Search the Community

Hi All, Has anyone tried the Coiltek 17x11 Mono on the White's TDI SL? Would really appreciate any feedback on it's performance. Also, the Coiltek 14" round for the TDI? If positive, I'll order one and report my findings in a couple of weeks. Maybe the battery mod later... Also checking on the SteelPHASE SP01 to enhance the audio...they said it would help. https://www.coiltek.com.au/coils/whites-tdi/17-x-11-whites-tdi-mono/ Much appreciated, LStart

This coil is being advertised at quite a few dealers now for $179.95. Which is great, available now for existing TDI owners. I had to chuckle though. They all are advertising it as “Whites 7.5″ x 12″ TDI HI-Q Dual Field Coil for MX Series Metal Detector” Makes me wonder sometimes if I am the only one that notices stuff like this.

I'm killing myself trying to determine the best rout to go with PI detector. I just moved to Tennessee and with red clay mineralized soil would the White's TDI SL be a good choice or the Garrett ATX? I am new to PI detecting and thinking the TDI would be a good beginner's but should I jump all in with the ATX? I've heard the TDI is under powered but the ATX has a steep learning curve. Your input is welcome!!!!

When circumstance allow, I like to go prospecting in Victoria's 'Golden Triangle', one of Australia's nugget hot spots. I use my beach machines, a Tdi Pro and a Tdi Sl Limited Edition. The Pro can be used for prospecting without any real issues, the Tdi Sl is more challenging in this environment. I'm going to focus on my experiences in hot ground, infested with ironstone, hot rocks and heavy mineralization. Not going to focus on depth, power or anything other than what it takes to get the machine to operate smoothly with the correct ground balance. The Pro machine has a hugh advantage, simply by vitue of that course and fine ground balance adjustments but this post is mostly about the Tdi SL. The single turn ground balance on the SL is a pain, it takes a bit of time to get it just right. When the ground is hot the SL requires me to use a smaller coil, mono being the best. Mono coils in my experience are quieter, more stable and much easier to ground balance. Larger folded mono coils, duel field coils and the newer and hotter spiral wound coils all suffer when the ground is very hot, they are noisy and difficult to ground balance with a Tdi Sl. The Tdi Sl with the stock 12 x 7 Miner John folded mono can be balanced but it will transmit more ground noise and be more difficult to ground balance when compared to using a smaller mono coil. Forgive me but I'm going to repeat myself a few times in this post. The smaller the coil the quieter the Tdi Sl will be and easier to ground balance, the reduced 'foot print' helps a lot. The very small 6 x 4 mini Jimmy coil is amazing in its ability to run smoothly and easily ground balance, but is too small to be practical most of the time. In comparison I can use larger mono coils on the Tdi Pro without issue, it has superior ground balancing ability on the goldfields. A Tdi Pro mounted with a 8x6 mono 'Sadie' is my standard setup. The Detech 15 x 10 or Digger 14 x 8 also see some use as does the new to me Detech 8 inch mono when using the Pro. So whilst the Tdi Sl likes the smaller mono coils on the goldfields the larger coils are not an option. Yes the ultimate Tdi Sl setup is a small mono coil and an upgraded 16v battery pack for prospecting. Super light weight and beautifully balanced, respectable performance and versatile. Fun to use for all, kids and older family enjoy the light weight and balance. Allow me to deviate for a moment. Tie me to an ants nest and smother me in honey for stating the obvious. Serious prospectors are better served by more specialised Minelab machines... they are superb. For me versatility is key at the moment and I feel better served by my White's Tdi Pro on the beach, that stealthy little Tdi Sl 'urban PI' is also a pleasure to use. When I invest in an expensive 4x4 and trailer some time in the future, then I'll make room for the more specialised gold machine. Hopefully by then Minelab with have a light weight and well balanced SDC type PI in a Tdi Sl style body. Maybe White's will surprise us all. Fisher is coming to the party also. I need PI peformance and light weight, good balance and sane pricing.. more options arriving as time goes on. Again my one piece of advice to anyone wanting to prospect using a Tdi SL in 'hot' ground, particularly in Australia, is this.. Use a small mono coil. Small duelfield coils like the older Jimmy, 7.5 duelfield, Miner John 7x5 folded mono or 6 inch folded mono coils, are all OK most of the time.. The Razorback 10 x 6 mono is great, the Coiltek Tdi series 6 inch mono is great, The Sadie is great. Keep it small and stick with mono and you should do well in all types of ground. The larger coils work well with the Tdi Sl in moderate soils and the beach. But when the ground goes bad it does pay to swap out for a small mono. Again this is my experience in hot Australian ground. Hot is hot and I suspect many international Tdi Sl users have the same experience in difficult ground. Not looking to pick any fights but this is my experience with the Tdi Sl. Go small, go mono and boost the battery pack. All the best.

