ELATED at the Mr Bills modded Classic ID and IDX! - A testimonial to beep and digs

[SilverFinger]

ELATED at the Mr Bill's modded Classic ID and IDX! - A testimonial to beep and digs

The MX5 is gone. Sold. At a loss and I have zero regrets. I've been hunting an area for a few days now with the Mr Bills modded Classic IDX. Where do I begin?

The area is actually a family members house. They're duplexes built in the early 50's to house Korean war soldiers and WWII vets and now they're homes. I have hunted here like mad because I found a silver Washington, a couple rosies and mercs.

I hit this area the moment I got my MX5 in April, and was disappointed to find out the EMI made it completely unhuntable, as it was with the other TID machines I've passed over the area.

This was stuff from ONE little corner of the property. Wheaty after wheaty then BAM, a '51 Washington. 3 subsequent days yielded 3 more merc dimes. Found 2 just today. The picture of the 2 mercs together - the one on the left has a rust stain due to the fact it has been in the ground with a medium sized nail laying right on top. It is exactly as I found it. No WAY would my TID machine have produced a good signal on that target. The Classic sung like an opera singer.

It is quiet and stable even in this city spot with power lines and massive EMI. I can turn up the sens 'til it gets unstable and back it off just a bit. Not to mention, zero interference from my Propointer (like the MX5 had)

Long story short, the best detector I've ever owned. Slow, thorough search, excellent separation (even with the 8" coil) and REAL success.

It is too bad White's is not building machines like this anymore. I emailed them and asked why and it turns out, they can't, by law. The lead components used to build these analog beauties are illegal and can no longer be sourced. Shame.

-THIS- is what the hobby is all about. The thrill of the hunt and finding stuff to really get you pumped.

I can't say enough good about the 'beep and dig' White's machines. If I find a third, forth and even 5th machine, I am going to buy them. I'd be really, really bummed if these detectors went south.

 

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[Keppy]

Yes i know the government screwed up the detectors with there laws .. But i don't remember what year they did that … I think that is why Garrett when they made the AT Pro they made the……... AT Pro Euro they do not sell in the states but Garrett sell's to other countries for other countries do not have all the laws to regulate there electronics like the USA does … Our government can always screw things up for us...

 

[SilverFinger]

Yes they do! It's their job to screw things up. I wonder though how is Tesoro still able to build analog detectors?

The reply I got from White's was from Steve Howard. He mentioned they're aware of the performance of the older machines vs. today's machines and said "attempts to recreate digitally are ongoing...." Should be fun to see....

What I don't get either is lead is a natural element. Do they really think regulating it this late in the game is going to make that big a difference? Sounds like 'feel good' legislation to me.

 

[tigershark11]

Any idea if anyone knows how to do the mod Mr.Bill did? Would love to try it myself on my IDX pro. Thanks for sharing..

 

[Tom Slick]

As posted by Mr. Bill -
Default Whites Classic, II, III, ID, and IDX Modifications

Seeing that I have got out of the metal detecting business. I thought I would pass this on to you all.
Be very careful unsoldering the components. Destroying the circuit traces is very easy to do.

Remove VR1 Trimmer off the board. Replace with a 50k linear taper, single turn potentiometer.

Remove VR4 trimmer off the board replacing it with a 100k linear taper, single turn potentiometer.

Mount these potentiometers externally on the top of the case.

Replace resistor R24 with a 2.2 Meg. You could have either a 470k or a 1.5 Meg there depending on when the unit was manufactured.

Check resistor R7. If its not a 51 ohm resistor, replace it with one of that value. Its most likely a 100 ohm from factory. Later manufactured units had 51 ohms.

For potentiometer wiring, I use flat multi wire such as type used in computers for component connection to the board. I cut a 2 wire, 7.5 piece for the 50k ground balance pot, and a 3 wire 7.5 one for the 100k threshold pot. I secure these wires with a wire tie to the head phone & speaker wire near the connectors. I used one other wire tie to secure the pot wires together up near the pots.

Caution. Be sure that the pot closest to the end of the case doesnt short out against the installed board components.

S.A.T changes. R32 220k resistor can be changed out. Raising the value slows the SAT. I have been installing a 375k running it through a toggle switch with the 220k. Giving a high & low setting of the SAT. One could use a potentiometer for variable results.

