Whites Electronics, founded in 1950 and producers of some of the worlds best metal detectors has ceased all production at its Sweet Home facility in the USA.
To our valued White’s Dealers- This is a very difficult message to write, but the time has come for retirement from White’s Electronics. We are suspending manufacturing operations at our Sweet Home facility while we re-evaluate the future of the company. It is never easy to make these decisions, however, we are faced with the reality of intense competition in the industry and ongoing counterfeit instruments coming from China. Lastly, there have been critical material shortages since the Covid 19 shutdown that we now find insurmountable. All of us here in Sweet Home are grateful for your service. We consider each of you as part of the White’s extended family. Sincerely. Ken White.
Business title=White's XLT Metal Detector Review style=width:100%;text-align:center; onerror=this.onerror=null;this.src='https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTCZpNNzMbVt8fayIj1b14lMIXvJsbsOvKHmd8TRxIQzqQBVP03ksYKYqUhJyFSiJkNMP0&usqp=CAU'; />
They say “suspending” manufacturing however it is clear from the content of the email that this is very likely the end of the road for White’s.
Romacci Gt6100 Portable Easy Installation Underground Metal Detector High Sensitivity Jewelry Treasure Gold Metal Detecting Tool Finder With All Metal And Disc Operation Modes For Adults And Kids
This is further confirmed by a post over on Regton’s Facebook page which states that White’s UK is working with White’s USA to secure machines and parts so they can continue to supply and service their machines in the future.
If that is indeed the case then it is good news for any existing White’s owners here in the UK however, as all manufacturing has ceased in the USA it is clear that there is going to be a finite number of machines and parts to be had. What happens when supplies run out? Will White’s UK be able to carry on as a going concern? Time will tell.
The writing has been on the wall for a long time. White’s mentions that Chinese counterfeits are one of the reasons for their predicament but surely it is more to do with a lack of innovation on their part over the past 10 years? The machines were looking increasingly old and overpriced and were outclassed in terms of performance.
Whites Electronics Spectra V3i Metal Detector
The real competition was not from counterfeits but from their contemporaries. Nokta Makro, Quest and Minelab had all moved forward and have been producing super high-quality machines with modern features, excellent performance and at prices that White’s just could not match. If you don’t innovate in this business you die. Simple as that. Even Garrett have realised this and released the superbly specced and very modern Ace Apex.
The Chinese have certainly been producing copies…not counterfeits as they now use their own brand names so people know what they are buying, however, most detectorists simply would not purchase these machines so does it really affect the bottom line that much? Also isn’t there a ban on these machines entering the USA?
If any company is affected by Chinese copies it would be Fisher and Teknetics. Their machines are probably the most copied of all time. Will we be seeing them also throw in the towel any time soon?
Minelab Manticore Metal Detector
The pandemic that has swept the world over the past months has certainly hit many companies hard. And as most of the world’s electronics are produced in Chinese facilities and many of these were closed down for two months or more it is easy to see the effects this has had on the supply chain. However, White’s machines are manufactured in the USA. Or should that be “Assembled In The USA”?
If the electronics were produced in the USA then Covid-19 would have had minimum impact on White’s. After all, the USA was not in lockdown for many months and even when it did finally catch up the lockdown was patchy and often very different depending on where you were located. The USA was White’s biggest market. People were still detecting there. Unlike in Europe where detectorists had problems leaving their homes let alone going detecting.
It is very sad to see such an iconic name in the metal detecting industry having to shut its doors. My first detector back in the late 70
Commercial Walk Through Metal Detector
S’ was a White’s. It was my introduction to this fantastic hobby and I have very fond memories of it. But, time moves on and companies need to move with it.
White’s, much like Fisher, has pretty much stood still over the last few years. Others have forged ahead and been successful, even in the midst of a worldwide pandemic and the resultant recession we are all experiencing right now.
