Specta V3 Salt Beach Program Suggestions Needed

[Trokair]

So, the background. I have a Spectra V3 that has limited miles on it. This is my second time taking it to the Outer Banks to hunt. The first time I took it only in dry sand. Now I'm venturing farther into the surf to try and find something a little older (perhaps). I know that the summer is not the best time to hunt for older stuff but it is what I am stuck with.

My problem is in Salt Beach mode or any other using the Salt Compensation I seem to only get 2 inches of ground penetration at best. I have the sensitivity cranked up to 15 and it is nice and quiet with the compensation on when it balances correctly. Otherwise it doesn't get quiet until turned down to 7 or lower. Switching back to 3 frequency instead of Salt Compensation is a problem right now because of how high the water has been on the beach. So even in the dry stuff I'm getting a lot of chatter if not using Salt mode. Is there anything I can do to help with the depth? I'm going to try the TX Boost with Salt Compensation tomorrow to see if that will help. Should I be running a different filter? I'm currently running 10hz High. Any suggestions would be great. I have two days left to comb the beaches and I want to make the most of it. Thanks very much for any input.

Edit: I guess I left out some pretty important information. First, I am using the stock DD coil that came with the unit. Second I am focusing on two programs specifically. The Factory Salt Beach program and a copy of the factory Coil and Jewelry program with the frequency set to Salt Compensation. Thanks again for any help.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A Handbook of Civil War Bullets and Cartridges - Grab it through Amazon!

[LuckyLarry]

This is an old post, but I couldn't help but comment on it..

Put the V3 back in the closet and use it for a doorstop when the door is open. Go out and buy;

#1 A PI unit, (almost) ANY PI! I prefer the Garretts #1, Tesoro #2, Whites #3

#2 A CZ, especially the CZ-20, 21, or CZ-70

#3 A BBS (the Minelab Sovereign seems to work best)

#4 An old Compass Electronics Goldscanner or R&C w/8" DD search coil.

Price has little to nothing to do with performance. Some $500 detectors work better than some $1500 detectors.

LL

 

[liftloop]

now now LL
a door stop really
i agree on the pi thing just not in that order in which there are numbered...




liftloop

 

[LuckyLarry]

Hey Liftloop

Yeah, my Compadre matches the depth of a 3030 and (almost) matches the depth of a V3 on our (salt) beaches. Those two very spendy detectors are a real disappointment to me..

For me here on these nasty high black sand/salt beaches that's how it goes every time I hunt there. An MXT is really good at finding lots of pulltabs there, nickles too, although too noisy and not very deep, but the (newest) Whites and Minelabs really suffer around here. I've had lots of different machines, and on Oregon beaches my Garrett Sea Hunter goes deepest, deeper than anything else I've seen, and my cz-70 works the best overall, and beats other dual frequency by about one inch in wet sand. Whites can't seem to keep up with the CZ's and the Sea Hunter. They should, but they don't. In fact, I have better luck on our beaches with my old Silver Sabre than people do with the above mentioned Whites V3 and the Minelab 3030. My old Sovereign did well, but not well enough, so I sold it and bought the CZ. It's a dandy, even if it has trouble with tiny gold jewelry.

 

[dirtscratcher]

Larry how many people live in conditions you describe. Anybody else ever see a compadre equal a 3030 0r v3?

 

[LuckyLarry]

Yes dirtscratcher, it depends on where people live and their soil types. I know of even worse places to search, especially the rugged Washington coast line, where black round rocks are as common as blades of grass. The only thing that works there are PI's. But yes, the entire western coastal area of America sits in the iron belt, and has really bad ground to work in, including the 1500 miles of the Puget Sound area.. Montana is very different, but not entirely exclusive either, although it normally has less Fe in it. When it comes to Oceans here, we have two of them, not just one, and the interior is a whole lot different than salt beaches.

Check this out: It is sad, VERY sad. 8 or 9" (20+ cm) is horrible for that much money! And (please) people spare me, Minelabs BBS's DO NOT go deeper in the ground than they do in the air. Many people try that song on me, but I used to build metal detectors, and I've used Minelabs and owned them and Whites too. In fact I own more that 30 of them. That old song and dance about "Minelab air tests" is just another urban legend. Our best pre-determinant is an air test. D. Johnson and George Payne both discuss this in their notes and so do other well-known and knowledgeable metal detector engineers like John Earle. Our depth is primarily dependent on the size of the radiating field, not eddy currents, which mostly applies to PI's. If there is no field, there is no signal, period. Magnetic fields are not mythical or imaginary.

First the 3030: This man doesn't seem to be very happy with it. My Compadre gets 1" less than the 3030 (in discrimination) in air or salt beaches on the same type/weight/composition of coin.



