Help, questions about White's products and quality?

[pmike]

I have only recently returned to my addiction . I started out years ago with a home built detector and by the time it gave out I had become seriously distracted with life and all the trimmings.

Recently I began to find my interest in detecting re-kindled and thus began to research various products and manufacturers. One named that I keep hearing and seeing discussed was/is the White's brand. With so much positive information I decided to go ahead and bite the bullet, paying about twice as much as I originally planned to and bought the DFX-300. When I purchased this from a distributor here in Florida, I was actually visiting a community about 45 miles from their showroom. I was passing through that area at the time of the purchase and strected myself a bit to go out of the way to make this transaction. This being the case I simply bought the machine, got the other items that came with it, and drove back home, about 165 miles. The next morning I looked over the quick start guide and began assembly of the DFX. Upon completion I carefully placed the ni-cad battery pack in the machine, having charged it overnight, and attempted to power it on only to have nothing happen. I replaced the ni-cad pack with the alkaline pack, same result, nothing. Next I placed new alkalines in the battery pack with no better succes. Upon calling Kellyco I was told this was very unusual and that I could either return it or ship it back at my expense for service or exchange.

Once more I bit the bullet and drove back to the store, met with one of the sales staff and exchanged the DFX for another one. I did ask and the salesman did agree to power this replacement DFX on before I accepted it.

I brought it home and it appears to be working fine for the most part. Now at 2 weeks after the purchase I have already had another problem with a White's product, the Bullseye II pointer that came with my purchase of the DFX. I had used this pinpointer for less than 30 minutes max, and discovered it's switch was not functioning correctly. It appeared that the spring inside the switch that would normally disengage the contacts had failed, causing the pointer to remain on after pressure was removed from the button to turn it off. Once more I contacted the folks at Kellyco who had me return it to them (0nce more at my expense) and I am waiting for the replacement.

My concern is that 2 out of 3 of the products I have bought from these folks, manufactured by Whites, have not performed anywhere near what they or any product of comparable price should perform. I am praying that my experience is a fluke, but have seen some other posts about similar problems that others have been having? By the way I have also emailed Whites in Oregon about these issues and have not so much as received a response, which does nothing to bolster my confidence.

Sorry to be so long-winded, but can anyone here offer me any insight or hope that I am not going to sorry for having made this investment? I am considering buying a different coil for my DFX, but wondering if I might ought to look for a different one instead. If I have made a mistake in my initial purchase, I don't want to throw good money after bad, money being far easier to spend than to come by.

Thanks & God Bless for your time and efforts to read and or respond,

Mike

 

[LaDigger]

I love my whites detectors. I have the old eagle II and an M6. You would have probably been better off with an M6 or MXT with the Stk coil. The 12" coil is really a specialty coil and not practical for everyday coin and jewelry hunting. I think whites was not selling enough of those so they decided to sell them as a package deal, knowing if the user wanted to get some practical use out of their machine , they would buy the smaller coils. This is just my opinion, I know others see it this way too,but I'm not knocking whites for it, its just a marketing thing to sell more products. The bullseye is notorious for having bad switches, and if its under warranty you can get a new one for free I'm sure. Whites detectors are very durable and last a long time,and their service is really good.You picked a good brand , and once you get by these first unfortunate happenings , I think you will like your whites detector....HH..

 

[Steve(MS)]

I agree, Whites makes good quality detectors. Sometimes some will slip thru with issues but this isn't norm. I would imagine though right now you are not too happy with what's going on but Whites will take care of your problems.

 

[reddirtfisher]

Hello pmike, Welcome back to detecting! I have been metal detecting with the Whites machines since 1989 and had only ONE problem during all those years ( a trigger switch). You picked the best detector company out there. I agree with the other posters in the fact that you probably should have went with a lower end unit like the M6 or Prism IV. The DFX is hard to understand and has a lot of unnecessary stuff programmed into it. Just use the preset programs and you will do fine. Happy Hunting! RDF

 

[B.T]

Mate, 2 out of 3 being bad is unusual to say the least. Ive worked in detector shops on and off for several years and reckon Whites have shown themselves to be the most rock solid with least problems out of them all. Sorry to hear it but sounds like you have just been plain unlucky and Murphy's law kicked in big time for you for some reason. There is another brand, some will know which I mean, which has such a high product problem rate that they should be ashamed of themselves. In fact I refuse to back them at all these days. Whites though

 

[pmike]

Just a bit of an update. I have tried repeatedly to contact White's by email and only received one response to a question about product registration. I am thus far enjoying getting to use and becoming familiar with my DFX. I went ahead and bought another coil, the 6X10 DD Eclipse and have found it to be very effective for me. I use the Hi Trash program and am digging more coins than pop tops, the reverse of what I had been doing .