I recently tried out my TDIBH on some fairly mineralised ground and it was a disaster......no setting of the GB or Gain would calm the machine down. My question is what sort of coil might work well......Mono....DD....concentric......and what size? The stock 12” Dual Field is sensational on the beach but that’s all it’s good for. I’d like to try a large DD to see if it could tame the bad ground...but the single turn GB may still not be enough? Love to hear from the experts Thanks Tony

Does anyone have experience using the TDI Beach Hunter for relic hunting. Civil war sites, old homesteads, etc. If so what settings, techniques do you use?

Really grateful to get out and hunt yesterday. Dug quite a bit of aluminum shards, beer tabs and an occasional nail. I still get fooled by those pesky nails but that's part of the challenge. I was almost 100% sure the coins were such before digging. How you might be asking. I kept raising the coil until it "audio" was almost gone and then I'd rotate around the target, listening for any irregular audio sounds. The ring turned out to be 18K gold filled but at least it's a ring. Today I was using the Super Pulse 350 and I also included a photo of my settings. One important note, this is not a modern school but an old school where coal was burnt to provide heat for many decades and the waste was spread out on the property.

Hi I have a question regarding all the talk regarding ramping up the amps volts etc on the tdi sl wouldn't good batteries like 8 x energizer lithium batteries add up to 14 volts rather than trying to squeeze an extra battery in there or striping the guts out of the battery pack to put in 4 18500? What about 4 x 14500 which for memory are the same width maybe a tad longer they add up to 15 volts plus I'm not sure any thoughts

Another hunt using the White's TDI. This might not look like much but these items came from a small area, maybe 20 x 20 that had been extensively hunted with two other machines. But keep in mind this area is also littered with coal waste and iron. None of these finds were surface finds, the nickel was about 4" deep and the knife around 5. I know without any doubts I had hunted this area clean with my other machine. But I can say, using the other machine I tend to listen and look for the constant, locked in audio and VID's. And I might add one more thing, the coal waste and iron tends to pull down the ID's of the other machines once the depth gets more than 4", which would explain the finds.

The Rain can't stop Jeff and Gary (Two Toe's ) as they head to the Hills in search of those elusive Gold Nuggets. Jeff has his White's Gold Master V-Sat (VLF) Metal Detector and Gary has his White's TDI (Pulse Induction) Detector see which one finds the most and biggest Gold in the California Mother lode. Clear that Bedrock and check those Crevice's there might be Gold Nuggets hidden in there !!!! SG 018 Thanks for watching !!! Jeff

Read earlier threads, mostly about the coil. Does anyone have experience with this pulse detector and do they find it to be an excellent detector for prospecting the desert? Would love to hear opinions from users. Not a lot of reviews out there.

Whites quoted on their website that the TDI beach hunter can also be used as a nuggett hunting detector in the gold fields. Was wondering if their was somebody who tried it and what their experience is and what the sensitivity on small gold is?

