My Latest Toy of all time----Mirage PI Build Sept 2015

[Sven]

Always have to be building a better mousetrap.
Thought you guys might like to see what I am up to when not detecting.
Managed to squeeze another inch of depth with the 7" coil using my 14kt wedding band as a target.
Air test just at 13".

Next build will be the prospector version, as a couple requested I should build one to be specific towards very tiny gold nuggets with a 5" coil.

New 8.5" coil just about finished.

 

[Mega]

That is starting to evolve into a serious piece of kit,the 7'' option would be deadly on a few of my roman sites,can vouch for the 5'' coil version being superb on small gold,next step for me will be the 7'' coil version,just started getting out again after back problems,but this week should start hitting the best possible gold celtic sites.

Love that colour scheme,but that 10 turn pot control really is the icing on the cake on what is all ready one of the deadliest made PI machines on small finds and especially gold jewellery and gold coins.A serious piece of kit for sure

 

[woodchiphustler]

Very nice Sven. Waiting for the Ground Balance control. Can you do it????????????????????????

 

[Sven]

Very nice Sven. Waiting for the Ground Balance control. Can you do it????????????????????????

We haven't found the need to add GB, so far handles most soil and salt conditions in the US and Europe easily without issues or loss of performance. Don't know about Cullpepper USA.
Just has issues in the Australian Golden Triangle like any other VLF's and PI's, a few guys are busy building one and I did sent over a couple
complete ones. Needs more actual field time testing over there to see how it goes. May need to devise a DD coil over the winter for Oz.

 

[Sven]

Had to take it out in the backyard for a ground test to see how it handled the power lines above along the property line.
No problems, this is by the far the most stable, best performing version I have built.
Had my gold wedding band buried at 9".
My 8.5 coil was not ready to test yet, so I grabbed the 5" coil and 7" coil.

The 7" coil had no problem picking it up, you definitely knew it was there with the coil 1" above the ground. At about 2" above the ground, the audio response was getting fainter.
I am happy with that especially with a 7" coil.

Afterwards put on the 5" coil, no target audio response at 9" with the coil 1" above the ground. Reburied at 7", you knew it was there.

Recovery and sweep speed used can be pretty fast with the SAT turned up.

Can't wait to build myself a new water PI for next year using the same version circuit board.
I am very happy with it.

 

[woodchiphustler]

Culpeper is in the Iron Belt of the united states and only a ground balance PI will work. You have great skill Sven. Continued success.

 

[finnfoto]

That's a very nice unit Sven . Well done Mate.

 

[icurabeachguy]

Had to take it out in the backyard for a ground test to see how it handled the power lines above along the property line.
No problems, this is by the far the most stable, best performing version I have built.
Had my gold wedding band buried at 9".
My 8.5 coil was not ready to test yet, so I grabbed the 5" coil and 7" coil.

The 7" coil had no problem picking it up, you definitely knew it was there with the coil 1" above the ground. At about 2" above the ground, the audio response was getting fainter.
I am happy with that especially with a 7" coil.

Afterwards put on the 5" coil, no target audio response at 9" with the coil 1" above the ground. Reburied at 7", you knew it was there.

Recovery and sweep speed used can be pretty fast with the SAT turned up.

Can't wait to build myself a new water PI for next year using the same version circuit board.
I am very happy with it.

I can't imagine what a new water version would perform like...the old one is still ticking along like a swiss clock Don't get to detect too often these days, but the older Mirage is still a great water machine. Color me interested!

 

[machineman]

I always liked oval coils. I think a 5x10 for the Mirage would be sweet for prospecting. I just ordered a kit from Sven. After I get it running I will try to work up a coil for it. I ordered a 7" coil to start. I cant wait.

 

[Sven]

You should take yours out and try some relic hunting.

I started on a new water machine, cannibalized a White's Beach Hunter ID control box and headphones.
I am able to fit a 10 turn Frequency pot into that box. Something I would like to add to all my water machines.
A Lithium ion battery pack slides right on in as well.

Still looking for the right waterproof control box that's just a tad larger than the ones I have been using.
It's been a challenge.

I am taking a look at another housing and see if I can use it, won't be here until after Christmas.

There is something else I am looking to is expand the lower range of the Pulse Delay Control.

 

[Sven]

I always liked oval coils. I think a 5x10 for the Mirage would be sweet for prospecting. I just ordered a kit from Sven. After I get it running I will try to work up a coil for it. I ordered a 7" coil to start. I cant wait.

That's what a number of us on Geotech thought, final conclusion is the round coil is better. You actually lose some sensitivity and depth with the oval coils.
But, the tip comes in handy for sticking into holes to help pinpoint a target. I found the oval coils compress the target so to speak, makes it a bit harder to determine what the target is.
Some nails will no longer give a double blip and give a narrower response. It is very usable for coin and ring hunting parks and schoolyards. You can turn the threshold almost silent and hunt the
first 6" beneath the soil without deeper nails jumping in.
There's always room for experimentation.

