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Detecting With The Vanquish 340


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As I like the Vanquish serie ( I already have a 540 ) 🙂, I decided to buy a 340. Over here the 340 price is 240e , 
so quite cheap ,almost the price of a coil ... My plan was to do some tests with the 340 and resell it later ..

A few days ago I did my usual static depth tests. See pics below. I could see that the 340 had the same depth 
than the 540 V10 , either on a big coin at 11inches or a small coin at 6inches, so very good news for the 340. 
I could also check that the 340 is as sensible as the 540 V10  on tiny targets lying on the surface like small
hammered coins , good news again ..

So today I went to an open field cultivated with wheat. Sandy low mineralized soil. Low to medium iron trash.
Actually the conditions were not ideal because the field has not yet been ploughed and I had to sweep the coil 
3 or 4 inches above the ground because of the cut wheat. I found many targets , mainly 1st WW rubbish... 
Among that stuff I could find 2 coins , a 16th century copper coin and a tiny roman bronze coin .. 
Very happy with these 2 coins 🙂, the copper coin displayed 15 id and the roman coin 11 id . 

The 340 is very accurate and deep, the same as the 540 V10 actually , I did not see any difference in the field, 
the only thing there are only 3 tones for the 340 instead of 5 for the 540. Iron separation is the same between the 340
and the 540. The V10 coil is excellent for coin shooting , and very light .. 

The only limitation I see for the 340 , the same as the 540 and other multifreqs MLs , are high iron trash areas , 
so the 340 is a little too chatty and slow on these areas . And unfortunately there is no dedicated "FA" ( fast ) mode 
like on the Teknetics T2 ... On such iron trashed areas I prefer to use my Deus .

So if you dont need wireless and backlight and you detect on low/medium iron trashed areas , 
the Vanquisg 340 offers a great performance for a very limited budget. Even experienced users will be happy with it ...

I was thinking of reselling it but eventually I will keep my 340 for the moment .. 🙂 

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3 hours ago, palzynski said:

The 340 is very accurate and deep, the same at the 540 V10 actually

Were you referring to the same sized coil for this statement (both V10)?  Nice hunt, particularly given the thick ground cover.

 

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4 hours ago, palzynski said:

A few days ago I did my usual static depth tests. See pics below. I could see that the 340 had the same depth 
than the 540 V10 , either on a big coin at 11inches and a small coin at 6inches, so very good news for the 340. 

Good but not necessarily news in the sense that they are both the same detector under the hood just lack of a few features and only one pseudo performance based setting (iron bias level) and lack of relic and pinpoint modes (which you failed to mention but which I think would be a useful feature for the target demographic - beginning detectorists), so I am not surprised in the least by your findings.  Depth and TID accuracy/repeatability should be identical.  News would have been if you found a significant performance difference.  Not a criticism at all, by the way.  I am glad you took the time to verify the expected results. 

Very nice finds, BTW.  Just goes to show that bells and whistles wow people and sell machines, but machines stripped down to minimalist essential features can be just as capable and fun under the right circumstances.  Great value for the occasional detectorist.  Depth obsessed detectorists need to realize that basically all modern, main stream vlf IB detectors have about the same relative depth capability - it really comes down to coil selection, target type, site conditions, and operator proficiency as the factors that make a difference.  You don't have to pay a lot for adequate depth and reliable ID capability, the two basic must haves for any detector. 

There is something about challenging your skills with a less complex detector that makes the hunt a little more exciting (provided you DO find keepers) plus the turn it on and hunt simplicity is kind of liberating when you are not compelled to tweak your machine to the gnat's eyelash because you can't.  I felt good about my essentially equivalent success using the ORX compared to the Deus at one of my favorite sites.  Just turned it on, hunted, recovered target and moved on.  No 30 to 60 second interrogations in multiple modes etc. I compare that with amateur radio operators who challenge themselves in trying to maximize distant radio contacts using as little transmit power as possible.  The smaller, less powerful radio and minimalist antenna are portable so they seek out mountain tops and try to make distant contacts.  Something like the Vanquish that is light, compact, and relatively cheap can be kept permanently in your vehicle so you can always have something to swing should the opportunity arise.

