Sven
Well-known member
OK, so there has been some discussion amongst a few over the years about the external control pots used on the Deeptech units.
Think the major issue was they feel cheap and move about a bit when adjusted.
Well start with this issue. They flex a bit so you need your non detector hand to adjust them, instead of being able to adjust them
with your detector hand like a Tesoro. The main reason for this is the pots are not held in place on the Deeptech machines faceplate
with nuts as a standard pot. The face plate just has holes larger than the pot shaft diameter to slide thru. This was done to make it easy and faster
to assemble and dis-assemble a control box. Deeptech pots are soldered directly to the circuit board, they are not your standard pots that have solid metal shafts
with threaded shaft sleeves that can be nutted tight on the faceplate, used by other detector manufacturers. By using these pots, keeps building costs down and eliminates
a cobweb of wires inside like Tesoros and many others that are known after awhile to weaken and possible break at the solder joint.
Since the pots Deeptech use are solder mounted to the circuit board via 3 legs, they will flex a bit. This gives the Deeptech units a cheap feel about them. Deeptech now uses newer type knobs
that fit better and cause the pot to flex less.
As for the pots themselves being used. They are basically a glorified trimpot. They are inexpensive and can be as cheap as the Pots used by major detector manufacturers.
Trimpots in general are soldered to circuit boards to be adjusted on a limited type basis as for calibrations, they were not designed for a continual adjustment, limited lifespan.
They come in many sizes and styles
Deeptech uses the Phisor brand of trimpots they are larger than your standard trimpot with stronger solder leads(legs) for support.
"Our PT series are worldwide known, they are widely used in the household appliance and automotive market and it is difficult to find a home or a car without one of our "PTs"
Plastic material according to UL94V-0
Dust proof enclosure
Life up to 200k cycles That's 200,000 rotations
http://www.piher-nacesa.com/pdf/14-PT15v03.pdf
For comparison, standard Alpha brand pot used by many have a rotational life of 15,000 cycles.
Really nothing wrong with the pots used by DeepTech overall.
The flex concern by many in the past boils down to I think, is that detectorists when making a pot adjustment have a tendency at first, grabbing the pot, is to push on it, upward like a lever, when its a rotational device..
When the pot mounted securely to a faceplate it would not flex.
A possible solution to this maybe Phisors plastic trimpot housing. Not sure if they make them with the threaded sleeve long enough. It could act as a hole bushing.
Other than that, those that are concerned about the pots used by DeepTech, nothing really to worry about.
Shouldn't stop anyone from buying a DeepTech.
Think the major issue was they feel cheap and move about a bit when adjusted.
Well start with this issue. They flex a bit so you need your non detector hand to adjust them, instead of being able to adjust them
with your detector hand like a Tesoro. The main reason for this is the pots are not held in place on the Deeptech machines faceplate
with nuts as a standard pot. The face plate just has holes larger than the pot shaft diameter to slide thru. This was done to make it easy and faster
to assemble and dis-assemble a control box. Deeptech pots are soldered directly to the circuit board, they are not your standard pots that have solid metal shafts
with threaded shaft sleeves that can be nutted tight on the faceplate, used by other detector manufacturers. By using these pots, keeps building costs down and eliminates
a cobweb of wires inside like Tesoros and many others that are known after awhile to weaken and possible break at the solder joint.
Since the pots Deeptech use are solder mounted to the circuit board via 3 legs, they will flex a bit. This gives the Deeptech units a cheap feel about them. Deeptech now uses newer type knobs
that fit better and cause the pot to flex less.
As for the pots themselves being used. They are basically a glorified trimpot. They are inexpensive and can be as cheap as the Pots used by major detector manufacturers.
Trimpots in general are soldered to circuit boards to be adjusted on a limited type basis as for calibrations, they were not designed for a continual adjustment, limited lifespan.
They come in many sizes and styles
Deeptech uses the Phisor brand of trimpots they are larger than your standard trimpot with stronger solder leads(legs) for support.
"Our PT series are worldwide known, they are widely used in the household appliance and automotive market and it is difficult to find a home or a car without one of our "PTs"
Plastic material according to UL94V-0
Dust proof enclosure
Life up to 200k cycles That's 200,000 rotations
http://www.piher-nacesa.com/pdf/14-PT15v03.pdf
For comparison, standard Alpha brand pot used by many have a rotational life of 15,000 cycles.
Really nothing wrong with the pots used by DeepTech overall.
The flex concern by many in the past boils down to I think, is that detectorists when making a pot adjustment have a tendency at first, grabbing the pot, is to push on it, upward like a lever, when its a rotational device..
When the pot mounted securely to a faceplate it would not flex.
A possible solution to this maybe Phisors plastic trimpot housing. Not sure if they make them with the threaded sleeve long enough. It could act as a hole bushing.
Other than that, those that are concerned about the pots used by DeepTech, nothing really to worry about.
Shouldn't stop anyone from buying a DeepTech.
