Quest V80 – My Opinion From Using The Detector

[Guinea1]

I’ve been interested in the Quest V80 ever since I first heard about it.  However, the lack of noncommittal appraisals and sketchy YouTube videos online have always put me off buying one.  That is until now, when I saw brand new full warranty V80 detectors been auctioned off on the famous auction website.  Wherein, I managed to win an auction which gave me the Quest V80 for under half price for the 2-coil bundle deal.

When it arrived, I was immediately impressed by the attention to detail regarding the build quality.  Even the arm cup attaches via two knobs rather than a screw and the plastic is flexible.  Included in the bundle deal is wireless headphones and a receiver for using wired headphones with the receiver tucked in your pocket.  The wireless headphones are really good quality with excellent sound reproduction.  They connect to the V80 flawlessly.  The receiver module even comes with a quarter inch socket which is a nice touch.  It also connects to V80 incredibly simply.  Also, updating the V80 to the latest version of firmware was really straightforward and very simple to instal.  At first, I wasn’t sure whether I would like the menu setup, but after using the detector for a while it became really intuitive.  The resolution of the screen is amazing.  It’s really easy to see in all light levels and used at dusk or in the dark doesn’t create any glare.        

One thing I have noticed about the V80 is the user manual is very vague.  By this I mean, I have found combinations of settings which change the performance of the detector which aren’t mentioned in the user manual.  Or perhaps it’s because the terms used aren’t what the settings actually imply.  But either way, I’m really impressed with the detecting performance of the V80.  Though the caveat is I live in the UK, which means anything other than iron can be a desirable target and not digging questionable signals could be at your own peril.  As watching numbers is pretty futile, since audio is always king when it comes to trumping numbers.  Well at least it is here in the UK, as most detectorists rely more on the nuances of the audio than digits.  The audio on the V80 is very descriptive with lots of nuances in the sound reproduction, which aid in making the decision to dig or not dig.  The audio on the V80 has lots of fine-tuning settings, which has allowed me to set the detector in a way which makes sense to me.

The V80 has plenty of depth in all the search modes in my opinion.  The cache mode is a wonder to behold as the depth is incredible, and I can’t wait to use it on pasture fields which have very few signals.  Or what signals are there, are usually very deep and old.  Despite the modes name, it finds single coins and artefacts with ease.  Also, ground balancing on the V80 is a piece of cake.  As the detector offers a few different ways to achieve ground balance.  I find using the manual ground balance incredibly simple, as the audio in manual mode is very subtle which allows you to easily judge whether the coil is balanced or not.

Regarding the HyperQ multifrequency setting, I’ve found it works really well.  But for my style of searching, I much prefer hunting in the single frequency modes.  Which in my opinion offer much more nuances in the audio, especially if you want to hunt into the iron looking for non-ferrous targets on the edge of sound.  To be honest, with all my defectors I just setup them up in a way which makes sense to me, even if I am taking an unconventional approach which bucks the normal known trends.  I mostly do this because, when I first started detecting I knew an old wizard detectorist, who told me the magic to his success was never ever being afraid to dig some iron.  Since his philosophy, believed if you weren’t digging some iron, then you were definitely leaving finds in the ground.  Remember I live in the UK, which has thousands of years of artefacts buried beneath our feet.  Where taking chances on iffy signals can pay incredible dividends.  Plus, by not being afraid to dig some iron, means you learn the quirky idiosyncrasies of iron signals so much better, than if you just dismissed every squawk or pip as iron falsing.

I think the biggest eyeopener for me regarding detecting, was when I joined a group hoping to learn some hard-to-find insider tips.  Things like how to correctly ground balance a metal detector etc.  To my surprise, it turned out I actually knew more about ground balancing from what I’d read, than what the old-timers running the group who’d detected for 40 plus years!  Which taught me an important lesson.  The number of years a person has been detecting equates to nothing, unless that person is inquisitive enough to step outside the well-trodden path and experiment with the settings!  For me personally, I find detecting forums and YouTube provide me with all the fodder I need, rather than joining a group on the whim of wishful thinking.

From using the Quest v80 so far, I’ve formulated the opinion that it definitely has something special about it.  I have used it in places where I’ve searched heavily before with other top-notch detectors and it has found missed stuff.  I know this because in some of productive areas which I searched meticulously with lots of other different detectors, there were distinguishing features which made it easy to grid that said area and know you were definitely going over the same ground.  I think using different detectors on your sites, even those utilising the same frequencies can throw up some surprising and unexpected results.  I am glad I decided to bid on the V80 auction, because had I followed the nonchalant noncommittal consensus online regarding its performance, I would have definitely missed out on a really nice detector!   It might not be for everyone, but it definitely has enough adjustability to really customise the settings to get the very best from the detector.           

Thanks for reading.

 

[Steve Herschbach]

One of the most thorough reports I have seen in a while, getting to be a rarity in the age of YouTube. I added a couple images. Thanks for posting!

[Guinea1]

3 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

One of the most thorough reports I have seen in a while, getting to be a rarity in the age of YouTube. I added a couple images. Thanks for posting!

Thanks for adding the images, Steve, much appreciated!   

[JCR]

Excellent.

Thanks