New Whites PulseScan TDI

[Steve Herschbach]

New White's PulseScan TDI

Hi,

The new White's PulseScan TDI will soon be available. It is a new ground balancing pulse induction (GBPI) detector that offers quite a set of features for the price. The unit is configured like most White's units with the control box rod mounted under the elbow. The control box can be removed from the rod and chest mounted or hip mounted. The unit uses drop in Lithium Ion batteries. It has a built in speaker and headphone jack. The lightweight coils are waterproof. It has manual ground balance, adjustable gain, adjustable pulse delay, and more. The MSRP is $1599.00.

Why would a person want one? If you normally use a VLF detector to hunt but are having problems with extreme ground mineralization or hot rocks, a GBPI unit is the answer. Pulse induction machines by nature are more resistant to the effects of mineralization. But in the worst ground even PI units have problems and so the ground balancing PI was developed to handle the worst possible conditions. The bottom line is if you have a VLF detector and it is doing the trick for you, great. But if the ground you hunt is so bad you are getting poor depth with your VLF or the hot rocks are driving you nuts then a GBPI unit is the answer.

The downside is the discrimination on GBPI units is poor at best. The White's PulseScan TDI offers the best discrimination ability in a PI detector to date and so it may open up new areas for PI detecting. Generally PI units are a better choice for nugget detecting, beach detecting, and relic hunting then for coin detecting. The basic idea is you want to use them where you can dig big holes quickly. And the best use is to specifically target areas where VLF detectors have problems, like nugget detecting in bad hot rocks, detecting black sands beaches, or relic hunting in deep red soil. But the TDI may prove to have coin hunting applications as well.

Other units in the same general price range are the Garrett Infinium at MSRP of $1250 and Minelab SD22200v2 at MSRP $2795. The Infinium has a solid niche since it is designed as a fully submersible dive unit. The Minelab units set the standard for dry land but their price puts them out of reach of some people. The White's PulseScan TDI offers another alternative to consider for those needing more power than their VLF offers.

Steve Herschbach

 

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[Keppy]

Re: New White's PulseScan TDI

Is there really any diffrence between the Infinium and the PulseScan? ...==Jim==

 

[Steve Herschbach]

Re: New White's PulseScan TDI

Hi,

Well, nothing along the line of if you have an Infinium you should sell it and get a TDI.

In actual use there are a couple things that stand out. The Infinium generates a dual tone on a target, hi-lo or lo-hi. The TDI generates either a lo tone or hi tone. An instant 50% reduction in the sounds coming out of the unit, and a real plus in itself in a target rich area. The tones correspond to two different target categories, those that read higher than the ground balance setting and those that read lower than the ground balance setting. Most coins except nickels read higher than the ground balance point, and on the Infinium generate a lo-hi tone. On the TDI you get a lo tone. Most trash reads hi-lo tone on the Infinium and hi tone on the TDI. In most locations 90% plus of the tones are hi tone. Lo tones are fewer by far.

The TDI has a switch unique on a PI unit. It allows you to choose lo tone only, hi tone only, or both. This allows the TDI to be set to generate lo tones only and ignore the much larger number of hi tones. It picks up all coins except nickels with the lo tone. The big problem is that quite a few nails will also give a lo tone, so this is not a VLF type discrimination system. But better by far than the Infinium if you are trying to find a coin or other high conductor.

Since the tones are related to the ground balance point, the ground balance is manual on the TDI allowing a person to fudge the setting in some instances to reject certain iron items. The Infinium is auto tracking and so you can't do this. The tone suppression plays into this as if the TDI is purposefully mis-adjusted for ground balance the ground will signal, but suppressing the hi tone suppresses the ground signal. I also found that if you are getting any interference from electrical sources it comes in as tiny hi tone spikes, and shutting off the hi tone results in a totally silent unit even directly under a power line transformer.

The TDI has the ability to shut off the ground balance system in low mineral conditions, and in such conditions it easily gets more depth then the Infinium, but you lose the tones and any ability to discern targets via the tones. But for clean white sand beaches it will be a depth monster in the straight PI mode.

Lots to learn with this unit. And that built in speaker is something Infinium owners sometimes miss. Minelab coil compatibility means the TDI already has more coils than the Infinium and it really has not even hit the streets yet. The largest coil I've run yet on the TDI is the Coiltek 24" x 12" UFO mono coil. The smallest is the Coiltek 1" probe. Try that on an Infinium.

