Detector Pro Wader, Not exactly a "Wonder Wader?"

[Bigcypresshunter]

Re: Detector Pro Wader, Not exactly a "Wonder Wader?"

MY OPINION IS: Detector Pro has one of the best concepts but they just can't seem to put out quality craftmanship products. Maybe at the prices they ask they just don't care about engineering quality and just want to get it while they can. They've been around long enough to know better but they just don't want to do better. Their line should sell for around $300 in my opinion based on design and material quality.

I dont understand it myself becuse they do care. They wont give up on this "electronics in the headphone cup" idea. It just cannot be made waterproof and the headphones are sometimes dropped creating hairline cracks in the hard plastic. My dealer admitted to me that the cups are hard to manufacture to exact specifications and a very expensive proposition to continually replace the electronics whenever they flood.

They changed my electronics the 2nd time in the factory under warranty but they never attempted to replace my leaky cups. If I had tried to dive again, I would have had to keep sending it back to the factory, which makes no sense to me at all. Yes LOL it is an expensive proposition for DetecterPro.

The only solution is to keep the electronics in the headphones for beach and surf ONLY. They are headed in this direction with the 6 foot deep waterproof claim.

I suggested that they move the electronics out of the headphones and make a truly waterproof diver. Keep it "as is" for beach and surf only. It can and will flood at 6 feet. I am first hand witness to that.

 

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[LX Kid]

Re: Detector Pro Wader, Not exactly a "Wonder Wader?"

I agree! Keep the current design for beach and surf. For a diver unit they should move it to a pole for a little more innovation. The electronics come in a small package and would do great on a slightly larger waterpoof box. AS for the battery compartment, in my opinion, is a relatively easy fix. Fix the battery compartment problem, that I described on 13 Aug. In molding of the speaker and blue cup sides they could "easily" mold in indentations for the addition of stainless steel spring clips for positive locking. I also feel they they should be molding out of higher tinsel strength ABS plastics. How long will the keep ignoring design problems? I just don't believe that's it's just too expensive to change out electronics into new cups. They made a lot of money from the "get go" and should stand behind their product 100%. Just my take on the problem, and there is a problem.

 

[Willee]

Re: Detector Pro Wader, Not exactly a "Wonder Wader?"

The cheaper Pirate Pro has molded battery holders in the cup.
The more expensive Wader has ... nothing!
Puzzling.

I bought both the Wader and the Pirate pro.
The Pirate Pro is made overseas and is the unit I chose to keep rather than the American made Wader.
Not puzzling ... considering the state of the union today.

My choice for the beach has always been a hip or chest mounted Sovereign ... just aint nothing out there that works better for dry sand, wet sand, or shallow water, salt or fresh.
I think I have tried them all.

Willee

 

[vondrewvious]

Re: Detector Pro Wader, Not exactly a "Wonder Wader?"

The cheaper Pirate Pro has molded battery holders in the cup.
The more expensive Wader has ... nothing!
Puzzling.

I bought both the Wader and the Pirate pro.
The Pirate Pro is made overseas and is the unit I chose to keep rather than the American made Wader.
Not puzzling ... considering the state of the union today.

My choice for the beach has always been a hip or chest mounted Sovereign ... just aint nothing out there that works better for dry sand, wet sand, or shallow water, salt or fresh.
I think I have tried them all.

Willee
Isn't the pirate pro a new model. The pirate has been around for a while. Maybe the new model has this battery holder improvement.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Re: Detector Pro Wader, Not exactly a "Wonder Wader?"

I have always heard GOOD things about the Wader. Rarely ever a complaint.


I, however, own the DetectorPro Pulse Unit. I have had nothing but trouble one thing after another. I commented here because I think the headphone cups are the same.

 

[scrounger d detector collector]

Re: Detector Pro Wader, Not exactly a "Wonder Wader?"

geez if my pirate evr quits.i was thinking upgrade to a wader. prob go tesoro now

 

[SvenS]

Re: Detector Pro Wader, Not exactly a "Wonder Wader?"

Check your headphone cups with a U/V lamp in a dark room, it should expose to you any cracks.
http://home.earthlink.net/~puddlepirate/id13.html

 

[Trackerman]

Re: Detector Pro Wader, Not exactly a "Wonder Wader?"

well the one big problem with Detector pro units is that they use a 2.4klhz frequency. So for gold in theory thats not good. Optimal is around 12 to 15 klhz.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Re: Detector Pro Wader, Not exactly a "Wonder Wader?"

well the one big problem with Detector pro units is that they use a 2.4klhz frequency. So for gold in theory thats not good. Optimal is around 12 to 15 klhz.

