In the metal detecting world, you always hear that a site is never hunted out, but after 10 straight years of working a site I was pretty well convinced the Fr. & In. and Rev War site we had been working was indeed "hunted out"!

Those deductions on my part made for an excellent trial site to field-test the new V3. I was amazed at the results and I have some idea why the V3 performed so well.

First, The new Spectra V3 has an incredible depth that rivals the White's MXT. And I have said many times that the MXT is literally unbeatable for a depth machine! Well, it still may not be beat, but the new V3 holds its own in the depth department.

Secondly, we found that the new V3 with it's ability to analyze what is in the ground before digging is perhaps the reason we found so many small munitions and buttons. My personal feeling is that with the other machines, these small buttons and shot that were deep and possibly "on edge" sounded very "skeptical" and were avoided. We all have only so much time in the field and digging everything sounds good but "gets old" in a hurry. We all tend to want to keep moving and look for those positive targets that are always exciting to find. The V3 takes so much of the guesswork out of determining what to dig that you don’t miss those questionable targets. Look at the pictures.

My partner and several others left behind these small musket ball munitions, probably because they were considered "questionable" targets. The V3's analyze screen with it's "Blue" 22.5 kHz said "Lead" and it was appropriately dug! The 22.5 kHz is the most sensitive to lead targets and shows the highest sign curve and also the highest color (blue) in the pinpoint mode.

This picture shows the relics I located on the second day with the White's Spectra V3 and the Rev War canteen Top (right) gave a distinct Pewter VDI reading in the Blue 22.5 KHz Range. The buckle (center) on the other hand was clearly in the green 2.5 kHz frequencies with the characteristic high brass VDI number. The nice colonial scissors marked with a British broad arrow gave the distinct iron low sound and double sign curve in the analyze screen, but the signature of size measured in the analyze screen told me it was larger than a nail so I dug it and I am very glad I did. I venture to guess that this was ignored as another questionable "iron nail target" by others detecting earlier.

This small Necklace or "Indian Trade Ear Bob" that was pounded out from a lead musket ball and probably sounded a bit distorted to other detectors but once again, the White's Spectra V3 said "Lead Target" and the decision to dig was justified!

The Indian trade Broach was my highlight of the day and was found while checking another Rev War site using the Deep Silver search program. I was hoping to "home in" on some Spanish Silver, which was the coin typically, paid to colonial soldiers. We have found several examples of this in the past and when this silver trade broach was dug, I was PLEASANTLY surprised!

I have been using the V3 for about three weeks now and I am anxious to bring it to some new potential sites once the hay fields get cut. In my locale, the best time to hunt is as soon as the ground thaws, but I did not have a chance to use the new V3 until after that opportunity had passed. You can bet I will be out there this coming spring. This machine is incredible! Once you have learned the potential of the Spectra 3, you no longer dig trash. It is absolutely most sophisticated detector I have ever seen or used!

As for the other bells and whistles like the wireless headphones; they too will eventually revolutionize the industry. It is simply a joy to not be tethered to your machine like the traditional detectors. Once again, the sophistication of the on board computer in this detector give one a multitude of options with respect to audio. You and your partner can detect side by side with some simple adjustments to the "transmit boost" function on the "live control" part of the screen.

The color screens, the "live on screen controls", bevy (10) of pre-set turn on and go programs, three individual frequencies, a visual pinpoint mode in addition to audio pinpointing, automatic ground tracking and more are all in addition to the virtues I have previously discussed.

When using this "user friendly" machine, you will see why the folks at White's are so excited about their new flagship Spectra V3. You can experiment and play with any of the program settings and never worry because the on board "restores function" allows you to restore the original programs at the push of a button. Did I Mention this is one SOPHISTICATED detector???

My partner and I have been Relic Hunting for 15 years in one of the historically richest regions of the country. We have been exclusively users of White's metal detectors and have developed nice collections of French and Indian War and Revolutionary War memorabilia. Over the past few years we have used White's MXT detectors and have been sold on its simplicity and great depth of range. The picture below of my partner, Dan's 53rd belt plate was reason enough for our excitement in using the MXT.

The great 53rd regimental button however was found using the new Spectra V3 at about 10 inches. I am sure the V3 would have located the belt plate as well as it is a large brass target, but the confidence we now have in the V3 will make it our detector of choice for our relic hunting.