Thoughts On The TDI SL ?

[Ridge Runner]

You got all this talk about the TDI SL  but What's coming down the pipes from White's ?

Minelab has lowered their price on the 4500,5000 and The GPZ 7000. So what you ask is the big deal about that. The price on all of the PI detectors from Minelab will drop more as in used. I tell you that people will be willing to put out money on a used Minelab more so than a new TID SL. They doing that now !

Tom I tell you and White's if don't get off your butt and come out with something soon you may have to take another PI off line. I too believe it would do White's good if they had a small leak on what's coming  out the door soon.

Chuck

PS What's said is my opinion and it alone. I don't have the SL But the SPP. 

[GB_Amateur]

1 hour ago, tboykin said:

1. Include a hotter battery (with charger). This bumps up the depth closer to a Pro, and in practical, in-ground use (keeping in mind things like a smooth threshold/noise and target identifiability) it really is almost a wash with higher voltage. Talking an inch difference or so based on initial testing.

I'm confused about the last parts of this, specifically:  "...almost a wash..." and "...an inch or so difference..."  A wash comparing what, and a difference comparing what?  You mean a TDI/SL as currently configured compared to a TDI/SL with the proposed new battery, or the TDI/SL with the proposed new battery compared to the current TDI Pro?

[tboykin]

28 minutes ago, Ridge Runner said:

Tom I tell you and White's if don't get off your butt and come out with something soon you may have to take another PI off line. I too believe it would do White's good if they had a small leak on what's coming  out the door soon.

Chuck, thanks for your thoughts.

Over the past year I have learned that is best to wait until you have something that is ready to sell before hyping it up. I don't think there will be much for heavy-hitters (heh, heavy swingers I guess...) to be excited about until some kind of new technology is released. Otherwise it is just rehashing old ground.

Pumping a little life into the TDI SL wouldn't beat a GPZ's performance. But it would give regular folks a chance to get into an easy to use, decent P.I. for not much more than a GMT. And you could take it places the Z would be too cumbersome to follow. Still a rehash, or maybe an improvement you could say.

I will say this - if I post an ambiguous thread asking for testers next year, it might be worth getting excited about. But we will see what happens.

[Ridge Runner]

Tom

The TDI SL would have been one hot detector if White's hadn't went cheap with the AA under power battery pack and had used the same the other PI's had. I myself have added another battery in the same pack of my SPP but it's still short of the power it can handle. What's needed is the bigger box that the SL should have come in.

Oh well that's life.

Chuck

PS Tom I seen your reply before I hit submit and I thank you for it. I just like the words American Made on the side of my detector box. Don't get me wrong I do buy other detectors that are not made in the USA when they have something new that I don't have. One would be the XP Deus.

Tom thanks for being on here and willing to hear what we have to say.

Chuck

[HardPack]

4 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

I found my largest nugget with the TDI and 12" coil in brush so thick I could barely force myself through it. If your machine is giving false signals from being lifted or tilted the machine is either not properly ground balanced, or the coil may be bad.

Steve,

There's an abandoned claim nearby with the same ground conditions only level with broken contours. I test the TDI 12" coil there to see if it is lifting/tilting, the ground dropping away from under the coil or operator error. 

[AussieMatt]

6 hours ago, tboykin said:

I will believe it when I see a nugget dug with it --- the QED has been on the verge of release for 6 years!

Try 8+ years & quite a saga watching from the sidelines  About the same amount of time Whites have been treading water. 

One thing that kills the TDI here (or most any US detectors) is the price mark up which doesn't seem to be in line with the exchange rate. I think the last time I checked the TDI SL was around $2500 here & that's too much for it IMO. If I want a gold finder for our conditions in that price range I'll get a used GPX or SDC or put a bit more towards new. It's a pity because I started out with Whites detectors & switched to Minelab. 

If & when the QED is released it could be a killer for the TDI here & even the GMT which is up around $1300 here especially being sold out of the same dealer?

I think Whites really need to get out of their comfort zone & start moving forward. I'm sorry but rehashing an old model with a new battery & coil won't be enough for me to go back.

 

[tboykin]

7 minutes ago, AussieMatt said:

About the same amount of time Whites have been treading water.

I appreciate the Aussie banter! Just looking to make the most out of a machine that doesn't cost big bikkies. I will look into why the mark-up is so high on our machines. Those prices are venturing a little too close to Codan levels....

Although it is good to hear you guys are back to using proper money after this.... 

[AussieMatt]

Currently the TDI Pro (Oz series) is $3300. I can get a new GPX4500 for that so down here the Whites prices are pretty rich in comparison to the Codan offerings 

[Hard Prospector]

Tom,

I've been using the TDI SL for several years, have found my share of nice nuggets and love the machine. Been tempted to go with the SDC2300 for its increased sensitivity but even it can't compete with the ergonomics of the SL. So why not make the SL approach(or match) the sensitivity  of the SDC2300.  Two  modifications to consider that I think would make the SL even more sensitive the  smallest gold nuggets:

*Increase the input voltage from the factory 11.6 volts.... to 13-16 volts. This  could be accomplished by just adding another AA battery to the factory dry cell pack.

*Decrease the pulse delay from 10...... to "8" usec. This would (I feel) substantially increase the sensitivity on the smallest nuggets being especially effective using the smaller coils on the TDI SL

Talk about breathing new nugget hunting abilities into a already good detector and with the already existing means to do so!

How about this: Existing SL users could ship their TDI back to the factory for the "Nugget Hunter Modification Package" which includes having the pulse delay permanently preset at "8" usec,  2 new factory dry cell packs that will hold the " 9" AA batteries ...increasing the voltage to 13+, as well as a general service of the detector. 

The service cost for such a TDI SL "Nugget Hunter Modification Package"? If you keep the cost below say $200 per machine, I think you will see plenty of participation from existing users. Easy money for White's and a lot of happy TDI SL users, especially myself.

Thanks for listening..........Rob