Sandcrab
Elite Member
I have been sitting on this for a while and finally decided why not, it started from an unusual post I read and once I did some research found what I was looking for. Seemed the more I dug the more I found…
As for the “tester” I really do not care about what he is finding, I understand many on Youtube are looking for clicks. I was more interested in the machine, the settings, and how he actually used the machine. His claims about depth and everything else, I have no comment at this time. I have waaaay too many hours on this machine and know what it can and can’t do. I don’t know him, just interested in the machine. You can come to your own conclusions… I added the times so one can get right to the point in the video… Also added a couple stills at the bottom, can see by the knobs this is a Whites machine.
If you look at the stills below and this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=334&v=cJ1GJbTwqZc Here you will see the detector… Go to the 5minute mark and there it is…
How I came across that video was from a post at this site posted by “tboykin”: http://www.detectorprospector.com/forum/topic/4329-tdi-sl-vs-tdi-pro-air-test-but-still-interesting/ The video he added to his post starts at about the 6minute mark.
I watched it and wondered how one could take this test seriously? Different coils, coils are vertical, not close to the ground, one is running silent, the Pro is definitely not optimized for the settings… I can go on but will leave it for now. If you know the SL well, it even showed the odd glitch it has but the tester did not know it. It got me wondering, who is “tboykin”… Well he is Thomas Boykin, product manager of Whites and can you guess if you look on his Facebook page his favorite television show??? I found that rather interesting… Of all the videos about metal detecting on youtube, why post this person??? Even more interesting was the tester in question now has a link under his videos for Whites machines and a discount code. I talked to someone else about it and he has been offering that discount code since the middle of 2017… So will this tester give an honest opinion? It raises many questions with me, especially after watching how he used the SL…
So there you have it, Whites is now testing a waterproof TDI SL. I would imagine they will push the power of it, change filtering, maybe something with the frontend… It was said for the longest time that the TDI series was at its limits. In fact Boykin has stated that the TDI was old technology… But then they come out with a tan colored box and a different coil early this year. I know when looking at the board, there were indicators for “add ons” but they never materialized. One last push with this machine before something new hits the market??? Maybe another manufacturer has something coming later this year??? All things to consider. Price point has to be over thousand dollars, it is a water machine… Even releasing the machine, I would want to release it in early Spring for a water machine… So at least a year out???
Now I will admit, I have tinkered with the TDI as much as OBN has played with the Excal. I saw its potential, real potential, but it still needed some tinkering. From the voltage, to the coil, to the internals. Just because I could run good power, the coil and the ground has to be taken into consideration, among other things. Even the Miner John coils among others I tested and personally built with the voltage spread the TDI and the SL can have, does affect the coil and set up, sometimes in odd ways… Personally I do not like the SL as it is at the moment, and for anyone looking for a TDI would recommend the TDI or the Pro long before the SL for beach hunting. I have a few reasons why, but all TDI’s are a niche machine, heck they were made for nuggets. When both the SL and the Pro first came out, it was said the Pro was better. Once the Pro was discontinued, the SL was pushed hard. “It only loses an inch, is a smoother threshold, among other things.”
Off the top of my head OBN, Craig, Aquaman and Z are the ones that could benefit from this machine. Just by reading how they hunt and what they are looking for. I want old, deep, mens rings. I want the clunkers. I am not interested in getting 100 coins at a cut, trying to find a couple gram gold chain waist deep in moving surf, knowing the odds of it slipping through the scoop are great, or maybe finding a 2-4 gram woman’s ring. Don’t care how big the diamond is, I want a ring I could throw at someone and knock them out…
I watched all this persons videos that included the TDI, his videos are not my cup of tea, but he seems like a nice guy… When he was using the SL in other videos… Like to ask him how he sets his frequency with the SL, did he notice anything unusual??? How about the sweep speed for the SL, or the ground balance? The more it became apparent he is definitely not using the machine to optimize it. The more I watched the more I wondered if he really knew this machine… Odd thing was he was not getting the deep targets that I get with my machine; many targets he found were within VLF range.
So there you have it, maybe call Thomas Boykin at Whites, can ask him about this machine. Or even contact Whites and ask… What’s the voltage, which filters were changed, does it still run smooth, why is the headphone jack on the side if you were working in surf will get pounded and stretched, will they add another switch (That one is important), maybe a 13 inch mono coil depending on power or a 9 inch round??? Maybe he will stumble upon this post… Before you ask, no I am not a tester, which is a shame. I only know of this person and one poster on another message board which from a couple comments he must be testing… If Whites is taking this persons input as a tester, after seeing how he has set up and used this machine, I would not purchase it…
Hope the ones I know on here are doing well…
And to Dew and to Craig, I totally dropped the ball with the both of you. The issues with my family got to a point that spare time became nonexistent. Even reading the board or posting was a once a month thing… Actually posting this while sitting in a hospital playing the waiting game. Hoping can post more, have been quite productive when I could hunt. Well back to my dark cave for now…
~SSC
As for the “tester” I really do not care about what he is finding, I understand many on Youtube are looking for clicks. I was more interested in the machine, the settings, and how he actually used the machine. His claims about depth and everything else, I have no comment at this time. I have waaaay too many hours on this machine and know what it can and can’t do. I don’t know him, just interested in the machine. You can come to your own conclusions… I added the times so one can get right to the point in the video… Also added a couple stills at the bottom, can see by the knobs this is a Whites machine.
