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White’s TDI Beach Hunter....... Update After 15 Months


Tony

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I’ve recently had a few emails regarding my TDIBH so I thought I’d hammer out a response. I’m going to try and summarise with some dot points;

  • I have close to 500 hours on this machine and run the 14.8v (nominal voltage) Lithium battery pack. Details in my earlier posts.
  • The detector has found me quite a lot of big and deep gold.
  • I don’t use it much in the water as conditions down here are generally quite rough. The 12” coil is physically too big in waves and white water. Also, digging 18” targets when you are being swept around by waves and swell is almost impossible even with 30 pounds of lead.
  • The detector is now mainly used on the lower beach and low tide areas.
  • I have had no issues running the 14.8v pack. I charge overnight and let the voltage settle down before using the next day as this avoids the off the charger voltage of 16.8v.
  • My run time is about 6 hours before I swap out for a fresh pack.
  • I have had no condensation issues within the detector. I do have a large silica gel pack in the battery compartment.
  • The detector is quieter than other PI’s with the low delays when used in the shallow water and saturated hard pan. The SAT is very good in keeping things quiet even at low delay settings. Maybe it is the new Flux Capacitor that White’s now use 😉
  • I have several layers of yellow Plasti Dip on my coil to keep it well protected on the coarse shells and exposed reef areas.
  •  My ultimate power setting is minimum Delay and maximum Gain, threshold a fraction below audible with volume up high. Frequency is usually at the 12 o’clock position. I have only ever needed to change this once.
  • My deepest ever finds have come from this machine.
  • GB is always OFF unless I hit a rare patch of black sands.
  • You need a BIG and STURDY scoop..............Tony
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Hi TONY, I built a battery pack too and notice it gives increased sensitivity along with depth. 
can I ask how you managed to fit a silica gel pack inside as I am getting slight condensation inside. 
I did think of putting one inside the battery pack and putting a series of holes in the cover of the pack. 

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On 11/3/2019 at 12:27 AM, Gerry Freeman-Smith said:

Hi TONY, I built a battery pack too and notice it gives increased sensitivity along with depth. 
can I ask how you managed to fit a silica gel pack inside as I am getting slight condensation inside. 
I did think of putting one inside the battery pack and putting a series of holes in the cover of the pack. 

Gerry

I can put the silica gel pack in because I use a 4 cell battery pack and not the slide in Whites battery holder. 
This is my battery pack. All details are in earlier posts.

Just as an FYI to anyone who is reading this......battery manufacturers may specify  a battery voltage as either 3.6v or 3.7v per cell. My battery is therefore 14.4v (3.6v x 4 cells). A 14.8v pack is 4 cells of 3.7v. There is no difference in the overall performance of these packs. These are all nominal voltages. Final charging is about 4.2v per cell or 16.8v for the overall 4 cell pack. I thought I’d add this bit as some people get confused and want the “higher 16.8v pack” which IS the 14.4v or 14.8v pack (assuming 4 cells).

Tony

 

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Thanks for the reply Tony, I followed your post in another thread, but the pack you used is about £120 with charger. I used the AA tray and modified to use 4x Samsung 25r 18650 batteries fitted along the sides so I have room to fit silica packs down the centre. I’ll try this way with a slot in the top cover. 

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1 hour ago, Gerry Freeman-Smith said:

Thanks for the reply Tony, I followed your post in another thread, but the pack you used is about £120 with charger. I used the AA tray and modified to use 4x Samsung 25r 18650 batteries fitted along the sides so I have room to fit silica packs down the centre. I’ll try this way with a slot in the top cover. 

Yikes........I paid $90 Aussie dollars including charger. That’s about £50.

Someone in the UK is “charging” too much....😂

Tony

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That looks like a pro job !

I actually close up my unit with the battery compartment right in front of the cars AC outlet. This way you are getting very dry air blasting into the detector as opposed to a more humid air. I thought why not, especially on those warm and humid mornings down at the beach. You cannot have too much Preventative Maintenance when it comes to the beach and saltwater detectors.

Tony

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