Whites repair ?

Forum group discussion of the Whites metal detectors.
Koala
Posts: 7886
Joined: Thu Sep 12, 2013 2:47 pm
Location: Cheshire
Has thanked: 1287 times
Been thanked: 3820 times

Post by Koala »

ebbers wrote: Sat Dec 14, 2024 8:45 pm It just decided to no longer turn on.
Cleaned all the terminal points, and tried 3 different battery packs, but no luck.
Few years ago now, & I replaced it with a Equinox 800 which I'm more than happy with, so I'm not desperate to repair it.
It'd just be good to have a backup though, as I've had a couple of occasions when a friend has joined me & it'd have been nice for them to have a machine, rather than just stand watching me.
Most of the intelligent bits are done within firmware and there's not a lot I can do about that

The PI that started this thread I am very confident with, even if with the water damage, I have built the surf and barracuda PI from scratch

I am less confident with yours, if you are around Cheshire you can drop it off for me to have a look at free of charge,

Just about everything is tweakable, so with some playing around it should still hold its own with more modern detectors
ebbers
Posts: 406
Joined: Sat Jul 25, 2020 9:01 pm
Has thanked: 1477 times
Been thanked: 402 times

Post by ebbers »

Koala wrote: Sun Dec 15, 2024 12:32 am Most of the intelligent bits are done within firmware and there's not a lot I can do about that

The PI that started this thread I am very confident with, even if with the water damage, I have built the surf and barracuda PI from scratch

I am less confident with yours, if you are around Cheshire you can drop it off for me to have a look at free of charge,

Just about everything is tweakable, so with some playing around it should still hold its own with more modern detectors
That's very kind of you to offer Koala.
I must admit, my original post was made slightly in jest to the fact that you were suddenly going to get inundated with White's owners wanting their faulty machines looked at.
(Mine packed up about a week after the service centre in Inverness closed!)
I'm in Yorkshire, so not a million miles away, and may take you up on your offer if I'm passing that way, but I'm not desperate so won't make a special journey.
Thanks again for your offer though [81/]
Equinox 800
komet
Posts: 148
Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2012 5:26 pm
Location: cornwall
Been thanked: 25 times

Post by komet »

Thanks for your offer koala.
Have sent you a pm.
Koala
Posts: 7886
Joined: Thu Sep 12, 2013 2:47 pm
Location: Cheshire
Has thanked: 1287 times
Been thanked: 3820 times

Post by Koala »

Had to clear some jobs off my bench first

But taken the PCB out and had I quick look

Looks very repairable

There's very little corrosion or arcing all fairly minor

The board is the same as I posted earlier,

Mostly working, battery test works, plus and minus 5 volts present and correct, headphones fine, coil fine

The two main transistors measure fine in circuit, resisting lifting them out at the moment as the holes are very small in the PCB

Put a oscilloscope on the output tomorrow if I get chance

That about as far as I got before getting side tracked with visitors
komet
Posts: 148
Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2012 5:26 pm
Location: cornwall
Been thanked: 25 times

Post by komet »

Great news thank you. Merry Christmas.
Koala
Posts: 7886
Joined: Thu Sep 12, 2013 2:47 pm
Location: Cheshire
Has thanked: 1287 times
Been thanked: 3820 times

Post by Koala »

Finally everyone left me alone and I cleared some space on the bench

Some good news it's back working again and with good depth

Just doesn't seem 100% reliable at the moment

Could be just because it near electricity and a metal bench

I got some temporary work that needs soldering properly, I will resolder the board and take it for a test drive outside but fingers crossed it looks okay
komet
Posts: 148
Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2012 5:26 pm
Location: cornwall
Been thanked: 25 times

Post by komet »

That's great news. Much appreciated. Please pm when you're happy it's sorted.
Komet
komet
Posts: 148
Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2012 5:26 pm
Location: cornwall
Been thanked: 25 times

Post by komet »

Any news on my surfmaster pi?
Koala
Posts: 7886
Joined: Thu Sep 12, 2013 2:47 pm
Location: Cheshire
Has thanked: 1287 times
Been thanked: 3820 times

Post by Koala »

Sorry

It been awhile

It was all ready to post back

Switched it on and there was just a content beep ahhh

Anyhow, stripped the varnish off the PCB and resoldered everything again and it's working again
Screenshot_20250131-123546.png
It was working well last night and this morning
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
komet
Posts: 148
Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2012 5:26 pm
Location: cornwall
Been thanked: 25 times

Post by komet »

Glad you're back! Thank you for your help and taking the time to get it working again.
Komet
swansea jack
Posts: 1238
Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2021 11:18 pm
Location: swansea
Has thanked: 5419 times
Been thanked: 1051 times

Post by swansea jack »

Great job, Koala [81/] [81/]
I've joined the Equinox challenge
Koala
Posts: 7886
Joined: Thu Sep 12, 2013 2:47 pm
Location: Cheshire
Has thanked: 1287 times
Been thanked: 3820 times

Post by Koala »

Fired it up everyday it's running great, always a worry when I seen an intermittent fault

I am confident as I can be it's 100%

Done a little testing

It's inside near a metal table and electric wires

Nowhere near is max, these are easy dig signals with the gain 50%
Screenshot_20250208-123957.png
H horizontal V vertical in inches

Silver gilt earing
H6 V6

Two shilling copper nickel
H12 V9

Pewter brooch
H9 V9

Small silver buckle ring
H10 V8

Mans stainless steel
H13 V8

Large silver ladies
H13 V7.5


18 gold ladies
H10 V8

Silver pieced with abalone shell
Around 3" in any orientation

Post it back Monday for you
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Koala
Posts: 7886
Joined: Thu Sep 12, 2013 2:47 pm
Location: Cheshire
Has thanked: 1287 times
Been thanked: 3820 times

Post by Koala »

Coil and headphones data
Screenshot_20250208-132148.png
Screenshot_20250208-132219.png
Headphones are piezoelectric so measure open circuit on resistance

If anyone wants any measurements from the bottom of the board with a scope let me know while I still have the scope out

Kind of a middle of the road board to work on, when heated it does not fall apart, but the hole are fairly small, annoyingly the components are upright, meaning you can't blast the board with a multi meter like I normally do

components are glued or varnished to the board,



Also
Screenshot_20250208-133400.png
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
komet
Posts: 148
Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2012 5:26 pm
Location: cornwall
Been thanked: 25 times

Post by komet »

Thanks for the information and your efforts koala. Looking forward to using it again.
Koala
Posts: 7886
Joined: Thu Sep 12, 2013 2:47 pm
Location: Cheshire
Has thanked: 1287 times
Been thanked: 3820 times

Post by Koala »

Postage didn't go well, yesterday, problem if my own making, type in the wrong expiry which put a hold on my card

All sorted now, posted back, I will message the tracking number when I get back home
Post Reply

Return to “Whites Detectors Forum”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests