Old units still have their place..

I have a classic Garrett coin commander 11 that is no depth demon 5-6 inches but it pinpoints on a dime, has dual discrimination weighs 4lbs. light for that era has a trigger switch no pinpoint button excellent ergonomics with batteries under the armcup and audio variances not found in the bells and whistle units of today. One wonders why Garrett
changed direction as it has many attributes that would be desirable today. Certainly a good backup and local parks unit as it lacks depth but heck I could drive golf balls with it not like some of the poorly made units of today. One wonders have we really come that far with all the bells and whistles....

Dan - It looks like newer machines are unmasking better. But I really do wonder about the sounds. Analog sounds sure are fuller, but are they more descriptive? I dont't know as I only hunted with one analog machine in the Naughty and it was my first - never learned the fine nuances. I do beleve the experts here who say that is true tat the analog sounds are more descriptive. Have to say the Omega had the most descriptive sounds so far, out of digital machines. My Jupiter is right there as well, with a bit of an E-Trac sound thrown in.

I liked the E-Tracs warble sound and now the CTX is much cleaner. I heard the warble was a bit due to the machine trying to get a Fe and CO number narrowed down. No clue.

I do wonder though, if engineers who are making some of these newer machines, actually use them like serious hunters do? My guess is fewer and fewer do. Further, I wonder if "old timers" lend their ears to the design & testing process. My guess again is no...

Albert

We do know new units are deeper, in most case lighter and faster with better batterry consumption but especially in this case the ergonomics with a 7 inch coil and batteries under the armcup are superb not to mention the dual disc. and pistol grip with trigger switch which would certainly make some of these new units...just better design wise...one thinks some of the new engineers could learn a lot just looking at this Garrett Classic.. I know Tesoro sort of borrowed some of these aspects with the Tejon but where are Minelab, Fisher, Tecknetics getting their ideas from..???

Come out with a lightweight ergonomic design along these lines including trigger switch and Explorer or CZ just as is workwise and they would be world beaters...

my mate swears by his Compass 77B ,it winkles out the coins in massive thick nail clusters with ease .30 plus years old and going strong

Makes me think of years ago amongst some of the best detectors available on a N.J. shore an old fella with a Compass Judge wiggled around us....It was just after a Northeastern had ripped the shore and looked like a planted hunt...I stopped to talk and his pouch bulged with coins among them a silver quarter and a mans gold wedding ring..
End of the story....

So, what nice analog unit would you guys recommend to hunt with and as a collectable? I know there are all different varieties, like TR for starters...
I am curious about the Bounty Hunter/Teknetiks Big Bud Pro Se (with Blanker circuit). I wish I had bought it from Aaron when I had the money...

Thx,
Albert

The Apex of Analog design in my opinion is the Whites 5900 Di Pro Sl

A workhorse of a machine...

If it's all you had you would not be in too much hurt...it wont unmask like alot of the newer one's it takes a little brisker sweep to get depth...but it is very sensitive to even small items.being on 6.59Khz...it punches the ground quite well runs quite well in bad dirt ...It s a 4 filter model...has 4 different hunting mode's..best most accurate meter ever made...The meter will speak to you ever you learn the little trait's..even in iron ..the needle has tell tale sign's the audio might not report....

All metal mode depth is something to behold...

Has some beautiful full raspy audio ..unreal iron rejection...

Cant tear one up..

Heavy but balanced...


There's my entry

Keith

Dan-Pa. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have a classic Garrett coin commander 11 that is
> no depth demon 5-6 inches but it pinpoints on a
> dime, has dual discrimination weighs 4lbs. light
> for that era has a trigger switch no pinpoint
> button excellent ergonomics with batteries under
> the armcup and audio variances not found in the
> bells and whistle units of today. One wonders why
> Garrett
> changed direction as it has many attributes that
> would be desirable today. Certainly a good backup
> and local parks unit as it lacks depth but heck I
> could drive golf balls with it not like some of
> the poorly made units of today. One wonders have
> we really come that far with all the bells and
> whistles....


glad to hear you liked charlie's offerings dan! i disliked 'em intensely
and i had the pick of the litter back in the 70's because me brother had a garrett's
dealership he ran out of his house.never cared for the audio tonal response.could never get used to it,
that and those god-awful half-a** "bell tones",and also that "'puke" color green yuckk! anyway,hitched my wagon
to whitey and his "outstanding" offerings in particular ,the 100 khz 4db unit! what a great detector!.the audio nuances were
very pleasant to my ears,and i could tell junk from coins with it! as dan has proclaimed,and i agree,these units were built very well,
and still relatively light.very durable detectors.performance was around 5-6" in depth,however,back then,found 'tons" of silver
at around 4" or 5" no problem.the 4db had "modulated" audio,and was it sweet! as the detector detected a signal down 4" or so,
one would receive a nice round sound that was reduced in audio signal strength,an immediate "tip-off" to a good hit!
in some ways i miss the performance characteristics of those earlier detectors,yet realize we have indeed come a long way from
those earlier times!

