Could it be true

[Mark-VA]

White's no longer offers the TDI Pro for sale. Why would they discontinue such a good machine?

[homefire]

Not selling enough ?

[kt315]

good in what?

[Ferric Toes]

White's no longer offers the TDI Pro for sale. Why would they discontinue such a good machine?

I was told quite recently that it was because of the difficulty of shipping the Li-ion battery packs that the TDI Pro uses. I am not sure what the current restrictions are, but the 18500 cells, of which the pack is made, seem to be readily available on the worldwide market, as are suitable battery holders. The Whites pack uses 8 cells in a series/parallel arrangement to give 14.4V at 4.4Ah capacity.

Eric.

[SVEN1]

I can no longer get Li-polymer batteries shipped into Canada but, still can get Lithium-ion batteries shipped in. There are restrictions in shipping batteries these days.

[kt315]

Sven i asked whites via email. waiting reply.

[homefire]

I order Cell phone batteries all the time. 7 this year. No issues on those. I can order 18650 from China and they get here Via US Mail. I think the Panic has been relieved some what.

[daverave]

im very supprised that white's have stopped offering the TDI pro as in my view is the best pulse detector made for depth and features...i did read somewhere that white's are not going to develop the TDI platform anymore...i was told the shipping of the lithium batteries was the main problem that white's stopped shipping the TDI pro to the UK because of the nature of the batteries being a possible fire hazard...cant see why they could have not shipped the TDI pro without batteries..and then leave it to the customer to buy their own battery pack from local detector dealers.

[Qiaozhi]

The rules are complex, but packages of small lithium batteries may be exempt. Also, there are different requirements for different types of lithium battery, and a lot depends on the amount of metal or alloy content in the cells, and/or the watt-rating. To complicate things even further, the USA has different rules to the UK/Europe. However, most shipping companies are well aware of the difficulties of shipping lithium batteries, so I suspect it has more to do with the shipping cost than anything else.

[homefire]

im very supprised that white's have stopped offering the TDI pro as in my view is the best pulse detector made for depth and features...i did read somewhere that white's are not going to develop the TDI platform anymore...i was told the shipping of the lithium batteries was the main problem that white's stopped shipping the TDI pro to the UK because of the nature of the batteries being a possible fire hazard...cant see why they could have not shipped the TDI pro without batteries..and then leave it to the customer to buy their own battery pack from local detector dealers.

Yep, I don't think the Batteries was the issue. They still have the SL and they are selling. The Pro was not doing so good and just got turned off as somewhat Redundant with limited sales. There wasn't that much difference between the two.

[daverave]

remember the TDI SL version runs on AA penlight batteries and the TDI Pro on a 14.4v lithium battery pack....as far that i know most couriers including royal mail will not transport lithium batteries for whatever reason....not sure how dealers on ebay get around this problem...ive never had any problems ordering lithium batteries from ebay....its all confusing

[Qiaozhi]

remember the TDI SL version runs on AA penlight batteries and the TDI Pro on a 14.4v lithium battery pack....as far that i know most couriers including royal mail will not transport lithium batteries for whatever reason....not sure how dealers on ebay get around this problem...ive never had any problems ordering lithium batteries from ebay....its all confusing

As I said earlier, it depends on the capacity of the battery pack. Also, many eBay dealers don't take any notice of the shipping restrictions. I've ordered and received lithium batteries that were delivered by Royal mail. I guess they don't have an easy way to check what's in the jiffy bag.

[kt315]

Sven,

just got reply.

Steve Howard <[email protected]>

Dear Anatloy

Thank you for your interest in White’s products.
There were a number reasons White’s discontinued the TDI Pro.
#1. Poor sales, it was not popular. White’s has sold more Goldmaster GMT models in one day than TDI Pro in ALL it’s years of production.
#2. Travel difficulties with the larger size Lithium Ion Batteries.
#3. Weight. Complexity.
#4. Obsoleted Raw materials.
White’s does have some exciting and promising Research and Development… on-going, regarding a high power model.

Sincerely
Steve Howard
White’s USA

[homefire]

Sales seems to be the primary motivator. I sure the Battery issue could have been worked around.

[daverave]

Sven,

just got reply.

Steve Howard <[email protected]>

Dear Anatloy

Thank you for your interest in White’s products.
There were a number reasons White’s discontinued the TDI Pro.
#1. Poor sales, it was not popular. White’s has sold more Goldmaster GMT models in one day than TDI Pro in ALL it’s years of production.
#2. Travel difficulties with the larger size Lithium Ion Batteries.
#3. Weight. Complexity.
#4. Obsoleted Raw materials.
White’s does have some exciting and promising Research and Development… on-going, regarding a high power model.

Sincerely
Steve Howard
White’s USA

Hi kt315...Thats very interesting reply from white's...i guess the TDI pro was aimed at the gold nuggart market hence the sales pitch with the goldmaster GMT..but for beach detectorists the TDI pro unbeatable for price and depth.