Auvio 33-283 wireless headphones - small mod

[BH_Landstar_]

I was lucky to get hold of 2 sets of the Auvio 33-283 headphones last year. I've had great results with them on all the detectors that I've used and currently own. There was a problem with the transmitter tho, but I've solved that issue early this morning. The problem was the 3.5mm jack (see picture below) that sticks out of the side of the transmitter, at times I had bad connection issues with the adapter and lead that I use to connect the transmitter to the detectors.

I decided that I was going to get rid of the problem once and for all. I took one of the transmitters apart and de-soldered the 3.5mm jack and replaced it with a lead that has the correct jack on it for all the detectors that I use (E-Trac, X-Terra 705 & AT Pro). Now I don't have to worry about extra leads or connectors for the wireless feature that I rely on so much.

 

[mudpuppy]

Good Job! Whats yer clad count up to now? Nearly 800 bucks, or are you over?
Mud

 

[BH_Landstar_]

Thanks.

Clad count will be over the $720.00 mark, I just got to add the last few days totals.

 

[Critterhunter]

Good job! I've been playing with the idea of replacing the jack on my Sovereign GT with the smaller size on the headphones I like. Had using an adaptor myself too. Always worried it'll snag in the woods on something. I'm not using a 90 degree adaptor but rather a straight one, which makes it more of a risk because it sticks out more away from the face plate. I figure if I ever get headphones with the bigger standard plug for a detector I'll just yoke the bigger plug off it and solder up the smaller more sane size I prefer and want to replace my GT's with. I have no clue why detectors manufacturers feel the need to stick plugs on headphones that are the size of WWII military grade hardware. Just seems senseless to me to do that. I could see on say a mine detector or something but we are talking the modern/lighter/smaller digital age here where everything seems to be getting lighter and smaller but some detectors.

Even the headphones I use are smaller/lighter. Sony Studio headphones. About 1/3rd the size/weight of regular headphones. So much more lighter, more comfortable, don't make my ears sweat, and with great audio that doesn't sound like it's coming out of a tin can enclosure. They still block out plenty of outside noise, although I like to be able to hear a bit of what is around me to keep tabs on things. Used them wading in heavy wave action with my GT and still had no issues with external noise becoming a distraction.

Want to get a pair of those wireless headphones sooner or later. Kbron2000 is using wireless ones on his GT. Not sure if they are the same brand or not but he says they work great with no delay and were only around $44 I think. The really slick thing is he uses them when he's water hunting with his GT as well, so that only the coil cable comes out of the waterproof box he throws his GT into quickly for water hunting days, and no need for waterproofing a headphone cable as well. I really like that idea for that, and it'd be nice to have no wires attached to my body when I land hunt too. I tried hip mounting for land and didn't like all the extra connections to my body like I was on life support. That's why I built a light weight shaft for my land rig so I could keep the control box on the shaft.

Don't mind chest mounting the box when water hunting, but going to throw it into a waterproof box Kbron is using, but I'm going to mount it on a snap on back shaft extension so it's not on my body and won't drag/float/risk a leak in the water. It'll stay above water level even if I'm neck deep. Perfect solution to me...

 

[tincanalley]

BH... I have one of those also. I didn't want the thing hanging off or on my detector. I tested it out with the adaptors, and when it seemed to work great, I took it apart and threw away the housing. I de-soldered the battery which left just enough room to add a tiny voltage regulator to the PC board to reduce the 18 v. of the detector to... I think it was 4.5v. Wired it in to the on/off switch so it only came on when I turned on my detector. I also wired it so I could plug a dummy 1/4 inch phone plug into the headphone output, and it would bypass the wireless txm. and send a normal signal to my speaker, or if I plugged in wired phones, it bypassed the txm. and fed my HPhones.

Don't know why all detectors are not wireless... well, I do... kinda. If the wireless txm went out, or your phones when out, you'd have no sound. But all they need to do is design it as I did and you could use a wired set of phones in case the txm went south... and either use a dummy plug to bypass the txm to use your speaker or have a small switch to do it.

 

[Critterhunter]

Now I like that idea! When I get around to getting the wireless headphones (might be the same ones as in this thread?) that Kbron2000 says work great with his GT (thus mine too), I might just open my machine up and install the wireless module INSIDE the control box. I've had the box apart more than a few times, once to wire up a remote PP jack to plug into for one located on my grip instead of having to flip the switch on the faceplate. It will bypass the stock switches only when flipped a certain way, and returns control when flipped back, and also when unplugged the stock switches also still work.

There is plenty of empty space in a GT control box for a little wireless module. I'll do the same thing- I'll make it so the transmitter is bypassed when a headphone jack is plugged in and then regular headphones will then work again. I even plan to remove the stinking internal speaker. Never use the thing and it's audio is terrible. I only use it when doing videos so people can hear, but I'm going to tape a headphone bud to my mic on my pocket camcorder for recording audio for videos. It should also give much betteer audio for people that way too when watching. One of my biggest complaints about youtube videos for the Sovereign is they give people the impression it's audio is gritty and real bad. Nope, it's got fine detailed audio that is smooth like butter and really conveys target traits. Just that the stupid built in speaker makes it some nasty like a screaming cat in a garbage can. I bet that really hurt it's sales if people heard it's audio on videos with everybody always using the built in speaker for filming.

PS- The voltage regulator to step down the voltage is a good idea too to run the internal wireless module. I've used linear regulators to power my pocket camcorder at 3V from a 12.6V lipo used to power my electric RC planes when filming from the air. I wanted to ditch the two AAs in the camcorder to save as much weight as possible. Only thing is be careful about how much input voltage the regulator can handle. If it's too excessive to step down to the wanted output voltage the linear regulator can't shunt off enough enough and it'll shut down on thermal overload. I wouldn't risk a switching regulator. They are more efficient but they generate a ton of EMI noise which is bad news for a detector. In fact, I'd shield the transmitter/linear regulator from the circuit board via a ground RF shield, and only expose the side away from the electronics of the detector so any EMI gets bounced away from the electronics so it doesn't require you to lower sensitivity due to EMI generation.