White's Spectra V3i

I was privileged to receive one of the early White’s Electronics “Vision” uber-detectors last year. Without a doubt, the most user configurable metal detector on the planet! Initially, all the settings and options can seem a little overwhelming. However…if you take the time to really learn this machine, you will be rewarded. The Vision/Spectra V3i CANNOT be mastered in a week or even a month. This is a detector that GROWS with you as a hobbyist. If you purchase one, be prepared to dedicate some serious time studying various forum posts and experimenting…but, boy, is it worth it!

I recently sent my Vision back to White’s headquarters for the V3i upgrade. I was more than a little curious about the new features and options… and reports of increased depth and stability. I can honestly report that I have indeed observed improved depth (and it was already world-class) at both beach hunting and the varying soils of North Carolina. Perceived stability was also an issue with the original Vision (mine) while using the stock D2 coil. After the V3i upgrade, the machine seems much smoother and less susceptible to electrical interference from power lines.

New features implemented by the V3i upgrade include:

- Support for Foreign languages (i -> international)
- On-board Quick Reference system
- Stereo mix-mode audio
- Polar analysis plot
- Prospecting analysis scan
- Single frequency salt tracking
- Several other minor improvements

…Plus you get a cool sticker on your returned machine saying it’s now a V3i!

Upgrades to the new software are FREE (excluding a $25 return shipping fee) if you purchased your V3 on or after November 1st , 2009. If you purchased a Vision or V3 PRIOR to November 1st, the upgrade cost is $100 (plus $25 return shipping fee). In my honest opinion, this is an awesome deal for an upgrade that essentially transforms a great detector into an awesome detector! White’s could have easily said “no upgrades” and just launched the V3i as another model. Instead they give early adopters the option to not be left behind…and for a reasonable fee. No one HAS to send their machine in to be upgraded…it works just fine as a Vision or V3. However, it’s pretty nice to know you can if you want to, especially with all the added features and improvements.

Overall, I highly recommend the V3i upgrade! I have found no negatives…only positives, as a result of sending it in to White’s. The whole process only took a week and arrived back home just in time for a trip to the beach for vacation! By the way…if you’re salt water beach hunting, I also recommend picking up one of the new “V rated” 950 loops! It performed flawlessly transitioning from dry to wet sand…more on this in an upcoming review!

A few critical links related to the White’s Electronics Vision/ Spectra V3i

White’s Electronics Official V3i Forum: http://forums.whiteselectronics.com/forumdisplay.php?54-Spectra-V3i-V3

DetectorStuff White’s forum: http://detectorstuff.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=22

Findmalls Vision/Spectra V3i forum: http://www.findmall.com/list.php?66

Field test part 1: http://detectorstuff.com/2009/05/27/whites-spectra-v3-vision-field-test-part-1/

Field test part 2: http://detectorstuff.com/2009/08/29/white’s-spectra-v3-vision-field-test-part-2/

Taking apart the Spectra V3! http://detectorstuff.com/2009/05/12/another-look-inside-the-whites-spectra-v3/

-Mark

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Beach hunting is one of my favorite things to do!  The problem is that I only get down to the coast once or twice a year.  Since my time is limited, I tend to take several pieces of metal detecting artillery with me!  This year one of those hunks of metal detecting weaponry was the new White’s Spectra V3.  The one I have is still called a “Vision” (complicated legal issue involving names!)…but it’s the same machine.  Now, the Spectra is one of those detectors that you look at and KNOW it will do some amazing things…be it inland on old coins or down in the wet sand.  The Spectra can utilize 3 separate frequencies simultaneously and comes stock with a 10 inch DD coil.  It also has a TON of stock pre-built “programs” or modes that you can select on the fly (Much, much easier than on the DFX I used to have) thanks to a quick “hot bar” arrangement along the bottom of the screen.  There’s also nearly UNLIMITED user adustable things under the hood…so many so that most new owners will “play it safe” with the stock programs for a while…and luckily, they work great!…not quite as conservative as I remember on the DFX.  For the “turn on and go” type hunters…no problem!  You only “play” with the advanced stuff if you want to…and luckily all the pre-made programs hard in uneraseble ROM…so a quick reset and you can “undo” whatever you did if something ends up out of whack.  In other words…don’t be afraid to “play”!