HI! Just wondering if it is worth selling my garrett sea hunter and Equinox 600 to buy a TDI beachhunter instead? of couars the money i will make selling thoese two detectors is not enough to buy a TDI Beachhunter and i have to put som extra money on that.Please help! I want just more depth in saltwater and think TDIBeachhunter goes deeper than thoese two

The passing of a friend unfortunately has led to me taking ownership of a modified Tdi Pro. My machine is mounted on an Anderson shaft and is factory spec. My old mate had his machine modified to smooth out the threshold and to add some sensitivity. The specifics related to the modifications are not known by me, other than that they were conducted by 'Luke'..Oz Digger.. This happened some time ago. So the modified machine is probably not a keeper, I don't want two Tdi Pro machines.. The opportunity to do a comparison cannot and should not be ignored. My intention is to focus on small gold performance, the threshold smoothness, the ability to use gain, basic performance and handling characteristics under different circumstances. The machines will use the same fully charged battery pack, same coil, same targets, same test location and conditions on the same day etc. Trying to minimise external variations. I'll start with the usual useless air test. Later I'll follow up with in ground testing on the actual goldfields in mineralized soil. Test coils will be with a small coil and a large coil. Targets will be gold only. The 1 grain ingot, the half gram gold coin, a half sovereign gold coin. Some real small sub gram nuggets to see how small we can go.. There is a process involved so I'll take my time and do it right. Any specific questions or suggestions, speak now or forever hold you peace.. I'm only doing this once. Once it sold it will be too late to revisit.. All the best.

Just arrived in the mail, Nuggeteer 18 x 6 mono, mounts nicely on the Tdi pro using a Minelab lower rod. It is weighty at 1 kg but easily balances on the Tdi Pro, just don't have any metal in your shoes.. When the weather clears I'll go down to the beach and give it a good run. Useless air tests, test garden results and beach run results in the very near future.. karelian

Was here with the with the 7.5 and Hi-Q coils , it leaves tomorrow,, absolutely no comparison to the big box TDI ,, and the HI-Q isn’t any better at air tests than the 7.5 coil,, Whites says it’s for relics as well as gold (HI-Q) maybe gold,, not relics having pursued relics for the past 35 years this combo isn’t it ,, I’ll stick with the big box and the standard spider coil,,, or use my other pulse the M/L GPX5000 ,, and as someone else had written ,, we shouldn’t have to buy or make higher voltage batteries to gain depth ,, don’t get me wrong I love my Whites detectors owning1, Big Box TDI ,, 2 , 6000 xl 1, Blue&Gray, 1,MX Sport ,, and 1 Eagle in Brand New mint condition too pretty to use ,, this package is advertised as a gold and relic detector / that HI - Q isn’t for relics of much depth before it taps out

Have a mine lab gpx 5000 and ordered a whites tdi sl for a backup unit a friend told me the gpx coils will work on the tdi?? But it’s not here yet to see if they will even plug in to the whites , so what’s the truth ??? Thanks

Which do you think will hit deeper on wet sand? I'd prefer a TDIBH over a DF but I'm budget limited.

I've had this coil for quite some time, but it was packed away and forgotten. It was purchased for A$60 because I was intrigued. It is the anti-interference version. Measures 12 x 4 and uses the MInelab lower rod. Weight is decent, build quality is good. Performance in the field still remains a mystery as I've yet to use it. I gave it a quick air test just to see how it behaved on the Tdi Pro. This version has a hot spot in the centre of the coil which appears very sensitive to small targets at shallow depth. Seems to hit fairly well at shallow depths but doesn't have much punch for the deeper targets. Test garden results on coins would give real world depth on coins between a solid hit around 15cm or 6 inches and fading fast past 20cm or 8 inches. Useless air test with ground balance off, gain at max, in ALL, frequency in the middle, pulse delay at 10. 1 grain was 7cm .5 gram gold coin 16cm 1/2 Sovereign 23cm Us Quarter 23cm Aussie Penny 25cm Whites Buckle 33cm So in summary it hits hard on small and shallow targets, the centre of the coil is a hot spot for sure.. Fades fast as depth increases, the big Whites buckle just managed 13 inches. Since I managed max gain on the Tdi Pro in an EMI hot zone, the Anti-interference feature seems to work ok.. One of the things I like about the Tdi machines is the ability to plug in all sorts of coils, never know if you don't have a go.. My Tdi SL is highly resistance to EMI and the Pro less so but still very good. This coil could make more sense mounted on a Minelab around electric fences and mobile phone towers.. etc. All the best, Karelian

