Raptor in ITMD#2 updated?

[Frank_Schwab]

Hi,

was the Raptor updated between ITMD #1 and #2?

If not then the gerber files which are available for download can still be used.

If there was an update: Are the gerber files available somewhere?

Thanks!
frank_schwab

[Qiaozhi]

Hi,

was the Raptor updated between ITMD #1 and #2?

If not then the gerber files which are available for download can still be used.

If there was an update: Are the gerber files available somewhere?

Thanks!
frank_schwab

Apart from the known errors being corrected, there was some updating to the text in order to clarify certain points, and some minor cosmetic changes to the PCB layout. In ITMD1 Fig. 9-26 shows the revision as A01, and in ITMD2 it's shown as revision A02. One obvious change is that the mounting holes were increased in size, and I also faffed around a bit with the silkscreen. Apart from that no modifications were made to actual design, as it worked well in it's original form. One day I hope to get around to developing Raptor II, but what that will be has yet to be determined, although I do have some ideas.

The Gerber files are attached.

[Frank_Schwab]

Thanks a lot for the explanation and for the updated Gerber files!

[bernte_one]

thanks too, i will try to finish my raptor this autumn or winter

i do all of the pi Projects but not the pi5

pi4 is good the others a bit problematic

[Tim]

George, could you or anyone suggest other off-the-shelf coils that may replace the Tesoro coils? Here in Oz they are not so cheap. I noticed Ivconic suggested the Eureka coil may work on the IGSL musky, and was seeking an alternative for the Raptor. Also would the Raptor be capable of accepting lower inductance coils to make it a higher frequency for gold (although 15kHz is pretty good). Or would this require R&C changes throughout?
My year10 maths teacher didn't like me very much, so my trigonometry and calculus is nil.

Off topic-Can a 1mH inductor(wire leaded-like a resistor) be used in the probe instead of a ferrite choke?

Also here a query on ITMD Ed2 - P71, 4th line from bottom "this lack of uncertainty"- should this be lack of certainty?

Perhaps also an explanation index of the scientific symbols used throughout the book, as acronyms are rarely understood by any but the inner circle. As you state throughout, these formulae are guidelines only, that cannot be relied upon completely in real-world applications. Although long-winded, perhaps they would be better written with the actual figures and/or a reference to from whence they came (e.g. C=C3 on diagram).I am sure once I get my head around my o-scope this will be far more helpful in practice.

Thank you and everyone else here for this wonderful site. A couple of years ago I had no grasp of any of these concepts, so in middle age this is all quite fascinating. I hope that in time my bushie improvisation and lateral thinking processes will be able to contribute something worthy here. And as you well know, it's a different kettle of fish for detectors here in Oz.
At this stage I am about half-way through ITMD.

[waltr]

I did just finished read ITMD so more will come to you once you read it through.
There is a chapter on trying different coils on the Raptor and which worked, which needed the circuit re-tuned and which did not work.

The Math in this book is not hard and is laid out for you. With a calculator (hand-held or on-line) or a spread-sheet (Excel is great for math) you should be able to work this out in your second reading.

[Tim]

I hope you are right walt. Excel is far beyond me. I may just be able to work out what above the line in a fraction needs to be timesed, and that in brackets needs to be done first, but that is the absolute limit of my maths-heck I cannot even remember how to do long division. The only symbol I recognise so far is py(pie,pye) or whatever-the heck it is, and I only know that is 22/7. A quick look at wikipedia shows me how very little I know. Because I don't know how it's spelled it took me three goes to google it! It is all well and good for matriculated or self-taught mathematics or computer experts to presume everyone is up to speed, but that attitude is precisely why my maths teacher treated me with such contempt and continually ignored me when I raised my hand.
When I was in school a term of science lessons made a punch-card to put into a computer made us a pretty picture, and scientific calculators were a novelty.
It would be great if the academic types here could take a step back and stop to elaborate every now and then.

[Qiaozhi]

George, could you or anyone suggest other off-the-shelf coils that may replace the Tesoro coils? Here in Oz they are not so cheap. I noticed Ivconic suggested the Eureka coil may work on the IGSL musky, and was seeking an alternative for the Raptor. Also would the Raptor be capable of accepting lower inductance coils to make it a higher frequency for gold (although 15kHz is pretty good). Or would this require R&C changes throughout?
My year10 maths teacher didn't like me very much, so my trigonometry and calculus is nil.

Tim - read Chapter 10 (IB Coil Experiments). There are two parts to the chapter. The first investigates whether it is possible to use coils other than those from Tesoro on Raptor, and the second contains experiments that test various homemade coils using a number of configurations.

Off topic-Can a 1mH inductor(wire leaded-like a resistor) be used in the probe instead of a ferrite choke?

Probably not.

Also here a query on ITMD Ed2 - P71, 4th line from bottom "this lack of uncertainty"- should this be lack of certainty?

Yes - you're correct.
That's a double negative.

Perhaps also an explanation index of the scientific symbols used throughout the book, as acronyms are rarely understood by any but the inner circle. As you state throughout, these formulae are guidelines only, that cannot be relied upon completely in real-world applications. Although long-winded, perhaps they would be better written with the actual figures and/or a reference to from whence they came (e.g. C=C3 on diagram).I am sure once I get my head around my o-scope this will be far more helpful in practice.

The problem with writing a book of this type is that you have to assume the reader has a certain level of knowledge. Otherwise the majority of the book would be taken up with explaining elementary subjects, such as "what is a resistor?", and resistor colour coding, etc.

Thank you and everyone else here for this wonderful site. A couple of years ago I had no grasp of any of these concepts, so in middle age this is all quite fascinating. I hope that in time my bushie improvisation and lateral thinking processes will be able to contribute something worthy here. And as you well know, it's a different kettle of fish for detectors here in Oz.
At this stage I am about half-way through ITMD.

Hope it all makes sense by the time you get to the end.

[Tim]

Thanks George. I may have jumped the gun posting before finishing the "bible". I do particularly like the separated schematics, which have already helped me to understand other detector schems in my large catalogue, It is mainly the scientific symbols I have trouble understanding. As an "old school" type, I feel that every vlf detector needs gain, GB, thresh, sens on the front panel and every PI needs delay, width, gain, sens, tune and adjustable damping for various coils.
Yesterday I purchased a GC1012. ($40) Thru-hole board, centred meter, reset button. At meter zero where the light is neither red nor green it has a constant sound. But at meter left (bottom of red) sound is quiet and non-ferrous (rising meter and tone) is quite sensitive. This can be adjusted by holding down reset and re-tuning meter via discrim, but then it loses sensitivity. It needs to be adjusted so meter at centre is quiet, but there are no trimpots on the board whatsoever. Being single-sided thru-hole it will be easy to trace under a bright light, then, thanks to your bibles explanations, I will be able to replace or jump the relevant resistors to adjust, and hopefully add GB, gain, meter centre and sens on external pots.
Many thanks George.

[waltr]

When you get stuck trying to understand something or do a calculation just post here.
I'll get help.

[Tim]

When you get stuck trying to understand something or do a calculation just post here.
I'll get help.

Thanks waltr much appreciated.