Anyone ever lengthen a coil cable for Garrett AT pro ? or any other detector ?

[ohiochris]

I read somewhere either on this forum or another one , where somebody found the right type of cable at a CB shop and either had the work done there or did it themselves....making the cable longer. I cant find where I read that now but I would like to know if this is a possible option for the AT pro. Would be nice to chest mount it for use in water if possible. Im hoping someone else has done this and knows how. Longer cables or extensions are not available from Garrett as far as I know.

[WM6]

Garrett is not willing to supply his costumer with such a simple things like about 25cm longer cable or coil cable extensions adapter for his grudgingly measured coil cables. Shame on Garrett.

I always prefer to use detectors electronic box as belt mount (connected to my hiking way of detecting - I left detectors steam at home and at searching point mount coils on hiking stock and detector box on belt mount) - photo.

So I was pushed to do this cable extension by myself for both of my Garrett AT Gold coils, small and big one.

I have nice local Garrett dealer and he supply me with about 65cm of original coil cable (cut of out of one broken AT PRO coil) - photo.

At connection points I use thermo shrink hose and silicone to retain water resistant. Inner wire/cables was connected according color mark.

Coils properties was no changed (tested thoroughly before and after adaptations).

[Funfinder]

@ohiochris
For chest-mount or hang around the neck units the usual Garrett coil-cable is not really the best choice!

Too unstable, too thin.

I have modified my Garrett GTI 1500 into "super light-weight" version while using a 45cm Detech coil.
For the cable you just can use the coax radio-antenna RU-58 or something with 1-2mm less diameter:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coaxial_cable

At least the Garrett GT 1500 (and I guess all other Garretts, too) has absolutly no problems
because of some wave-disturbances caused by even 1 meter longer and different thick cables.
(usually antenna cables have to be adjusted at their connectors so the signal remains good -
this is the Ohm's wave-value antenna-cables have, but its more a topic for TV & Radio stuff)

Anyway, in our case it must have steel-wires and steelwire-shielding otherwise while sweeping
if its copper it will break too fast. And you should improve neuralgic points with alot tape.

Finally the situation should be that the usual "weak" Garrett coil cable only is winded around the
pole without bending or moving if the search coil is in use while the stronger and thicker steelwire
coax etc. cables receive (and absorb) all the movement-energy.

btw. this single (non-coax) 5. Garrett coil-wire mostly is for pinpointing and find-screening only.
The Garrett GTI 1500 orig. coil has it also connected while the 45cm Detech doesn't has it at all.
Perhaps this is the same with other models.

However - for such mods always take care that the movable cable-part is NOT made of copper!
Copperwires will break very fast with all these draging, tearing and moving around.
The thinner it is, the faster you could get problems.

Especially important also is the region of the coil-cable connector - alot of tape
has to be used to reduce the more concentrated bending and weight energies there!
Close to the connector the bendable plastic-tape has to be winded thick while it gets
the next 15-25cm always thinner and thinner - for best possible flexiblity!


@ WM6
The new Garrett Euro Ace also uses the same DD coil as shown on your picture.
For mountain hiking your solution is perfect and this coil also is very lightweight.
Ive been already 2300m above sealevel with the Euro Ace, close to an old mine.

Is this pole you are using for the coil some telescopical glass fiber hiking stock?

[Silver Dollar]

I had the opposite problem, my Bandito coil had the 8' cord on it.
I cut it off and had enough wire to make 2 cables!

[golfnut]

Ive use broadcast quality cable called

http://shop.sommercable.com/Kabel/Me...-600-0701.html


to extend a nel coil, worked ok.

[ohiochris]

Thanks for the replies. I really do think a hip or chest mount AT pro would be great but its looking like way more technical of a project than I would like to get into with my one and only metal detector. I didnt know there would be so many possible coil issues. I wonder if NEL makes longer cables on their coils ?

[WM6]

I wonder if NEL makes longer cables on their coils ?

Yes, they are ready to make it longer (it cost about 25$ more for about 25cm longer cable).

I have bad experience with NEL coil (Hunter) for AT Gold.
Instead of promised 50% better results than standard Garrett coils, it was 50% worse (especially on gold nuggets).
AT Gold is in first line dedicated as prospecting device, but they tell me that they as test reference use only silver coin.
NEL Hunter coil was not better than factory coils in my tests even on silver coins, so I sent it back and they return my money.
Interesting things: NEL AT Pro and AT Gold coils are not interchangeable as factory coils are - be careful with this coils.

[ivconic]

Lucky you people!
You can extend cables at your coils, i can't!

