My surf P.I. build.

[Coininator]

Needed something to do to help cure the cabin fever here in Chiberia (Chicago burbs) so I decided to build a P.I. detector. Case is waterproof supposedly good to 100 ft. Board kit off Ebay. Headphones home brew 30db with Kobitone speakers. Shaft is Garrett lower with paint extension shaft with bike handle for grip. Coil home brew 8" housed in an Ebay acquired coil housing. Still have a few things to finish but it air tests about 10" to 12" on most U.S. coins. Needs some fine tuning and labeling but in all a fun project to do and will be usable.

 

[Sven]

Nice build, but, have to ask before you dunk it....is that a Plano box?

If it is and you find that it leaks after being submerged, look at the corners.
My orig water PI a number of years ago has some water weeping in. had a heck of a time finding the leak.
Until I attached a valve stem and pumped in just a bit of air......leak was found.

 

[Coininator]

Nice build, but, have to ask before you dunk it....is that a Plano box?

If it is and you find that it leaks after being submerged, look at the corners.
My orig water PI a number of years ago has some water weeping in. had a heck of a time finding the leak.
Until I attached a valve stem and pumped in just a bit of air......leak was found.

Hi Sven,
The box is made by a company called Woox. Supposed to be good to 100ft. Read a few reviews from divers and they were good. Dont really plan on diving with it but with hexseals on the control shafts it should be waterproof enough and be able to take a few dunks. Have been reading your posts on several sites and think you have some nice looking builds. This was my first metal detector build and I enjoyed making it. Looking for my next project already.

 

[Sven]

Can you post a website link to these boxes. That would give me an alternative to what I currently buy from Underwater Kenetics.
Thanks.

 

[Coininator]

Can you post a website link to these boxes. That would give me an alternative to what I currently buy from Underwater Kenetics.
Thanks.

Sorry guys the box is made by xoom not woox the link follows. I pulled the label off and had it upside down looked right cause of the goofy lettering lol. You can get them on Ebay and Amazon. Apparently they make a few sizes.

http://www.xoomwaterproofbox.com/html-en/products.html

 

[Coininator]

Can you post a website link to these boxes. That would give me an alternative to what I currently buy from Underwater Kenetics.
Thanks.

Those Underwater Kinetics boxes look pretty nice. How have they been working for you? May check them out as I have a couple of their dealers close by. Dont think the long board will fit in the one I used for this build. I may try making one out of acrylic tubing.

 

[Coininator]

For those interested just soldered this up today. This is what the longboard version of the kit from the UK looks like. Its dimensions are around 6 1/4" x 1 1/4".

 

[Sven]

Haven't had any problems with the UK boxes, best box I have used so far and they are priced right.
You might save some money buying direct if you email them for a price as you can buy them with with
clear top or colored and with or without silicone insert pad (you don't need).
You might want to see if they have a small box to fit the Surf like I rigged up a bunch of years ago, using two battery packs.
Pictured is a Plano box (no longer made) that was not waterproofed.
That was my first attempt at building a metal detector.

 

[Coininator]

Haven't had any problems with the UK boxes, best box I have used so far and they are priced right.
You might save some money buying direct if you email them for a price as you can buy them with with
clear top or colored and with or without silicone insert pad (you don't need).
You might want to see if they have a small box to fit the Surf like I rigged up a bunch of years ago, using two battery packs.
Pictured is a Plano box (no longer made) that was not waterproofed.
That was my first attempt at building a metal detector.

That looks really nice for your first. Gotta think about how I want to do this one. Would like to do it with some round or square acrylic tube. Used to work with plastics a bit made quite a few antennas and other amateur radio related items. I think I maybe addicted Sven, I am already working on another project I wanna try and I haven't finished this one yet.

