White's 5900 Di Pro SL.... should I buy one?

I have a chance to purchase this detector at a good price. I'm presently using a White's MX Sport, which I'm happy with. What can the 5900 do for me that I can't do now? Convince me.. lol

Very heavy, but accurate meter many old timers still favor them...Never used the Sport...

I think the 5900 as been passed by with newer better detectors. This is fast sweep detector and separation isn't so good but if you're hunting a large open area would come in handy. Yes it is heavy but you can extend the coil out and can be balanced with 1 finger making it not so bad. Kind of like the Impact in balancing it.

I hunted one small field with one and didn't find much more there later with many other detectors.

So could be a good detector to have around and as was said has the best meter.

Rick

extremely deep detector in all metal mode..

Luckily the Meter works in all metal..and the target response is tighter in all metal mode than in Disc mode..

has a super smooth threshold in all metal non wavering..maybe the best ever..works about in any ground even with the concentrics...if soil is too bad get a 800 coil...Keeps depth and handle the mineral better

also find a 600 coil for more trashy sites....I run mine in all metal even in light trash and watch meter..Machine IDs iron perfect..


the 950 coil which is stock is ultra deep in all metal and will nab deep targets way past conventional disc range detectors..Luckily the meter is super sensitive to tiny little reports.

Down to about 8 or 9 inches it IDs very accurate...But here's the real kicker for it...if you really learn the meter the 12-14 range on minnie balls and silver coins etc can be had ..the meter may not loick but ti will have tell tale signs..the real deep stuff will sound round and sweet and soft and meter will jump up about halfway and then fall back real slow on a good target deep nails and such of they too try and signal on meter will be abrupt and usually slam to the right at depth then falls sharp back to zero...now notice I say things fall slowly or drop hard on meter...the meter usually locks on shallow targets and till another target is encountered stays there but on the deep I MEAN REALLY DEEP stuff the meter wont get enough voltage to lock ti but it will wiggle it ..these wiggles are Keys to success on site with deep targets..things a digital meter can not offer...small little traits...and of course the smooth all metal mode will allow audio mapping characteristics of those deep ROUND hits..couple it together and you will dig very little ferrous at depth...

iI can be used in high trash in disc mode but the 600 coil is a must and don't look for extreme unmasking yet it can surprise you too..the problem is the 4 filter design which is great fro iron ID and rejection requires a fast sweep speed for any depth in disc mode..yet you can crank the signal balance up to full and it will allow you to slow down some especially with the 600 coil..don't underestimate the 600 coil and full signal balance gain in trash it will find things...and yes there will be nails in the hole with found items..I think the world has become obsessed with showing videos of items being found in holes with nails...You know what we've always found stuff in holes with nails..Now we just have iron tones to let us know theres nails down in hole too.Yes higher freqs and tighter coils and faster recovery blendy tones etc does eek more but even old tech could still see SOME things especially high conductors like silver and such in holes with nails even buttons and such too..

I always keep 5900 on hand for when I need it..and I need it for depth in certain sites..

Keith

“I don't care that they stole my idea . . I care that they don't have any of their own”
-Nikola Tesla

Rick's answer is good. The 5900 Di pro SL is basically a 6000 Di pro with out auto-track.

So you would not want to be using this at a place where you might expect minerals to be changing as-you-move. Eg.: wet salt beach, etc... But for uniform land sights of consistent elevation, it would be akin to the 6000 when you "locked" the GB.

As such, it would be early 1990's technology. Great for that time. But a bit dated nowadays on depth and TID's at depth. Also as the others have pointed out: It requires more motion than today's machines , to get depth. So would probably be prone to masking more than today's machines.

Thank you all. And Keith, your information is awesome. I've had two 5900s before but never took full advantage of its capabilities. I did learn to use the meter for Nickels. Very accurate in that respect........ We'll see... I may need another toy...

