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My TDI Pro Has Arrived


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Having Both the TDI Pro and the SL I have been able to compare the 2 machines and on small targets there is Little or nothing between them, but as the Target size grows so does the difference IE coins and Larger etc

 

On .22 bullets which weigh 1.96 grams +/- there is no difference between them with both machine using the Standard 12" DF with the GB turned off on both machines, and the Pro seems to be a little more touchy/Sensitive than the SL due to the SL having the noise filters but they both run well in the town/City and sometimes Both machines might pick up the odd bit of EMI but neither machine Sings like the Older model TDI Pro's and 99% of the time it can be tuned out, So far I like them both, On big open space's I would pick the Pro but anywhere that is rocky or Hilly I would pick the SL,

Now I have noticed on both machines where you have the frequency control can have an effect on depth and both of them seem to be at their Peak between 10 O'clock and 2 O'clock and the Auto Tune when you have the GB Off can soften some signals and that is more noticeable on the SL  but it does not appear to effect the Depth, They both will see Larger Items like 2 litre Coke bottle pieces of pipe between 4 to 5 feet deep using the standard coil,  

 

Do the Battery Mod or buy one of Reidmans Batteries and I think the SL would hold its own with the extra voltage but to be honest on smallish gold there is not much difference if any and they both hit hard on larger targets. 

 

Is it worth the Extra $500.00 to get the Pro,???  well the Pro gives you the confidence and the Battery run time, But this is more Like having to decide which do I choose the GMT or them MXT because like these two machines the MXT starts to gain the upper hand on depth over the GMT when the target gets bigger and once the targets are up around half a gram the MXT starts to pull away and vice versa, The Pro and the SL are very much alike and yet in other ways they are not, The pro feels almost industrial and I like that and the SL feels like a sports car which feels good too, Another thing I like about the pro is although it is almost half as much heavier than the SL the Balance of the Pro is incredible the coil seems to float across the ground where my other machines are just not quite right, don't get me wrong they are good but the Point of Balance on the pro is about 1 and a 1/4 to 1 and a half inches below the top Rod clamp around the start of the bend, So that's about it for now hope this helps,

 

Good Luck,,  John

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Excellent report John: can ya tell me something about the SL?  I have noticed it does 

not have a volume control, is it loud on speaker with out headphones?

 

Thanks Ivan

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Excellent report John: can ya tell me something about the SL?  I have noticed it does 

not have a volume control, is it loud on speaker with out headphones?

 

Thanks Ivan

Yes the SL is quite loud and having the volume knob on the Pro is good for those faint signals and if you turn the Threshold up on both machines they will blast your ears, The SL is loud but using headphones with volume knobs is a big plus, where as the Pro is loud when you turn it up but it does the same with its volume knob as the SL would with a pair of Nugget Buster with volume knobs so whether you have the volume control on the machine or your headphones is just a matter of choice or with the SL you could run a Booster if you want a volume control and run it without headphones, but there again a boost would be a bonus on most machines, But for machines without a volume knob a booster is a good way of having one,

Hope this helps,

john

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I have been out doing some testing today/night and One of the tests was/Is a very Valid Air Test because I have seen quite a lot of posts all over the net where people have been complaining about their pinpointers up setting their PI machines and so I started doing an Air Test with the Pro and then the SL and what I found was with the Pro set to 10 on the Gain and GB=Off and the Frequency set to about 10 o'clock The Pro will howl when The Bullseye II is at about 4 feet from the coil and the further to the right you turn the FREQ control the less effect it has, IE at about 10 to 15 past it will only pick it up at just over 2 feet when you press the button on the BE II, and if the Pros FREQ is set to 10 o'clock even waving it past the coil up to 4 feet away can make the Pro signal on it and If the BE II is waved past the side of the coil within 26 inches it will signal on it, 

 

With the SL,,Gain at 10, GB=Off and the FREQ set to 12 minutes too,, If you press the button on the BE II it will howl at about 32" max, and it will signal on the BE II without you pressing the Button on the BE II at about 24-26 inches,, Like I said the Other day the Pro really sees bigger Items way further than the SL, 

 

I have buried some musket balls from the 1600s down to depths of 20 inches and in a few weeks when the ground has started to settle I will take the machines and see how they do, I pick that depth because I used all my machines and did air test to see what they could do and then aimed for the middle mark and used that as my maximum depth,  

 

It really is a Good solid machine and being able to run it at the max with it in Low with the GB on or Off around here in these normal soils is a real bonus,

 

Anyway as for the pinpointer Issue and PI machines at leased I now know that they can be Tune out so they are less effected by them.

 

John

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Good info John, thanks.

If you can find ground where the TDI Pro can run with the ground balance off it is a very powerful detector indeed. You lose any ability to use tones (gb off is monotone) or the conductivity switch, but with ground balance off the TDI Pro is one of the most powerful beach detectors ever made. It is the closet thing you can get to Eric Fosters old Deepstar detectors, which are so old now even if you could find one it would be a questionable purchase. Better off with a TDI Pro with a warranty. A lot of people are very frustrated that White's never produced a waterproof TDI.

And of course on any mild ground the same thing applies. Ground balance off will add significant depth.

I know you know all this. It is for anyone else reading.

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Steve,

I am not sure if it is the smoothing effect of those extra filters in the SL but the GB off seems to be a little more subtle than on the Pro, As the Pro does seem to have hidden power,

A friend use to have one of the Deepstar machines and they are aptly named, I was digging 17" holes on the beach with my sovereign GT and the WOT Coil While my mate was digging coins around the 2 foot mark and deeper, I wish Eric had kept making the Deepstar.

One thing I find strange with the Pro is when the GB is off, If you come out of the Low mode in to All the Circuit seems live because I get more noise in All but it still only makes the mono tone sound,

John

PS, just an Idea, If you own an SDC or a 5k, If you turn on your pin pointer before you do your Scan/Tune then maybe your PI will pick a more quiet channel so you won't suffer from Cross talk when you use your pin pointer,,

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PS, just an Idea, If you own an SDC or a 5k, If you turn on your pin pointer before you do your Scan/Tune then maybe your PI will pick a more quiet channel so you won't suffer from Cross talk when you use your pin pointer,,

 

That is actually the thing to do with any detector that scans for the quietest frequency. The ones you mention plus ATX, CTX, GPZ, etc. I turn on my pinpointer, toss a few feet away, and do the frequency scan procedure. It does work.

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That is actually the thing to do with any detector that scans for the quietest frequency. The ones you mention plus ATX, CTX, GPZ, etc. I turn on my pinpointer, toss a few feet away, and do the frequency scan procedure. It does work.

Great well that's a Tip worth passing On, I have never thought about it until tonight and seeing as my VLFs get used the most I often wondered what people were talking about, So after doing the tests on the these PI's then I think it would be wise to carry the pin pointer in a back pocket or a pouch behind me close to the Arm that swings the detector because as we sweep we tend to bring the coil closer to the non detector side of the body,

john

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