I Want To See What Minelab & Garrett Is Bringing To The Table

[Cal_Cobra]

13 minutes ago, mh9162013 said:

How's its recovery speed? Is it better in trash than the E-Trac?

As I recall yes it was.  I had the Etrac (and F75 LTD) at the time.  The Etrac was so slow.   I remember one time I was at a park that went back to the Spanish era in Alta California, and they'd just done some trenching to install a water controller.  I went over the piles with the Etrac and it was just constantly nulling out.  I ended using my hand held pinpointer to hunt the pile and low and behold I pulled two Barber dimes out and a lot of nails.  

[mh9162013]

6 minutes ago, Cal_Cobra said:

As I recall yes it was.  I had the Etrac at the time, it was so slow.   I remember one time I was at a park that went back to the Spanish era in Alta California, and they'd just done some trenching to install a water controller.  I went over the piles with the Etrac and it was just constantly nulling out.  I ended using my hand held pinpointer to hunt the pile and low and behold I pulled two Barber dimes out and a lot of nails.  

If that's the case then you're right, if Garrett can put the V3i in the AT Max or Apex's form factor (and still retain at least weatherproofness), they'd have a solid machine.

The E-Trac and Equinox are my two primary detectors (although I'm trying to sell the E-Trac). The E-Trac is heavy, but I think its FBS is better at identifiyng what's in the ground. But it's heavy...and not weatherproof. And despite its slow recovery speed, it's fast "enough" for me. I also LOVE the AT Max's form factor, so putting what amounts to White's version of the E-Trac (or a better version, based on what you and others say about the V3i) into the AT Max's control housing would be a real winner to me.

[Cal_Cobra]

4 hours ago, mh9162013 said:

...putting what amounts to White's version of the E-Trac (or a better version, based on what you and others say about the V3i) into the AT Max's control housing would be a real winner to me.

I think so too.  To me that seems like the most obvious approach for Garrett to take.  I recall Carl Moreland (Geotech) talking about the code on the V3i and he said something to the effect (I'm totally paraphrasing him from memory) that a typical single frequency VLF like a Fisher F75 for example might have 10,000 lines of code, but a SMF like the V3i was more like 100,000 lines of code.  Assuming these are written in C or a similarly compiled modular language the jewels will likely be all the subroutine libraries where all the magic happens. 

It seems doable, maybe Carl would think differently about trying to dissect the V3i code and think it's a waste of time, I don't know. 

Do you mainly hunt parks?  I tried relic hunting with the Etrac and it wasn't for me.  My hunt partner is still using the Explorer2 for relic hunting (although he finally broke down and bought a Deus....and then they dropped the Deus2, oh well) but i was always amazed at how well he did at iron infested relic sites with his Exp2 which is even slower than the Etrac. 

[mh9162013]

22 minutes ago, Cal_Cobra said:

Do you mainly hunt parks?  I tried relic hunting with the Etrac and it wasn't for me.  My hunt partner is still using the Explorer2 for relic hunting (although he finally broke down and bought a Deus....and then they dropped the Deus2, oh well) but i was always amazed at how well he did at iron infested relic sites with his Exp2 which is even slower than the Etrac. 

I do...and yards.

Some areas are heavily trashed, but the E-Trac with the stock coil seems to do about as well as the AT Max and Vanquish in terms of recovery speed (AT Max using the stock coil and 540 using the V12).

[Geotech]

On the V3, it was written in C++. It would be a difficult challenge for someone to take on that code other than the guy who wrote it, who now works for FTP. Also, the V3 was not a depth demon and had some issues, notably with ground tracking. And recovery speed was average. It would need a complete hardware re-design and a lot of software overhaul. Apex might be a better starting point.

On Minelab, the rumor I've heard is that the Equinox 1000 is getting close. It is not an enhanced Eq800 but has a new mechanicals with a larger pod.

[Cal_Cobra]

31 minutes ago, Geotech said:

On the V3, it was written in C++. It would be a difficult challenge for someone to take on that code other than the guy who wrote it, who now works for FTP. Also, the V3 was not a depth demon and had some issues, notably with ground tracking. And recovery speed was average. It would need a complete hardware re-design and a lot of software overhaul. Apex might be a better starting point.

On Minelab, the rumor I've heard is that the Equinox 1000 is getting close. It is not an enhanced Eq800 but has a new mechanicals with a larger pod.

The V3 coder's at FTP, anything to read between the lines there?  I hope he's not debugging bounty hunter code 🙂 I realize you probably can't say, but I have to ask:  What on earth is the guy working on?  If he can code a V3, and you were the chief designer, and the infamous Dave Johnson is there, it seems like a no brainer that you guys should have a killer SMF coming....soon....maybe 🤔

Maybe we will see the Equinox 1000 parachuting in at Detectival this year. 

Three new top of the line SMF detectors in one year, I'm with Simon, my head may explode 🤕

[Geotech]

He's working on a utility pipe tracer. Unfortunately the work we did at White's holds no water here. White's is viewed as a failed company with failed products.

[burlguy]

Does anyone see what is happening here?

The V3i/Vision was in pre-production and testing in 2008 and here we are 14 years later and it is still being talked about. I swing mine daily and am looking for a new version of it. Waterproof it and incorporate USB charging, I will buy 2.

Sure the depth is lacking at times but with the 13" Detech ultimate I get great separation and nearly the same depth as my 15x12".

My Etrac couldnt beat it and my detecting buddy who has been swinging a v3 since 2010 says his Equinox 800 may only surpass it on the beach. I have been swinging a v3i for 11 years.

Mixed mode stereo mode is unparalleled... Get with it Garrett, there is a huge market here.

 

[Geotech]

Yeah, V3 is still one of my favorites. The SpectraGraph display has still not been equaled, or even approached. It's a shame it ended up a dead end.

[mh9162013]

What's the difference between a V3 and a V3i? Are they the same in terms of hardware such that a V3 can update its software and become a V3i?