Long story short I'm not knocking the Infinium. Do a Google on my name plus Infinium and you will see I've not only done well with the Infinium but I was one of the few talking nice about the unit way back before others figured out it is good at what it does. But the TDI is a different unit with tricks all its own. And since this is a White's sub-forum this is the place to mention it.

Steve Herschbach

 

[John in TO]

Re: New White's PulseScan TDI

This is some of the best information I have read about the new White's TDI.
Thanks for posting it.
I hope you will post more as you get more time to use it and really start understanding this new detector.

I just bought the garrett Infinium a few weeks ago and have had it in the water twice with some success. There is a learning curve but I will take the time to learn it.

The TDI looks very interesting. I will probably wait untill they come out with a waterproof one, but then again, I may not be able to wait that long. It might be a good idea to get the TDI sooner rather than later. I can see that it will also have a learning curve, but looks like a winner to me.

 

[Steve Herschbach]

Re: New White's PulseScan TDI

Hi,

OK, maybe there is something now that would make a person sell an Infinium to buy a TDI. But only for above water use. Saw magic tonight. More later.

And I really do thank Brett and Garrett for the Infinium. Good guys in my book.

Steve Herschbach

 

[Steve Herschbach]

Re: New White's PulseScan TDI

Hi,

The following is a “Power User Tip” from Steve Herschbach. It is not in the White’s Electronics TDI Owner’s Manual, and White’s Electronics` cannot be held responsible for any claims made in this post.

From Steve H – I’m passing this along in good faith as information I have discovered, but which others have discovered first. Many thanks to George, Reg, and of course Eric. But please understand my findings are preliminary, and can certainly be improved on by those of you willing to take on the challenge.

5/19/2008 posted by Steve Herschbach:
“But an experienced ground balancing pulse induction (GBPI) user can use the tones in some circumstances to dramatically reduce the amount of iron and steel. Reduce, not eliminate. Repeat that several times - reduce, not eliminate iron and steel compared to a dig it all PI approach.”

I was wrong, totally wrong. I first learned with a PI that you just dig it all. Then I learned to separate tones with ground balancing pulse induction (GBPI) detectors.

Since 5/19/2008 I have learned how to use a GBPI unit and not dig ferrous targets! Tonight I spent two hours in the turf, and dug 18 coins and three pieces of aluminum. And frankly, the aluminum was iffy. The coins were no doubt. Not one ferrous item.

What about depth? I’m digging silver and older coppers from areas long since deemed worked out. How deep? Deep enough a 1000 other detectorists with the best VLF detectors left them behind. I am not exaggerating and actually understating this. If you do not believe this I can understand and frankly I’m not out to convince you. I do believe depth is relative and so do not look to me for inches. With VLF versus PI units it is all about ground mineralization. Results will vary by location, and so quoting figures is an exercise in futility. All that matters to me is I am making good finds with ease, and in the end the only person I need to convince is me.

Rick K said it best “What interested me was the obvious speed and ease of the whole process. Silver from a "hunted to death" site at good depth and with no mumbo-jumbo about faint or ambiguous sounds.”

Yeah Rick, you got it right. Others reported it, and I’m just confirming it.

I have a Pulse Induction detector that allows me to pass 99% of the iron targets. But there are a lot of tricks involved. My “WOW” moment took a couple hours to hit but now I’m taking to the TDI like a duck to water. You have to hunt by ear, and for me that is a good thing, as that is how I learned to hunt years ago. I’m glad the meter is gone because it gets between me and the detector. This is a detector for those who are willing to forget all they learned with VLF detectors and more for those who have been detecting a long time. Frankly, nobody knows all about what the TDI can do yet. It is a new frontier.

If you think this is hype, I can understand. I was not really able to believe what George and Reg were telling me. Eric Foster and White’s Electronics have produced the first pulse induction metal detector that can reject iron if the user knows what they are doing. This is a real advance in metal detector technology.

I am 90% sure I know what I’m doing. But just tonight I learned how to separate shallow coins from deep. Every time I go out I learn something. The TDI is the most fun I have had from a detector in ages. It has me detecting until late in the evening and up early the next morning.

So here it is 1:37 AM in the morning Anchorage time – this unit has me really jacked up! More later.

Steve Herschbach

 

[CROCK of COINS]

Re: New White's PulseScan TDI

Thank You...Interesting reading. :-)

Jerry

 

[RickO]

Re: New White's PulseScan TDI

The more I learn of this detector, the more excited I am to own one. I am at the top of the list at my Distributor/dealership. The minute I get the call, I will go down and purchase it. RickO