Advice needed: kits, buying pre-made "kits", and where to buy them? Advice for a newbie...

[Garagescience]

First off, thank you for this forum, and the volunteers and others who make it possible!

Next: I'm an absolute beginner, so be gentle!

I'm looking into getting a Surf Pi from Silverdog.co.uk as my first kit. Doing this as it looks easy enough for my soldering ability, and that I might be mounting this in an underwater ROV. I'd be searching for basically anything metal in whatever body of water I'd be operating in (usually fresh water). Right before ordering the Surf Pi, while doing more research, I come across some websites that are offering pre-made metal detector "kits" for not terribly much more money than I can get an unmade kit from Silverdog!

The two websites I am talking about I heard about from users posting on this forum (one website I think is OWNED by a forum member, maybe both are). Crazy-tech.net (user "sino1), and masterkits.ru (user "kt315")

My questions: any experienced members order one of these pre-made detectors? How do they compare to the kits from Silverdog (assuming proper assembly by myself)? Are there other pre-made detectors in this price/quality range (or cheaper) from other reputable websites?

If these questions are inappropriate or inappropriate for this part of the forum, kindly let me know -I don't want to step on anybody's toes!

[kt315]

you misleaded. I have not relations to masterkit. masterkit is Moscow city e-shop. I am in Lithuania, this country is NOT RUSSIA. silverdog kits are cheap and the site is reputable, I do not grasp why you find cheaper.

[Garagescience]

Atsiprašau!

Did not say Lithuania was in Russia.

I am getting kit from Silverdog, just saw a pre-made detector on crazy-tech for $150 and wondered if it was any good. Given the fact that I'm not very good at soldering, thought something already working might be helpful.

Apologies if I wasn't clear. I only speak English, and my auto-translations can not be trusted!

Mano laivas su oro pagalve pilnas ungurių
My hovercraft is full of eels.

[Garagescience]

Does anyone have an objective opinion of the crazy-tech.com products? Just curious about the build quality and "usability" of the products offered there. Thanks!

[6666]

GS can you put up a link to what you are asking about crazy-tech.com?
in google there is not much to do with MD.

[Midas]

http://crazy-tech.net/index.php?rout...tegory&path=20

[Garagescience]

Oops ! Sorry about the URL mistake!

Kt315 : I should have said, "you mentioned". I understand now, my sentence was not clear in my question of the possible ownership of the two different websites.

i also saw miymd.com ("make your own metal detector") but I don't know the status of those projects either.

[kt315]

you are welcome. I relisted King Cobra board item again. I can not offer you a kit because Lithuania is not manufacturer of electronics components now.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ht_2488wt_1129

all the best

[Garagescience]

Still no opinions on the crazy-tech.net pre-made detectors? Would have thought someone might have tried them. Anyone?

oh well. Will be ordering silverdog.co.uk kit tonight - and hoping to find a used coil on the sale/trade part of the forum.

Will also check kt315's suggestion (?) and read about the Golden Cobra.. Why have one project, when you can have two?
Might also look at the "picini" too.

[kt315]

maybe second project will be Cobra II. if people will ask to make Deepers 10DD I will do Deepers. still no interests from geotechers.

[grungymike]

Uh, you were asking about a "premade" metal detector from crazy-tech? A good VLF unit will cost a minimum of $600, PI units are more expensive, getting into a Minelab can set you back $6000 just for the basic machine. This is what I've learned from hours of scouring thru the websites of White's, Garrett, Fisher, Minelab, Coiltek, Razorback, Kellyco, etc... I'd be really suspicious of any machine being offered for $150.

[Garagescience]

Hmm..

I'm basically trying to compare these to homebuilt projects such as the Hammerhead or the Surf pi or the Barracuda. This is my first step in checking out this hobby, and lobbing $600 or more at anything is beyond my budget to start with. Seems for the price, that the kit projects based off this forum are getting good reviews. Hadn't seen any reviews yet of former member (and possibly current member) Sido1's pre-made units, hence why I asked about them.

Thank you to everyone who has responded so far! If anyone else has any thoughts, please let me know.

[grungymike]

re my previous response, I was talking about commercially made complete units. As for the kits offered through this site, everything I've looked at was top quality, and being offered more for the love of the technology than for profit. If you want to build a good detector, you're in the right place. For me, the money I've spent on office supplies, books, etc. could have paid for an Infinium, but I wouldn't know anything about what I just bought. I personally bought a White's GMT 4 years ago, sold it two years ago, and started studying electronics and metal detector theory. The first unit I complete will have cost more than I would have spent buying one commercially, but by building my first one, I've gained a knowledge base that allows me to maintain that unit, and build others with even better performance. By building my own, I can also spend extra money on the very best components available, and extra time fine tuning the unit to my needs, options not really available to commercial manufacturers.

[kt315]

Clone PI-AVR kit someone sells in Ukraina.

[Garagescience]

My Surf Pi kit from Silverdog.co.uk is in the post, on its way to me.

I was hoping I could find someone who wasn't using their kit that they made already, but they all must be happy with them, or just away from the computer!

Thanks again kt315.