that would address all of the questions about a specific brand. I do, however, think that you could ask specific questions and get either answers to that directly, or referral to a former post or other site that could help you.

Let's take, for example, your inquiry about the Eagle II & Eagle II SL.

The first White's Eagle was introduced in 1987, if I recall correctly, and it was not long before there was an Eagle II as well as a "upgrade" chip for the 'original' Eagle.

The Eagle & Eagle II were in the older physical package with the straight rod attached to the bottom of the familiar blue colored control housing, and the handle mountd on top of the cntrol housing. There was no 'S' rod configuration, nor armrest.

In 1988, the Eagle II was offered, and the catalog stated the following "differences":

"THE EAGLE II INCLUDES NEW SOFTWARE, A NEW LOOP AND SOME REVISED CIRCUITRY. ITS CASE IS FINISHED WITH THE LATEST PAINT AND HARDWARE FOR IMPROVED DURABILITY AND IT USES A NEW ROD SET."

It also stated that EAGLE owners may purchase a version of the new software that would give them all of the new eatures and much of the improved performance.

With the 'original' Eagle, the rod used was the two-piece, full-length brushed aluminum rod and there was a short plastic isolator between the lower rod and the standard 8" coil.

The Eagle II introduced the new 950 "Blue Max" coil, and while the upper rod was still the brushed aluminum, the lower rod was the non-metalic black design similar to what is in use today.

The Eagle II had three (3) factory preset programs. 'A' was Coin & Jewelry, 'B' was Prospecting & Relic and 'C' was Beach.

The Eagle II SL 90 reflected White's shift in packaging and color. The old familiar blue housings were gone and their models were now done in black.

Additionally, the 'SL' seriesused an 'S' rod design that had a separate upright hand grip with the meter pod mounted atop the handle at a better viewing angle than the earlier style. Also, the the upper piece of this 3-piece rod design had the straight forearm section with the armcup U forearm strap. The control housing was mounted under the forearm rod for improved balance, and the overall design reduced the 'wrist fatigue' and made the whole detector more controllable.

The Eagle II SL 90 had four (4) factory preset programs, which were:

CJ .. Coin & Jewelry

PP .. Prospecting & Relic

bh .. beach Hunting

Ch .. Competition Hunting

... and two (2) "User Programs", U1 & U2, to allow two "custom" programs to be saved.

It had more programable discriminate options (notches), increased audio options, and some additional "advanced" adjustment options.

In early 1991, White's had a catalog featuring the Eagle II SL 90 as their leading mode, but a new catalog, printed later in 1991, introduced the new Eagle Spectrum, the first in the "Spectrum" series, as the new top dollar model, and the Silver Eagle in the #2 spot at about $200 less (and much less featured!). The Eagle II SL-90 was now discontinued and replaced.

I hope that helps a little. I am sure that you'll get more replies and even direct E-mail, if requested, to this and any future questions. More direct questions often get more informative replies that vague or generalized questions.

Monte