Waterproof Housings, you might like this

[Sven]

I built my own PI and looked around for a nice inexpensive enclosure.
What I found was a Plano 1450 tackle box at Wally World.

Designed to furnish airtight and leak-proof storage for your important and valuable items, the Plano Guide Field Box 1450 also features a strong poly-carbonate construction for maximum protection. A Dri-Loc Seal, padlock tabs and a patent-pending latch with pressure release also ensure a reliable, secure seal, and a soft rubber lining helps prevent your valuables from sliding around. Don't risk your expensive gear getting damaged or ruined on the water - the Plano Guide Field Box 1450 delivers a convenient, easy-to-store waterproof solution.

Dimensions: 9" x 4.875" x 3"

My PCB fit in nicely and the side was a perfect location for the pots that were also protected by ribs for the lid.

 

[hershey1]

That is a good looking job. Thanks for posting. HH

 

[Mike T]

That is nice! have you used it yet? how does it perform?

 

[Sven]

That is nice! have you used it yet? how does it perform?

Yes I have and it works great as does the land version.
Works like any other PI. I use both mostly on the beach at the moment.
I can't make any hyped up claims, it does what I had intended them to.
Still playing with them.

Can tell you I am happy with the air test . Mind you haven't actually buried anything to check depth range. Pop cans are no problem at 2'. Pain digging for them in the water.
last week took the land version and found lots of coins on the cleaned out beach that were passed up by many. Went back this morning with the Tek Omega and found 3 coins.
So I didn't miss much last weekend.

AIR TESTING AFTER CALIBRATION

Last measurement where you heard a slight threshold change after passing over a target.
Outside user controls adjusted to be sensitive to small gold, which also means sensitive to small foil to 6-7

 

[hobbes_lives]

Nice job on the build!

Is the circuit from an existing detector, or is it self designed?

The coil looks home-built too, best I can tell from the pictures. I'd like to know your coil building method as well, if it is home-built.

Again, nice job!

 

[timmysys]

Very nice work! Congrats!

 

[Sven]

Nice job on the build!

Is the circuit from an existing detector, or is it self designed?

The coil looks home-built too, best I can tell from the pictures. I'd like to know your coil building method as well, if it is home-built.

Again, nice job!

Home brew using Carl Morelands Hammerhead PI as a base to work from, re-engineered, which I can't take credit for. But, took the schematic to PCB and distributed
a number of PCB's back to the electronics engineer, another engineer. We all built them, they work great after a few corrections on the PCB and
component values were changed. Just sent a PCB and parts to the UK, fella is going to build one, will be interesting to see what kinds of gold, silver etc he may find with it.
I have about 6-7 months of work in my units, even tho you can build up the PCB in an afternoon, wind a coil (not epoxied into a shell)
and have it working the next day. The problem was getting parts, can't find anything in this Northern Canadian city, purchased from numerous suppliers which sometimes
took a month to arrive. Not the same like when I was living in the US....

Coils for the PI are not hard to build, plenty of coil building info at Geotech. Building your own detector is a great little hobby, there's plenty of help to guide you to building
a working unit. Sometimes frustrating but, worth it in the end when you find your first coin. Guys were laughing at me saying my first bunch of targets were going to be
pulltabs and bottlecaps. Last laugh was on them, first target dug, first 5 minutes was a $2 coin.

Built my own coils. Basically wind a wire coil bundle to predetermined winds needed. Cable tie it tight, plastic spiral wrap, then add a copper taped shield, drop in shell and epoxy
in place with non conductive potting epoxy, some guys use plain epoxy resin.

 

[Sven]

Wow, what a surprise, 3 hunts, no noticeable leaks when water hunting.
Last time out, PI was going a little squirrelly after about 1 hour of total smooth operation.
Pulled the box out of the water to make an adjustment and noticed some condensation inside.
You guessed it, about a teaspoon of water found it's way in. How? That was my question. I was 100% sure there
was no way water was getting in past any pots seals, connector seals, and screw bolt seals. So there was only
one place it could seep in from, the lid and gasket. But, the gasket was coated with silicone lube and the lid had some extra pressure
from the armrest and mounting bracket. Still came in.

Decided to pressure test the box by installing a valve stem in the box side and pumping in some air. Found the leak pretty fast.
Coming in from the front ends of the box. Thought maybe some extra pressure on the gasket & lid might work. So a screw and thumb nut
were placed on each end thru the security holes. Even at full tightness, the lid still leaks

Took a good look at the end of the lid, I see a slight warp upwards. Not a good thing. I do have another identical Plano box that is not warped.
So either these boxes are not truly waterproof or they warp after submersion. Maybe they are waterproof (meant to float) as long as they are not submersed
for an extended period of time.

This particular PI build goes pretty deep, lucky for me no damage was done, works totally fine.

So just a warning you might think twice about the Plano boxes, good enough for fishing, not good as an underwater housing.
Time to look for another.