White's Main Detecting Forum

Hi folks Merry Christmas, I was wondering if the White's 6000 Di Pro SL is a good machine or is it outdated. Always wanted to try one & have a chance to buy one. I hunt for coins/jewelry in school grounds/tot lots/etc. never any beach hunting. Thanks! Steve.

EXcellent machine, and "NO" It is not out dated. Not even close to being out dated in fact.

Thanks for the reply : XLT-user, I meant to ask earlier how heavy is the 6000 Di Pro. I have been a Tesoro user for years (really like them) and wondered how the Di Pro will compare to them, I know that the older Tesoro's (12kHz) hit very well on smaller jewelry items & rings and have a very quick recovery time and can be swept slow. From my understanding a person has to swing the DiPro fairly fast to get any depth, and will the DiPro hit on small jewely/rings as good as a older Tesoro. Thanks! Steve.

P.S. Not trying to get anything going between White's & Tesoro's detectors, just that I have used Tesoro's for 25 years gotton used to them but want to learn different brands and like to learn form folks like yourself on the forums that have used different brands/models.

Performance wise same as the newer XL Pro. Same controls and functions. A little bit heavier with the bigger control box but one of the best detectors made even against the newer crop of detectors today.

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Minelab Sovereign GT

Yes, the 6000 Di pro is still a very popular machine. Yes it will be heavier than your Tesoro, but it is balanced sufficiently in the way they made the ergonomics. No it will not hit on low conductors as well as your 2 filter type Tesoros, but it will probably hit on silver/copper deeper than your Tesoros, and will probably tackle nastier ground minerals than your Tesoro. Yes it requires a faster swing, but will eventually learn that to your advantage, as there are tell-tale audio clues you can glean from momentarily giving a little "chop" swing over suspected targets.

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Monte, oh Monte, wherefore art thou? Too much Christmas cheer methinks. I'm surprised that you are not all over this! Just kiddin. Skiwhiz,check with MonteVB@comcast.net and he can tell you all you want to know about this machine. It still is an outstanding metal detector and one of my favorites. Steve

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downeaster
Monte, oh Monte, wherefore art thou? Too much Christmas cheer methinks. I'm surprised that you are not all over this! Just kiddin. Skiwhiz,check with MonteVB@comcast.net and he can tell you all you want to know about this machine. It still is an outstanding metal detector and one of my favorites. Steve

I emailed Monte awhile ago & haven't heard back from him but he probably got into too much of that spiked eggnog, lol. I decided against trading my Tesoro for the White's, no offense to the White's just have got so used to using Tesoro's, it would take the fun out of detecting for me if I had to swing a detector very fast like I hear that you have to do with the Di Pro to get the deeper targets. I am not a TID kind of guy but the older analog metered machines are pretty neat. Thanks! Steve.

We've had a heavy dose or 'winter' the past 10 days or so and have had some power issues from time to time. Been away from the computer a lot as well. I hope your Christmas and holiday season are going well.

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SkiWhiz
Hi folks Merry Christmas, I was wondering if the White's 6000 Di Pro SL is a good machine or is it outdated. Always wanted to try one & have a chance to buy one. I hunt for coins/jewelry in school grounds/tot lots/etc. never any beach hunting.

Yes, the 6000 Di Pro SL is a good detector.

No, it is not necessarily "outdated' as such, but for many it is still considered one of the older top performers that just got to be too heavy.

Not all 6000 Di Pro's are the same as they went through a number of changes from the first blue-box release in mid-April, 1985, to the Di Pro Plus version, and finally to the "SL" configuration. Even then the electronics had some subtle revisions until they reached the final circuit design termed 'CB' .... Composite Board.

White's 6000 Di Series 3 and renamed 5900 Di Pro were better, back then, than the 6000 Di Pro because there were some issues with the initial auto-tracking circuitry and I found the manual GB'ed models to work much better. Still, one thing they all had was that excellent analog display that, to this day, I prefer over the XLT/DFX models display.

As they advanced and worked the bugs out of everything, they did progress to the 'S" version which was a superior physical packaging and provided better balance and control. Also, with the addition of the Signal Balance control, the operator had greater adjustment of the detector's performance and, by advancing the setting to the highest level w/o instability (on the edge), you could sweep reasonably slow and comfortable. This is especially true when you opt for a smaller coil, such as a 6˝" version.

When White's got to the XB and CB versions of the circuitry, they definitely had a superior product and many avid users today still rely on their 5900 Di Pro SL or 6000 Di pro SL models.

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SkiWhiz
I emailed Monte awhile ago & haven't heard back from him but he probably got into too much of that spiked eggnog, lol. I decided against trading my Tesoro for the White's, no offense to the White's just have got so used to using Tesoro's, it would take the fun out of detecting for me if I had to swing a detector very fast like I hear that you have to do with the Di Pro to get the deeper targets. I am not a TID kind of guy but the older analog metered machines are pretty neat. Thanks! Steve.

Sorry I didn't get to a lot of E-mail that I have received of recent. Eggnog I like, But since I don't drink (never have been a drinker or smoker), I can't blame my tardy responses on anything other than just being gone or being too busy.

I understand what you're saying about using the Tesoro models for so long and such, but let me assure you of a few things. One , I too often see people sweep their Tesoro's or other slow-motion based detectors, too quickly. So much so that they can actually have a negative impact on performance. Also, the 6000 Di Pro SL, and especially the mode that replaced it, are quite capable of a comfortable sweep speed. No, not as slow as a Tesoro or White's Classic, but slow enough that you wouldn't (shouldn't) be bothered.

Also, if you owned a good upper-end White's with excellent TID and he ability to be worked faster, if desired, and handle "bad ground" better, it would be a compliment to have with a Tesoro model. Naturally, I am always going to suggest a devoted hobbyists own at least two detectors that will compliment each other.

I like the 5900/6000 Di Pro SL's, but due to age and health (or lack thereof) I find the weight of these older units to take a toll on my bum right shoulder. What I can tolerate, and strongly suggest you keep an eye out for, is a 6000 Pro XL or it's renamed latter model, the XL Pro. These are a bit different from the 6000 Di Pro SL.

Like the DFX, XLT, MXT and the 5900 & 6000 Di Pro SL models they have the same 'S' rod & hand-grip system.

However, the 6000 Di Pro SL was dropped from production and the fan base cried out for this model but in a smaller and lighter housing. One like that used for the XLT and Classic SL series. White's engineering staff worked on a new model that only retained about 15 to 17 parts from the 6000 Di Pro SL. mainly the excellent analog display. They worked at designing a detector that would 'fit' in the smaller slim-line housing and use the 8-AA drop-in battery system. This would make it lighter and nicer balanced. The result was the 6000 Pro XL that had slightly more sensitivity than the former top-end analog unit.

About seven or eight years or so back they renamed some models to 'create' different 'series' and the Classic IDX, Quantum XT and 6000 Pro XL were all renamed to create the 'Pro' series, thus the name change to simply the XL Pro. If I could only have two metal detector for the rest of my life, while a tough choice it would be, and if I had to make one of them a Tesoro, I'd have a 6000 Pro XL or XL Pro and compliment it with something like a Bandido or Bandido II µMAX.

Don't give up on the idea of checking out a top-quality analog White's TID. Just get out and find enough good stuff that you can buy one and add it to your arsenal to compliment whatever Tesoro you're using.

Monte



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/28/2008 12:07PM by Monte.

Steve, I have been using the 6000 PRO XL for a long time now, and I can say just like Monte has said try to find an Pro XL, you really need to learn the tone and Meter reading on this machine for deep targets, I have dug Chinese coins and Wheaties's @ 8"+