My first comment regarding discrimination with a ground balancing PI like the TDI and others is that people may be expecting things of the TDI it cannot deliver, and may be better off with a good discriminating VLF detector. If your priority is discrimination, no PI will discriminate like a VLF. There are two ways to tune the TDI. The first and preferred option is to tune the detector for the best depth. On low mineral beaches ground balance "off" usually give the best performance and you generally have to dig all targets. The sensitivity control and pulse delay are set to the desired level of quiet operation. You have to adjust those settings for your conditions. Forcing it by using settings other people use is fruitless. Salt conditions do vary as does mineralization and electrical interference, and the machines themselves vary by a small amount. I notice many people think lower settings will cause lost depth and therefore insist on higher settings, and then complain the machine is unstable. It simply is what it is. Adjust the machine for the conditions. If it does not perform to your satisfaction, use a different detector. You can't make a detector do what it does not want to do. As ground mineralization increases on some beaches, there is a point where using the ground balance “on” gives you more depth. Only with experiments can a person determine which setting gives more depth on your beach - ground balance “on” or ground balance “off”. If you use the ground balance, it BY ACCIDENT creates two audio classes of targets, those above the ground balance setting and those below the ground balance setting. These give either a low tone or a high tone. The resulting two classes of targets have only a little to do with what they are made of, but are based instead on the rate at which eddy currents decay in the target after the transmit pulse shuts off. Size has as much to do with the audio results as composition, just like on a VLF. The pulse delay sets the minimum level for this eddy current cut off or rejection. See Understanding the PI Metal Detector by Reg Sniff. With ground balance “on” you would normally, just like with ground balance “off”, adjust the sensitivity and pulse delay for whatever level produces quiet operation. I usually just put the coil underwater and pump it in the water, and first try lower sensitivity. If that does not remove noise I raise the pulse delay a little and try again. In general I am trying to keep the pulse delay as low as possible and sensitivity as high as possible. Eventually through trial and error I find a combination of sensitivity and pulse delay that eliminates audio results when pumping the coil in saltwater. The ground balance setting is determined by whatever setting gives no audio results when moving the coil up and down over the beach or the bottom when underwater. If basalt cobbles are present they may also need to be included in the ground balance tuning procedure. In extreme cases you may have to lower the sensitivity and pulse delay even more to get a proper quiet ground balance. Again, once you have tuned everything for best performance, you will have a pulse delay setting and ground balance setting that ACCIDENTALLY creates two classes of targets. The only way to see the result is to test various targets. In the U.S. our coins are much more conductive than many European coins and retain eddy currents better, and therefore generally give a low tone while most jewelry will give a high tone. Large ferrous will give a low tone and small ferrous a high tone. Very large rings may give a low tone as will most silver rings. In Europe and other places the tones may vary from what we see with U.S. coins. After experimenting to find out what items give what tones, you have a simple decision. You can dig one tone only, or you can dig the other tone only, or you can dig all targets. The results will be what you have determined by your experiments and if digging only one tone or the other loses items you do not want to lose then you must dig all items. If that is not acceptable, your should be using a VLF detector instead. Now, if you are willing to give up some depth, you can try to purposefully misadjust the ground balance control to move the tone division point. Doing so may switch some items from one tone to the other for a better result as regards discrimination. This however puts the detector out of proper ground balance. In mild ground you can do this easily but in highly mineralized ground the machine will now signal when moved over the beach or the bottom or past hot rocks. The depth is lost as you compensate for this by again reducing the sensitivity or increasing the pulse delay. Again it all is a matter of experimentation. If a desired item that is giving a "wrong" tone can be made to give the opposite tone by misadjusting the ground balance you may benefit from this in milder ground. It may be that the lost depth or audio side effects from being out of ground balance are not be worth it. You have to decide. To sum up, VLF detectors offer the best discrimination but may not get enough depth on mineralized beaches. A PI detector can get more depth, but any discrimination is an accidental byproduct of the ground balance system employed and will not separate targets like a VLF. In general you dig everything with a PI but in some cases you can derive benefits by digging some tones and not others, but you will without a doubt miss some class of good targets by doing this. That is just the way it is. The first ground balancing PI (GBPI) I used for beach detecting was the Garrett Infinium. Next was the TDI and then Garrett ATX. All three have similar tone results, but the TDI has the additional benefit of allowing you to manually set the tone break point via the ground balance setting. I have also used similar tonal separation using Minelab GBPI detectors. I go into more in-depth detail on another post referencing the new Fisher Impulse AQ where I reference all my notes on all these detectors so I am going to link there for further study. The Impulse is basically a refined version of what the TDI is doing, with the ground balance control used first and foremost as a discrimination control, and as with the TDI there will be performance trades depending on the settings employed. Understanding one will help you understand the other. This is a very complex subject for those wanting a simple VLF type discrimination system in a PI detector. They are however two different things, and you have to read and think quite a bit about how a PI detector actually works to get your head around all this. Or at a minimum do lots of experimenting and learn by observation. I have tried my best to explain things, but there is no magic tuning or answers I can provide that will make these machines do what people seem to want them to do - act like a VLF. They are not. If they do not discriminate the way you want I have no settings that will make it happen other than what I have tried to explain already. This is kind of a summary and along with all the other posts is really about all I can offer or have to say on the subject. I hope it helps! Fisher Impulse AQ Discrimination Explanation Where Will The Holes Be In The Fisher Impulse System White's TDI SL Owners Manual White's TDI Beachhunter Owners Manual White's TDI Pro Owners Guide Steve's White's TDI Review

