PICKINI V4 - an easy to build, self adjusting PI detector

[kosacid]

back to building giving the drones a break just need the programmer now

[F117]

Very nice PCBs.

I once ordered 5 PCBs at https://www.allpcb.com/.
Delivery time was about 3 weeks and my boards did not have the through hole metal like yours:

[kosacid]

i think you have to order them double sided then they will put the through holes in, only thing is it is more expensive i like the through holes though, i didnt have to wait long for mine it was like a week but i think the programmer is on the slow boat

[kosacid]

if anyone bought a kit here is the settings remember to tick the power setting

[BKY1337]

If you want through plated holes then you need to send them gerber files with through plated ones.

[F117]

@BKY1337:

I generated the gerber files from Eagle according to this tutorial https://www.build-electronic-circuits.com/gerber-file/.

When I had sent them to AllPCB, I got an email to ask if they were double-sided.
I then replied that this was a simple, single sided board and the only gerber files needed were:
.drd = drill file
.sol = solder side copper
.plc = silk screen component side
.sts = solder stop mask solder side

This resulted in the board shown in the picture. I am quite happy with the result. Mask color is black and by making the modification from pseudo-double-sided to single sided, I got 7 boards for the initial price of 5.
Not sure if this extra through-hole metal makes any difference ?
I am quite sure, it won't influence performance.
The main factor in performance is - as quoted before by MartyJ1963 - THE COIL !

Best regards,
- Bernard

[F117]

@kosacid:
when I bought the Pickit3 at the time, there was no interface board included.
So I made my own. Only the top 8 pins of the 14 pin package are required - to make it compatible with an 8 pin PIC package:

http://www.geotech1.com/forums/attac...9&d=1478186444

Connections :

http://www.geotech1.com/forums/showt...749#post222749

[MartyJ1963]

Hiya all,,,,I thought I'd finally better post some pictures of the ring I found and one of the Pickini's I made,,,I have made two Pickini 4's now,,both are housed in identical enclosures with the same decals. The enclosure measure '124mmX96mmX40mm' and is made of Aluminium.The basket coil I found the ring with was a 300uh made wth 16 strand/600v/0.5mm wire that came to 2.6 ohms. Great little project! Thanks. Marty

[kosacid]

why use a bc107 instead of just a general-purpose what's the advantage? had to order them lol

[BKY1337]

I use sprint layout for my circuits and i think the through plating only works when i use a double sided layout.
I can mark the holes there as through plated.

[gurdal]

Hi All

Buy 5 Pcs PIC16F1824.
Pickit3 I gave the order
Do you have new video?
Best regards

[gurdal]

can you support

best regards gurdal

[F117]

@MartyJ1963: a very nice find and your detector housing is looking so much better than the ones I built so far...



@Kosacid :

why use a bc107 instead of just a general-purpose what's the advantage? had to order them lol

You can replace the BS170 with a BC549B or C. It will not have the exact same switching speed and drive of the MOSFET gate, but it will do the level conversion from 5V to 12V.

[F117]

@gurdal:

Do you have new video?

No, but here is a video illustrating the immunity for mineralization:

You can find all build information here:
http://users.telenet.be/willaert/MD/.../V4/intro.html

This is a generic PI detector with temporal sampling - as opposed to voltage sampling.
The most important item of the build is the coil. You can find lots of information on coils in the geotech coil specific forum.
Any coil that works with a PI detector will work with Pickini v4, as long as it is in the 200 - 400 microHenry range.

As MartyJ1963 experienced, a fast coil - like a basket coil with insulated litze wire - will give good results on gold.

[gurdal]

Thank you