Unfortunately, low tide during vacation week was mid -afternoon (or EARLY in the morning!).  However, I love to hunt the “wet stuff” during waning tide, so off in the mid-day heat I went!  I was already familiar with the Spectra’s sand performance during a brief surf hunt earlier in the Summer…that short trip netted me a pocket full of clad and a ring!  My hopes were HIGH for this week!

When I started my hunt, I quickly picked the preconfigured “Salt Beach” mode.  It’s an exellent starting  point for salt drenched sand…and sets the cool color display to a mode that is highly visible in the bright daylight.  The 10 inch DD coil covers ground quickly and the presets of the “Salt Beach” mode seem to allow for fast hunting.  The only tweaks I made initially was bumping the gain…I found the area I was in allowed for a bit more “heat” while staying stable.  The balance of the “tried and true” White’s pole, display pod and electronics housing makes it easy to find a perfect balance.  I’m around 5′ 11″  (used to be taller before years of gravity got me!) and had no problem finding a notch on the  pole that allowed for that perfect compromise of maximum swing coverage, yet little “fatigue”.  I tend to opt for more swing coverage, using the momentum of my swing to help suspend the coil “just” off the surface of the sand.  One minor issue I had with the stock DD coil was a slight “falsing” when bumping the wet sand…I’ve heard this issue does not occur with other compatible coils though…and I adapted quickly to compensate.

One thing is for sure…other hobbyists are “intrigued” by the new Spectra!  I had quite a few folks (including some of the Carolina Beach area CRABS (Carolina Relic And Beach hunting Society…the “h” in hunting is silent! )  They are an awesome group of hunters who I thoroughly enjoy digging with every chance I get!  And…giving credit where credit is due, the big ol’ orange handled scoop you see me with in the photos was a loaner from the generous Carl Cladoff! (I forgot mine at home!)

One thing that INSTANTLY grabs attention is the wireless headphones!  It was almost bizaare hunting without a cord dangling by my noggin!  Especially when I stopped to dig the many targets…I usually have to do a little arm scoop motion to move the headphone cable so I don’t tangle it in my scoop as I dig.  In short…the wireless headphones ROCK!  Comfortable, wireless and plenty of volume.  There were a few unusual episodes of the audio having a left/right shift (kinda like when you adjust the balance on your car stereo) but nothing that was a problem at all.  I think I’ve seen on the forums that there’s a software update that prevents this.  However, I kind of like it!

My intial finds with the Spectra V3 were plentiful!  Plenty of targets were heard…at all sorts of depths.  The deepest I dug was over a foot on a quarter…and it was loud and clear.  The Spectra achieved PLENTY of depth on the Carolina Coast!  Sensitivity to gold was tested with my wedding band.  The Spectra hits HARD on gold rings…I just wasn’t luck enough to walk over one during the week.  However, the Spectra has scored two rings for me in the sand.  Neither was particularly valueable, but still fun to find!

Another thing the beach taught me about the V3…it’s pretty darned water resistant!  I was caught in SEVERAL downpours…with nowhere to go!  There was never a problem with moisture getting into the “innards”…see my earlier Spectra V3 Review (part 1) for a photo of the rubber seals around the display pod and the electronics housing.  I also noticed the V3 seems to handle a variety of temperature swings without an issue.  My Wife likes to keep the Condo COLD!  When coming from the frigid inside to the hot and humid outside, no problem…something else…See those buttons on the display?  They glow in the dark!  Nice touch!  I have to admit…when I first heard the V3 would have a color display, I was worried about visibility in bright daylight.  However, my concern was unfounded.  The display is excellent in both bright light and NO light.  The backlight (which is adjustable) works great when you want to get in some night hunting.

Another cool feature I learned to appreciate on this trip is the rechargeable battery pack.  It charges fast!  Great when you want to “top it off” after a hunt.  The reason I say “top it off” and not “recharge” is because the battery life was splendid!  It lasted much longer than I did!  Just in case though, there’s an extra battery pack that you can carry with standard AA batteries.

