DIY Metal Detector where to start?

[ripper121]

Hi ,
there are many Metal Detector cirucits out there.
I dont know which is a good Detector to start with.
Would be nice to get some suggestions from you.

[SVEN1]

Easiest to build for a first timer is a Pi.
Several here to choose from.
Surf Pi
Barracuda Pi
and Mini Pulse plus

I will also mention my Mirage Pi, have a couple PCB's left.
https://www.google.com/search?q=treasurelinx+Mirage+Pi

[Tibuck19]

Happy New Year, First of all, ask yourself what is the end goal, what do you want to detect and where ( beaches or parks, woodlands...) OR are you in it to learn about electronics with a focus on detectors, or do you want to detect on the cheap AKA a DIY detector, Take myself for an example, I wanted to detect I wanted a detector! as cheaply as possible, so DIY would of been a good option right! Wrong, what they don't tell you is, DIY detectors are additive forming! and you will need other electronic devices it make them.... If I would of bought myself a fancy Minelab or Deus detector from the start, I probably would of had a more modern detector at a cheaper price! but then again I learn a lot since I first stubbed in this forum, many hundreds of dollars later! I have a few reasonable detectors and a lot more knowledge in hand. And you cant put a price on learning and most of the Guru's in here are very helpful and tolerant of nubs, As SVEN said by far the easies to start with, that you will be able to complete is a PI Aka Pulse induction, Not really good for parks..... because it doesn't discriminate ferrous from non ferrous, Unless you like digging up tons of scrap metals, But a DIY PI will help you on your way to learn how a Induction balance or VLF detector works. Popular Pi builds here are The MMP AKA Minipulse plus, The Geotech Barracuse, the Surf PI( which a few guys are now working on variations with micro controllers), But by far the easiest is The Surf PI 1.2, Easy to build easily to learn about pulse width and dampening. kits is as simple as getting one from Silverdog, He sells full component and board kits at a very fair price for the above mentioned. But BE WARNED Building DIY detectors is highly additive. Good luck!

[ripper121]

Thank you .
I have good soldering Iron at work and also oscilloscopes and Logic Analysers.
I ordered Barracuda Pi and Mini Pulse plus Kits for first build up and learning.

Is there a tutorial how to Build a Coil for these two Detectors?
Whats better, a single or a dualcoil?

[Tibuck19]

There is pliantly of resources in Geotech with idea's on making your own Single loop fast coil, Double D coils, and spider coils, take a few hours and dig around the many posting, I am sure you will find at least one answer that satisfies you, Hint : Advance search is your friend!

[nonkapo]

Tibuck already give you idea, however before you start with the search where you can get more than can be digested, have a look at these links:

http://www.geotech1.com/pages/metdet/info/coils.pdf

http://www.geotech1.com/pages/metdet...s/FastCoil.pdf

http://www.geotech1.com/cgi-bin/page...oils/index.dat

It will not do any harm to read this one if you are not familiar with:

http://www.geotech1.com/pages/metdet/info/induction.pdf

Good luck

[waltr]

All above links are must reads. here is the home page that has those articles:
http://www.geotech1.com/cgi-bin/page...&file=main.dat

There are several PI Detector projects there are are good to read to learn how they work.
I used those and built a modified version of the Hammer Head. This is written up in this thread:
http://www.geotech1.com/forums/showt...ake-on-the-HH2

For the first coil just keep it simple. A 300-500uH mono with any wire will work. Later you can experiment with other coils.
I run dual coils on my HH, an 8inch concentric and a 10inch DD depending on where I am detecting. Details on each are in my thread.

As other have said there is a lot of good info on the forums here.

Last tip. Edit your profile and add at least what country you are in. This is helpful for any of us to suggest where to find or buy parts, etc.
Good luck and please do post your builds.

[ripper121]

Thanks, will read it and maybe come back for more questions