Sniffer XR-71

[bmwbiker]

Hi all,

I've just received a Sniffer XR-71 PCB I ordered from eBay and which came from Bulgaria - it's supposed to be a reproduction of a Delta Pulse PI detector.

I wasn't sure exactly what I was getting - the listing said just a PCB, while the photo showed a board populated with all its components. Turns out it's the whole thing which only needs boxing up, controls adding and a coil which can range from a round 28 cm to 1 metre square and probably beyond.

Very nice-looking board and very well made, said to be tested ready for installation.

No instructions came with the PCB so I'm looking for some instructions for the controls and coil. There are three headers on the board which the pots, battery and coil will presumably be wired to but none of them is labelled and although I passed the practical tests I failed the mind-reading . . .

I have contacted the seller to ask for instructions but as yet have heard nothing. To be fair, I only asked 6 hours ago but I'm itching to get this thing hooked up and try it out.

Has anybody built this machine in any form - PCB or kit - and can they please supply details of the power and control connections and coil details?

BTW I've just built Silverdog's Baracuda PI kit and I'm quite pleased with the results so far. I'm in the middle of making a case for it, but in free air it finds my gold wedding ring at 13", a £1 coin at the same distance, a 1 penny piece at 16" (they are steel clad with copper alloy, 20 mm dia) and that's before I've dialled everything in. That was with a scramble-wound 8" coil of 24 turns of 26AWG enamelled copper wire but I've just made one from speaker wire in a flat coil which might improve on the first one. I'll know better when I figure out how I'm going to house the coil . . . Nice kit to build, highly recommended.

Thanks in advance for any help on the Sniffer.

[Silver Dollar]

Any pictures or a link to the ebay ad? We might be able to figure out the wiring...

Hmm I found this; http://powerscan.eu/cart/index.php?r...&product_id=60
But no info on that site.

The attached appears to be your layout but the schematic that came with it doesn't show the pinout of the connector.

I found a bit better one see attached;

[bmwbiker]

Thanks for the reply.

That's the one all right - not much to help on the pics!

But all should be OK as the site owner has just replied with two .doc attachments - I was obviously just being impatient! Can't open them yet as I've just built a new computer and haven't yet installed any word processing software.

Will report back when I can access the files . . .

[Silver Dollar]

Here's one more;

[bmwbiker]

Wow. I've just installed LibreOffice and opened the documents I was sent. One is a connection diagram with values for pots and dimensions/turns for coils and the other is an operating manual.

Very happy at the moment - will have to get it all built up and report back when it's done. It'll take a while as I need to order the pots and stuff in - luckily I already have a 12V 2.1A sealed lead-acid battery which is alleged to give 20-25 hours operating time.

[bmwbiker]

That's great, thanks! It looks to be the same as the one in the connections document - as it should be!

[kt315]

only kinda a reminder. for whom wishes to buy a board for SNIFFER XR-71 you can ask me via email address [email protected]
you will get a board with DVD-ROM with all information collected from related forums for many years, 3 gigabytes, free no charge.

Anatloy

[ZX12R]

Hi,
Did you get your Powerscan working, I have just bought one with all the connectors and battery and case etc.
Just waiting for the stem AND coil to arrive
I have actually ordered another case as the one sent seems too small to fit the board and battery in so when I get this I will start building this kit up.
I am also on with teh surf 1.2 so I will use the case from the powerscan for that, gonna have a got at building a coil this weekend
Jason

[bmwbiker]

No, I haven't got it working just yet - don't you know that any project has to acclimatise to its new surroundings for at least a month (or 20 years in some cases?)

Sorry, just kidding.

I'm busy boxing up the Barracuda which I've built; working on the coil housing just now. I've also been busy ordering up a case, pots and everything else (since I just bought a bare Sniffer board (I'm a cheapskate . . .)) so I can make a start on the Powerscan/Sniffer when the Barracuda is finally finished. I have made a stem for the Sniffer already though - I used 16 bar PVC water pipe (dirt cheap) and some fittings to make it telescopic. Took me a while to decide how I want to arrange everything to balance the machine as it's likely to be relatively heavy with a lead-acid battery and an 11" coil (heavy compared with my Minelab, that is . . . ) My plan is to evaluate them side by side for my metal-detecting buddy to decide which one he wants me to build for him.

Good luck with the build - hope you'll let us all know how your machines work?

[ZX12R]

Hi,

I have started building mine, here is a link to the first video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gioF2MB627A

Jason

[bmwbiker]

Thanks for the video - looking pretty good so far!

I sympathise about the drill bit situation but I'm lucky enough to have a very well equipped workshop for both metalwork and woodwork. I often use flat woodworking bits for plastics as they don't pick up in the plastic and wind themselves into the work. Have you considered a Conecut bit to enlarge the 10mm holes you can drill?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_fr...necut&_sacat=0

Just as an example; they're not cheap but can cut any size hole within its range. Also consider a cheap set of Forstner bits - but check the sizes in the set first . . .

Keep up the good work and please keep us posted.

PS - hoping to start on mine soon but need to sort out some glitches with the Barracuda first - see my thread in the Barracuda section in the 'Projects' menu of this site.

[ZX12R]

I asked a couple of questions to the supplier in Bulgaria, he is very helpful and replies very quickly, one of the questions I asked was what size wire do I use for the switches etc. to the board, he replied with this

1- standart wire /0.10-0.15 with isolation/

so my question to you guys is, will this be in this range of wire then?

WIRE SIZE EQUIVALENT SINGLE STRAND
CSA (mm2) STRANDS AWG DIAMETER (mm)
==================================================
0.103 27 0.36
0.124 7/0.015 0.40
0.128 1/0.40 26 0.40
0.141 18/0.10 0.42
0.158 14/0.12 0.44

When referring to wire size do you always refer to the CSA (mm2) and where the hell do I get it from, look on loads of sites but all seem to start at 0.20 etc.



Sorry about above, it keeps removing all the spaces I put in so you can read it

[bmwbiker]

Personally I've never worried about the CSA of the conductor just so long as I can get it through the PCB holes. I do prefer stranded wire over solid core because the solid has less flex and breaks easily. I've just ordered some 7/0.2 wire off eBay for my Sniffer at a decent price - that's standard 7 strand hookup wire; it's ubiquitous.

Clive

[ZX12R]

Update to my progress of building my Powerscan PI

I need to postition the headphone jack but can't decide where

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyRl...ature=youtu.be

[bmwbiker]

Well, for my own part I would prefer to have the headphone jack facing me, otherwise there's going to be a loop of wire dangling down underneath. I've had a few detectors and they've tended to be facing the operator, with the exception of my Minelab where it comes out of the side. I'm thinking of buying a right-angle adaptor for it so it either goes up or down - anything but straight out of the side; it's just begging to get knocked on something and break the housing or snap the plug off.

If you put the socket on the front panel you could line it up with the other controls to maintain symmetry; there are few considerations other than practicality and aesthetics.