If you look at the stills below and this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=334&v=cJ1GJbTwqZc Here you will see the detector… Go to the 5minute mark and there it is…
How I came across that video was from a post at this site posted by “tboykin”: http://www.detectorprospector.com/forum/topic/4329-tdi-sl-vs-tdi-pro-air-test-but-still-interesting/ The video he added to his post starts at about the 6minute mark.
I watched it and wondered how one could take this test seriously? Different coils, coils are vertical, not close to the ground, one is running silent, the Pro is definitely not optimized for the settings… I can go on but will leave it for now. If you know the SL well, it even showed the odd glitch it has but the tester did not know it. It got me wondering, who is “tboykin”… Well he is Thomas Boykin, product manager of Whites and can you guess if you look on his Facebook page his favorite television show??? I found that rather interesting… Of all the videos about metal detecting on youtube, why post this person??? Even more interesting was the tester in question now has a link under his videos for Whites machines and a discount code. I talked to someone else about it and he has been offering that discount code since the middle of 2017… So will this tester give an honest opinion? It raises many questions with me, especially after watching how he used the SL…
So there you have it, Whites is now testing a waterproof TDI SL. I would imagine they will push the power of it, change filtering, maybe something with the frontend… It was said for the longest time that the TDI series was at its limits. In fact Boykin has stated that the TDI was old technology… But then they come out with a tan colored box and a different coil early this year. I know when looking at the board, there were indicators for “add ons” but they never materialized. One last push with this machine before something new hits the market??? Maybe another manufacturer has something coming later this year??? All things to consider. Price point has to be over thousand dollars, it is a water machine… Even releasing the machine, I would want to release it in early Spring for a water machine… So at least a year out???
Now I will admit, I have tinkered with the TDI as much as OBN has played with the Excal. I saw its potential, real potential, but it still needed some tinkering. From the voltage, to the coil, to the internals. Just because I could run good power, the coil and the ground has to be taken into consideration, among other things. Even the Miner John coils among others I tested and personally built with the voltage spread the TDI and the SL can have, does affect the coil and set up, sometimes in odd ways… Personally I do not like the SL as it is at the moment, and for anyone looking for a TDI would recommend the TDI or the Pro long before the SL for beach hunting. I have a few reasons why, but all TDI’s are a niche machine, heck they were made for nuggets. When both the SL and the Pro first came out, it was said the Pro was better. Once the Pro was discontinued, the SL was pushed hard. “It only loses an inch, is a smoother threshold, among other things.”
Off the top of my head OBN, Craig, Aquaman and Z are the ones that could benefit from this machine. Just by reading how they hunt and what they are looking for. I want old, deep, mens rings. I want the clunkers. I am not interested in getting 100 coins at a cut, trying to find a couple gram gold chain waist deep in moving surf, knowing the odds of it slipping through the scoop are great, or maybe finding a 2-4 gram woman’s ring. Don’t care how big the diamond is, I want a ring I could throw at someone and knock them out…
I watched all this persons videos that included the TDI, his videos are not my cup of tea, but he seems like a nice guy… When he was using the SL in other videos… Like to ask him how he sets his frequency with the SL, did he notice anything unusual??? How about the sweep speed for the SL, or the ground balance? The more it became apparent he is definitely not using the machine to optimize it. The more I watched the more I wondered if he really knew this machine… Odd thing was he was not getting the deep targets that I get with my machine; many targets he found were within VLF range.
So there you have it, maybe call Thomas Boykin at Whites, can ask him about this machine. Or even contact Whites and ask… What’s the voltage, which filters were changed, does it still run smooth, why is the headphone jack on the side if you were working in surf will get pounded and stretched, will they add another switch (That one is important), maybe a 13 inch mono coil depending on power or a 9 inch round??? Maybe he will stumble upon this post… Before you ask, no I am not a tester, which is a shame. I only know of this person and one poster on another message board which from a couple comments he must be testing… If Whites is taking this persons input as a tester, after seeing how he has set up and used this machine, I would not purchase it…
Hope the ones I know on here are doing well…
And to Dew and to Craig, I totally dropped the ball with the both of you. The issues with my family got to a point that spare time became nonexistent. Even reading the board or posting was a once a month thing… Actually posting this while sitting in a hospital playing the waiting game. Hoping can post more, have been quite productive when I could hunt. Well back to my dark cave for now…
~SSC