 

[Sven]

Since you have worked with plastics. I used to make things of polycarbonate years ago.
If you have access to a lathe drill press, you can easily built a tube enclosure or have some one else do it.
A tube with o-ring sealed ends. To lock the ends in place, a hole drilled in the center of the end caps. A threaded rod will run from one end to the other end of the tube, thru the end caps.
A threaded knob on one or both ends to tighten the end caps to the tube. You can also use waterproof sealed APM nuts on the threaded rod ends.
That's quick way of sealing if you want to make an Explorer type set-up.
Some acrylic tubing or material doesn't like water and will warp. That's why I went with polycarbonate back in the 1980's when I was building Salt Water Aquarium Wet/dry filtration systems.

Have fun, guess you got the bug. usually hits you after you built your first machine for a lot less than a manufactured machine and performance is just as good...................a good
learning experience as well. The best part is when you find stuff with it...............

 

[Florida-Hunter]

Interesting because I just finished my own Surf PI yesterday, and took it to the beach last night to test it. It works great... i think
I dug the deepest penny I've ever dug at the beach yet compared to other detectors I've used!

It took a while to fix some of the bugs I had in my system, mostly issues with the search coil, but everything is now stable and working well. My build is a bit more slapped together than yours looks... However I'm really not finished yet. I'll eventually swap out the broom handle for aluminum, and the coil needs another coat of epoxy then sanded smooth. Right now I've only got a strip velcro holding my upper arm attached to the detector, it isn't very comfortable and needs to be fixed. Anyway good build coindinator!


Next I need to make or buy a better digging tool! I normally use just a probe in the dry sand using my White's MXT. But after digging that penny out of a deep, water sand hole yesterday, I realize I need something better.

 

[Coininator]

Interesting because I just finished my own Surf PI yesterday, and took it to the beach last night to test it. It works great... i think
I dug the deepest penny I've ever dug at the beach yet compared to other detectors I've used!

It took a while to fix some of the bugs I had in my system, mostly issues with the search coil, but everything is now stable and working well. My build is a bit more slapped together than yours looks... However I'm really not finished yet. I'll eventually swap out the broom handle for aluminum, and the coil needs another coat of epoxy then sanded smooth. Right now I've only got a strip velcro holding my upper arm attached to the detector, it isn't very comfortable and needs to be fixed. Anyway good build coindinator!


Next I need to make or buy a better digging tool! I normally use just a probe in the dry sand using my White's MXT. But after digging that penny out of a deep, water sand hole yesterday, I realize I need something better.

Changing and improving the build is part of the fun. You can adjust it to suit yourself. I would get or make a nice beach scoop sounds like you maybe needing it. Havent got mine out yet the weather here isn't cooperating. Enjoy it as said previously its great to find some goodies with something you made yourself.

 

[Hobo lobo]

Does anyone know where I can find a oscilloscope at a reasonable price? Thinking about building a PI kit and have been told that I need one for calibration.

 

[Coininator]

Does anyone know where I can find a oscilloscope at a reasonable price? Thinking about building a PI kit and have been told that I need one for calibration.

You can make this without a scope if you have a Dmm. Scope is nice for troubleshooting and fine tuning but not required. Plenty of new and used ones on Ebay. If you follow the instructions in the link below it will work fine. . I have a portable but assembled and tuned mine without it.

http://www.adrianandgenese.com/blogger/2012/07/13/how-to-build-a-surf-pi-1-2-pulse-induction-metal-detector-from-a-diy-kit/

 

[Sven]

All depends on what PI you are building. The Surfmaster can be built "without" a scope. The Surf kit was designed around controls that have a known fixed value
that would make a general purpose working detector quickly for mass production (Whites). This is why the Surf is a good beginner detector to built.
Most other VLF and PI detectors need a scope to calibrate.
There is now way around it.

Buy a good scope off the bat. Save yourself grief when an older scope malfunctions, huge size and weight. Get a modern digital scope. I am happy with the Owon brand.
I splurged and got a DS6062, sold my older analog. Glad I did. Some of the cheaper digital scopes you will not see coil and dampening resistor ringing, not enough resolution.
But, they will work fine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiY9R93XA1g

 

[kaolinwasher]

NICE, I love the one sven built as well