Digging one of the many coins heard by the Spectra V3!

When all is said and done, the White’s Spectra V3 is a great beach machine!  The default, out-of-the-box Beach Hunting program works well and there are more adjustments than the average hunter will ever explore!  However, it’s pretty cool knowing that flexibility and adjustability are available at your fingertips.  I think White’s has another hit on their hands with the Spectra V3!

Author digs another of MANY coins found with the Spectra V3!

Part 3 coming soon!

*Special thanks to Dave and Carl Cladoff for the use of their photos!*

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So where shall we begin with this beast?

When you take it out of the box, it doesn’t really look much. But as soon as you turn it on and want to adjust things.. Whoaa!

Lot’s of adjustments, you could ruin a whole weeks worth of detecting if you’d start out right away and try to adjust everything.

In the beginning I really suggest you keep to factory programs and the manual.

Ok out in the field:

Park:

I start out my field test in a simple good old park.

First thing I notice, the adjustments are a blessing if you have the guts to stick with it. (but a PITA if you just wanna detect)

I of course find lot’s of targets, living in Sweden most parks have never seen a metal detector.

Much trash to comes out, I soon learn the so called “DC Phase” feature can help ID some coinage. (especially small coins)

The cans soon started to turn out to be a problem, scattered around the place both whole and cut pieces they where hard to seperate from coins.

I soon noted using VCO and doing a “+” sign over the target helped to ID some of them to my relief.

I did well with 2 hours and got well over 15 coins, inluding a few silvers and early 1900′s copper coins.

Summary:

Ok well it does very well in the park to say the least. Found several coins and various bobs and ends.

I think this is where it’s at it’s best.

Relic Hunting:

Now I bring it to a older part of the park where relic hunting is possible but much small iron plagues the ground.

Because of constant silence and a few broken signals (discrimination kicking in) I decide to lower disc so I get better tones on the none ferrous stuff. (stuff that isn’t iron)

Also recalling from the manual that Correlate frequency might help I changed it and re-ground balanced.

It was better now, the none ferrous tones where more crisp and not so broken.

Still it was beeping every second or so, so I slowed down and lowered volume which made it much more tolerable.

Summary:

It found very little but it did ok, just barely though. A smaller coil would have been prefered but none was available at that time. (forgot at home)

The heavy iron was a plague and that she was constantly chattering didn’t make it more enjoyable really.

Now I moved on to the beach at the camping grounds of the park.

Beach Hunting:

Re-ground balanced, switched to Best Data freq and made a few other adjustments then I felt ready to go.

I quickly learn much foil was at the beach but it was easy to tell by using the VCO pinpoint function as they had irregular shapes.Cool

The method was the same used on the cans in the park.

Not expecting much due to it being hit with my Explorer II I slowly remembered I hadn’t searched it all!

Now after I found the unsearched spot a while I started picking up some coins, I found one tiny child’s toy ring (which often the dentist gave kids back in the days) it was very small with a small green glass piece in.

Now I went to the hunted part of the beach and didn’t really find anything there, a few small pieces of scrap metal my Explorer missed was all.

That was quite expected.

Summary:

It works very well for beach hunting especially with a larger coil.

Note! It was written to make it stand out where the DFX excells, i.e. in which hunting styles it works best.

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Part 1 of however many it takes!

To say there are a LOT of features and options on White’s newest flagship, the Spectra V3, is an enormous understatement!    I’ve spent weeks deliberating on the best way to present a review of the Spectra…and I finally decided to break it into phases.  If I tried to put everything into one story, I think it would almost be overwhelming! (to me too…trying to write it!)  There will no doubt be some outstanding books and tutorials written on this machine.  I would strongly suggest buying one of those when they become available (Jeff Foster or Andy Sabisch?).

This first “phase” report is about the packaging, contents and overall new user impressions.  As the chapters continue, I will branch out into other aspects such as assembly, air-testing, interface and “real-world” usage.

