New to Detecting

[nd23rin]

Hello All-

I am completely new to detecting, but have always had an interest in old / historic finds and the act of cleaning them up and either giving them to people or just displaying them! I am also into history and live in the Harrisburg, PA area (close to Gettysburg). These things led me to stumble upon this hobby as it seems like a great match. Anyway, I happen to live 20 minutes from the Mid-Atlantic Whites distributor and went down there to pick out a machine! I had a nice budget ($1000), but at the end of the day figured why not just spend the extra $350 and get the V3i! I assembled last night and took it out in my backyard. I wish I could report a glorious "first time out" story but unfortunately I found mostly worms and rocks. Couple of questions:

1. What is the act of ground balancing actually doing...does it matter how many times you "bounce it" up and down?
2. I went out last night, so obviously it was dark, and it had rained lightly all day so ground was wet. Would that have any implications on my hunting
3. I don't have a pin-pointer, and sometimes when I would dig I really felt like I should. Is it a necessity or just a luxury?
4. I wouldn't find myself necessarily getting beeps continuously over an area. In other words I would get one and then it would be gone when I swept back. how is this possible? I am assuming a real "must dig" would be a spot that continuously beeped as I passed over it.
5. Is there a good place to learn about things like, What tones are what? I hear all of these tones, it sounds like a pipe organ sometimes and Im not sure what the importance of these really is. In other words....sometimes I hear humming, then other times a beep, then a low pitch beep, etc, etc.
6. Any good books / videos to learn some of the ins and outs?

I know these questions may sound ridiculous to some, but any help would be greatly appreciated!

Nick

 

[Larry (IL)]

Some videos and a lot of reading is here: http://whiteselectronics.com/v3i.html

The owners manual explains a lot as well, read, read and read some more. Since you just got your new detector yesterday, I'm sure you have not taken the time to read the instructions yet and more importantly, understand them.

Past posts on this forum are several years of questions and answers as well.

Continuous beeps are called falsing and reducing the RX Gain and Discrimination Sensitivity should help give you stability which is the first step to detecting.

A pinpointer is not a necessity but it sure is a big help recovering targets without digging large holes and sure speeds up the process.

Don't be afraid to ask your dealer for help getting started, that is part of the sale and one of the advantages of buying from a local dealer.

 

[Rob (IL)]

Welcome to the forum. Being new let me offer some advice. Ask one question per post. You need to read your manual or you will be disappointed. OK, I'll let you ask again and good luck.

 

[butch]

Your about to enter a great hobby! Like the previous comments,it is very important to read the manual. It is also a good idea to dig all your targets for the first few times out,until you get use to the machine.Once you match-up the targets with what the detector is telling you,you will enjoy it immensely! Welcome aboard and good luck.

 

[Gary mi]

Welcome Nick, I was new to this hobby about seven months ago, and what I did was read the owner

 

[squirrel1]

Nick, may I make a few suggestions. First read your manual. Now if your manual is the same as mine you will still have many questions after you read it. Next get your machine up and running. Try and learn how to properly ground balance it over clean ground. Learn how to use the pinpoint switch. Go into your machine and select the coin program. Get you some coins and get in your yard and practice with them. I don't mean to sound too elementary, but it sounds like you've never detected before and the machine you purchased will take some thought, patience, practice, and experience to get somewhat proficient with. There are other forums too with information and people to help you along. Try not to adjust any of the settings at first. Then when you do start making adjustments, take small baby steps like only adjusting one thing at a time. Until you really understand what that particular adjustment does/affects should you progress on and make another adjustment. Since you are a beginner with an advanced machine you may consider establishing a V3i user email penpal. Someone who will go 1 on 1 with you. Do you have someone close that has a White's V3i or even a DFX. They could really help you. Good luck

 

[bigjer]

Never overlook the on-board help feature. Toggle forward from any location in menu and you have "Help". Also...Two keys to access an on-board reference manual.
Menu/Zoom for immediate on-board answers to almost any question! Hold Menu/Tab button and push Zoom.

 

[MiTreasureHunter]

Sounds like you might have made a mistake like I did last year. I also was brand new to metal detecting and let the sales person talk me into the V3i as my first detector. BIG mistake, but I was mesmerized by the big full color screen..LOL. Though some may disagree I strongly believe that this machine has no business in the hands of a beginner...unless you have a mentor that owns one and can teach you one on one. I used mine maybe two dozen times and then bought a different model...now my expensive just V3i sits in the closet. I'd hate to sell it and lose my butt on it, so I keep telling myself...one of these days I'll give it another go.

I would seek out a metal detecting club if you have one within driving distance. I did not find any V3i owners in 2 nearby clubs, but I did find many that were MXT owners and the machines were similar enough as far as the more basic stuff and they were able to show me some stuff on my V3i.

Only V3i advice I can give from experience is do not mess with any of the custom settings at this point...LOL.

 

[Gary mi]

I Disagree, I am new to detecting and I purchase the V3i because it does it all. Remember its only a machine and can be mastered, with the help from the experienced users on this form, I and others will overcome will move forward and master this machine. Never stop learning!