Then the Spectrum v3: A little better, but not by much..



The Compadre: About 1" less on a nickel or similar.





Then we have to consider that we are talking about salt beaches, not air or inland soil. And as we all know detectors loaded down with toys commonly lose power/depth in operation, much like a gas mileage car loses its great gas mileage if it has too many car toys plus extra people stuffed into it, especially if it is under load or going up a hill.

I normally hunt in Oregon, Washington, California, and this summer I'll start hunting Nevada, and Idaho, maybe Utah.

I hope this helps.. HH

LL

 

[Terry Soloman]

So, the background. I have a Spectra V3 that has limited miles on it. This is my second time taking it to the Outer Banks to hunt. The first time I took it only in dry sand. Now I'm venturing farther into the surf to try and find something a little older (perhaps). I know that the summer is not the best time to hunt for older stuff but it is what I am stuck with.

My problem is in Salt Beach mode or any other using the Salt Compensation I seem to only get 2 inches of ground penetration at best. I have the sensitivity cranked up to 15 and it is nice and quiet with the compensation on when it balances correctly. Otherwise it doesn't get quiet until turned down to 7 or lower. Switching back to 3 frequency instead of Salt Compensation is a problem right now because of how high the water has been on the beach. So even in the dry stuff I'm getting a lot of chatter if not using Salt mode. Is there anything I can do to help with the depth? I'm going to try the TX Boost with Salt Compensation tomorrow to see if that will help. Should I be running a different filter? I'm currently running 10hz High. Any suggestions would be great. I have two days left to comb the beaches and I want to make the most of it. Thanks very much for any input.

Edit: I guess I left out some pretty important information. First, I am using the stock DD coil that came with the unit. Second I am focusing on two programs specifically. The Factory Salt Beach program and a copy of the factory Coil and Jewelry program with the frequency set to Salt Compensation. Thanks again for any help.

Have you tried a hammer on it yet?

 

[dirtscratcher]

Larry you can claim anything you like. Videos prove nothing to me, seen to many that don't jive with what I've wittnessed actualy detecting. Still waiting for anyone else who has seen a compadre out preform a 3030 or v3.

 

[moramoina]

I have bought recently a spectra V3. So far i have taken it only to the beach as i live just next to it, but here comes the problem. I can't properly ground balance it on wet sand. It takes ages to stabilise, and eventually it doesn't, in fact i have to hunt with a very noisy machine. I get loads of false signals on wet sand and the VDI numbers usually go crazy jumping all over, therefore impossible to pin point anything. I am using the factory settings "salt beach" with the salt compensation on. Is there anybody that could help me? Thank you. M

 

[LuckyLarry]

Traokair and Moramoina, the V3 was not well-designed or well-known for operating well on salt beaches or achieving good depth inland either, it just has a lot of toys and it's fun to play with. High cost often does not always equate to superior performance (i.e. Tejon or Vaquero blows the eTrac right out of the water in most soils), it's just the way it goes sometimes. The owner of the metal detector sales shop down the street pushes Whites v3's and an MXT because he has a franchise on Whites, but when he leaves and goes detecting he uses an F75 inland, and a Fisher GB or GB Pro for nugget hunting, even in Nevada. Maybe Dirtscratcher has a really good answer for you and knows a trick or two to show you in spite of its well-known mediocre power, and its design faults. He appears to like it, so maybe he knows a way to boost its performance. I sure don't know how to make it go deeper even if I redesigned the circuitry, although I worked as a supervisor in designing and producing hundreds and thousands of metal detectors, and repairing various other detectors too. ..

Good luck to both of you. Larry

 

[LuckyLarry]

Ds, I didn't "claim" anything, I think you misread my post. I didn't invent either detector, and I didn't make those videos either, I merely posted them. However, both detectors are maxed out in their settings, they are at the end of their capabilities, right?

I didn't say a Compadre "out preforms" (performs) a 3030 or v3, I said "it gets 1" less than a 3030 (in discrimination) in air or salt beaches". I have absolutely zero opinions about any of them, I only deal with facts.

I have an idea, since you seem to like the Spectra v3, why not buy or borrow one and compare it to a Compadre and then show us a video? That way we all would have more than just words or these videos to compare things with. Or maybe you could go to a detectors shop and compare the two, maybe even show a video of you doing it. We would all like to know what you can share with us about these detectors - and how they compare with each other. It would help all of us. That way maybe some poor schmuck who was about to spend his last dime on a detector might be able to save himself a whole lot of money, right?

Oh, I also said "and ALMOST matches the depth of the v3 on our (salt) beaches. I didn't say the Compadre outdoes the other two in any way, although I will admit that it is lighter in weight. I think you must have misread that one too, but that's easy to do sometimes..