So here we go!…

White’s Spectra V3 Review, part 1

Arrival and unpacking:

Shipping box

Is there any better feeling than to arrive home and find a new metal detector on your porch?  Nope!  The distinctive White’s logo meant one thing and one thing only…the new Vision had arrived (name later changed to Spectra V3…more on that later).  Now, there are those who carefully open the packaging…and there are those who tear into ‘em with kid-at-Christmas enthusiasm.  I started out “careful”, but due to the hefty staples holding the outer box, I said “The heck with it!” and starting yanking and pulling!

Spectra inner box

My enthusiastic box pulling yielded another pleasant surprise…double boxing!  I like it when dual boxes are used.  The inner box is the one with all the cool artwork and product information.

packed as shipped

Call me weird, but I love to see stuff securely packed from the factory…as the Spectra V3 was!  Each item has its place..and is protected by a separate clear plastic bag (I had already pulled it off the display section).  Nice and snug…as it should be!

All the goodies

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This time I take apart the Display/control pod! In the first part of this series, I “deconstructed” the under-arm housing. LINK HERE. Upon removing the screws on the control pod, I am very impressed by the use of a nice heavy rubber bushing/seal. So far, all parts appear to be very high quality on the Spectra V3. Each half of the display seat into a recessed groove…nice and water tight! There’s also a beefy rubber grommet/seal where the pod back connects to the back of the handle…once again helping keep the elements at bay….

READ MORE BELOW!  More Pics…

Partially Apart Vision Pod

*Use CAUTION when reassembling! Put the whole thing back together with pressure from your fingers…making sure all the parts are seated properly. DO NOT use the screws to “pull” it back together or you may strip them out!

Board and connectors inside display housing

Thanks again to the great folks at White’s Electronics (Carl and Alan!) A full review of the V3 is coming very soon!

Rubber Bushing near handle

Inside the back of the housing with connectors

Heavy rubber washer/seal between front and back halves of the housing

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V3 board 1

V3 board view 2

Vision Spectra V3 board view 3

Speaker with seal

V3 board ID

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http://media.whiteselectronics.com/player2/video/vision-ca-intro.html

http://whiteselectronics.com/images/stories/vision-overview.wmv

Looks VERY interesting!

NEW:  Link to the Detector Stuff exclusive interview with White’s Engineers a few months back…with some interesting clues! HERE

Discussion in our forums:  http://detectorstuff.com/forum/the-rumor-mill/new-whites-vision-metal-detector/#p152

Discussion at the Findmall Forums: http://www.findmall.com/list.php?66

Field Test .pdf file: http://whiteselectronics.com/images/stories/vision-field-test.pdf

Early version of the Instruction Manual (found at DFXonly.com) HERE and HERE

You can also discuss and leave comments attached to this story in the “comments” link

White's Vision

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www.whiteselectronics.com

Contributors:

John Earle – Long time White’s Engineer and Loop Guru.

Dan Geyer – Dan worked on the TDI and is White’s PI specialist.

John Plautz – Multifrequency design Engineer

Carl Moreland – Engineering Manager (and owner of the awesome detector tech site Geotech!)

Question 1:

What got you interested in engineering metal detectors?

John Earle: Playing around with them, trying to make one from scratch.

Dan Geyer: During the period of the 1950’s and 1960’s my family was seriously involved with placer mining for gold in the Mother Lode area of California. During that time it was obvious that metal detectors designed for finding gold would be of tremendous value to the prospector, however, there was nothing commercially available that worked satisfactory. When I started into electronic engineering the desire to develop suitable detectors for prospecting was of continuing interest. After a many years of working in the electronics field I finally received the opportunity to work with metal detectors here at Whites. And, it has proven to be the most interesting job in my 47 year career!

John Plautz: I met a technician from White’s about 20 years ago that convinced me metal detector design was more challenging than it appears. He was right!

Carl Moreland: When I was a chip designer for Analog Devices I designed circuits in CAD, but got very little hands-on building and “playing” with circuits. So as a creative outlet, I started building detector circuits on the side, which led to my quest for more technical information, which led to the creation of Geotech, which led to my job with White’s.

Question 2:

What do you feel is the “key” to the success of a new model of metal detector?

JE: How well it works! Or, I could write a book about it. Depth of detection, ground elimination or tracking, are all important issues.

CM: It has to fill a need, do it well, and at the right price. But a good “WOW” factor never hurts.