There are still many thousands of White’s machines out there, being used every day by detectorists across the world. I am sure this will be the case for years to come and who knows? perhaps someone will turn up with a plan and the funding to enable the brand to continue into the future, all be it on a smaller scale and hopefully with a more competitive product. I for one certainly hope so.
Whites Dfx Spectrum E Series Metal Detector C014 For Sale Online
Since this article first appeared it was announced that Garrett Metal Detectors has now taken over support for Whites machines and customers.During my third metal detecting season, I upgraded to the next level of metal detecting technology represented by a White's Spectrum XLT.
I successfully used this machine for seven years. Some of my best finds, my first coin cache (see my story - Discovery of a Coin Cache in Upstate New York) and a Bronze Statue Psyche by Moreau, ca. 1882, were found with the White's XLT.
Later on, after I switched to Minelab detectors, I often felt nostalgic for the XLT's durability, versatility, light weight, awesome pin-pointing ability, excellent Tone ID and effective performance - key characteristics of an advanced metal detector of the 1990s.
Garrett Metal Detectors Hand Held Evidence Metal Detector, Ground 1140750
The Spectrum XLT was my first 'tonal' metal detector. While operating the XLT in a 'Tone-ID' mode, I did not have to look at the screen to check target VDI (Visual Display Indication or Visual Discriminate Indication) numbers because I could determine the target's metal content and target's shape by the signal's tone pitch and sound characteristic respectfully. I only looked at the display screen when I needed to see the target's depth reading. Basically the XLT trained me to listen to its audio responses and taught me how to read the target sounds.
When I used a Modulation mode, I did not need to look at the depth indicator because I could determine the target's depth by the signal's amplitude. So the XLT's excellent audio was giving me enough target ID information for making my decision - whether or not to dig up the target. But most of the time I was metal detecting at the sites that did not contain any modern junk, so I dug up every non-ferrous target with a signal sounding above the iron nail, and did not use the Modulation to make all deep targets sound loud.
The Spectrum XLT can be considered a suitable machine for those detectorists who like experimenting with different combinations of settings - a wide range of them! The XLT's flexibility in adjusting to any soil conditions definitely made this detector a multi-purpose land machine! If it only was equipped with a Double-D search coil back then!
White's M6 Metal Detector
By the time I started using the XLT, I had already had my own Test Garden growing - all targets that I seeded some time earlier had developed Halo Effects around them. I used my test garden for experimenting with different program settings and developed a few optimal programs for various search conditions. For metal detecting Coin and Jewelry with the White's XLT, I created a basal program (see My Search Program Settings for White's XLT E-Series).
I had a chance to test my White's XLT detector on the toughest red soils - soils saturated with iron oxides, in South America, and the XLT successfully passed all tests.
This machine allowed me to make a variety of remarkable finds during Coin Shooting and Relic Hunting outings in the Andes mountains in Chile, and during Beach Hunting for jewelry and coins on both wet and dry sands of the Pacific Ocean beaches.
In Line Metal Detector For Pneumatic Systems
One of the XLT's wonderful traits was a noticeable increase in Operating Depth Range - detector's sensitivity to deep targets, when the sweep speed (speed of a search coil's motion) was increased. With fast coil-swinging, not only I could improve audio responses to deep coins during examination of 'questionable' signals, but also cover a relatively vast area in one detecting session. While cache hunting in Upstate New York, I could easily explore or get familiar with one colonial homestead site in one day.
Spectrum XLT and XLT E-Series detectors have been suitable for Meteorite Hunting because of their features such as a S.A.T. (Self-Adjusted Threshold) control and the displayed V.D.I. numbers (Conductivity values of targets). And also, the XLT has been an ideal detector for competition hunts because of its light weight and excellent pinpointing.
Of course, like any metal detector, the White's XLT has some drawbacks. The most inconvenient of them may be the XLT's weakness against moisture. Every time it was raining, I had to cover both the control box and display with zip-lock plastic bags, otherwise the detector would malfunction or stop working completely until its control
0 comments
Post a Comment