Ole fart, Old Machine - Whites 5900 Di Pro Plus

A while back (6 years) I saw an old Bounty Hunter my mate had I perfect condition and I thought about it for a while and kept putting it off and I saw the Whites museum and looked at the state of some of the machines that they had, So I have kept and eye out this last few month for one of the old " Blue Box Machines" well last week I found one that looked in good condition, I checked out the photos and it looked like new, and I bid on it and won,

I did some major searching and I was told by those in the know that there is a sort of Cult following In the U.S. with these machines and are well favoured by Civil war Relic hunters , because of there extreme Depth and the Ground Balance can handle anything you can throw at it, This machine is the Las of the "Blue Box" models because after it they switched over to what is called the SL models which we know as the Whites Black Box models, So I have a coil list chart that lists every machine that Whites has ever made and this Machine is one of the few that can except all the factory coils

Anyway, It turns out that the owner had bought it Brand New and stored it in his Loft / Attic, Well it turned up Friday morning and he was absolutely spot on with his description, it is in Show room condition, In the Original Box with the Factory manual and with the Coil cover and there is not a mark on it, And the best bit it comes with the later 950 Doughnut Coil. A Quick phone call to Whites in Scotland and they told me it was made in July 1989,

Well I wanted to fire it up and get at it, So when it cooled down I went and bought some batteries and fired it up and sure as hell it jumped in to life, First thing on my mind? Were all them Power stories True ? And A quick read of the manual I spied the words 30% Boost/Power increase Now I'm starting to fall in love at this point :8 :8

BUGGA ME, A quick Air test to see if the Coil worked and to see how sensitive it is Said it All, Flat out and No EMI, Even in the Disc mode this thing will Eat Anything that is out there, Click in to the Extra 30% mode and this thing is like No Other,

It has the normal Disc Mode, a normal All Metal Mode, and a TR Disc Mode ( non motion ) and a MAX All Metal Mode, In any of these modes it will destroy any top of the line machine that is Currently on the Market using standard Coils. Put is in the MAX G.E.B. AM mode at it will easily match PI machines in all but the very worst of soils, The Ground Balance control is a Stacked knob affair where you have the outer one that goes from 1 to 10 and then the inner one is a multi turn type, So who am I to restrict this machine to just one Coil so with a quick phone call I ordered all the coils for it from the 6 inch up to the MAX 1500 (15") concentric coil (VLF Mono),

People have said that the old machines were heavy and hard to swing etc and I must admit they are Fugitives from Weight Watchers weighing in at 5.7 pounds (without batteries) which sounds a lot but this machine is so well balanced that it sits at the perfect angle balancing on One Finger on the top of the handle. Swinging it is effortless.

Anyway, This is The Whites 5900 Di Pro Plus, Enjoy,,,

John

looks awesome, i love whites detectors very simple easy to use functions. great pickup there mate

G0lddigg@ said:

looks awesome, i love whites detectors very simple easy to use functions. great pickup there mate

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I know they look old compared to what we have nower days but this is a great machine to fool around with and it has some serious power in the TR Disc and G.E.B. Max modes,

The Disc / Meter seem to like a fast sweep speed, This has way more power than we have seen in any detectors in the past 20 years, I don't understand why Whites never put this type of power in their newer machines, because if anything they have lost power and the only one that can match it is the MXT in the Prospecting and even then I'm not 100% on that ?? But as soon as I get a 950 coil for the MXT I will compare the two of them.

The 6000Di had Auto GB where this one is manual GB which gives it the edge, The did do them in the Black Box versions but they were the 5900 Di Pro SL and the 6000 DI SL and I think the only one that can match it is the Sierra Madre, But if you want to hit things below 3 to 4 ft this one will do it using the standard coil.

Another thing I like is although it is fairly simple to run the operator gets to control the machine a 100% of the time,

John.

Ridge Runner said:

This has way more power than we have seen in any detectors in the past 20 years, I don't understand why Whites never put this type of power in their newer machines, because if anything they have lost power and the only one that can match it is the MXT in the Prospecting and even then I'm not 100% on that ??

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The difference might be that all modern metal detectors for sale in the US require FCC approval for their transmitted signal strength, to prevent interference with other electromagnetic bandwidth uses. Things might not have been so restricted back in 1989, before the days of widespread mobile phones, satellite communications, etc.

That's a bloody mad find RR! I've always been a big fan of the old whites, Numpty still swings his with plenty of great finds. I know I was getting some mega depths, and the fast swinging did pickout hidden targets I'd missed while scanning slow. Thats a unique beast rr and look how clean it is! Wowee

grubstake said:

Ridge Runner said:

This has way more power than we have seen in any detectors in the past 20 years, I don't understand why Whites never put this type of power in their newer machines, because if anything they have lost power and the only one that can match it is the MXT in the Prospecting and even then I'm not 100% on that ??

