Calibrating MD3010 correctly

[marcelo2112]

Hello everyone, I am new to metal detection, I bought a Chinese MD3010 for my nephew.
Realente is bad for metal discrimination, I wanted to ask you how to calibrate correctly for best results.
I have knowledge of electronics and I have an oscilloscope and inductometers among others.
Please, any help will be very well received.
Greetings and thanks.

[eclipse]

I will bring the bad news. Chinese made metal detectors are almost always like that. Either bad discimination, ground ballance or low sensitivity. They usually end up in the junkyard where they truely belong.

[kt315]

bought new on aliexpress or used?

[marcelo2112]

Bad news.
New on Ebay
Is there a tutorial to calibrate with an oscilloscope?
Thank you.

Malas noticias.Nuevo en eBay?Hay un tutorial para calibrar con un osciloscopio?Gracias.

[dbanner]

What do you mean by saying that the discrimination is bad? Explain a little.
Are you getting good depth?

There might be trimmer pots on the pcb, but you're gonna have to open the unit. Before doing anything, you must be sure you are using the modes correctly by referring to YOUTUBE videos of this detector. See what others have to say.

[kt315]

DB i grasp M21 means/thinks the discrimination he must get like 'gold-silver-aluminum' and so wrote that disc is 'bad'.

pics in this thread http://www.md4u.ru/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=5329

[Polymer]

Sorry to say, but maybe the "advertising" / "description" was taken literally. Would be cool if it were true though.

Here an excerpt of a "description" I came across on bama-zone. Bold text is highlighted by me:

• * TOP METAL DETECTOR FOR ADULTS and the finest of the deluxe DR.?TEK line. The MT-XR is an exciting new addition for both professionals and enthusiasts. Offers 5 upgraded modes including Pinpoint Mode, All metal, Discrimination, Memory, and Jewelry. Innovative Memory Mode remembers one kind of metal and only detects that specific type. Locate exactly what you want in far less time.
• * LARGE LCD DISPLAY has a big clear 3" x 2.2" screen that is easy to read. Backlight lets you work in the dark for a great deal more flexibility. 3 display modes to easily identify the type of metals you are detecting. Displays digital image and sound with multiple settings for customization.
• * 9.8" WIDE SEARCH COIL is so powerful it can locate a quarter coin up to 10" underground. It can find larger objects at even greater depths. The coil is waterproof and works well in shallow water. Other detectors simply can't compare to the new state of the art MT-XR.
• * DEPTH & SENSITIVITY ADJUSTABLE. Adjust the depth indication for objects 2", 4", 6", 8" with plus or minus. Easily fine tune for objects and conditions with the 5 grade sensitivity control. This gives you a lot of control over accuracy not found in lesser designs. Spend far less time digging while finding more exciting precious metals and antique artifacts.
• * LIGHTWEIGHT & EASY TO CARRY this is an excellent choice for travel, vacations, camping trips, and outings. It's guaranteed to make a great birthday gift, holiday present, anniversary gift or give for Father's Day and Mother's Day. Buy yours now while we have this very popular new model in plentiful supply. They are selling quickly.

[eclipse]

I doubt anyone would have useful information because if you have time to spend on investigating a circuit why would be wasting time on a 50$ chinese toy and not on some brand name device like minelab, whites or fisher and so on. At least there is something to learn from those.

[Skippy]

There's several internal pots in it.
Some photos here:
https://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=96543

[dbanner]

Yes, I figured there would be trimmer pots on the pcb. This detector has a notch feature, that's why you see peculiar description of "innovative memory mode remembers only one type of metal" kinda nonsense.

You can select one of the squares on the display to eliminate everthing above and below that square. This detector is not a toy, I believe it can be improved/ fine tuned/ modified to give a decent performance. You can tell from the PCB that a serious attempt was made at engineering.

[kt315]

DB i say again, you see on ACE-250 LCD a sector GOLD&BRONZE. THATS HONEST. here you see JUST GOLD. thats sure marketing chinese trick - the misleading of potencial buyer (a dummy with zero electronics base knowledge).
M21 STRONGLY BELIEVES chinese that the detector CAN SURE discriminate GOLD from ALUMINUM caps that we sure know IMPOSSIBLE.

closed subject -!

[marcelo2112]

Mark iron as iron, all others are aluminum.
Some videos are very good at indicating what kind of metal. Others are like mine, everything is iron to aluminum.
Depth is not very good. Yes the P / P.
Unfortunately I cannot see images of the Russian forum.
Can I put an oscilloscope to calibrate? Any tutorial to see?
Thank you very much for your answers.

[kt315]

it seems you want get 2500USD detector from 50USD one remaking.

good video for start of the lesson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-7oWixapSs

[Skippy]

Here is the internal photo on the Russian forum.
It's no help though, the pots are not labelled by function, so only the manufacturer knows what to do.

[dbanner]

Mark iron as iron, all others are aluminum.
Some videos are very good at indicating what kind of metal. Others are like mine, everything is iron to aluminum.
Depth is not very good. Yes the P / P.
Unfortunately I cannot see images of the Russian forum.
Can I put an oscilloscope to calibrate? Any tutorial to see?
Thank you very much for your answers.

Are you saying that everything else besides iron registers as alluminum?
Edited.

All the videos on youtube of this detector indicate to me that it is rubbish detector.

I said before that it is not a toy. I TAKE THAT BACK! I was mixing this one up with the ACE250 chinese clone, the MD6250.

The response while swinging a target over the coil is very slow and sometimes it only respond in one direction. What a rippoff!


FIRST THING YOU CAN TRY TO ADJUST THE TRIMMER POT IN THE COIL.