Filled up a Relic Room with that model It was a staple in the hot ground of central Virginia before the PI. I would still use one but it hurts my shoulder!

I'm 65 years young and manage to hunt all day with my 5900 CB. The reason I can do this is...I modify it and get rid of the "S"rod and lower rod and replace those with a single "Tall Man" rod from White's. This turns it into a straight rod set up and is much better balanced.

Hombre Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm 65 years young and manage to hunt all day with
> my 5900 CB. The reason I can do this is...I modif
> y it and get rid of the "S"rod and lower rod and r
> eplace those with a single "Tall Man" rod from Whi
> te's. This turns it into a straight rod set up and
> is much better balanced.

Although i dont own a 5900,i did the exact same modification on my IDX Pro and that then became a straight shaft detector,totally transformed the balance of the machine,i bought a few new tallman bottom rods as a dealer here was selling them at a crazy low price,well worth taking that horrible 'S' rod out and using the tallman rod in it place.

Junk and Disorderly Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hombre Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I'm 65 years young and manage to hunt all day wi
> th
> > my 5900 CB. The reason I can do this is...I mod
> if
> > y it and get rid of the "S"rod and lower rod and
> r
> > eplace those with a single "Tall Man" rod from W
> hi
> > te's. This turns it into a straight rod set up a
> nd
> > is much better balanced.
>
> Although i dont own a 5900,i did the exact same mo
> dification on my IDX Pro and that then became a st
> raight shaft detector,totally transformed the bala
> nce of the machine,i bought a few new tallman bott
> om rods as a dealer here was selling them at a cra
> zy low price,well worth taking that horrible 'S'
> rod out and using the tallman rod in it place.

I do not fully understand your IDX Pro modification ??? For it to be like my 5900 CB, your IDX Pro would need the control housing (meter) converted to a DFX or XLT upper control box arm rod to be a true straight shaft set up....... This modification would be needed to make it in the pistol grip style set up like my 5900.

Hombre knows this Detector like the back of His hand! He is a Whites analog Guru.

The 5900 Di Pro will punch past any modern machines even with the old 950 coil and it has a few tricks up it's sleeve that modern machines can't do, Having the double stacked GB knobs means you can fine tune the GB and get it spot on, because of how it works you can vary the sweep speed although the signals sound sharper when swung briskly also the non motion mode has killer depth that is bordering on GPX territory.

I bought an unused one last year that had never been used still boxed with the original manual and it is in top condition,

auminesweeper Wrote:
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> because of how
> it works you can vary the sweep speed although the
> signals sound sharper when swung briskly ....

Yes: Those old 5900 and 6000 Di pro's had a LOT of subtle information that the user could get by just slight variations of sweep speed over targets they were evaluating. If you momentarily swept faster over targets, you could tell good vs bad by whether it was "trying to break up" or "coming in bolder".

Hi All, I have the 5900, and the 6000 Di Pro, one thing I have trouble with is the Signal Balance on the 5900. How can I tell if I have it set right? I have been holding the pinpoint trigger and pumping the coil till the detector gets quit. Is this the right way to do it? I have the 600 coil and the 800 coil and 9.5 coil. I got a swing thing to help with it being to heavy . Can anyone help me with this? thanks flintstone

It's harder to explain in written text how to set up the 5900 with a 'hot' Signal Balance setting and have a good Ground Balance setting at the same time. It is much easier to watch a good video from someone who knows what they are doing with this 'hotter' setting. The Manual from White's explains how to Ground Balance well, so I suggest getting familiar with the way the factory wants you to do it.

According to the White's manual on my personal 5900 CB: All controls should be set to the triangular shaped "Pre-Set" markings on the control panel. Then follow the Manual instructions. I can't explain better than the Manual does

Flintstone wrote: "I have been holding the pinpoint trigger and pumping the coil till the detector gets quiet."

