daveinoregon
New member
Just got in my whites mx5 and put it through its paces both on and off the field. Here is what I've found:
Depth- In my highly mineralized soil the deepest coins I found where at a measured 7"...both copper pennies with a very strong repeatable signal and good VDI. At that depth it ID'd better than my at pro and about the same as my F75 ltd. In air tests it outperformed my at pro and was beat out by my f75.
Coils- I tried out the stock coil and the D2 and surprisingly I could get better depth with the stock coil in air test. My figures where comparitve to Bills earlier tests. Both coils pinpoint well in their own way. The stock coil performed surprisingly well in the field...I think this is because of whites great autotrack which helped it cope with mineralization and ground changes although it did suffer in some trashier sites where the D2 excelled. The only negative thing I can say about the D2 ( I love DD coils) is that it is very nose heavy on this detector and you wont want to swing it very long....In comparison you could swing the stock coil all day long effortlessly.
Recovery speed- This is a very fast machine. It is faster than my at pro and very comparitve to my f75ltd. Which allowed me to swing without fear in some trashier sites without a smaller coil available.
ID in nickel range- In 8 tone I did notice a wavering sometimes between 2 tones on nickel range targets but still with a consistent VDI. In 2 tone or single the tone is strong and unbroken. This has been brought up by others so I thought I would adresss it.
Interaction with pinpointers- I brought my profind on the hunt and it makes this detector go bonkers. Luckily it just takes a second to put the detector in "suspend" mode and you can pinpoint without the machine howling In your ears. I also used my sunray probe and even with the detector on max sens and a healthy threshold it performed without any distortion or problems.
Display- Easy to read and very intuitive with easy to reach buttons and a uncomplicated menu system. I enjoyed the backlite function in the early morning part of our hunt.
Ground Balance- I have always been a fan of units with autoground tracking and whites does a very good job with theirs. As fast as ground conditions change you will be missing targets unless you constantly GB or groundgrab with other detectors which is a pain to do and all the time and also makes you look at fluctuations on the screen of your detector when you should be just having fun looking for stuff. (out of balance means depth loss and potentially lost targets)
Sensitivity- I found a small gold locket at 2" with a broken chain with good ID as well as a couple of other smaller junk jewelry items which surprised me. I wasn't digging every miniscule signal from the ground like with my f75...but who really wants to..LOL.
Flaws- As others have mention...if you use 8 tone you will get a wavering signal on nickels. The place you screw in the coil cable is awkward (but how often do you do that anyways?) and the headphone jack really should be on the other side. Also their is a lack of environmental covers on the market at this time ( I bagged it for the rain). Detector does not have a stand to keep it off of the soil. After market pvc ones are available which are "OK" but would like to see whites come out with some addons for this detector. Also some units have had a issue with tone changes during pinpoint...mine did not.
Conclusion- I like it. I especially like the 2 tone ID..it fits the way I hunt. Iron gives a low tone and everything else is a high tone. I also like that when I do notch items it doesn't suffer a depth loss like other detectors Ive used. Towards the end of a hunt I like to cherry pick for silver. I wish it was waterproof like the at pro...BUT..it has some very nice features to make up for that. I also like that it retains my settings and I can just turn on and go...I have never liked units with lengthy start up procedures and constant tweaking of menu options needed for individual sites.
I know others have sold theirs already but I'm going to keep mine. I might lose an inch or two of depth in comparison to my F75 ltd but I wont be battling emi constantly like I do with that machine. Its a very fun to use detector with some horsepower and nice features....definitely not entry level class even though it looks similar to the coinmaster...its vastly superior.
This is just my personal opinion and others wont agree which is fine. Hopefully this will help someone thinking about a purchase with a little more information.
thx,
Dave
Depth- In my highly mineralized soil the deepest coins I found where at a measured 7"...both copper pennies with a very strong repeatable signal and good VDI. At that depth it ID'd better than my at pro and about the same as my F75 ltd. In air tests it outperformed my at pro and was beat out by my f75.
Coils- I tried out the stock coil and the D2 and surprisingly I could get better depth with the stock coil in air test. My figures where comparitve to Bills earlier tests. Both coils pinpoint well in their own way. The stock coil performed surprisingly well in the field...I think this is because of whites great autotrack which helped it cope with mineralization and ground changes although it did suffer in some trashier sites where the D2 excelled. The only negative thing I can say about the D2 ( I love DD coils) is that it is very nose heavy on this detector and you wont want to swing it very long....In comparison you could swing the stock coil all day long effortlessly.
Recovery speed- This is a very fast machine. It is faster than my at pro and very comparitve to my f75ltd. Which allowed me to swing without fear in some trashier sites without a smaller coil available.
ID in nickel range- In 8 tone I did notice a wavering sometimes between 2 tones on nickel range targets but still with a consistent VDI. In 2 tone or single the tone is strong and unbroken. This has been brought up by others so I thought I would adresss it.
Interaction with pinpointers- I brought my profind on the hunt and it makes this detector go bonkers. Luckily it just takes a second to put the detector in "suspend" mode and you can pinpoint without the machine howling In your ears. I also used my sunray probe and even with the detector on max sens and a healthy threshold it performed without any distortion or problems.
Display- Easy to read and very intuitive with easy to reach buttons and a uncomplicated menu system. I enjoyed the backlite function in the early morning part of our hunt.
Ground Balance- I have always been a fan of units with autoground tracking and whites does a very good job with theirs. As fast as ground conditions change you will be missing targets unless you constantly GB or groundgrab with other detectors which is a pain to do and all the time and also makes you look at fluctuations on the screen of your detector when you should be just having fun looking for stuff. (out of balance means depth loss and potentially lost targets)
Sensitivity- I found a small gold locket at 2" with a broken chain with good ID as well as a couple of other smaller junk jewelry items which surprised me. I wasn't digging every miniscule signal from the ground like with my f75...but who really wants to..LOL.
Flaws- As others have mention...if you use 8 tone you will get a wavering signal on nickels. The place you screw in the coil cable is awkward (but how often do you do that anyways?) and the headphone jack really should be on the other side. Also their is a lack of environmental covers on the market at this time ( I bagged it for the rain). Detector does not have a stand to keep it off of the soil. After market pvc ones are available which are "OK" but would like to see whites come out with some addons for this detector. Also some units have had a issue with tone changes during pinpoint...mine did not.
Conclusion- I like it. I especially like the 2 tone ID..it fits the way I hunt. Iron gives a low tone and everything else is a high tone. I also like that when I do notch items it doesn't suffer a depth loss like other detectors Ive used. Towards the end of a hunt I like to cherry pick for silver. I wish it was waterproof like the at pro...BUT..it has some very nice features to make up for that. I also like that it retains my settings and I can just turn on and go...I have never liked units with lengthy start up procedures and constant tweaking of menu options needed for individual sites.
I know others have sold theirs already but I'm going to keep mine. I might lose an inch or two of depth in comparison to my F75 ltd but I wont be battling emi constantly like I do with that machine. Its a very fun to use detector with some horsepower and nice features....definitely not entry level class even though it looks similar to the coinmaster...its vastly superior.
This is just my personal opinion and others wont agree which is fine. Hopefully this will help someone thinking about a purchase with a little more information.
thx,
Dave