My DetectorPro Pulse has an adjustable frequency, so I guess thats good. I just wish it would work properly without the constant falsing..

 

[TheHawg]

Re: Detector Pro Wader, Not exactly a "Wonder Wader?"

I have a DetectorPro PI and I had a DetectorPro Wader for one week. I have done quite well with the PI. I got it in August and I found 4 nice gold rings in one week. Then the hurricanes came close and washed all the sand from the sand restoration and the dunes onto the beach. Also vacation ended and I had to go to work (school teacher).

I feel that the PI does well. I have never used another PI unit, so I can't compare. It compares depth wise with my CZ-5 with the 10" coil, maybe a little deeper. I did find a Swiss Army Knife that must have been 20 inches deep with it. It really eats up the batteries. It is quite unstable. I have to turn the threshold down so I can't hear it. In the water, swells make it sound off. If I had it to do over, I think I would consider another brand, but I love the light weight and the 12" coil, and I have been successful with it. I guess I need to try another brand before I make a final judgement.

I bought a Wader, but really didn't like it. It had no depth at all. It was not loud enough. My dealer allowed me to trade it for a CZ-21.

With the headphone gasket, take the o ring off, put some silicone grease on it and carefully work the o ring into the groove. It will not stay in the groove without the grease. This seems to work, although I have not had it underwater. I will agree that the battery compartment is very cheaply made.

Oh well, I'm babbling. Just some thoughts.
TheHawg

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Re: Detector Pro Wader, Not exactly a "Wonder Wader?"

It is quite unstable. I have to turn the threshold down so I can't hear it. In the water, swells make it sound off.

My PI is so unstable that it beeps every second or two for no reason. Its been to the factory twice and they can find nothing wrong but tell me online that this falsing is not normal. So I am in a state of confusion with a detector that doesnt work properly. My next step is try to repair it myself.

Thanks for posting. Does your unit false beep every second or two for no reason? Turning the threshold down too far loses depth.

 

[TheHawg]

Re: Detector Pro Wader, Not exactly a "Wonder Wader?"

Mine does not false every second or two, but the threshold is too unstable. I don't think I'm losing too much depth by hunting in silent mode. I am disappointed after watching a YouTube video of the Whites PI and hearing the very stable threshold though. Do you turn down your frequency a little. It is too unstable at the highest frequency, although I know it is best for gold. It's not a bad detector, but I believe there are better choices. I guess the trade off is how wonderfully light and simple it is.

TheHawg

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Re: Detector Pro Wader, Not exactly a "Wonder Wader?"

I actually love the detector. I only have two complaints.

#1- Its not a waterproof diver as claimed but I am happy to use it surf only. I just wish they had warned me about possible flooding first time under. DetectorPro never attempted to repair the cups but I can still hose it off and thats a plus.

.#2- It falses every couple seconds whether I move it or not. Turning down the frequency and threshold helps only a little but I loose considerable depth from turning the threshold way down.

If I could solve the falsing, I would be happy. A member sent me a coil. Im going to cut the wires and replace the coil. It may be the problem.

 

[SvenS]

Re: Detector Pro Wader, Not exactly a "Wonder Wader?"

I can agree with the above statement.

The reason DP charges so much for the Wader is due to the amount of problems with them,
some one has to pay the techs for the time they spend fixing them for those that bought brand new with a warranty. If you bought yours second hand, there is no warranty, something goes wrong, you pay, average repair bill is $75.00 on up. I have had to send my two divers and Wader in for repairs over the years.

So what incentive is there for DP to build a better unit? It's cash cow.

Folks rave about the fast repair service and turn around, well heck they are paying for it.

Performance wise, not impressive, average coin depth I get is 6" hunting on dry land. Never got those fantastic 12-14" quarters folks claim. And it is not very sensitive to small gold or silver, the Tesoro TS beat it hands down in that dept. The only reason I still have a Wader is it was light weight and bought for my wife, her fav. color is blue. I should have kept my TS, until I get a new water machine, will have to use the Wader.

I did inquire if anyone knew what the pots inside the Wader adjust, I would try and adjust mine for better depth and GB to my soil. So I get a lot of answers, leave the pots alone, you'll screw them up, send it back to DP have them calibrate it, call Gary at DP he'll tell you. I tried emailing Gary,
asking about the pot functions, and that I now live in northern Canada and it would be just too expensive to send it in plus the repair cost as it has no warranty. I would adjust it myself, since I had experience adjusting many other detectors. A fast response from Gary, said he would not tell me, I would have to send it in with $$$. No way will I do that.

So when I do get inside the Wader and tinker with the adjustments, I will post my findings so others can do it
themselves also.