... I don't get what you are saying. With the trigger pulled, this switches the Mode to All-Metal with a true Threshold audio. The Threshold should be set to just audible with the Pinpoint trigger pulled (Normal) and the coil is lifted off the ground and pointed away from any metal. If the Threshold goes quiet as the coil is approaching ground in Pinpoint trigger pulled...then the Ground Balance is set into the Negative side . Turn the GB knob clockwise in small increments ,moving to a more Positive side. I set my GB with a very slight Positive rise in the Threshold audio as the coil is getting close to the ground.... this works well in my soil.

...The Signal Balance and Ground Balance are closely tied together. For instance, when adjusting for a hot Signal Balance, the Ground Balance must be adjusted, Then the GB is checked with the Pinpoint mode listening for a slight rise in the Threshold audio as coil is getting close to the ground ,.. There are some people that like a 'neutral' GB setting with a Threshold audio that stays the same volume as coil is approaching the ground. If the Signal Balance is set too 'hot' then you will get a "Fold Over" Threshold response, this makes the audio louder as coil gets closer to the ground and then goes quiet just above the ground with a slow return of the Threshold audio.

..There are 3 commonly known (trigger pulled) Threshold All-Metal audio responses encountered when pumping the coil to the ground. checking the GB. This is done over a clean, metal free piece of ground...(1) NEGATIVE: As coil approaches the ground, the Threshold audio goes silent, turn GB knob clockwise in small increments so the Threshold audio stays the same or ever so slightly Positive, (2) NEUTRAL: Threshold audio stays the same as coil gets close to the ground. (3) POSITIVE: Threshold audio gets louder as coil is getting closer to the ground, Adjust GB knob counterclockwise in small increments.But in all reality there is a forth response and that is (4) FOLD OVER: If your Signal Balance is set too 'hot' ....then as coil approaches the ground, the audio will get a real loud Positive response and then go quiet, then a few seconds later, the Threshold will return. This is too hot of a setting and the Signal Balance should be dialed back some.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 11/03/2017 09:16PM by Hombre.

Hi Hombre, Thanks for the reply. On my Eagle 11 sl, the signal balance is pre set triangle is off, do I not need to use it? I know after I ground balance and get everything going, I can turn on the signal balance and hold the pinpoint trigger and get a low thrush hold pumping the coil and turn the signal b and it will go quite.

Flintstone Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hi Hombre, Thanks for the reply. On my Eagle 11 sl
> , the signal balance is pre set triangle is off, d
> o I not need to use it? I know after I ground bal
> ance and get everything going, I can turn on the s
> ignal balance and hold the pinpoint trigger and ge
> t a low thrush hold pumping the coil and turn the
> signal b and it will go quite.

Hi Fred, I don't know about the Eagle, never used one. The 5900 is one that I know how to set up with a performance setting. I thought that I already explained that well in the post above......... Regards

Yes you did, I was just trying to find out if the Eagle 11 sl was the same way. I thank you for the help on the 5900. I will just keep working on the Eagle.

If you can find a Blue Box 5900 Di pro Plus there the deepest of all the 5900s Luckily they use the Blue max coils..

they have a G.E.B max mode that's hotter than the G.E.B. mode on the black box units..plus you can turn the sat on or off while in the max mode...the black box units don't offer a GEB max mode.

I know why they took it off when they went to the black box series but wish they never did...there's only certain soil you can run the GEB max..most of the time you stay in GEB normal..But when you find soil to run max look out...The black box just go normal and gave a signal balance and removed the sensitivity...the signal balance even on wide open is not quite hot as the GEB max mode when you hit the good dirt...in bad soil the signal balance of the black box on preset is about like the blue box on GEB normal...


The ultimate would of been to have the best off the Pro Plus and the Black Box CB version in one unit...gave the Sens a Signal balance on one unit...then we could adjust the transmit and receive...

Keith

“I don't care that they stole my idea . . I care that they don't have any of their own”
-Nikola Tesla