If your detector uses a ID meter, open the meter case, and replace resistor R28 (3.9 meg) with a 10 meg resistor. This aids in increasing the meter response depth.

 

[wingmaster]

Well the MX5 is not a MXT by no means and at almost the same price I would go for the MXT with a thought. HH

 

[Keppy]

As posted by Mr. Bill -
Default Whites Classic, II, III, ID, and IDX Modifications

Seeing that I have got out of the metal detecting business. I thought I would pass this on to you all.
Be very careful unsoldering the components. Destroying the circuit traces is very easy to do.

Remove VR1 Trimmer off the board. Replace with a 50k linear taper, single turn potentiometer.

Remove VR4 trimmer off the board replacing it with a 100k linear taper, single turn potentiometer.

Mount these potentiometers externally on the top of the case.

Replace resistor R24 with a 2.2 Meg. You could have either a 470k or a 1.5 Meg there depending on when the unit was manufactured.

Check resistor R7. If its not a 51 ohm resistor, replace it with one of that value. Its most likely a 100 ohm from factory. Later manufactured units had 51 ohms.

For potentiometer wiring, I use flat multi wire such as type used in computers for component connection to the board. I cut a 2 wire, 7.5 piece for the 50k ground balance pot, and a 3 wire 7.5 one for the 100k threshold pot. I secure these wires with a wire tie to the head phone & speaker wire near the connectors. I used one other wire tie to secure the pot wires together up near the pots.

Caution. Be sure that the pot closest to the end of the case doesnt short out against the installed board components.

S.A.T changes. R32 220k resistor can be changed out. Raising the value slows the SAT. I have been installing a 375k running it through a toggle switch with the 220k. Giving a high & low setting of the SAT. One could use a potentiometer for variable results.

If your detector uses a ID meter, open the meter case, and replace resistor R28 (3.9 meg) with a 10 meg resistor. This aids in increasing the meter response depth.

Now i saw a Mr. Bills mod on a IDX and he added ...Ground balance .. & ..thresrshold ..& a sat switch to it ….Is that how all Mr.Bills mods on it are ?

 

[tigershark11]

Thanks for the mods write up. I appreciate it. Now I might buy another IDX Pro used to experiment with it...But thanks for posting..

 

[roadrunner]

As far as I know yes.
I am watching craigslist and other sites to buy one and do the mods myself.

 

[Keppy]

As far as I know yes.
I am watching craigslist and other sites to buy one and do the mods myself.

Was you answering my question about the ground balance . sat & threshold ?

 

[roadrunner]

Yes. I should have included that in my response.
I talked to a guy that has the mods and asked him about the classic III that has the black sand switch, and he said that is a mod but the Mr Bill mod still has the TH,GB, and the boost feature.

 

[Keppy]

Yes. I should have included that in my response.
I talked to a guy that has the mods and asked him about the classic III that has the black sand switch, and he said that is a mod but the Mr Bill mod still has the TH,GB, and the boost feature.

does this look like one ?...

 

[cadman20]

does this look like one ?...View attachment 1018976

Those are the Mr. Bills mods, but, I don't think they were done by Mr. Bill himself.

 

[Keppy]

Those are the Mr. Bills mods, but, I don't think they were done by Mr. Bill himself.

I think you are right … To many different types of mod's called Bill's

 

[jhen999]

I have a Classic 3 SL with the Mr. Bill Mod,s that was done by him along with the instructions he gave with it on the Classic 3 it was just a, all it has is TH and GB..the guy I got this from never used it....My son has a Classic 3 with out the Mr. Bill mod,s and he might be looking to sell it.

 

[jhen999]

For that boost future to work at its best the Mr.Bill mod. instructions say the sensitivity has to be sit at the 3 o,clock sitting...if you like hunting with just sounds and no bells and whistles its a great machine and it gets just as deep as most detectors of today...

 

[SilverFinger]

It sure does. I don't need tone ID. Never did. Just that most new machines come with tone ID standard. While the ID on the Classic's isn't perfect, you still have a good idea of the potential target. No 'thumbing' the discrimination on every target. Set DISC to foil and listen for the good repeatable tones. Check the ID then pinpoint to get an idea of the size and depth of the target. You can move these babies SLOWLY and get in all the nooks and crannies others can't go. I found one merc in a really craggy area. Come on Whites, give us some new analog detectors!

 

[roadrunner]

Do you know if the classic II,III, or the classic id are 1 tone, or more.