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The difference might be that all modern metal detectors for sale in the US require FCC approval for their transmitted signal strength, to prevent interference with other electromagnetic bandwidth uses. Things might not have been so restricted back in 1989, before the days of widespread mobile phones, satellite communications, etc.

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I asked Carl Moreland a few years back and he said that our detectors have reached no where near the power that they are allowed to use, So I don't know what to think really ??

But this thing has the power of something similar to a GP/GPX machine but it has Discrimination which to me goes against every thing I know about VLF's,

At first my thoughts were that it was old and a bit backwards but I was totally wrong, The Box it is Built in to is Old but the power is a revelation and the sweep speed needed a person could cover a lot of ground in one day, and the Disc works good too, It completely blank out a spanner and other large objects and it knocks out nails easily yet it see's tiny coins.

John.

That machine is one of the best ones ever built.
Every thing analogue.
Not digital.
I have the motor boat version with a 4 foot dual coil.
Can find a coffin plate at 4 feet deep.

AtomRat said:

That's a bloody mad find RR! I've always been a big fan of the old whites, Numpty still swings his with plenty of great finds. I know I was getting some mega depths, and the fast swinging did pickout hidden targets I'd missed while scanning slow. Thats a unique beast rr and look how clean it is! Wowee

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Thanks A.R.

Yeah it is a rare one for sure, I only found out tonight that it need a fast sweep speed because I was a bit worried because the meter was not IDing things say past 8 inches unless it was a large coin, So then I tried sweeping at about 2x the MXT speed and it come Alive I air tested a Half Crown and it heard it at just over 2 feet (25" +/-) and I threw a fosters can in the Bin 4 feet away and it saw it, That was a surprize I wonder if it can find me the full ones just as easily, lol

John.

What frequency does it run, John? Maybe it's a very low frequency, like the 1980's Garrett Deep Seeker (6.6kHz, from memory). That was a beast for depth, but ground noise in the some parts of Aussie goldfields could all but drown out the nugget signals. Didn't stop us picking up some bigger ones, though. :lol:

Tathradj said:

That machine is one of the best ones ever built.
Every thing analogue.
Not digital.
I have the motor boat version with a 4 foot dual coil.
Can find a coffin plate at 4 feet deep.

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Good grief, that's some power, I wonder how well this one will do with that 15" concentric,

Here is a PDF of all the Old Machines and the newer models, this one can take the 4x6 and the 6" and 8" and the 950 which is standard on this one and the Maxim 1500 coil But I think it can take the DD's from the XLT ect'

In this PDF where it say None Apply is where the machines have their coils hard wired to the machine in most cases,

John

http://forums.whiteselectronics.com/showthread.php?54285-Search-Coil-Compatibility-Chart

grubstake said:

What frequency does it run, John? Maybe it's a very low frequency, like the 1980's Garrett Deep Seeker (6.6kHz, from memory). That was a beast for depth, but ground noise in the some parts of Aussie goldfields could all but drown out the nugget signals. Didn't stop us picking up some bigger ones, though. :lol:

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Yeah I think it is 6.6 (6.592), It's funny you should mention the Garretts because I was try to remember the machine that found the Hand of Faith and that was the same Garrett you said,

I know back then the garrets were all we had but they seem to do better than our modern VLF's in that Ground, A Mate for mine still has 3 of them up at Gympie, If this one does half as well as the Garretts I will be a happy camper.

On coins and stuff it is going to be very deep, It picks up my hand at about 4/5 inches so hopefully the ground won't kill it and that 2 stage GB is going to be a bonus,

John.

Well I tested the life out of this thing and coil for coil None of my PI's will match it, I was sitting 5 feet away drinking a can of coke and every time I took a drink it upset the threshold and that was using the 950/9.5" coil, It think some of the secrete to the power/depth of the 5900 is that the threshold is so smooth and bell like, Unlike the sound of the modern Whites machines. This old Beast really has to be in the Top 5 most powerful machines ever made, regardless of whether it is a VLF or PI, Even in to medium/hot ground it is a force to be reckoned with, So I think it is a good one, Put this thing In the Non motion All Metal Mode and the Power it has is Obscene, I have never seen anything that compares to it in all my years, Totally Brutal :lol:

PS, I think that the only thing that will beat it will be a Two Box Locator,

John

Love the analogue pots and clear labbeling on the control panel. Reminds me of that old school audio equipment I Iove.

Funny that after all these years that is pretty much the same box that's used on the TDI.

PhaseTech said:

Love the analogue pots and clear labbeling on the control panel. Reminds me of that old school audio equipment I Iove.

Funny that after all these years that is pretty much the same box that's used on the TDI.

