Whites TDI SL User manual

TDI

White’s Electronics, Inc.

Sweet Home, Oregon USA

Building the World’s Finest

metal detectors for over 60 years.

Page 2

TDI SL

Owner’s Manual

CONTENTS

Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Batteries and Charger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

QuickStart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Principles of Pulse Induction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Controls

Threshold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Power/gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Pulse Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Target Conductivity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Ground Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

TDI In Depth

Ground Balancing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Pulse Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Dual-field coil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Dealing with Noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Code of Ethics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Back Cover

Page 3

TDI SL

Owner’s Manual

Assembly

1. Remove all parts from the shipping carton and check assem-

bly diagram to ensure all parts are present.

2. Install black rubber washers on fiber clevis/lower rod, insert

clevis lower rod onto loop ears. Use only nonmetallic wash-

ers, fiber bolt, and fiber thumb nut to secure loop/search coil

to clevis/lower fiber rod.

3. Unlock “S” rod cam-lock and insert clevis/lower rod into

curved “S” rod so that stainless steel spring clip buttons line

up and lock into one of the adjustment holes in the curved

“S” rod. Turn cam-lock to secure. The second or third

adjustment holes are suitable for average sized adults.

4. Wind the loop cable around the rod assembly, first revolu-

tion over the top of the rod, all the way to the top of the

curved “S” rod, about five revolutions. Use the black cable

retainers, one near the loop, and one near the top of the

curved “S” rod, to hold the loop cable in place. Plug the

cable into the jack on the front of the control box.

5. Grip the instrument by the handle, with your arm in the

elbow cup with strap and sweep the loop/search coil over

Search coil

Lower rod

Arm cup

Battery door

Clevis

Rubber

washers (2),

fiber bolt

Cam lock

Page 4

TDI SL

Owner’s Manual

the floor. If the instrument fit feels uncomfortable, readjust

clevis/lower rod length with spring clip button and cam-

lock so that search coil can be held near the floor without

stooping over.

6. Remove the protective paper from the two black arm cup

foam pads. Carefully align pads on the inside of the elbow

cup, one on each side of the center rod, and press firmly into

place.

7. Adjust the elbow cup strap so that it is loose enough for you

to slide your arm in and out without loosening each time

you want to set the detector down. The elbow cup strap pro-

vides extra leverage and control. However, some prefer not

to use it.

8. Install the battery pack; see the next section for information

on batteries and charging.

Page 5

TDI SL

Owner’s Manual

Batteries and Charger

The TDI-SL includes a rechargeable NiMH battery pack as

the primary power source, and a standard alkaline battery pack

as a backup. Fully charged, they supply a nominal 12 volts (the

NiMH may be slightly less) and will power the TDI-SL for

about 4-5 hours. The TDI will operate until the batteries drop to

about 8.5 volts, at which point the low battery LED will turn on.

A drop-in charging cradle (Part Number 509-0036) is used

for recharging the NiMH battery. With the wall transformer

connected to the cradle and plugged into a wall socket, simply

drop the NiMH pack into the cradle. An LED indicates the sta-

tus of the charge cycle; when the LED turns off, the charge

cycle is complete and the charger will automatically switch to a

trickle mode. A typical recharge time of a depleted NiMH pack

is 1-2 hours. It is normal for NiMH batteries in storage to

slowly lose their charge over time; be sure to top off them off

before going out.

The alkaline pack is designed so that it cannot be used with

the charger, and trying to recharge alkaline batteries can cause

them to burst and leak. Individual NiMH batteries can be used

in the alkaline tray; it is recommended that the batteries be

removed and charged using the manufacturer’s charging sys-

tem.

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TDI SL

Owner’s Manual

QuickStart

1. Set the Conductivity switch to ALL.

2. Set the Frequency offset to the midpoint.

3. Set the Ground Balance to ~8.

4. Turn on the power and adjust the Gain to “2.”

5. Adjust the Threshold to achieve a faint background hum.

6. With the coil on the ground (no motion) increase the Gain

until the audio begins to chatter. Back off slightly for a rea-

sonably smooth threshold.

7. Optional: adjust the Frequency offset to minimize the

amount of chatter.

8. Using a spot free of targets, bob the coil up & down and

adjust the Ground Balance control to minimize the audio

response.

9. For most nugget hunting, set the Conductivity switch to

LOW.

