specks Sounds like an easy fix to me lol Just wondering although I don't think the detecting companies will think my idea is any good :-\

[Cheap Thrills]

They could even offer tune ups of the machine and make some money lol Yep send in your machine and we will recalibrate the ground balance settings and adjust your coil back to specks Sounds like an easy fix to me lol Just wondering although I don't think the detecting companies will think my idea is any good :-\
[/quote]

Tesoro has been doing this for some time and you can submit more than one coil to have adjusted to a machine and it is usually free of charge . You can also send in a sample of dirt to have one of their non - self ground balancing machines adjusted to .