PS - I remain confused regarding the depth and recovery level difference between the three primary 540 modes (jewelry, relic, and coin), so not sure whether lack of relic mode on the 340 presents a slight performance issue in comparison to the 540  What is your preferred mode selection on the type of hunt you documented above (I presume Jewelry mode based on the pic, but wanted to verify)?

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1 hour ago, GB_Amateur said:

Were you referring to the same sized coil for this statement (both V10)?  Nice hunt, particularly given the thick ground cover.

 

I took the 340 V10 coil and mounted it on the 540. So I have the experience of the 540 V10 and 340 V10 and I can compare them together. Both 340 and 540 perform very well with the V10. I prefer the V10 vs the V12 coil because it is lighter , more accurate , less iron masking with almost the same depth perfos . 

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17 hours ago, Chase Goldman said:

 

…  and lack of relic and pinpoint modes (which you failed to mention but which I think would be a useful feature for the target demographic - beginning detectorists),   ….

...

PS - I remain confused regarding the depth and recovery level difference between the three primary 540 modes (jewelry, relic, and coin), so not sure whether lack of relic mode on the 340 presents a slight performance issue in comparison to the 540  What is your preferred mode selection on the type of hunt you documented above (I presume Jewelry mode based on the pic, but wanted to verify)?

Yes I forgot the pinpoint mode , I have never used this functionality on my detectors since the beginning , so difficult for me to talk about this  ... Also I forgot to mention that I always have a pinpointer with me , a ML Profind 35 that I use quite often with the V10 or V12 coils.

Concerning the modes , there are 3 modes on the 340 , coins , jewellery and all metal. Actually I used the jewellery mode during this outing , I had not the time to compare it with the coin mode . I forgot to mention that I used quite frequently the all metal mode when the signal were doubtful. Most of the time they were big irons that can be clearly identified with their  very low tone.

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From experience the 340 in jewelry mode with the V10 coil is remarkably good in most situations and has made many detectors from other brands that cost 2 to 3 times as much look simply inept as far as target ID at depths of 4" or more in both mineralized and mild dirt and sand....... I am not referring to the Equinox by the way. I had similar results with the 440 and 540 in jewelry mode. I do not miss the pinpoint function much on the 340 with the V10 coil except for separating adjacent targets which makes the 440 and 540 even more capable.

I used my 340 in jewelry mode at a South Carolina beach recently in dry, wet and shallow surf. It performed very well and was easily hitting 10" coin and coin sized trash targets with the V10 coil. I agree with palzynski about the V10 coil and weight balance. It makes the 340 and 440 very balanced. The V12 coil feels nose heavy and does not offer much more depth. I actually preferred it in shallow (1 foot or less) surf to the Equinox since the 11" coil on the Nox feels somewhat like a boat anchor in the water. My admiration for folks who spend all of their time swinging the Nox in surf has definitely grown.

I too toggle between "all metals accepted" and jewelry mode for target interrogation. Two quick button pushes and I'm back in jewelry mode. For whatever reason, coin mode is my least favorite mode on the 340 and 440. It just does not seem to be set up well for my conditions. 

The soon to be released US made simultaneous multi frequency detector will have to be very good to make me leave my 340 or 440 at home. 

 

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13 minutes ago, Jeff McClendon said:

I do not miss the pinpoint function much on the 340 with the V10 coil except for separating adjacent targets which makes the 440 and 540 even more capable.

So the bottom-of-the-line, most affordable, beginner detector doesn't have a pinpoint function?

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2 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

Nice report... I think the Vanquish 340 is perhaps the best detecting value on the market right now, along with the Simplex first people who need waterproof. It would be fun to see a Simplex vs 340 shootout.

340 vs the Simplex , I prefer the 340 for its audio and sensitivity to tiny targets because of the MultiIQ  ... Not sure that the Simplex 11 coil would have detected this tiny 0,5 grams roman coil ... Just my opinion ... I will try to borrow a Simplex+ and do a comparative  test on this very little coin

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3 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

Nice report... I think the Vanquish 340 is perhaps the best detecting value on the market right now, along with the Simplex first people who need waterproof. It would be fun to see a Simplex vs 340 shootout.

I know this topic is about the 340. Personally, I would rather see a shootout between the 440 and the Simplex basic model. The 440 has more similar characteristics like a pinpoint function and more discrimination segments. There have already been some comparisons between the 540 and the Simplex+

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