Question 3:

When designing detectors for the modern hobby market, do you have a “priority” list for the goals of the design? (ie: weight, ergonomics, user interface, depth, etc.)

JE: It’s like politics: Not driven by science but by sales/marketing perceptions of what is needed to “stay in power”, so we usually try to engineer what the company wants next.

CM: Depends on the model. Raw depth is always a goal, as is target ID. But for all models, one thing that is always high on the list is quality. White’s is very proud of the quality coming out of the Sweet Home factory.

Question 4:

Do you guys metal detect as a hobby? If so, what’s your favorite “find” to date?

Also, what are your other hobbies?

JE: My actual use of a metal detector is usually testing in the field. I’m always out of time, so don’t spend a lot of time doing it as a hobby. Other hobbies too numerous to mention. Many stem from a search for truth, especially in the physical sciences. Which leads me to an interest in astronomy (to look for evidence of what the other guys are doing out there), alternative energy conferences that cover over unity, alternative health (since I’m old and just trying to stay alive) and for just plain ego trips, tugboat racing with my friends (we won this year!)

DG: I use a metal detector prospecting for gold in the deserts of Nevada and in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. The instruments of today are very effective for locating small grain size pieces of gold as well as larger nuggets in areas that do not have water for placer operations. Today’s detectors are as useful a tool as the gold pans, shovels, and sluice boxes used in the early days of mining.

CM: Yes, I’ve been detecting off-and-on for 30 years, primarily coin hunting, Civil War relics, and beaches. Other hobbies? Way too many, says the wife. Woodworking, backpacking, scuba, various collections (including vintage metal detectors)… and trying to restore a Mustang.

Question 5:

Would you mind giving us a list of detectors you’ve had a hand in developing?

JE: Can’t remember them all. Compass X70, X80, X90, X100, scanners and others. White’s GM3 and 4, Prizms and others, some of which didn’t make it to market, or haven’t yet. Lotsa loops though.

JP: The Surf PI, BeachHunter ID, Sierra Madre, TM808, Pipe & Cable Locator, Bullseye, and Autoscan.

CM: I’ve only worked for White’s for 12 weeks now, so my portfolio is rather thin. For the past 10 years I’ve run the Geotech web site & forums where fellow tech-heads hang out, and I’ve pitched in helping them with their own projects.

Question 6:

Are we about “maxed out” as far as how deep VLF units will go? In your opinion, what’s the biggest obstacle for current technology in achieving increased useable detection depth?

JE: No short answer. Can’t answer it in detail without giving away the GREAT things to come. We will never be “maxed out” on depth.

CM: No, but what is practical? Do people want to dig 15-inch-deep coins? The reality is that depth is limited by soil conditions and trash. For mild soil with little trash, it is possible to design a super-deep VLF (2-foot-deep coins), but there are few sites where it would be useful.

Question 7:

If you had to pick a feature on a detector you’ve helped design, past or present, that you take the most pride in… what would it be?

JE: Coming soon, to a metal detector dealer near you!

CM: Same for me, but with a little more time!

Question 8:

Are TID pulse units the hobby future? Or, what do you think will be the next great advancement in metal detector technology?

JE: Again, confidential. Both induction balance and pulse detectors can be developed with improved performance using the technology available to us today.

DG: I believe that Time Domain Instruments (TDI) will be serious contenders in the future hobby market. Our new TDI detector is a good example of what may be accomplished with this technology. The ability to work in highly mineralized ground that conventional VLF detectors have difficulty in functioning is an extremely valuable attribute! And, the ability of the detector to determine target conductivity has become a very useful tool for the detectorist. This is a technology with a lot of exciting possibilities for the future.

CM: The last couple of years have seen a lot of talk about discriminating PI. Problem is, it’s been mostly talk so far. But I think it is one area where there is a lot of potential for fresh ideas, so I’m pretty excited about it.

Question 9:

Crystal ball time… if you had to take an educated guess, what do you think hobby detecting hardware will be looking like 10 years from now? (Operational and physical)

JE: Small and lightweight user equipment, like Blue Tooth, with the major equipment not on the user rod.

