White's going out of business??

pcgs69 · June 19, 2020 4:24PM

Someone posted this on one of the facebook forums. Not sure what's going on, but I'm sure we'll hear more shortly.

My first detector was a White's, then I upgraded to a White's Spectrum XLT. After taking a break from detecting for 7 or so years, I had a tough decision to get either the Minelab Etrac or the White's Vision (I believe it was renamed to the Spectra V3 name). After careful thought I went with the Etrac due to the fact the White's detector hadn't been released just yet. I have many fond memories of my dad and I using our White's machines for many years. I hope they can continue, but I really don't know of anyone who has purchased one recently, or anything they have in the works.

Namvet69 · June 20, 2020 3:17AM

30 years ago, my first unit was an XLT. Expensive at the time, worked great, killer penetration, dug tons of coins. Backed my truck over it, switched to AT Pro. Better unit, better fit and finish, better price point. Given the array of manufacturers, someone had to come up short. Peace Roy

ricko · June 20, 2020 6:54AM

WOW!!! All my machines are White's....great technology, quality and awesome customer service. This is very sad. Cheers, RickO

johnny9434 · June 20, 2020 7:32AM

I love both my white. What a bummer to hear

jgoetz4 · June 20, 2020 4:21PM

My first White's was a 5000D, I bought back in 1978 or 79. I still use it periodically.

metalmeister · June 26, 2020 6:41PM

My White's Goldmaster still works great. Bought in the 1990's.
Say it ain't so.

ricko · June 27, 2020 6:23AM

I wonder if someone - or some group - will pick up the service/repair for existing machines. Has anyone heard further details?? Cheers, RickO

Namvet69 · June 29, 2020 3:51AM

Hopefully the regional product service guys will step up and announce their intentions. They probably have parts inventory and the technical know-how. Peace Roy

ricko · June 29, 2020 5:01AM

I expect some enterprising group will buy White's inventory and perhaps even hire some of their technical people, in order to provide repair services to what I believe is a very large public inventory. Cheers, RickO

AUandAG · June 29, 2020 7:19PM

Another COVID-19 death......so sad. My V-Sat from early 90's is still working just fine.

bob

Treashunt · August 20, 2020 6:29AM

@ricko said:
WOW!!! All my machines are White's....great technology, quality and awesome customer service. This is very sad. Cheers, RickO

All of mine are also Whites!

Namvet69 · August 20, 2020 2:54PM

My first machine was an XLT, great penetration and 20+ years of use before it started showing its age. Moved onto a Garrett AT Pro...much better IMO. Let's hope your machines don't malfunction. Time to start a new detector piggy bank fund to plan for the inevitable. Peace Roy

Barberian · August 23, 2020 8:42PM

@jgoetz4 said:
My first White's was a 5000D, I bought back in 1978 or 79. I still use it periodically.

Same here back in 1977. It was the first machine with ground exclusion balance, which enabled me to dig square nails all day, as well as TR discrimination. I had the hipmount version. I did find a Machin's Mills type copper halfpenny under a large oak tree at Washington College about 6 inches deep with it, as well as lots of silver, Indian head cents, etc. Moved on to a Garrett's Master Hunter 7 ADS motion detector when I got back into it again ten years later. I got the MD bug again and bought a second-hand Minelab Excaliber for coin hunting in rivers, lakes, and the beach as well as on land. Works great! Now I have to learn the "language" of the machine.

To test out my old Garrett's against the new (used) Excaliber, I buried coins to 6 inches to see how well it would perform. The Garrett machine struggled a bit to find some of the deeper coins. The Excaliber had no trouble finding them, even with the coil held 3-4 inches off the ground.

Anyway, I'm getting off track. When I started out MD'ing, White's was the only machine I saw people use. Sad to see them get pushed out from Chinese copies and COVID.

MS67 · September 19, 2020 8:37PM

My first White many years ago was a TR Discriminator. My ex-wife apparently liked metal detecting more than I knew as she took it. Haha! I got a White AT Pro now. Just wondering in my head what that's going to do for everyone who owns White detectors if we ever need a repair done, ect. No more coils, coil covers, etc. I'd love a GPZ7000 but I don't think I'd have a wife afterwards! And I'd have to live in the outback of Australia for a few years and hope I found enough gold to pay for it.

ricko · September 20, 2020 5:13AM

Future service will be a question...Good opportunity for some former White's employees. Their customer service was always superb. Cheers, RickO

kiyote · September 23, 2020 9:21PM

I noticed it was really hard to find replacement coils for an MXT that my brother has.

Namvet69 · October 3, 2020 5:17AM

Bet there are replacement coils sitting on a shelf somewhere, the Google and flea bay shall reveal them. IMO. Peace Roy

ricko · October 5, 2020 5:23AM

I agree Roy.... and would be a wise investment at this time... They will only get more scarce and expensive. Cheers, RickO

EdGOhio · November 11, 2020 4:07PM

https://garrett.com/noticesupdates

ricko · November 12, 2020 7:00AM

@EdGOhio.... Thanks for the link. Looks like Garrett's have stepped up and will provide service and parts for White's customers. Smart move... Cheers, RickO

Treashunt · November 19, 2020 10:44AM

I have had Whites since 1989.

I'll miss them.

Goldenage · November 22, 2020 6:37AM

Sad to hear. Quality people are not easy to find.

bsshog40 · November 23, 2020 6:10PM

I'm glad I sold my whites and kept my garrett.

White's going out of business??

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