A
Anonymous
Guest
Decided to put together a little detector for the younger kids, and thought some of you might like this idea for kids of your own.
One of the first problems with younger kids is getting and keeping their attention. If you want to get them interested, and KEEP them interested, they need to find something worthwhile and find it QUICK !
I took a little Tesoro Compadre and did the following modifications just for the younger kids. Since teaching them the set-up and controls is pretty much of secondary concern at this point, and showing them the "fun" is more important, I wasn't worried about anything but "kid-sized performance" at the moment.
First, I removed the on/off and discrimination control, and replaced it with a simple on and off toggle switch..... up = on, down = off. That will be the ONLY external control on this machine.
Next, I replaced the discrimination control with an internal miniature trimmer pot soldered directly to the circuit board, and adjusted it to just kick out the dreaded older square tabs while still just signaling good on zinc cents.
Next, the stock 7 inch coil was replaced with a little 4 inch concentric, hard wired in place of the stock coil. No problem whatsoever now for the kids to learn "pinpointing" skills.
Next, the rod was shortened and modified for "short legs", and a little more tweaking done to the internals.
I'm telling you, this is one HOT little machine !
Ralph
(Will undoubtedly void the warranty, and is probably not condoned by Tesoro, but the kids love it, and that's all that really matters ! <img src="/metal/html/smile.gif" border=0 width=15 height=15 alt="
"> )
One of the first problems with younger kids is getting and keeping their attention. If you want to get them interested, and KEEP them interested, they need to find something worthwhile and find it QUICK !
I took a little Tesoro Compadre and did the following modifications just for the younger kids. Since teaching them the set-up and controls is pretty much of secondary concern at this point, and showing them the "fun" is more important, I wasn't worried about anything but "kid-sized performance" at the moment.
First, I removed the on/off and discrimination control, and replaced it with a simple on and off toggle switch..... up = on, down = off. That will be the ONLY external control on this machine.
Next, I replaced the discrimination control with an internal miniature trimmer pot soldered directly to the circuit board, and adjusted it to just kick out the dreaded older square tabs while still just signaling good on zinc cents.
Next, the stock 7 inch coil was replaced with a little 4 inch concentric, hard wired in place of the stock coil. No problem whatsoever now for the kids to learn "pinpointing" skills.
Next, the rod was shortened and modified for "short legs", and a little more tweaking done to the internals.
I'm telling you, this is one HOT little machine !
Ralph
(Will undoubtedly void the warranty, and is probably not condoned by Tesoro, but the kids love it, and that's all that really matters ! <img src="/metal/html/smile.gif" border=0 width=15 height=15 alt="
"> )