Muddy Day after the rain - White's Eagle II SL - - -

[dahut]

It has been raining the last few days here in SC, pretty much home-bounding this old detectorist. There was little else to do but put up the Christmas tree and help Lori with the yard decorations... me in my raincoat and her "supervising." At least that is marginally better than shopping.
All I could do about detecting was wish.
So it was a relief to notice the clouds easing up and the rain coming to a stop late this afternoon. I reckoned I had about an hour before dark so I snagged the Eagle SL II and hot footed it to the school behind the house.

This is just a modern school, carved out of the woods within the last 10 years. I wasn't expecting to find anything of real note, and didn't really care if I did. It was just good to shake off the rain and get out in the peaceful quiet that follows two days of soaking rain. The sodden, muddy ground yielded the usual suspects to the 6" Blue Max coil, as you can see here:

[attachment 111752 DSCF0027.JPG]

The dice is a valve stem cover for car tires. It was just good, not-at-all-clean fun!

It did lead to a realization, though. I have been thinking about taking my detecting back to basics and considering which detectors to sell. There are several to choose from, hanging on the wall in the treasure room, and I like them all. But I believe the Eagle will be one of those to go.
There is nothing wrong with it; in fact, it is in great condition and works perfecty. But somethings gotta go to make room - so hard choices have to be made.
I'll be posting it on the main classifieds soon, but I know there are some real Eagle fans out there. If any of you wants to get on the preview list before it goes on the common block, just let me know.

 

[XLT-user]

With all kinds of tweaking at a touch.

 

[dahut]

I'll agree with you there. I get the sense that it is the foreunner of what would become the XLT. By some accounts, it's better. It is said that it has the right blend of tech with simplicity.

 

[Beale]

That is a nice quick hunt! Good work, Beale.

 

[XLT-user]

Layered settings, good depth, and very stable. A little wobble in the rods but so what. Found some of my best finds with that machine.

IN my opinion it's a good and deep as any Whites machine made. You just have to understand how to get in to the different settings.

 

[dahut]

Yeah, XLT, it is a good machine for it's time. Really, it was ahead of it's time.
I merely want to go to something with less weight and a different sort of balance. I have tendonitis in my elbow and shoulder and the less weight, the better.

It has three main modes, as you know: a Coin-Jewelry (CJ), Beach (bh) and Prospectin/Relic (PP). Also there is a Competition mode and two user adjustable "custom" modes. I tend to use it in the C-J and bh modes for almost everything. Occasionally I will switch to PP with DISC for relic or woods searching. All in all it was - IS - a great unit.

For someone with just a little bit of brawn and the urge to get something able to challenge the modern gear, it is the ticket.