Hello everyone, I have received many emails about the REG mods and responded to them. I finally spoke to Reg by phone and he is OK with me Posting the mods on this forum. He just wants me to send the info back to him to revise and make sure everything is OK. I am also glad he is still doing well. We also spoke about Whites and the situation at the company and how some of us are brand loyal and hope to see improvements. This way it will be easier as some times I delay email responses. Hope to post soon with Steve's permission of course. Gilbert

Whats the deal with ' hi-q'? What is that? Any different from regular tdi sl?

My cleaning regime after an ocean detecting session is meticulous but I got a little careless when I got home. i always rinse the unit really well at the beach showers and always look for signs of water ingress immediately afterwards and everything checked out fine. When I get home, everything is submerged in a long plastic tub full of warm fresh water where it soaks for about 15 minutes. I also add some mild liquid soap to help get all the salt out of every knock and cranny. I normally add the soap to the bottom of the tub and then blast the water in to get it mixed up......and THEN I place the detector in. Well today, I got careless and placed the detector into the bottom of the tub first and then for some unknown reason, proceeded to fill the tub with heavy water pressure.........yep........the force of the water got past the orange gasket and forced itself into the detector body. Luckily I noticed it straight away and no damage was done at all. I did have to disassemble the whole unit and dried it all out completely. Not too much water got in as you can see in the third photo. The biggest hassle is getting the gasket back on and securing the 8 screws evenly otherwise the gasket can bulge out in a few places. Lesson learnt........go easy with the water pressure when using the snap on hose connector. I’ve only made this mistake once and didn’t get away with it. Anyhow, now you all get to see a disassembled TDIBH. Interestingly, the battery compartment is completely separate from the electronics top half. As far as a waterproofness weakness.....it is the orange gasket but only from high dynamic water pressure. Tony

How good would the TDI SL work for sniffing out coins around old foundations that have a lot of iron but low to moderate aluminum? I have been looking at various coil and detector options out there for the vlfs whether a new machine or for the machines I have and have a feeling they aren't going do do anything significant performance wise. Trouble is some of the old coins I suspect are in the areas are near foundations and where land was disturbed when the buildings were constructed. Conditions have heavy brush so a smaller coil is needed to sniff around and tons of iron that mask out even my little concentric. Smaller coils aren't going to hit the depths I want to get to 12"+ on small silver. Aluminum that is there is fairly shallow and not a big deal. I dig all the ring tabs as they have the same signal and vdi as flying eagles here. Can's I can identify with my eardrums 🙂

Hi All, I'm new here. How does the TDI BeachHunter compare to the TDI SL? I'm in Vic, and am buying my first detector. I want a detector for the goldfields and occasionally the beach. TIA