Page 7

TDI SL

Owner’s Manual

Principles of Pulse Induction

Pulse induction (PI) detectors are very different from tradi-

tional induction-balance (VLF) designs. Instead of transmitting

a continuous-wave magnetic field, the PI detector periodically

transmits brief impulses of magnetic energy. The PI receiver

then looks at the impulse decay for target (and ground) informa-

tion.

The use of high-powered impulses results in better ground

penetration than VLF, especially in highly mineralized soil.

This makes the PI detector the best choice for certain kinds of

hunting in bad ground where many VLFs simply won’t work.

There is no traditional discriminator in PI detectors,

although there is some ability to discern certain types of metals.

The decay response varies with target conductivity (plus other

characteristics) so that low conductive targets have a fast decay

and high conductive targets have a slow decay:

The Pulse Delay control, which determines the point where

the decay is sampled, can be used to eliminate low conductive

targets such as thin foil. Further increasing the delay can knock

Exponential decay

Pulse Rate

No target

High-conductive

target, long decay

Low-conductive

target, fast decay

Raw Response

Page 8

TDI SL

Owner’s Manual

out other minor trash targets at the expense of eliminating

potentially good targets such as jewelry, but this method is very

limited in the range of trash targets that are rejected.

Furthermore, the ground balancing method used by TDI has

a side affect with target responses. Target conductivities below

the ground balance point produce a positive response for which

TDI assigns a high tone. These targets are generally low con-

ductive such as small nuggets, jewelry, and small iron. Target

conductivities above the ground balance point produce a nega-

tive response for which TDI assigns a low tone. These targets

are generally high conductive such as silver coins, relics, and

large iron.

The Target Conductivity switch can be used to eliminate either

class of targets, or to accept them all. Care should be used with

this feature as it is not always obvious as to how a target might

respond. Testing with known targets is the best way to learn the

responses, both with delay settings and conductivity mode.

No target

Differential Response

High-conductive target

Low-conductive target

Ground balance point

Page 9

TDI SL

Owner’s Manual

Controls

Threshold

The Threshold control sets the level

at which the background audio tone is

heard. In most cases, faint target sig-

nals are easiest to hear when the thresh-

old is set to a low but clearly audible

level. A higher threshold level can

result in audio fatigue. Too low of a

threshold level means that a stronger

target signal is required to produce an audible change. Thresh-

old is best determined at a low gain setting where there is no

chatter.

The threshold can be set low enough to effect a “silent

search” audio. Some people prefer silent search to prevent

audio fatigue. If you choose to do this, increase the threshold to

the point where you can hear the threshold tone, then slowly

back off until it is barely inaudible. Reducing the threshold any

more than necessary requires stronger target signals to produce

an audio response. Other controls — including Gain, Ground

Balance, and Frequency offset — are best adjusted with an

audible threshold.

Power/Gain

The Gain control increases or

decreases the amplification of the

receive signal. Normally, this deter-

mines how deep the detector will “see”

a target.

However, increasing the gain not

only increases the amplification of tar-

get signals, but also that of ground signals and electromagnetic

interference (EMI) as well. A common mistake is to assume

Page 10

TDI SL

Owner’s Manual

that higher gain will always give better depth. In air tests this is

generally true, but ground results can depend on the amount and

type of mineralization.

With the coil on the ground, increase the gain until the

detector exhibits chatter, then back off slightly for a reasonably

steady threshold tone. Use the Frequency offset control to help

deal with EMI-related chatter, and proper ground balancing will

minimize chatter due to mineralization.

The Gain control is also used to turn the detector on and off.

Pulse Delay

TDI transmits a pulse and then,

after a short time delay, samples the

received signal. Pulse Delay allows this

time delay to be adjusted from 10s

(microseconds) to 25s.

In response to a transmitted

impulse, all targets exhibit a response

with an exponential decay. Regardless of conductivity, the

response is strongest at low sample delays and weaker at higher

delays. However, targets of low conductivity or that are thin

will decay faster than highly conductive or thick targets. See the

Principles of Pulse Induction section for more details.

Smaller gold nuggets fall in the former category, so nugget

hunters will want the Pulse Delay set as low as possible. Coin or

relic hunters may want to increase the delay to knock out thin

foil trash and still detect desirable targets. Most iron (especially

larger) responds with a long decay and is usually not very

responsive to the delay setting.

Conductive salts also respond with a fast decay and can be

detected at low delay settings. If beach hunting in wet salt sand,

you may need to turn the delay up to 15s to eliminate the salt

response. Dry salt is usually not a problem, so as you move out

of the wet sand into dry sand remember to turn the delay back

down to better detect small jewelry items.

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