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Well guys, been out a couple of times with my Bandido clone - found a bullet - unusual for over here. Anyway it looks like 9mm or 0.38 maybe, I have been around a few weapons here and there. It was about four inches down and gave a real hard hit. Anyway, I have quickly realised how handy a pinpointer could be (after using the Bandido to scan heaps of dirt and worse, passing it over the hole I had dug. Doh!
So I did my research and as I see it there are 3 types, crap, anything from 1/2" to about 2" and The Garrett Pro-pointer.
Well you know, I am one tight SOB so it was time to build but the problem here is that all the DIY I found either looks like a box bolted onto a toilet pipe, or a toilet pipe. So my mission was to build it,and make it look a bit different.
After some very long searching I kept comming back to the Velleman kit and it seems that most of the lower priced models are much like it but whoa! £17.00 over here - I can get drunk (twice) on that much. We have a shop called Maplins over here (Craplins more like). All their pots are different dimensions to the norm, their XLR plugs are sh**t*, oh I could go on, BUT, they stock a ferrite rod wound with two coils for SW radio (why????), and it's only £2.39 (three of your bucks). Hmm, I can get a Kebab for that, with extra chilli....but no, I bought it. Threw away the coils and got winding. Not having any 0.8mm copper wire I trashed and old transformer and got some. After a lot of experiments and ideas I sort of tweaked the circult a bit to suit my coils and to make it a bit better (not much, but a bit). Well the end result is in the 0-3" mark (although it picks up my car at 8" - handy in foggy weather).
I have two white leds on the front. The red button turns them and the pp one, the yellow just turns the pp on. The red led is detection and there is a buzzer inside. I was going to fit a vibrator too, but if my wife picked it up by accident...
There is also a low battery circuit which flashes one of the white leds when the battery reaches about 5.5v. I am going to replace the screws that hold the probe on with countersunk jobbies.
pinpointer_P1.pdf
So thats it, I did find it much better when I cleaned up the osc- in the standard circuit the 'pick up' is pretty nasty looking. It needs a re-adjust as it warms - something I am trying to fix but once done I can get coins at an 1" + with no problem and a bunch of 'em at about 3".
And this is it...the hand grip is two layers of heatshrink which gives a soft but firm grip, mmmm.
As for the plastic stuff - too long as kid building Airfix kits, and waste pipe is awful to work with.
This is the end cap where the sense pot is and how it goes on to hold the battery in.
Now where did I leave my change....
So I did my research and as I see it there are 3 types, crap, anything from 1/2" to about 2" and The Garrett Pro-pointer.
Well you know, I am one tight SOB so it was time to build but the problem here is that all the DIY I found either looks like a box bolted onto a toilet pipe, or a toilet pipe. So my mission was to build it,and make it look a bit different.
After some very long searching I kept comming back to the Velleman kit and it seems that most of the lower priced models are much like it but whoa! £17.00 over here - I can get drunk (twice) on that much. We have a shop called Maplins over here (Craplins more like). All their pots are different dimensions to the norm, their XLR plugs are sh**t*, oh I could go on, BUT, they stock a ferrite rod wound with two coils for SW radio (why????), and it's only £2.39 (three of your bucks). Hmm, I can get a Kebab for that, with extra chilli....but no, I bought it. Threw away the coils and got winding. Not having any 0.8mm copper wire I trashed and old transformer and got some. After a lot of experiments and ideas I sort of tweaked the circult a bit to suit my coils and to make it a bit better (not much, but a bit). Well the end result is in the 0-3" mark (although it picks up my car at 8" - handy in foggy weather).
I have two white leds on the front. The red button turns them and the pp one, the yellow just turns the pp on. The red led is detection and there is a buzzer inside. I was going to fit a vibrator too, but if my wife picked it up by accident...
There is also a low battery circuit which flashes one of the white leds when the battery reaches about 5.5v. I am going to replace the screws that hold the probe on with countersunk jobbies.
pinpointer_P1.pdf
So thats it, I did find it much better when I cleaned up the osc- in the standard circuit the 'pick up' is pretty nasty looking. It needs a re-adjust as it warms - something I am trying to fix but once done I can get coins at an 1" + with no problem and a bunch of 'em at about 3".
And this is it...the hand grip is two layers of heatshrink which gives a soft but firm grip, mmmm.
As for the plastic stuff - too long as kid building Airfix kits, and waste pipe is awful to work with.
This is the end cap where the sense pot is and how it goes on to hold the battery in.
Now where did I leave my change....
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