[WM6]

Lucky you people!
You can extend cables at your coils, i can't!

In fact we are not happy with fact that some producer (in this case Garret) are so "user friendly", that are not ready to supply customer with 10" longer coil cable on request. Shame on such producer.

On other side I have wireless coil (you hint on) in past too and sold it for bargain after 1/2 year of use. Reason (not one and only): coils that are not submersible are pure flop, at least for me. Almost on all my detecting hikes I search along some creeks and brooks too and I cannot imagine to not put coil in streams there. If you need funny additional cable to make wireless coils submersible it is another flop too - and it is no more wireless and hard to extendable or belt mount.

[ivconic]

In fact we are not happy with fact that some producer (in this case Garret) are so "user friendly", that are not ready to supply customer with 10" longer coil cable on request. Shame on such producer.

On other side I have wireless coil (you hint on) in past too and sold it for bargain after 1/2 year of use. Reason (not one and only): coils that are not submersible are pure flop, at least for me. Almost on all my detecting hikes I search along some creeks and brooks too and I cannot imagine to not put coil in streams there. If you need funny additional cable to make wireless coils submersible it is another flop too - and it is no more wireless and hard to extendable or belt mount.

Shame on them, of course, though i always respected Garrett more than some others, very serious company, but as you noticed; not serious enough.

Wireless coil which i have on my mind is waterproof for sure, because i tested it many times and so far it survived.

[WM6]

Wireless coil which i have on my mind is waterproof for sure, because i tested it many times and so far it survived.

I know that it is waterproof. What I am talking is workability. It could even work if you immerse it shallow under stream of freshwater surface. But if you immerse it some more, then it become apart from wireless, signal-less too.

[ivconic]

I know that it is waterproof. What I am talking is workability. It could even work if you immerse it shallow under stream of freshwater surface. But if you immerse it some more, then it become apart from wireless, signal-less too.

Oh i see now, ok in such case wired coil is only solution, you got that right.
Shouldn't be much of a problem to extend existing cable, right?
Though... Garret's cables are complex and robust, 2 x coaxial + 1 standalone and in some cases additional litz.
However; there is something you can try: look up for SVGA/VGA cable (older = the better, high quality made) from some old monitor.
Usually there are 3 x coaxial + few standalone wires + common litz shield.
Such cable should do.

[Funfinder]

Perhaps the creators of those wireless coils have taken the wrong frequency -
unbelievable that the connection breaks at such a short distance transmitter-receiver
if the coil is dipped a half meter under water or more.

But there is a solution - an additional waterproofed cable connector on both ends will do it -
comparabe with the somehow most "ridiculous" thing ever: The Wireless-LAN-Cable!
That way the user can attach the Wireless-Coil-Cable (don't laugh! ) for special situations
like underwater-hunting and can still work as usual as long as the wireless-connection is fine.

btw. W-Lan cables improve greatly the signal-transmission because instead of air the
transmitted signal can travel through metal which works already as a good antenna, too.

Yeah thats right, VGA cables are often made stable and with steel-wires but they can
became a bit too heavy and unflexible with all these a bit too many other wires inside.

There also exists the possibility to use cinch-cables (RCA) but many times they
are so bad quality and made of copper that it is only useful for an urgency-solution.
At least those cables are easy and fast available (as video and tv equipment etc.)
and I tried them in the beginning but I found out very fast that they are far too weak.
Also the shielding of them sometimes is very poor which may effect the MDs performance.


Finally - the most stable solution would be spiral-shaped cables, not the usual straight ones.
Some MDs use them for their belt-mountable battery-packs but they mainly don't consist of
little coax-wires inside which are needed for the coil-connection.
Don't ask me where to get such cables or if they exists already at all ......

[ivconic]

"...Perhaps the creators of those wireless coils have taken the wrong frequency..."

Not possible, it's not their choice; BT/WiFi is standardized and not subject to change and mess much around.
I guess that's the limitation, because no one ever anticipated it's use as underwater!

[Funfinder]

Yeah, seems the surfing on water is the only thing possible, no WiFi internet surfing under water.

btw. The wireless Playstation 3 Dualshock 3 controller also works with cable (USB) -
every 25 hours is the internal accu empty and without the cable someone couldn't
play until the battery was recharged in ca. 2 hours.

The wireless Microsoft controller for X-Box plus PC instead works with 2 easy exchangable 1,2v NiMH accus.

but WM6, I'm shure it would have been childsplay for you to attach some extra cable-connection so the wireless coil
works under water. Those little wifi-jacks for external antenna (or for the WiFi-cable ) or those used for satellite coax cables work nice for such stuff.