 

[icurabeachguy]

You should take yours out and try some relic hunting.

I started on a new water machine, cannibalized a White's Beach Hunter ID control box and headphones.
I am able to fit a 10 turn Frequency pot into that box. Something I would like to add to all my water machines.
A Lithium ion battery pack slides right on in as well.

Still looking for the right waterproof control box that's just a tad larger than the ones I have been using.
It's been a challenge.

I am taking a look at another housing and see if I can use it, won't be here until after Christmas.

There is something else I am looking to is expand the lower range of the Pulse Delay Control.

Relic hunting is something I'd like to try; however, the amount of UXO remaining here is quite numerous and not worth it.

Have you looked at the Sea Hunter cases? Those seem to be quite robust and pretty cheap if bought used/broken. It also might be worth a shot to see who makes the cases for the Aquasound as that looks quite spacious inside also.

For water hunting, I really like sealed battery compartments that isolate the electronics like the CZ21 or Minelab Excal. If salt water breaches the unit on a dual field (or Mirage for that matter) the whole unit is toast unlike the two aforementioned units. The less I have to fiddle with seals, the better....for the life of me, I can't figure out why wireless charging hasn't been integrated into a water machine by now because that would allow for a completely sealed unit eliminating the need for wires and more seals that can/will fail.

 

[Sven]

Think the Sea Hunter faceplate is sealed-glued to the case to insure waterproofness.
Will inquire anyways. Aqua Sound cases are way too big for my tastes. I like keeping everything compact, less water resistance
when swing in the water if the box is submerged. Plus its heavy enough without a lot of air space making the box too buoyant.
Finding the perfect off the shelf general purpose waterproof enclosure is a problem. Having custom ones made up, way too costly.

 

[TC-NM]

Sven, Really like what you do. Can I purchase a unit from you w/8.5 coil?

Thanks,

TC-NM

 

[Sven]

PM me with your email and I will send you information about it.

 

[TC-NM]

Hi Sven, Sent you a PM pertaining to the Mirage PI Detector.

 

[Sven]

Pretty cool unit using a re-purposed vintage Wilson-Neuman Daytona control box.

Now sports a shorter control box tube with a White's middle tube and lower rod.

As well with a 8.5" search coil.

Works great.

It's a one-of-a-kind

 

[icurabeachguy]

Great work as always Sven! Looks like another winner

 

[barnett25]

Great job!
I build a Minipulse Plus last year to take to the beach, but I am curious how the Mirage might perform in comparison...
So many projects, so little time.

 

[Sven]

Great job!
I build a Minipulse Plus last year to take to the beach, but I am curious how the Mirage might perform in comparison...
So many projects, so little time.

Thanks.
The MPP is an excellent DIY general purpose PI redesigned by George Overton after the old MP circuit. A gift from George to those that want to build a very nice PI.
It still has potential to be redesigned by those capable into an even better performer.

The original Mirage circuit was designed around finding small tiny gold, 1.5 grain in mineralized soils, black sand. Which it did.
It has been repurposed as a beach machine (about 10x) to build a better PI for mainly very small gold jewelry at very respectable PI depth. It is also calibrated for max depth and sensitivity to
those items. With this calibration what was lost was the ability to detect the small 1.5 grain, but still has the sensitivity to detect 3.5 grain gold nugget. It was found to be an excellent beach machine as well as a PI for inland
schoolyard, park hunting, as well as for farm fields.

Build the latest version Mirage and you'll find out how different the two are.
Current Version Specifications:

Pulse Frequency....1500Hz
Pulse Delay............10 to 90us
Pulse Width............12 and 30us switchable
Threshold...............Silent to audible
Audio......................VCO
SAT.........................1/2 to 10 seconds
Gain........................5 to 1
Frequency Adjust....10%
Search Coil.............300us
Operation Power.....12 volts

It has no problems handling salt water beach surf hunting and or most soil conditions found anywhere with out the need for a ground balance control.
Guess the biggest test for the Mirage is the soils at Cullpepper.

The Mirage is a detector "you" can build yourself that can, will rival the performance of many high end PI machines.
The Mirage was built to serve my needs and my hunting style and situations, it was not intended to be built to be a mass produced marketed design.
So for those that want to build their own PI, I usually have extra PCB's handy when a new version is drawn up and have no problem offering them
to those that are interested in building their own Mirage. And be proud to use a machine they have built themselves. Just my way of giving back to the hobby.

The Mirage does what it does, as it was designed, just as the MPP does what it does for what it was designed to do. Just as all the other DIY PI's you can build.