The bottom line is that the v3 and the 3030 aren't worth the big bucks unless someone buys them just for the toys.

Here is a good example of why people buy certain things even if they are not superior to others: I own a Buick, an Alfa Romeo, and a BMW, but the BMW cost more than twice the $$ as a Buick, and the Alfa is worth more than either of them. But neither the BMW nor the Alfa are better cars than the Buick. In fact the Buick is more dependable, more comfortable, roomier, gets better gas mileage, and will have a longer lifespan than either of the other two. I just prefer driving the Alfa and the BMW, they're more fun to drive, and the girls like them better too...... (only) because they are expensive, and when they are seen riding in them it somehow raises their "social status" among other women. I don't know why though..

 

[pulltabs]

So, the background. I have a Spectra V3 that has limited miles on it. This is my second time taking it to the Outer Banks to hunt. The first time I took it only in dry sand. Now I'm venturing farther into the surf to try and find something a little older (perhaps). I know that the summer is not the best time to hunt for older stuff but it is what I am stuck with.

My problem is in Salt Beach mode or any other using the Salt Compensation I seem to only get 2 inches of ground penetration at best. I have the sensitivity cranked up to 15 and it is nice and quiet with the compensation on when it balances correctly. Otherwise it doesn't get quiet until turned down to 7 or lower. Switching back to 3 frequency instead of Salt Compensation is a problem right now because of how high the water has been on the beach. So even in the dry stuff I'm getting a lot of chatter if not using Salt mode. Is there anything I can do to help with the depth? I'm going to try the TX Boost with Salt Compensation tomorrow to see if that will help. Should I be running a different filter? I'm currently running 10hz High. Any suggestions would be great. I have two days left to comb the beaches and I want to make the most of it. Thanks very much for any input.

Edit: I guess I left out some pretty important information. First, I am using the stock DD coil that came with the unit. Second I am focusing on two programs specifically. The Factory Salt Beach program and a copy of the factory Coil and Jewelry program with the frequency set to Salt Compensation. Thanks again for any help.

I've used the V3I on the beach exclusively for almost a year now. To work the beach effectively you need a 950 coil. The d2 chatters on the sand. Try relic mode with salt compensate. Use your filters I find 5 band to be most effective on my beach experiment I am unfamiliar with your beach. It also sounds that your d2 may be having a problem give Connie a call in sweet home.

 

[dirtscratcher]

Ds, I didn't "claim" anything, I think you misread my post. I didn't invent either detector, and I didn't make those videos either, I merely posted them. However, both detectors are maxed out in their settings, they are at the end of their capabilities, right?

I didn't say a Compadre "out preforms" (performs) a 3030 or v3, I said "it gets 1" less than a 3030 (in discrimination) in air or salt beaches". I have absolutely zero opinions about any of them, I only deal with facts.

I have an idea, since you seem to like the Spectra v3, why not buy or borrow one and compare it to a Compadre and then show us a video? That way we all would have more than just words or these videos to compare things with. Or maybe you could go to a detectors shop and compare the two, maybe even show a video of you doing it. We would all like to know what you can share with us about these detectors - and how they compare with each other. It would help all of us. That way maybe some poor schmuck who was about to spend his last dime on a detector might be able to save himself a whole lot of money, right?

Oh, I also said "and ALMOST matches the depth of the v3 on our (salt) beaches. I didn't say the Compadre outdoes the other two in any way, although I will admit that it is lighter in weight. I think you must have misread that one too, but that's easy to do sometimes..

The bottom line is that the v3 and the 3030 aren't worth the big bucks unless someone buys them just for the toys.

Here is a good example of why people buy certain things even if they are not superior to others: I own a Buick, an Alfa Romeo, and a BMW, but the BMW cost more than twice the $$ as a Buick, and the Alfa is worth more than either of them. But neither the BMW nor the Alfa are better cars than the Buick. In fact the Buick is more dependable, more comfortable, roomier, gets better gas mileage, and will have a longer lifespan than either of the other two. I just prefer driving the Alfa and the BMW, they're more fun to drive, and the girls like them better too...... (only) because they are expensive, and when they are seen riding in them it somehow raises their "social status" among other women. I don't know why though..

Ok Larry I'll use your words anyone other then Larry seen a compadre MATCH a 3030 or an inch less than a v3. Somehow I doubt it.

 

[LuckyLarry]

Terry, that remark was really funny!

 

[mandad76]

I've used the V3I on the beach exclusively for almost a year now. To work the beach effectively you need a 950 coil. The d2 chatters on the sand. Try relic mode with salt compensate. Use your filters I find 5 band to be most effective on my beach experiment I am unfamiliar with your beach. It also sounds that your d2 may be having a problem give Connie a call in sweet home.

Good advice....give it a shot.