The Wader does make an excellent land detector with average 6" depth. Found a lot of stuff hunting Canadian school yards. Now that I repaired my 1994 Minelab Sterling, it's the detector of choice, beats the detectorpro in every dept. I even thought of waterproofing it.
http://home.earthlink.net/~puddlepirate/id13.html

Below are some pictures of my Wader finds:

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Re: Detector Pro Wader, Not exactly a "Wonder Wader?"

The only reason I still have a Wader is it was light weight and bought for my wife, her fav. color is blue.

You bought it for the weight and the color LOL. That about sums it up.


I may have been one of those persons that suggested not to tamper with your pots. Heck I had enough trouble with mine and I never opened the cups!

Thinking about it now, I may be wrong. After sending mine back to the factory 2x under warranty and it still doesnt work properly, I am now thinking like you. Since it is expensive to keep sending it back to the factory and considering the high cost of repair and risk of loss, we are left with no choice but to repair them ourselves.

Im not so much concerned about depth on my PI because its not bad but I am concerned about the constant falsing. If I find the problem, Ill post the results as well.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

 

[lacey333]

Re: Detector Pro Wader, Not exactly a "Wonder Wader?"

This thread definitely helped me with a decision, TY all! I had heard about this machine and wanted some input on it before I decided between it or the whites ID 300 or the excal II! I have a DFX and have been leaning towards the whites anyway but wanted to get some honest info on these other machines first! From what I've read here and what I've heard about Minelab's customer service I think I'll stick with the whites! I get great depth with my DFX so I can only assume the beach ID 300 will be even better! Thank you all for the input!

HH,

Mike

 

[Willee]

Re: Detector Pro Wader, Not exactly a "Wonder Wader?"

This thread definitely helped me with a decision, TY all! I had heard about this machine and wanted some input on it before I decided between it or the whites ID 300 or the excal II! I have a DFX and have been leaning towards the whites anyway but wanted to get some honest info on these other machines first! From what I've read here and what I've heard about Minelab's customer service I think I'll stick with the whites! I get great depth with my DFX so I can only assume the beach ID 300 will be even better! Thank you all for the input!

HH,

Mike

Mike ... you actually had to decide between a detector pro, a White's BHID or an Excalibur II

No brainer here ... the Excalibur II will be the choice.
Sorry to hear you chose the BHID instead of the Excalibur II ... or maybe not ... where do you water hunt?
Those other detectors are not even in the same class as the Excalibur II.
Sorry to be so honest ... but that is the truth.

 

[lacey333]

Re: Detector Pro Wader, Not exactly a "Wonder Wader?"

Willee,
I realize the detectorpro isn't in the same class as far as cost but I wanted to hear about the performance. It was suggested by another member so I figured I would at least check it out. As far as the excal II, I have heard pro's and cons but the biggest problem I have is the unit would cost me $300.00 more than the ID 300 and word on the forum is they have the WORST customer service out of all the detector companies! Also, now that whites has cured the floating coil problem on the new model I'm sure it will pick up targets as deep as I need and if it breaks I can get it back within 2 weeks! Thanks for the feedback though!

HH,

Mike

 

[Smudge]

Re: Detector Pro Wader, Not exactly a "Wonder Wader?"

Mike,

Willee hates Detectorpros for some reason. Sounds like he had a bad experience with one. I woned an Excal and didn't care for it at all, so I sold it. I know its a great detector, it just wasn't for me.

Just remember that whatever you're using: the Excal, BH 300, or the Wader, in the hands of person who knows his/her detector, they will tend out-hunt everyone else.

A novice with an Excal isn't likely to do better than you will if you really know your 300 or Wader.

The 300 will hit good targets just as the Wader or Excal will, you just gotta get your coil over them! That's the hardest part.

 

[lacey333]

Re: Detector Pro Wader, Not exactly a "Wonder Wader?"

Thanks Smudge!
You are so right about knowing your machine, I have taken the time to know all the ins and outs of my DFX and love it! And as far as getting your coil over the target I'm just gonna keep putting as much time in as I can so I do get over those targets!!

HH,

Mike

Mike,

Willee hates Detectorpros for some reason. Sounds like he had a bad experience with one. I woned an Excal and didn't care for it at all, so I sold it. I know its a great detector, it just wasn't for me.

Just remember that whatever you're using: the Excal, BH 300, or the Wader, in the hands of person who knows his/her detector, they will tend out-hunt everyone else.

A novice with an Excal isn't likely to do better than you will if you really know your 300 or Wader.

The 300 will hit good targets just as the Wader or Excal will, you just gotta get your coil over them! That's the hardest part.