to forget about the earlier versions in the blue housings.
If you are shopping more for a newer model, then go with one of the black versions, and even then make it one of the last circuit board designs they settled on. That would be the 'CB' or Composite Board. I think you will find that labeling added on the information inside the battery door.
Here's a short version of the 6000 & 5900 models.:
All of them operated at 6.592 kHz, but in time for advertising that was shortened to 6.59 kHz and finally rounded off to 6.6 kHz.
The first was the 6000 D [size=small](for Discrimination circuitry)[/size], and that had manual GB and a basic needle meter display to show intensity.
Then the 6000 D Series 2 which had manual GB and a needle meter with a 0 to 100 numeric scale and showed Coin Depth.
The 6000 Di [size=small](Discrimination indicator display)[/size] had manual GB, a needle meter that showed Coin Depth and TID w/a 0 to 100 VDI reference.
Then in mid-April of 1985 they brought out the 6000 Di Pro. Similar features except it introduced their first Auto-Trac® GB model. With its release they made it the top of the 6000 series and the 6000 Di Series 3 was discontinued. Many avid hobbyists, including me, preferred the manual GB version because it worked better. Still a few glitches to iron out of that early automated model. Matter of fact, there was such a demand for the return of the 6000 Di Series 3 that White's answered the call, but did so by using a different numeric name ... they called it the 5900 Di Pro and it worked fine because, in essence, it was just a renamed 6000 Di Series 3.
There were a few other model variations, such as a 'Plus' with a change in the location of the display from the housing to the end of the hand-grip, adding a Hot Rock rejection and little things, but these were the main changes. Then in '87 they introduced their new top-of-the-line model, the Eagle. Then going into '88 the revised Eagle II which also brought us another change in search coils because the standard coil was the brand new 950. The 6000 Di Pro w/Auto-Trac and 5000 Di Pro w/manual GB also changed over to use the new 950 search coil, the start of the Blue Max series.
By '90 we had the shift away from the blue box design to the new black 'S' rod and black control housing with the stand-up hand-grip for the Eagle, 6000 Di Pro and 5900 Di Pro, and some other new enhancements were coming, such as a knob for 'Signal Balance' and the main circuitry improvements to the 6000 Di Pro. Finally they arrived at their last revision, the 'CB' circuitry, and in time they upgraded the 5900 Di Pro to use the same final 'CB' circuit board until it was finally discontinued.
jbow said:
Is there a resource that compares these machines? I tried to do a search here but only got one result and it wasn't much help.
Only to scroll through White's Owner's manuals or old catalogs, of which I had most of them and sold them to Sven to help enhance his catalog collection. That, or just be an avid White's fan through the years and try to keep up on them, and that's pretty much what I am and have tried to do ... in a general sort of way.
jbow said:
The only Whites I have ever had or used is the V3 but have become interested in trying a 5900 but if there are good ones and not as good ones I don't know how to find out and what about the 6000 DI?
Of all the 6000 and 5900 series models, I strongly advise you only consider the 5900 Di Pro SL [size=small](the last black housed version)[/size] with the 'CB' circuit board, IF you want to have a model with manual GB. It is a little heavier as those housings were larger than the V3's control housing and they are powered by a 4-C cell battery back.
There was a newer model that used the '6000' label in the name, and that was the completely new 6000 Pro XL. It came out about late '98 and then in a model name change about 2000 it was altered to simply XL Pro. Inside the battery door it still called it 6000 XL Pro, but on the side of the control housing and in general reference it's just the XL Pro. They couldn't fit the older circuitry into the smaller XLT housing, like that your V3 uses, so they started from scratch to try and duplicate the 6000 Di Pro's performance with the goal to make it fit in the 'SL' [size=small](Slim Line)[/size] housing and use the slide-in 8-AA battery tray.
A White's engineer on that project told me they only retained about 15 to 17 parts in the new model, and it had a little higher Target Volume and Sensitivity incorporated in it, and when I used a prototype I was instantly sold on the improvements over the earlier 6000/5900 Di Pro SL series. Lighter, better balanced, used the battery tray I also used in my other White's [size=small](XLT, Classic ID, Classic III SL and more)[/size] and that was the '6000' I decided I finally wanted. So if you really want one that is labeled with a '6000', get a 6000 Pro XL or the renamed XL Pro.
jbow said:
Forget it, that's the easiest answer.
jbow said:
I get the idea that the Blue/Grey is a good unit but is it just a 5900 in a different box?
Exactly correct, just a 5900 Di Pro, but was in the same box and everything, no circuitry changes, all they did was change the display face in the needle meter to show a rough range for 'relics.'
jbow said:
Are there DD coils for these machines or is the 950 concentric pretty much the best.
There is one DD coil that I don't suggest you get, and that is the 4X6 Blue Max Shooter coil. They did not work anywhere near as well as the same size shooter coil on the MXT family. The stock 950 is an OK coil for general searches on a beach or a wide-open grassy park. My personal favorite coils for the 5900 Di Pro SL or 6000 Pro XL and XL Pro, just like for my XLT, are the 6½" Concentric [size=small](the Blue Max 600 or 5.3 Black Max or 5.3 BullsEye)[/size] or an 8" coil, my favorite being the Royal 800 as it has the thicker, more durable cable.
These are all 4-filter type detectors and with the best use of the 'Signal Balance' control you can slow the required sweep speed to a much more moderate rate, but for hunting in trashier places you are best served with a slow-motion/quick-response 2-filter Classic ID or IDX Pro or the very versatile 3-filter MXT or M6 or newer MX5.
jbow said:
I have a friend who used to use an MXT with something like a 3x5 and did really well with it.
That's the 'Shooter' coil and it works 'OK' on those models. Even so, I still prefer the 6½" Concentric [size=small](the 5.3 Eclipse)[/size] on the MXT All-Pro or M6 or MX5 for most trashier site hunting.
jbow said:
Anyway, can you tell me anything about them?
Yep, I just did.
jbow said:
I should use the V3 more because if I don't use it much I forget how...
We all have to use our detectors more or we can easily forget little things. Do you have the V3 that morphed into the V3i or the simpler VX3? I prefer the VX3, but the Spectra series have their own set of little traits or quirks we have to adapt to, such as a brief hesitation after a sweep before you reverse the direction and sweep back across a target.
A lot of folks really like their Spectra V3i or the V3 and VX3, but I also know many who had them, tried them, didn't adapt to them, and went backwards in their detector arsenal to the good old XLT [size=small](that's what I did)[/size], or an XL Pro or even a 5900 DI Pro SL [size=small](I did that also, but still stick with the XLT)[/size].
I hope this helps, and pardon any typos as it took me a while to two-finger this response out and I'm too tired to proof read it. Heading out of town to go detecting.
Monte
