Whites Spectra V3i
Important information and tips for U.K searching
It's probably pointless posting up programmes for the V3 as I have found some days the machine runs like a dream...take it to the same field a week later and it's false signalling all over the place, so I guess it is one of those machine that requires a lot of learning the v3i is not a beginners machine, neither is it a
switch on and go detector as the pre set programmes are for
the US market.....However this machine still has great
potential for those who like a challenge.
Latest news !!!, the SEF 10x12
coil is a big improvement over the stock coil...much more
stable. Whites Spectra V3 / V3i metal detector
Programmes for U.K metal detecting
Whites spectra V3i programmes
Here is my most successful programmes so far, I have named it
Gary's My-Pro, here are the basic settings,
3 Freq This program is
for general searching in area's of low iron contamination.
Load up the default Hi-Pro programme, settings not
mentioned will be the Hi-Pro default.
Sensitivity and Discrimination
VDI selected by...VDI....Edit.....accept from -95 to +95
Sensitivity RX 15(ish)........Disc 65(ish)......All Metal 50 TX BOOST ALWAYS OFF
Select Audio......Tone....scroll all the way
down to Vdi Tones and open.......choose Custom
then Edit Setting theTone ID
To save time changing individual numbers, first choose the
"Standard" setting which will accept 1 tone for each
number...then choose Custom and select "Edit ".
change as follows
vdi numbers -95 to -21 assign tone number 65........vdi
numbers -20 to 0 assign tone number 144
If you have done this correctly the remaining vdi numbers +1
to +95 should read vdi +1=(tone 161), vdi +2=(tone 162),
vdi +3=(tone 163) and so on jumping 1 tone number at a time
all the way up to + 95 which should be tone number 255
Search Audio.....Default Hi - Pro or your Personal Preference
Frequency....3 Freq, enable salt if unstable
Ground Tracking
Ground balance on clean area (Trigger + Enter...pump
coil), then switch to Trac lock if lots of
iron present and use a +1 offset Tip : Pull the trigger and slowly lower the coil to the
ground (make sure no iron is beneath the coil)
Listen to the audio threshold, if it dips you need to raise
the tracking offset, what you are looking for is a slight
raise in threshold as the coil approaches the soil.
Sometimes you may need a high setting such as +10
Filter and Speed Search 5Hz band, to hear all
the iron you may need to make adjustments to suit
your soil
5.0 Hz band will make the machine more "sparky" as it
increases your machine will settle down.. Don't run the
machine to quiet try to find a happy medium, 10 Hz high works
for many people.
Change recovery delay to 26 (very important) up to 35 on clean
ground
Configure Live search screen...Search....Spectragraph (v3i)
Backlight...Off
Icons.....Off
Depth....Off
Spectragraph....Yes
Consistency....Yes number 20
Base threshold...off
Intensity...Off
Single sweep...Off
Fade...yes...fade rate 3
Resolution....6
Compressed....Off
Disc Bar....On
Disc bar size....Ex Large
Multigraph...Off
Programme changes
*Amended to suit the SEF coil 7/8/2011 *Assign numbers -95 to -11 to tone 30 for smoother
operation
(low tick rather than a
tone)
If you like the machine to have simple tones accept -10 to +95 with tone 200 and -11 to -95 tone 160
5/10/2011
*Use salt compensate for wet
ground found under the frequency settings
*For those who want a simple 2 tone program assign
tones -10 to +95 tone number 220 or whatever you like
to hear.
*False signals can sometimes be eliminated by
rejecting +93 +95 +95, lowering the discrimination
sensitivity, and upping modulation to 3
* If the meter bars are to lively change consistency
to 40
Live Controls, Audio volume's, analysis and pin point are all
user personal preferences.
Once you are happy with the basic settings you may wish to
save it under the "common" memory slot so you can default your
favourite features into future programs.
