Myers Depot Metal Detectors

A plea for help with this Prizm IV

P

partenr

New Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2007
Messages
14
OK, so I'm in a pickle here. I am thrilled with the hobby of metal detecting. I have a humble White's Classic SL II that I've had for years. It seems like I have a hand in the dirt when I am swinging that thing, I can practically see stuff before I dig it up. I love it.

I wanted to share our rewarding & exciting hobby with my Dad. Well, I had so much faith in White's that I assumed that a newer more expensive unit, a Prizm IV, would be better than my Classic. Oh oh.

Please help me. What do I NOT get about the Prizm? I think the huge issue is the massive lag time in signal response. Not only is there a lag, but then most of the time I can't even get the signal again. Even when I have dug a definite, solid target, that machine will not have beeped CONSISTENTLY in all directions over the target. All I can say is that it seems to do everything tentatively, which is maddening. In addition, lately I will pinpoint one of these illusive targets, start digging and the machine will then find the target 6 inches up and to the left.

I'm telln ya, my classic is rock solid. No frustration. BOOP BOOP BOOP BOOP- there is a coin,ring,tab there. Almost every time. LOVE IT :) :)

Any information you can provide is greatly appreciated, my father DID NOT like the mere suggestion of trying to trade his brand new Prizm IV for a $100 Ebay White's Classic. What do I do???
 
I'm wondering if something is wrong with your Prizm. My first detector was a Prizm II, which I purchased this past summer. Even though I had never detected before, I had no problem operating it, finding coins consistently, or pinpointing.

If the detector is not working "as advertised", maybe a detector doctor should check it out.
 
partenr, where did you have your sens set at? Although i don't believe this to be the problem, if it is set too high you may be running unstable getting false signals. Other than that, I don't have a clue. :?:
 
I owned a Prizm II, about the same as the IV without the bells & whistles and it performed very well. If you are using a coil cover,take it off and check and make sure no conductive stuff got in there. Unscrew the coil wire and screw it back on snug. Try some new good quality alkaline batteries. If you know anyone that has a Prizm II / III / or IV see if you can try their coil on your machine. That would help you determine a problem with the coil or the detector. Other than that there might be a defect in the detector. Good luck! Steve.
 
hoser said:
partenr, where did you have your sens set at? Although i don't believe this to be the problem, if it is set too high you may be running unstable getting false signals. Other than that, I don't have a clue. :?:
Click to expand...

I think this is very true!
I had the sensitivity on my detector up way too high too at first, so it started beeping sometimes, and when I went over the place again it didn't beep. And now that I lowered the sensitivity a few notches I don;t have that problem anymore.
 
I had the same falsing problem with my Prizm V. Lowering the sensitivity helped. But it is still very slow on reporting a target. Pinpoint mode is faster, but it gets a little frustrating having to switch modes every time. None of my other detectors are a slow as the Prizm. And they all have pinpoint modes which I almost never need to use.

But hey - if Dad is having fun with it, that's all that counts. :yes:

HH

Rich
 
SkiWhiz said:
If you are using a coil cover,take it off and check and make sure no conductive stuff got in there. Unscrew the coil wire and screw it back on snug. Try some new good quality alkaline batteries.
Click to expand...
Your Prizm shouldn't be falsing like that, the Prizm is a pretty stable machine. I always ran my sensitivity on my Prizm one notch above factory preset with no problems. If the steps quoted above doesn't correct the problem I'd say there has to be something wrong with the unit and should be sent to White's for service.
Try changing batteries like mentioned above but wait a minute or two before putting the new ones in, sometimes this will reset the Electronics, almost like rebooting your computer.

DirtDigger
 
Also, if the Prizm is brand new it should still be under warranty. Everything I have read indicates that White's provides excellent service and support.
 
ne_seeker said:
Also, if the Prizm is brand new it should still be under warranty. Everything I have read indicates that White's provides excellent service and support.
Click to expand...

They do have great service. I sent a Prism V back to them because I thought there was something wrong. Well, there wasn't and the only cost to me was shipping.

The Prism's, Prism V anyways, is advertised as being factory ground balanced needing no adjustment. Well that's not completely true. Along with a letter from the White's rep. that tested my machine, I got a small packiage containing instructions and a small tool that was to be used to adjust the ground balancing and the threshhold on my Prism. :roll:
 
mark v said:
Along with a letter from the White's rep. that tested my machine, I got a small packiage containing instructions and a small tool that was to be used to adjust the ground balancing and the threshhold on my Prism.
Click to expand...
That holds true for the whole Prizm series but be very careful when making the adjustment. The adjustment screw is made of ceramic and is very delicate.
Could you post a copy of those instructions?

DirtDigger
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

O
Looking for iron
Replies
2
Views
184
jmaclen
J
maxxkatt
MyTrashyPark program for the XP2
Replies
5
Views
197
Big Boys Hobbies
Big Boys Hobbies
V
Trying out the legend
Replies
15
Views
579
markinmichigan
markinmichigan
W
Nox 600
Replies
13
Views
245
Big Boys Hobbies
Big Boys Hobbies
maxxkatt
Update your Profile and Signature
Replies
0
Views
82
maxxkatt
maxxkatt
Back
Top Bottom