Jury still out

[DeepThought]

I had the opportunity to try a Whites DI-6000 SL Pro a couple of weeks ago. Observations:

> the Whites had far more features and quality....but was also a LOT heavier....and noisier than my cheap Tracker IV
> the VID accuracy was pretty accurate at the surface, but rapidly fell off at the 3" depth mark
> depth was about 6" in discriminate and roughly another inch in threshold.
> it took some time (and I just scratched the surface) to begin to understand when I was over a target. I.e. no tone ID
> the control layout required a two handed approach to manipulating discrimination, etc...

...clearly, a better built machine but I began to ask myself whether it outperformed my Tracker IV, in my humble hands for what I assume are equally humble needs. In short, I could do what I needed done, faster and easier with the Tracker (granted,familiarity is part of it). My point is I began to ask myself whether the cost differential was worth it.....and keep coming back to beep & dig if I really want to know what is going on.

DT

 

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[Treasure_Hunter]

I owned one myself, it is the best analog detector whites ever made. I regret ever selling mine, it was a fantastic detector...

Just my opinion...

 

[Phanntom]

I have one I bought when they first came out and never found anything better to replace it with if simply finding stuff rather than bells and whistles is the goal. Because my shoulders are shot now I had to move to a lighter detector so got the Prizm 6T. Even though it's a great machine I find I still haven't been able to put my 6000 up for sale. Once you get used to it....I think it's one of the best detectors ever made.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Deep thought, the 6000 Di pro should retain reliable ID to more than "3 inches....". You have to remember that that machine is a faster motion machine that today's generation of machines (including what you're probably used to on your Tracker IV where perhaps you don't have to keep a fast "clip" swing). Try this in an air test: Swing your dime, or quarter, or tab or whatever to where you think the needle is no longer registering accurately (3", as you say). But now speed up the swing at depths of 4", 5", 6", etc... and I believe you'll see that the needle does indeed swing up to the correct point, with a faster swing. Thus in the field, same thing: the faster you swing, the deeper you go.

They certainly got outpaced by today's machines like the Explorer (when it comes to TID at depth), but ...... they are still a good machine. A great wet salt machine, for instance, that has a lot of fans that refuse to let go I have a friend who still exclusively hunts with one of those, and he does well even in places like demolition sites, relicky sites, etc... where you would think a fast swing machine would be overly prone to masking. But ......... he does quite well still. A good user of one of those machines can learn subtle nuances of the way the needle bounces, and other audio clues, etc.... that aid a lot in hunting.

 

[cudamark]

I owned one myself, it is the best analog detector whites ever made. I regret ever selling mine, it was a fantastic detector...

Just my opinion...

I agree, best of the analogs.

 

[SusanMN]

Weight of a detector is a big issue in being able to comfortably detect for hours. There are many excellent detectors I'd love to own but they just weigh too much.

 

[Reed Lukens]

Weight of a detector is a big issue in being able to comfortably detect for hours. There are many excellent detectors I'd love to own but they just weigh too much.

I have had Minelab detectors for years & I ended up buying "The Swingy Thingy" from Docs way back when. I never liked the harness that came with it so i bought a keyring and fit it to my backpack to hold the detector & still be able to carry everything when I'm out hunting. I still use the bungee on my whites detectors today but doc has come out with a new bungee that can be easily fitted to a backpack as well. Catalog Page 2
Because many of the detectors are heavy, I came across this by accident when I hooked my MXT up to it. When balanced you can just let go of your detector and it will stay horizontal while being held by the backpack. So you can just let go of it whenever you need to and have both hands free for digging or whatever. Personally I think the swingy thingy was great back in the day though like I said, I never liked the chest strap, so this new bungee would be a great addition for you to try out. Here's a couple pics, the first showing the key ring attached right through the same hole as the adjustment strap.