With this programme you will hear the iron as a low grumble,
low conductivity targets will give a smooth low tone which
will gently increase as targets become higher in conductivity,
big targets will give a very high tone. You may need to make
sensitivity adjustments to suit your soil.
One final note : Don't waist time looking at the meter
readings, a busy site will cause them to jump around, trust
the audio sound, if you can get a solid "lock on" with short
brisk sweeps then investigate.
V3i Glitches
Sometimes you can not change the tones back once you have
played about with them, the only cure is to load up another
new Hi-Pro programme from the library set the tones as above....
put in your programme settings and save it, a good idea is to
make 3 copies and name them 1 2 & 3 so you have back up
programmes to tweak for different sites.
Battery pack
The V3i is quite heavy on power the rechargeable battery pack has a limited life, I prefer to use the AA cell pod supplied with the machine.
V3i backlight glitch.
Some machines turn off when you turn the backlight on from the menu or hot keys, this is a known software problem which is not worth worrying about. You can quickly access the backlight by pressing and holding the On / Off button for 5 seconds until it illuminates...I would suggest you always run the backlight on number 1
Here is a short video I have uploaded which may make more
sense to help you understand the adjustments.
PLEASE NOTE SOME OF MY SETTINGS HAVE
CHANGED TO WORK WITH THE SEF COIL
Watch my 22.5 Khz program in action along with some helpful hints and tips
22.5 KHz
My Roman site "shifted tone" programme for use with the 10x6 elliptical coil
This 22.5 Khz programme works well on
freshly ploughed ancient sites....you need to treat the
sensitivity with care.
Load up the default Hi-Pro programme, settings not
mentioned will be the Hi-Pro default.
Select Audio......Tone....scroll all the way
down to Vdi Tones and open.......choose Custom
then Edit. Remember the V3 has a quirk.... sometimes you can not change the tones
back IE from custom to standard. .
Tone ID To save time changing individual numbers, first choose the
"Standard" setting which will accept 1 tone for each
number...then choose Custom and select "Edit ". change as follows vdi numbers -95 to -16 assign tone number
65 The remaining vdi numbers -15
to +95 should read vdi -15=(tone 145), vdi -14=(tone 146),
vdi -13=(tone 147) and so on jumping 1 tone number at a time
all the way up to + 95 which should be tone number 255
Search Audio.....Default Hi - Pro or your personal
pref
Sensitivity RX 10(ish)........Disc
40(ish)......All Metal 45
Recovery delay 22
Filters 10Hz band,
you may need to make adjustments depending on the iron in
your soil
Frequency....22.5 Khz with +2 frequency offset or (pull
trigger and find clean channel)
Configure Live search screen...Search....Spectragraph (v3i) Backlight...Off Icons.....Off Depth....Off Spectragraph....Yes Consistency....Yes number 20 Base threshold...off Intensity...Off Single sweep...Off Fade...yes...fade rate 3 Resolution....6 Compressed....Off Disc Bar....On Disc bar size....Ex Large Multigraph...Off
Programme changes
*Assign numbers -95 to
-11 to tone 30 for smoother operation
(low tick rather than a
tone)
New programme for the
V3i
15/09/2011 2 tone mixed mode programme
Important !!! First load up the standard RELIC from your library keep
everything as standard and only adjust the following. *Note this programme is a work in progress I will put
any changes at the bottom of the list as and when they are
made, volumes and audio tone etc are your own personal
preference.