(h.h.!)
j.t.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/11/2012 01:14AM by jmaryt.

diggers Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> my mate swears by his Compass 77B ,it winkles out
> the coins in massive thick nail clusters with ease
> .30 plus years old and going strong


yes! i would rate the compass judge 6 in the same category
an outstanding" high frequency" (100khz) tr with 'wonderful" very descriptive audio!

(h.h.!)
j.t.

earthmansurfer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So, what nice analog unit would you guys recommend
> to hunt with and as a collectable? I know there
> are all different varieties, like TR for
> starters...
> I am curious about the Bounty Hunter/Teknetiks Big
> Bud Pro Se (with Blanker circuit). I wish I had
> bought it from Aaron when I had the money...
>
> Thx,
> Albert


my vote goes to the "outrageously" good white's coinmaster 4db
circa: 1977,OR the equally proficient compass judge 6

(h.h.!)
j.t.

diggers Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> my mate swears by his Compass 77B ,it winkles out
> the coins in massive thick nail clusters with ease
> .30 plus years old and going strong

That was the most productive detector I ever owned.

Keith Southern Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The Apex of Analog design in my opinion is the
> Whites 5900 Di Pro Sl
>
> A workhorse of a machine...
>
> If it's all you had you would not be in too much
> hurt...it wont unmask like alot of the newer one's
> it takes a little brisker sweep to get depth...but
> it is very sensitive to even small items.being on
> 6.59Khz...it punches the ground quite well runs
> quite well in bad dirt ...It s a 4 filter
> model...has 4 different hunting mode's..best most
> accurate meter ever made...The meter will speak to
> you ever you learn the little trait's..even in
> iron ..the needle has tell tale sign's the audio
> might not report....
>
> All metal mode depth is something to behold...
>
> Has some beautiful full raspy audio ..unreal iron
> rejection...
>
> Cant tear one up..
>
> Heavy but balanced...
>
>
> There's my entry
>
> Keith


of the "newer" (v.l.f design),my preference is
for the incredibly "dead nuts" accurate 6000 xl pro,
very deep,also a 4 filter design,and would "un mask"
better IF one uses the terrific 6" "black max" coil,along with
setting the detector up in (s.a.t) mode!

(h.h.!)
j.t.

The best i have ever used is a Whites Eagle II sl, I had a 89 model and sold it, just could not do with it so i fround a 90 model that is about as good. If anyone can find a way to hip mount one i sure would like to know how. I have 7 other detectors but find myself still useing the Eagel when i can.

Yes J.T. the pro xl is the refined version of the 5900/6000 di pro sl's...

The only thing I did not like on the 6000 big box and 6000/pro xl light weight version was the Auto tracking...In bad dirt I never could get the g.b. dead on then lock it...I like to get a dead even manual g.b. on the 5900 for the ultra deep S.A.T. mode to sniff out some deepies in that mode a little too high or a little too low and some deepies will slip by you..

But I think the pro xl small box does a tad bit better when working through trash...seems to allow a little slower sweep speed...

And yes the 6 inch is a must have accesory coil on either machine....the 350 snopper does not seems to work well on the 4 filter platform though ..they work better on the 2 filter classics...

I like the 8 inch on the 5900 it sees less ground and goes just as deep as the 950..but less blow back from hot dirt ...the royal 800 plum color is a favorite...it is a thin pancake intead of the bowl shaped 8 inch usually offered for the 6.59Khz machine's..

Good info

if I had less agressive ground the pro xl model would be just as good in my way of thinking though..I sure would like the lighter weight...

But I can tell you have seen the power of the analog 4 filter whites machine's...they are true real workhorse machine's..

Keith

Keith

I always wanted to try a Big Bud Pro SE. And even though at the time they were still cheaper than the Whites and Fisher units just couldn't quite swing it at the time. I wonder if they had the modulated audio where the deeper targets were softer sounding as it had know depth meter. Even though it had the blanker it still is nice to tell depth by the tone as that is the way I like to hunt.

How about the Whites Beachcomber 4 for a TR detector? I see they still make them in the UK for only 96 pounds!