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Yeah I was wondering if the TDI Pro covers would fit it,

After too many welding flashes they are a pleasure for these old eyes, I think the secrete to the depth on these old timers is because of the smooth threshold, They sound like a single /mono tone version of a GP/GPX, So the signal does not get lost in the processing, I look at it and it makes me smile,, because I just can't believe how something that looks like that has so much power and the Batteries last for ages and it is quite sensitive for a 6/7 kHz machine, I have not tried it with the 15"/1500 maxima coil yet, But it dwarfs anything else with the 950/9.5 coil.

The Guy bought it and just put it away in the Loft and never used it so it is in perfect condition, The Coil Lead is 8 foot long / 2400+ mm, In the Disc mode it has more Grunt than modern machines have in All Metal and when you put it in to the G.E.B MAX position it breaks all the rules. and although it weighs 5.7 lbs without the batteries the coil just floats across the ground, It looks like it would be very awkward to swing but it is as good or better than anything we have today because you swing it with your arm straight down by your side so there is No forearm ache,

John.

Great score RR
Ive just come accross this thread this morning
Been an interesting read.
The one critical thing that stands out to me is ..... Fosters ?
Your drinking Fosters?
Youve been away too long mate
:lol: :lol:

Sandta said:

Great score RR
Ive just come accross this thread this morning
Been an interesting read.
The one critical thing that stands out to me is ..... Fosters ?
Your drinking Fosters?
Youve been away too long mate
:lol: :lol:

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Yeah and I must Apologize to our Viewers, for using the "F" Word and being so blatant about it, But the only other option was EU Brewed XXXX at 3.2 or 3.4% and I am not to keen on drinking Brown flat Ale, I can't do with that having to drop bits of cement in it to get it to fizz I seen more activity in a Library

This machine is a beast and has some good features, In one mode the ( TR Disc Non Motion) it can use the Disc control to Ground balance the machine and in the other modes it has the double stacked coarse and fine control, One thing that is good about the GB setup with the Twin stack control is just so easy to get right and it has a lot more Adjustment in reserve compared to new Whites models which is why a lot of the US relic hunters like them because they can deal with the Hot ground, really it is a pity they don't repackage this model and add a few modern features because it would sell in the 000s,

The G.E.B Max mode is the 30%+ Boost mode and you can really see the difference, But the power in this mode works because like a GP/GPX the threshold is smooth although flat out it may waver slightly it still allows you to here the target where as modern machine are more raspy and the EMI effects them more which means if they put this threshold in a modern machine then it would add another 6 to 8 inches to them, This machine has the power that we want or have been asking for, To Give you an Idea, I know Air Tests don't mean much But the UK version of a 5c piece measures 12.7mm across and being a Threshold based machine it can see it at 27" using that factory 9.5/950 Coil,

These modern machines are losing a minimum of 4" because of the threshold and but that can Vari to as much as 10" when you compare this 5900 to modern machines and yet again I am sure that is lost through the Digital Thresholds we now have, They need to sound like a GP or a GPX like this one does in order to be able to use the power otherwise that power is going to get lost in the threshold and EMI,

A few months back Nenad mentioned one of the old Minelab machines and how it's threshold was a joy to use, well this is along those lines,

Modern machines have some nice features and some are just as simple as this one is but if they could add what this one has then that would be the perfect VLF detector.

John.

Minty detector John, a lot changed on those older Whites machines when the focus changed to small gold and high frequencies as on the Goldmaster 2 and upwards. There is some mystique and novelty to tuning up a detector via various knobs and switches, something that has been lost a bit on today's digital units. Fine tuning the GB is also a lost art/skill these days with the advent of ground grab and auto GB.

Might get myself another V/Sat or GM3 one day for old times sake, though some of the second hand pricing I've seen lately has been a bit over the top (depends whether you are a user or collector).

Goldpick said:

Minty detector John, a lot changed on those older Whites machines when the focus changed to small gold and high frequencies as on the Goldmaster 2 and upwards. There is some mystique and novelty to tuning up a detector via various knobs and switches, something that has been lost a bit on today's digital units. Fine tuning the GB is also a lost art/skill these days with the advent of ground grab and auto GB.

Might get myself another V/Sat or GM3 one day for old times sake, though some of the second hand pricing I've seen lately has been a bit over the top (depends whether you are a user or collector).

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That's right how these older machines work is just incredible, Where this one runs flat out, modern machines have to be turned down and the difference is massive even just by lowering a new machine by 1 number causes a depth distance loss that can be measured in feet+ that is how powerful these old ones are, where as the newer machines only suffer about a couple of inches loss by turning them down by that 1 number On large targets, On smaller targets 1 number has very little effect, On the Older machines The exact distance figure is huge when you listen for a slight waver in the threshold compared to the newer models,

I found this very special site where they have all the old catalogues for all the old machines no matter what the brand, all the brands are listed at the top of the page,

If you Click 4 rows down on the 4th from the left you will find this picture, IF you just want to look just click on the picture or if you want to download it click Download also if you click on the picture then right click and save it in to my pictures etc Ok

Enjoy,, John,

http://www.treasurelinx.com/whites.html