White's 5900 Di/Pro SL

[SkiWhiz]

I finally bought a 5900 Di/Pro SL, been wanting to try a analog White's detector for quite awhile. I know it is going to be a different beast than what I am used to (heavy,requires a faster swing), but should be interesting to try. Should have it for this weekend, hope it stays nice weather up here (so far so good,knock on wood). I am trying to locate a small coil for the 5900 but no luck yet. I hear these detectors do very well considering their age. Thanks! Steve.

 

[Hombre]

That's Great Steve,

The 5900 Di Pro SL is a kick butt detector when set up right. I found a 10Kt gold class ring from 1936 with mine last time I was out with it. I use a fiber "tall man" rod on mine instead of the 'S' rod and lower rod on my 5900 (CB) and this makes it a 'straight' rod setup which balances the detector better. That and a 6

 

[Monte]

I finally bought a 5900 Di/Pro SL, been wanting to try a analog White's detector for quite awhile.

If you've owned or used a White's Classic series model, they were analog. All those turn-on-and-go Tesoro's, or the manual GB models, that you have used were also analog design.

Yes, the 5900/6000 Di Pro SL and newer 6000 Pro XL/XL Pro models have the needle-type display meter, but don't think that is what makes them "analog." Analog detectors is a reference to the circuitry design and they work quite differently from many (most?) of the newer, all or mostly 'digital' designs.

I know it is going to be a different beast than what I am used to (heavy,requires a faster swing), but should be interesting to try.

The 5900 Di Pro SL is a little heavier. It might require a faster sweep speed, too. It kind of depends on how vintage your 5900 Di Pro SL is. The last couple of versions (my favorite being the final one with the CB board) can let you hunt much slower than you think. The earlier 6DB and 6000 Series 1, Series 2 and Series 3, and even the first 6000 Di Pro SL models, did call for a faster-sweep requirement that we associate with their 4-filter design.

The nice thing is that those models handle highly mineralized ground well and can be swept at a moderate-to-fast sweep and still work, whereas the dedicated slower-sweep, quick-response 2-filter models (aka White's Classics and Tesoro's and other) can not be worked at a brisk pace in bad ground.

The stock 950 is an OK coil for open areas, such as large grassy parks or a beach, but I am not a big fan of them. I prefer a thin-profile 8" coil, such as the Royal 800, for general open-area searches. My favorite general-use coil (as if you couldn't guess) is the 6

 

[SkiWhiz]

Thanks for all the info Randy & Monte. Hope all is well with you Monte. Thanks for explaining analog to me Monte, all these years I figured that an analog detector was one with a "needle" meter such as the 5900, Toltec II,etc. Never too old to learn something new. The mail lady just passed by and she didn't honk her horn so looks like no 5900 today, maybe tomorrow. Will report back after I get it and get a chance to use it. Thanks again & you take care of yourself Monte. Steve.

 

[SkiWhiz]

Thanks for all the info Randy & Monte. Hope all is well with you Monte. Thanks for explaining analog to me Monte, all these years I figured that an analog detector was one with a "needle" meter such as the 5900, Toltec II,etc. Never too old to learn something new. The mail lady just passed by and she didn't honk her horn so looks like no 5900 today, maybe tomorrow. Will report back after I get it and get a chance to use it. Thanks again & you take care of yourself Monte. Steve.

P.S. I lied I lied, but in a good way, that wasn't the mail lady that I heard drive by. Just after posting this I heard a honk honk & sure enough my 5900 is here. And it is a beauty, doesn't look as if it has ever seen the outdoors. I pm Randy, he said he is going to help me over the phone setting up the beast. I am really surprised how well balanced it is with the 950 coil.