Does anyone know what year & on what detector that "drop in" battery capability was first introduced in the market place?---When battery wires & connector "snap ons" were done away with.---Drop in capability for both alkalines AND rechargeable battery packs.----------Del
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A POWERFUL-full question
- Thread starter D&P-OR
- Start date
----Me & my HARD questions!!!---OK, let me re-phrase it--When did drop in batteries come in "vogue"? 
----------DelJust funnin' a bit, Del. Weather is great here and I've been looking for silver, and I'll be out the door in 10 minutes. Stormy weather is coming next week and you're likely to get ickier stuff than me. 
Our more popular models that use a slide-in "tray" are the current White's, and that tray was introduced with the XLT in early '94, if I recall correctly. Before that White's, for years, had used a 'drop-in" pack with C-cell batteries.
The Garrett GroundHog and DeepSeeker models, and those before them used a slide-in battery holder with 9V batteries, but still each battery had to be "snapped" into the individual slot in the battery holder.
I don't recall the specific model I had (there have been too many!), but I think it was an early Fisher I had, from maybe the late '60s or about '70, that used one of the old-style round 9V batteries and it was simply inserted in the detector shaft and the contacts there were wired so you didn't have to "snap it in," just put it in the shaft (much like putting batteries in a flash-light). I think it was a Fisher, but I'm having a foggy brain moment this morning.
So, aside from one or two models early on, there was the Garrett style tray that you had to snap the batteries into the tray, and slide it in, but actually it had to be pushed into the connection. It wasn't just a simple contact like the White's C-Cell and current AA battery holders, so I would credit White's with having the most used and most popular "slide-in" or "drop-in" battery system that doesn't require a physical push to connect or snapping wires onto it, even though the old model I mentioned does predate that.
Monte
D&P-OR said:
Our more popular models that use a slide-in "tray" are the current White's, and that tray was introduced with the XLT in early '94, if I recall correctly. Before that White's, for years, had used a 'drop-in" pack with C-cell batteries.
The Garrett GroundHog and DeepSeeker models, and those before them used a slide-in battery holder with 9V batteries, but still each battery had to be "snapped" into the individual slot in the battery holder.
I don't recall the specific model I had (there have been too many!), but I think it was an early Fisher I had, from maybe the late '60s or about '70, that used one of the old-style round 9V batteries and it was simply inserted in the detector shaft and the contacts there were wired so you didn't have to "snap it in," just put it in the shaft (much like putting batteries in a flash-light). I think it was a Fisher, but I'm having a foggy brain moment this morning.
So, aside from one or two models early on, there was the Garrett style tray that you had to snap the batteries into the tray, and slide it in, but actually it had to be pushed into the connection. It wasn't just a simple contact like the White's C-Cell and current AA battery holders, so I would credit White's with having the most used and most popular "slide-in" or "drop-in" battery system that doesn't require a physical push to connect or snapping wires onto it, even though the old model I mentioned does predate that.
Monte
A couple of detectors used a design where the batteries (AA's) dropped down the length of the stem of the detector from the rear. Eric Foster used the idea with his Deepscan P.I. which used those big round U2 cells. The upper shaft in this case was a wide plastic, to wide to be gripped so a handgrip was fitted on top of the shaft that could be slipped up and down to obtain a good balance then locked into place.
To replace the cells you would slip a coin into the slot on the removable end cap and quarter twist. Really easy system.
The Garrett draw system had all the drawbacks of connectors and no benefits. The draw could be a really tight fit leading to damage inside the detector and some PP3's were so tight you would damage the draw connectors squashing them as you pushed the batteries on or breaking off the "lugs" pulling them off.
To replace the cells you would slip a coin into the slot on the removable end cap and quarter twist. Really easy system.
The Garrett draw system had all the drawbacks of connectors and no benefits. The draw could be a really tight fit leading to damage inside the detector and some PP3's were so tight you would damage the draw connectors squashing them as you pushed the batteries on or breaking off the "lugs" pulling them off.
My detector collection covers the early years up to the early 70's. I stop short of the discriminator models although I do have a couple early discriminators. None of them have a drop in pack. I have around 50. In fact some of them are downright miserable to change a battery. You need to remove a number of small screws and take the case completely apart.
My first detector was a Garrett groundhog. That was 1976. It did have a slide in battery pack holding several nine volts. So I would estimate it around that time frame.
My first detector was a Garrett groundhog. That was 1976. It did have a slide in battery pack holding several nine volts. So I would estimate it around that time frame.