CM: Physically: much the same. The current “styling” works well. I’d like to see discriminating PI, color displays, more analytical power, wireless headphones.

Question 10:

The “halo effect”… fact or fiction?

JE: Fact. How much effect is always a debate

CM: Overstated. Iron, definitely. Gold, no way. Silver & copper, unlikely at any useful level. I’m running a long-term test of the halo effect, so stay tuned.

Question 11:

“Detectable depth of a target cannot exceed the diameter of the coil” ie: 8” coil goes 8” deep. Agree or disagree? (and hopefully, why )

JE: Disagree. Should be 2 times the coil diameter and we are shooting for 3 times (a friend of mine says he’s already there!)

JP: I disagree. There are many things besides size that affect the potential depth of a coil, such as the number of turns on the transmit and receive coils and whether or not the loop is tuned to a specific frequency or is wide band.

CM: Obviously not. It’s pretty easy to make an 8″ coil detect a coin at a foot or more.

Question 12:

What new, top-secret detectors are you currently working on? (HA! Just kiddin’)

JE: Not enough, because we have to take care of Production before we can do the fun stuff.

CM: We are currently working on code name “V”. Too bad you didn’t ask for any details!

*author’s thoughts….I’m kickin’ myself in the back side for NOT asking any details!*

Question 13:

What’s the working environment like at White’s Electronics?

JE: For an old guy like me, the “scenery” is GREAT!

CM: I’ve only been here for 12 weeks. It’s a lot of fun and very relaxed. The best part is having the whole factory at my fingertips. Any time I need anything at all, the folks in the factory bend over backward to help out.

Question 14:

Quite a few of the White’s units utilize a handle/display with electronics/battery housing below pole configuration. Who came up with that design?

JE: I suspect it was Don Dykstra, formerly of White’s and Compass founder.

Question 15:

Do you have a collection of different coins and trash items in your engineering department that you test target ID with? How about test beds/gardens with different soil types? Do you rely heavily on field testers for soil type handling information?

JE: Yes,I have lots of targets. We wish the trash makers would be as consistent as the coin makers! We have test beds, but there is nothing like real, in situ, testing.

JP: Not only do we have a collection of coins and trash targets, we also have hot rocks, ferrites, meteor fragments, gold nuggets, and electronically simulated targets. We do have test beds, some of which are “doped” to have a specific phase and strength. We also have soil samples from around the world, but mostly the USA.

CM: For prototype testing we use our regional distributors and independent testers. This gives us national soil coverage.

Question 16:

Do you follow the online detecting forums and do you feel these help to promote your product and the hobby?

JE: I purposely restrain myself from commenting there since the digression is uncontrollable. And I’d rather not talk about what we are planning on doing in the future.

JP: Yes, the forums are an excellent source of information on what our customers really consider important.

CM: I’m heavily involved in the Internet forums, and have been for over 10 years. I think the forums add tremendously to the hobby, with everything from getting help to organizing hunts.

Question 17:

There’s been a long running hobby rumor that metal detector “power” is restricted by the FCC due to the usage of radio frequencies. True or not?

JE: Again, not as clear as you might think. It is a function of many things including frequency. With low frequency machines, there is almost no limit to power.

CM: There has been a persistent claim of a limit of 100mW. FALSE, no idea where that came from. FCC regulations do include EM radiation limits, but it is not a ‘power’ limit, rather a far-field measurement intended for RF devices. Detectors are not even close. We do have to pay attention to the amount of EMI noise our circuitry generates, however.

Question 18:

Can you explain the advantages vs. disadvantages of both concentric and double D designed coils?

JE: Concentric are more consistent in TID and direction, but have greater ground pickup. DD is famous for less ground response, but has direction idiosyncrasies.

CM: And a double-’O’ coil is even better than a double-D in bad ground, but they are rarely seen.

Question 19:

Iron separation seems vital nowadays & perhaps more important than depth. Can detectors truly “see thru the iron”, or is “unmasking” best achieved at this point with smaller or DD coils?

JE: “Iron” is never simple either, so it is tough to generalize about it. Small coils always help if the desired target is not directly under the “iron”. If it is, then more sophisticated analysis is needed to separate target from “iron”.