I can say from years experience, the Tesoro line has, in my opinion the best audio I've ever used. Hey, before I went to Fisher I could actually tell the metal around a pencil eraser from a nickel. Yep, just by the sound.

It hangs on the wall now...........



It was heavy & my arm felt like it going to fall off at times swinging it, however,
I found 1000's of coins & other goodies with this rascal (White's 6DB ) in the early 1980's................see ya yardhunter

Lipservice Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> diggers Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > my mate swears by his Compass 77B ,it winkles
> out
> > the coins in massive thick nail clusters with
> ease
> > .30 plus years old and going strong
>
> That was the most productive detector I ever
> owned.

high frequency "induction balance" detector!


(h.h.!)
j.t.

Keith Southern Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yes J.T. the pro xl is the refined version of the
> 5900/6000 di pro sl's...
>
> The only thing I did not like on the 6000 big box
> and 6000/pro xl light weight version was the Auto
> tracking...In bad dirt I never could get the g.b.
> dead on then lock it...I like to get a dead even
> manual g.b. on the 5900 for the ultra deep S.A.T.
> mode to sniff out some deepies in that mode a
> little too high or a little too low and some
> deepies will slip by you..
>
> But I think the pro xl small box does a tad bit
> better when working through trash...seems to allow
> a little slower sweep speed...
>
> And yes the 6 inch is a must have accesory coil on
> either machine....the 350 snopper does not seems
> to work well on the 4 filter platform though
> ..they work better on the 2 filter classics...
>
> I like the 8 inch on the 5900 it sees less ground
> and goes just as deep as the 950..but less blow
> back from hot dirt ...the royal 800 plum color is
> a favorite...it is a thin pancake intead of the
> bowl shaped 8 inch usually offered for the 6.59Khz
> machine's..
>
> Good info
>
> if I had less agressive ground the pro xl model
> would be just as good in my way of thinking
> though..I sure would like the lighter weight...
>
> But I can tell you have seen the power of the
> analog 4 filter whites machine's...they are true
> real workhorse machine's..
>
> Keith
>
> Keith


hi keith!
yes i am in agreement with your assessment of the auto tracking circuit
on the xl pro! whites offered a more improved version on later units! namely,the
"sleeper" of the present line-up,the magnificent m6. using the xl pro with the 6" coil
set to (s.a.t.) mode would allow for a slower sweep speed,which " evened" the playing field
when hunting in trash with the 4 filter circuit design. to this day,this detector is still one hell of a "'coin sniper",
especially with that 6" coil,and in the right hands,is on par with anything digital made today in my view!

(h.h.!)
j.t.

yardhunter Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It hangs on the wall now...........
>
> [im1.shutterfly.com]
> a1a43aa49b00000030O08AYtXLRk5cNQe3nws/cC/f%3D0/ps%
> 3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D720/ry%3D480/
>
> It was heavy & my arm felt like it going to fall
> off at times swinging it, however,
> I found 1000's of coins & other goodies with this
> rascal (White's 6DB ) in the early
> 1980's................see ya yardhunter

yes! an outstanding "'sniper" for it's day!
whitey also had a hip mounted version of it!
helped out a lot with the weight! my buddy had one in the
early 80's,it was specifically built by whites as a hip mount. the meter was on the
'end" of the control box,instead of the front!

(h.h.!)
j.t.

jmaryt Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> yardhunter Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > It hangs on the wall now...........
> >
> >
> [im1.shutterfly.com]
>
> >
> a1a43aa49b00000030O08AYtXLRk5cNQe3nws/cC/f%3D0/ps%
>
> > 3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D720/ry%3D480/
> >
> > It was heavy & my arm felt like it going to
> fall
> > off at times swinging it, however,
> > I found 1000's of coins & other goodies with
> this
> > rascal (White's 6DB ) in the early
> > 1980's................see ya yardhunter
>
> yes! an outstanding "'sniper" for it's day!
> whitey also had a hip mounted version of it!
> helped out a lot with the weight! my buddy had one
> in the
> early 80's,it was specifically built by whites as
> a hip mount. the meter was on the
> 'end" of the control box,instead of the front!
>
> (h.h.!)
> j.t.


I remember those hipmount control boxes...I was just getting out of high school back then couldn't afford one.
It did look like a great unit to use in the hipmounted version............see ya yardhunter

it was! my friend loved his! kept him goin' in the hobby,
because of the weight advantage. "lightweight"
detectors did not exist back then,but the prominent reason
was really because he just found a "'ton" of stuff with it!

(h.h.!)
j.t.