Home made SM Pro PI detector

[MattBullSummerville]

Maybe this is not the best forum for this post but if it helps anyone with ideas of their own I hope it helps. Bought a SM Pro circuit board and 10" coil off of eBay. The arm cuff and lower rod came from Kelly co. Think I found the shaft lock on eBay as well. Radio Shack had the 8 AA battery holder. Water tight box came from Walmart in sporting goods. Not sure how water tight it is now after punching holes in it. Used a metal broom handle for the upper rod and to attach the arm cuff to. Curved handle is a piece of PVC pipe heated at about 180 degrees in my oven. Does not take long, maybe 10 minutes. Formed it and inserted metal rods while hot. Works surprisingly well and not affected by salt at the beach. Coil will want to float so I used a bag of sand when wading. Does not miss a hair pin on the beach! PVC pipe also comes in handy for other modifications as well.
HH and Merry Christmas Matt

 

[Mega]

That has turned out to be a nice little machine,looks like it will do the job very well on the beach,as you are running a 10'' Mono coil on it what type of depth are you getting with it ??? i would think it does go reasonably deep.

Well done

 

[MattBullSummerville]

Have an 8" and 10" coil. Not much difference on depth but the 10" has a wider pattern. I have found dime at the beach about 7 to 8 inches. Quarters will go deeper, 10 inches still able to hear them. With new batteries my wedding band will air test around 12" with a tone I would dig. It is a dig all machine though. Some times I can tell the tone is a coin if it's within the first 6 inches. Still get fooled sometimes.

 

[Sven]

Welcome to the world of PI's where only the few hardy people venture.
If you want information on building your own coil that doesn't float, PM me your email address.
Enjoy your PI

 

[RockRaven]

Very inspiring, nice clean build. Really like the custom pvc curve and nice finished look of the whole project. Interesting to know the capabilities of that kit/system.

 

[finnfoto]

Looks like mine only I have a toggle for my on and off switch. LOL Awesome fun.

 

[Mega]

Had thought about putting my old Musketeer into a waterproof box so that i could gain some extra depth,at the moment i have the control box around my neck,so in theory i can detect upto about 5ft in fresh water,do i need extra depth and the additional cost,as i only use it a few times a year to detect for roman votive offereing in fresh water river and lakes or infact any fresh water water source i guess i dont really need a totally water proof machine really.

5ft depth for me is good enough,i just bung me old chest waders on and away i go,a a cheap form of water detecting without the high cost involved,also have just won a stainless steel scoop so that makes it even cheaper

 

[Patrick(MI)]

n/t

 

[finnfoto]

I did the same exact thing and found that wonderful walmart water tight box gave me issues. Sooo to remedy the situation I used a Tesoro Tiger shark box with face plate and inset the pots to the existing control knobs of the tigershark. . The surfmaster cirtuit board slid down inside the box nicely and so did my battery pack. 2 small holes at the end of the box . one for my earphones and the other was for my coil cable. I fit each one with a small cable fitting like on the backside of a tesoro compadre. . Iside I added some 1 minute epoxy around the cables and on the outside a small touch of silicone.

I installed my power toggle on the inside for now and a new rubber seal around the face plate. Everything installed and tight. I submerged it into my swimming pool for 5 minutes in 4 feet of water. Removed and is still completely dry after a couple tests.

Didnt work thatw ay the first goround with the otterbox. It took on water. Glad I left the unit dry before repowering.

 

[z8chase]

Does anyone have a pi kit laying around that they'd donate? I'd love to try to build my own detector. I had to sell out last fall when I was diagnosed with periodontal bone cancer in my jaws. I've got approx 3-4 years left and I fully intend to spend every minute possible looking for treasure. If anyone has a spare kit or just some junk they'd part with please let me know. I love building and experimenting. Just message me and thanks. I truly love reading up on everyone's adventures

 

[nge]

Get you some RSO for that cancer. Just google " Rick Simpson" you'll soon see what RSO is.

 

[finnfoto]

Here's my most recent surfmaster pi.pro mod. With 8inch seahunter coil and headphones .

 

[imtack@verizon.net]

Did you have to do anything special to run the Garrett coil?