I have to say though it sure does bother me that I have received no better response thus far than what I have from Whites and that tends to concern me should any service issues arise. I sent the Bullseye Pinpointer back and it was delivered to Kellyco on the 10th and thus far I have not received it repaired or replaced, but will keep you posted.

Mike

 

[andreak77]

Mike,

I am surprised that you have not received a response yet. I work for a White's Distributor and I would like to personally apologize for the service that you have received. It is a strange occurrence that your unit would not power on. Typically we ask all of our dealers to put the unit together for the customer and to power the unit up and give basic instructions on its use. Dealers are not required to do this but those that do can really save a customer a lot of time and heartache should they come upon a new defective unit. Had your dealer done this there would never have been an issue. Just as well, at our distributorship here, if you've had the unit less than 90 days we don't enforce shipping charges, even more so when the unit will not even power on. Now, we have had some issues with the bullseye's, however, if it came with your machine, here at this distributor it receives the same warranty as your unit (2 years parts and labor). We usually replace the unit with a new one and then we send the defective unit back to the factory for repair, this way the customer does not have to ship it and wait for it to be repaired and shipped back again.
Again, I sincerely apologize for the service that you received. I hope your future experiences with White's are positive ones. If I can be of any assistance please don't hesitate to give us a call at 1-800-547-6911.

HH - Andrea H.

 

[pmike]

Hi Andrea,

From all I have heard about White's products and service, your response seems to be more in-line with what I would have expected. From what I understand the folks I dealt with are one of the biggest distributors and that being so I sure would have expected better of them than what I have seen thus far. I have made approx $2000.00 in purchases from them in the past several weeks and planned to buy another detector eventually for the beach, but I'm thinking it won't be from them. It has been very frustrating in the least that I have not received any better response from White's, and I hope they will yet respond. I am not sure where you are located or with which distributor, but sure do appreciate your response and those of others who have responded.

I will keep your number in my address book in the event of any future needs or purchases.

Thanks & God Bless,
Mike.

 

[R-n-R Magnolia SpringsAla]

Support the locals and leave "walmart" alone

 

[andreak77]

Mike,

Yes, they are one of the largest distributors. They receive their merchandise directly from the factory, where as other local dealers receive their product from us. We are located in Freeport, Florida (in the panhandle between Panama City and Pensacola). We are the Distributor for the Southeast and distribute to all local dealers in Fl, GA, AL and MS and we only distribute White's Metal Detectors.


HH - Andrea H.

 

[scars]

I have a DFX that I purchased about five years ago and use it very much, I have not had a single issue with it but as far as the pin pionter I have two and both have the rubber off where it is supposed to cover the switch. I have swithed to a Merlin about four years ago and it still works fine.

 

[r.r.warren]

90% of the pinpointers are junk and a waste of time learn to pinpoint with the detector with a little practice u will get good and junk the pinpointer

 

[Wet and Dry]

First off my DFX is a great machine, I enjoy all the control I have over the setting. Once you learn how to use it, you will realize what a great machine it is. When someone says to many bells and whistles, I have to wonder (please no insults intended) how old these people are? Us younger folks who grew up with cell phone and ipods and computer really do like all the control we can get on a DFX. As for Whites Machines, I just purchase a BeachHunter and to sensitivity switch is B/O and had to ship it back five days after buying it.I too have not heard what is up with my machine. Still hunting on dry land.

 

[coinnut]

I never use a pinpointer. I'd rather buy an extra coil with the money they want for those pinpointers. I learned how to pinpoint in the 70's, in all metal, and have never needed to find the target any other way. The only time I'm off center is when I get lazy and that's when I scratch something, and then I get back to focusing. I think some people, especially when just starting out, feel they have to get everything to go detecting with. If you are happy with a pinpointer, then by all means, continue. I'm not trying to down anybody. To each his own. But give yourself some credit and try to circle the target with the coil and you will learn to pinpoint quickly and effectively. I now am more resistant to buying the newest gadgets that come out. I make sure I need them, and they work first, before someone gets my hard earned money. But a folding root saw is one investment that I really recommend. Sometimes I think there are as many roots as there are rocks. HH

 

[jmaryt]

i agree!.don't need one!..learn how to pinpint properly,and spend the money on a acc coil instead!

(h.h!)
j.t.