I've Gone Whites Crazed

[Daniel Tn]

Over the past two weeks I've bought an MXT, V3i, and Spectrum XLT.  There's just something I like about those big box detectors.  I swear, somebody better not post a 6000 XL. It's one I've always wanted to try.  That MXT is a beast with DD coils on it.  I wish I could have found the Pro model just for the ground grab button but for no more than what I have in this regular MXT, I'm not complaining.  The V3i is one complex dude.  It is going to take some time to figure it all out.  I've not received the XLT yet but I know a few guys from Georgia that used to hunt with them in all metal and would wear me out in red dirt on Civil War relics.  I always wanted one...took me nearly 30 years to get one.  

Side note:  In playing with the V3i, it may very well have one of, if not the deepest, most customizable all metal mode of any VLF machine I have used. In my test garden I am wooed.  Whether or not that setting will be usable in actual hunting conditions, is yet to be determined.  

[JCR]

Good for you.  The older units can still get it done.  Just as important, they can re teach us about how to set up and run on more difficult sites. You have to think instead of just going with the built in whizz bang.  

[Chase Goldman]

10 minutes ago, JCR said:

Good for you.  The older units can still get it done.  Just as important, they can re teach us about how to set up and run on more difficult sites. You have to think instead of just going with the built in whizz bang.  

Never going to give up my MXT or F75 as they are classics with some great finds memories.  But frankly, the whizz bang just works, and works well, so they don't see much action unless I'm feeling nostalgic or absolutely need to detect with a concentric coil (because none of my Whizz bangers support those).  But again, just never get around to it.  If I'm serious and have limited time at a good relic site, mild or hot, the Whizz Bangers are coming out.  But if I see a deal I can't refuse on a classic in pristine condition, like a V3i, I might just grab it for the heck of it.

[Daniel Tn]

That deal on a pristine unit is how I came to have the MXT and V3i.  I can't even tell if the V3i was ever taken out of the box until I opened it and can almost say the same for the MXT.  The V3i came with a 10x12 SEF coil as well.  I was actually one of the pre-production testers for the Vision aka V3i.  My job was to test the stereo mixed mode and give feedback. This was the exact time frame I started using the Whites TDI and I never gave the V3i much attention after seeing what the pulse units could do.  It is a very EMI prone unit for sure. But that all metal mode is smoking.  Prospecting mode on the MXT is somewhat close to it IF the gain is maxed completely out and SAT adjusted accordingly.  I'm definitely going to have to take these two to the minie ball field and do some playing.  

[KD8GIS]

  I used only the XL Pro from back before 2000.  Found some extra cash and jumped on the MXT All Pro. I got a Detech 13 Ultimate coil and a 5X8 DD Detech coil for it.   The XL Pro  sat in the corner for a year untouched.  I put an ad out for $400 and it sold the same day.  I knew it was good and People were wanting them.  I think I could have got $500 for it.  I don't regret it as the MXT AP fills the space.  Plenty of options on the XLPro,  I expect People will always want them.  

[V3i/MXT Pro]

The color screen on the V3i and the ability to analyze individual frequencies, while using simultaneous multifrequency mode, are still unrivaled by anything on the market today. Further, all these years later, the MXT ground tracking system remains best in class. Two of White’s best machines and well ahead of their time.

[Chase Goldman]

22 minutes ago, KD8GIS said:

  I used only the XL Pro from back before 2000.  Found some extra cash and jumped on the MXT All Pro. I got a Detech 13 Ultimate coil and a 5X8 DD Detech coil for it.   The XL Pro  sat in the corner for a year untouched.  I put an ad out for $400 and it sold the same day.  I knew it was good and People were wanting them.  I think I could have got $500 for it.  I don't regret it as the MXT AP fills the space.  Plenty of options on the XLPro,  I expect People will alway want them.  

I was hoping the MX Sport would be an MXT in a new, waterproof wrapper, but it wasn't to be.  Interface and written instructions were non-intuitive compared to the MXT (I like analog knobs), sensitivity had to be cranked down so low on salt beaches for stability I could never really take advantage of its waterproofness (MXT is basically rain resistant, which is fine for relic detecting, never pretended it was a beach detector), and there were performance issues upon release, which necessitated shipment back to Whites.  Finally, the plastic battery compartment screw mounts simply cracked when exposed to cold such that I had to send it back across the country AGAIN to Whites (on my dime) to get it fixed under warranty.  That was the last straw.  Sold it shortly after that.  Never had any such issues with my metal clad MXT.  So, yeah, there is something to be said for those detectors that are built like a tank and just get the job done.

[KD8GIS]

  My last 3 detectors and need to make the best of them.  MXT AP,  MX Sport, and a Closet Queen IDX Pro.  The Sport and the IDX were spur of the last moment bids on Ebay.  Not the first IDX I have owned, This ebay one came with a 5.3 coil and the original coil, like new.    The Sport still had the plastic film on the screen, 2017, no cracks and the firmware sticker in the battery compartment,  I picked up a 6 shooter for it.   Then after winning I came back to the forums to read up on it,  OUCH.  I can just put it into the closet and give up on it. Sell it for a couple hundred and live with it.  

 Just not me. The manual for it, The manual for the MX-7 is no better than the MXS manual.  I read YEARS of the ordeal of the MXS and It sure makes excuse to give up.  I'm not ready for that.   Any input would be a help.

[Chase Goldman]

6 minutes ago, KD8GIS said:

  My last 3 detectors and need to make the best of them.  MXT AP,  MX Sport, and a Closet Queen IDX Pro.  The Sport and the IDX were spur of the last moment bids on Ebay.  Not the first IDX I have owned, This ebay one came with a 5.3 coil and the original coil, like new.    The Sport still had the plastic film on the screen, 2017, no cracks and the firmware sticker in the battery compartment,  I picked up a 6 shooter for it.   Then after winning I came back to the forums to read up on it,  OUCH.  I can just put it into the closet and give up on it. Sell it for a couple hundred and live with it.  

 Just not me. The manual for it, The manual for the MX-7 is no better than the MXS manual.  I read YEARS of the ordeal of the MXS and It sure makes excuse to give up.  I'm not ready for that.   Any input would be a help.

Yeah.  It's been too long and I never really mastered the MXS.  I saw your MXS thread on VCO and it gave me PTSD.  

[KD8GIS]

  I'm hoping as I post my finds some people who have put their Sport in the closet are going to say something like "I didn't know that"  I'll try it.  Maybe some new interest will get People helping each other.   Maybe something small will make a big difference.   Long ago post a person said "Audio Mode and VCO OFF  Then said the PP audio didn't do a thing. 

 After hours of working VCO setting and posting them, I feel good that I figured out what I did. Just one thing, but I got it.