CM: See #25.

Question 20:

It seems specialized detectorists feel frequency/khz is very important now. Is 13khz great for all-around hunting, & why don’t we see say 25khz units for relic hunters?

JE: Low frequency is good for ID’ing big coins. High frequency is better on small items. 25Khz is sensitive to small targets but TID separation of larger things, like coins, is not easy to do reliably above 13 Khz. Hence, the usefulness of a multiple frequency machine.

CM: If you’re talking about CW relics, the 3 B’s ­– bullets, buttons, & buckles – probably favor a higher frequency since they tend to be low on the conductivity scale. But relic hunters also want raw depth, which favors lower frequency. It’s always a trade-off, eh?

Question 21:

Does White’s have a release “schedule” for new detectors? (ie: trying to release 2 a year, 3 a year, etc.)

JE: No comment.

CM: If we do, I’m not sure we’re meeting it!

Question 22:

Are there any tricks or tips for any of the new White’s detectors you’d like to share with readers?

JE: The more time spent hunting, the better you will become doing it as you learn the detector and the more you will find.

CM: #1: Stick with a particular detector, and learn to “read” its responses. #2: Keep the coil right on the ground and level… I see a lot of people who look like they’re swinging a golf club. #3 Listen for the faint deeeep targets. #4: Use on-line forums for more tips & tricks.

Question 23:

How do you feel about single frequency units VS. multi-frequency when it comes to overall performance? What are the strengths and weaknesses of each?

JE: Multiple frequency is preferred, but expect more battery consumption for equal depth with multiple frequencies.

JP: Multi-frequency units have the advantage of good depth and target ID over a wide range of targets. Single frequency units have the advantage of all of the transmit energy being concentrated at the given frequency, giving the user very good depth for specific types of targets.

CM: In specialized hunting, SF detectors can often beat out MF detectors. That’s because you can highly optimize the SF design for particular situations, But then that same SF design works poorly in other situations. An MF design can be made to work very well in many kinds of hunting, so you can buy one MF detector instead of a half-dozen SF detectors.

Question 24:

What’s the most challenging part of designing metal detectors for the hobby market?

JE: Trying to go deeper and still stay lighter and smaller (and cheaper.)

JP: Improving on existing detector performance – in other words, competing with ourselves.

CM: Coming up with something “new” so it doesn’t look like a re-label job.

Question 25:

There has been a lot of excitement in the hobby due to the release of the new White’s pulse unit, the TDI. Do you have any interesting things to tell us about its capabilities and options?

JE: It must be pretty good if the competition lies about its performance!

DG: After the introduction of our new TDI detector this summer a number of the instruments were used in the Alaskan gold regions with very evident success. A significant number of gold nuggets of all sizes were found in regions that have heavy mineralized ground and “Hot Rocks” that drive regular VLF detectors crazy. The new owners were quite pleased with their results. The TDI’s used on the Civil War battle fields on the East Coast also have found very desirable targets in areas that conventional detectors would not function. The technology used in the TDI’s is showing real results and interesting recoveries.

CM: Although intended as a gold detector, it makes an interesting choice for hunting nail-infested sites. Even today, people reminisce about the old Compass TR machines and their ability to “see through” nails, and wonder why we can’t do that today. The first time I used TDI was at a beach loaded with nails and bottlecaps. I tuned up the TDI and all that junk became literally invisible.

Do you have any parting words for all the Detector Stuff readers and metal detecting fans at large that are following your work?

JE: Keep buying NEW metal detectors, I need the job! (And, sometimes they work better than the old ones.)

CM: White’s engineering is working to improve our efforts to listen to our customers (and even our competitor’s customers!). Please visit the White’s forums (http://forum.treasurenet.com/whites) and click on “Talk To White’s” to get direct access to the engineering team. We want to hear your feedback, gripes, suggestions, and product ideas!

DetectorStuff: Once again THANK YOU for taking the time to share with our readers! I know you Guys are busy building cool new stuff and we sincerely appreciate you “unsung heroes” at the workbenches!

*special thanks to Bill Ladd who contributed quite of few of the interview questions!*

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