Sensitivity and Discrimination VDI selected by...VDI....Edit.....Accept from -5 to
+95...Reject -6 to -95 Sensitivity RX 12........Disc
55......All Metal 65 TX BOOST ALWAYS OFF
Frequency....3 freq with +2 frequency offset or (pull
trigger and find clean channel and adjust)
Ground Tracking Ground balance
on clean area (Trigger + Enter...pump coil), then switch to Trac lock if lots of
iron present and use a +1 to +10 offset (+10 less ground
noise)
Colour Theme Hi Pro
Mixed Mode On
Filter and Speed 5.0 Hz band you want to hear everything in the ground with the
minimal filters, go to 7 band if to noisy Change recovery delay to 24-26 (very important)
Configure Live search screen...Search....Spectragraph (v3i) Backlight...Off Icons.....Off Depth....Off Spectragraph....Yes Consistency....Yes number 20 Base threshold...off Intensity...Off Single sweep...Off Fade...yes...fade rate 3 Resolution....6 Compressed....Off Disc Bar....On Disc bar size....Ex Large Multigraph...Off
Once you are happy with the settings save as Relic Plus in
the library
You will hear the iron buzzing in the background and a
solid high tone and stable screen bar for good
targets...smeared screen bars indicate large iron.
Programme changes
*None
10/11/2011
Gary's simple 2 tone open discrimination programme
This is the programme I use most of the time now the
weather is getting wetter, I would suggest if you are new to
the V3i and want a stable all round programme this will be the
one to try.
As requested this is one of my simple to use programmes I
use the SEF 10x12 so sensitivity settings may change for your
soil / weather conditions or if you are
using different coils.
Load up the Hi Pro programme
DISCRIMINATION SETTINGS
Visual Reject: OFF
Bottle Cap Reject: OFF
Hot Rock Reject: OFF
VDI selected by: VDI > Edit…Accept everything
SENSITIVITY SETTINGS*
RX GAIN: 8
TX Boost: OFF
Discrimination: 45
All Metal: 24
AUDIO
Tone ID: ON
VDI tones > Custom> Edit…Assign -95 to -21 tone 130 and
from -20 to +95 tone 200
MIXED MODE: OFF
STEREO MIXED MODE: OFF
PIN POINT
VCO: ON
Ratchet: Off...squeeze trigger 2 or 3 times to shrink target
if required
SEARCH AUDIO Discrimination: ON…tick boxes …Threshold....tone
ID…Modulation….Mod range 2
FREQUENCY
3 Freq …VDI….Best Data
GROUND TRACKING
AutoTrack: OFF
LockTrack: ON
Offset: Manually Ground Balance to start and use offset to get
a slight positive as coil is lowered to the ground in pin
point usually up to +5
FILTER & SPEED
SEARCH
Ground Filter: 5 Hz High Band*
Recovery Delay: 28*
SAT: 15*
ANALYSIS : Whatever you want personally I don’t use it.
CONFIGURATION
Live search screen….search…spectragraph…
Screen top….VDI…size…medium
Consistency….40
Intensity: No
Single Sweep: No
Fade…3
Resolution…6
Compressed: No
Rule: Yes
Disc Bar: Yes…Size…X Large
Multigraph: No
Colour…Black screen with silver numbers, takes to long to
explain how
Status Line…On Top…Size…small
Live controls (Hot Keys) that I use are :
Program, sensitivity, discrimination, frequency, tracking,
Ground filtering, recovery, search audio, backlight, audio
level
BATTERY
Auto power off: No
Press Menu and left arrow to collapse menu tree
Programme Notes False signals : Are the biggest V3i complaints I find
the discrimination sensitivity is closely related to false
signals rather than RX gain, don't be afraid to lower it and
keep the RX gain as high as possible, if the V3i is running
smoothly it can still be running hot do not under estimate
it's power, try to find the point where you get only the
occasional false signal over odd shaped iron, which can be
recognised with a smearing pattern on the screen. A low All
metal sensitivity will give you depth information when pin
pointing...deep targets will only just register. I prefer to
use a black screen with silver numbers. Filters: I prefer to run a low filter as I have a slow
search speed also I like to hear all the
iron as a low tone. If you operate a faster sweep speed it may
be wise to use a higher filter such as 7Hz or 10Hz.
EMI problems can normally be sorted using frequency
offsets. ANALYSIS : OK for comparing filters and sweep speeds etc, but not essential Recovery : 28 go up to 40 if you have clean ground
I will be adding more programmes when I have them.