Info on White's Spectrum<><><><>>

Iv,e heard that electronically the only difference between the spectrum and the xlt is cosmetic but not sure,curious myself as i have traded for a "spectrum"site unseen.The original had the control head directly above the box and later it was moved forward.there are several of the early models listed on ebay right now.about 1993 they streamlined the model; and changed from the 4 c cell pack to a AA that used 8 ?cells,still eith the control forward design.I don,t knoow if the control forward design was ever made in the C cell configuration.You paid a very good price for yours and I don,t think anyone could call it obsolete.contact the whites electronics website on line for the owners manuals for the different models and study it so youll be ready to hunt the day you recieve it.Happy Hunting,Mont

Though I like and still use many older detectors one thing to consider is whether the older E-Bay bargain will be repairable.
The original Spectrum (pre Pauls model) has a long vertical LCD display. If its fails there's no replacements so the machine is scrap. C-Scope Promets and Metadec's use small oval microswitches. They fail and are no longer manufactured. Modern switches won't fit without most of the meter housing being cut away. Early Eric Foster P.I. machines (Pre Goldquest/Deepstar) use chips that are no longer manufactured. Most Arados can still be repaired but there's no coils. Original Treasure Baron modules are getting very hard to find.
Buy an old classic by all means but not as a primary detector as it could be out of action for months while you try to locate a donor machine for spares.

I believe only the Eagle and Eagle II used the long display. The spectrum has the display directly over the box (larger than the current design) and did use a NiCad pack or 4 C-cell pack different than the current design. All parts can still be obtained from White's. The display itself is narrower than on an XLT.

As far as any other differences, only 2 custom programs rather than 4 can be saved. I own a Spectrum still (my first detector) and honestly, in a lot of regards, it outperforms today's models. Don't ask me why, but I can tell you that I've pulled wheat cents out of hard, dry midwestern soil at a depth of 9", as well as small sales tax tokens at that depth as well.

Only weakness compared to today's models in coin hunting...nickels. Hard to identify on that machine, much easier on the DFX.