spring cleanin'

[-=john=-LexKy]

Hoi all!

hope the new year brings you some neat finds and you wrap up this year with something other than snow. I must applaud Bavaria Mike for his diligence. Well done! You sir, have it bad, I am really surprised you can keep a wife. ;-)

So I was going on a short trip tomorrow after getting the call from buddies. One guy needed me to show him how to use a Whites QXT. Another odd duck detector I like.

So I made sure the CS batteries were charged etc. And it quickly became obvious that I could barely read the display on the "rode hard" CS. So spring cleaning it was. I took the whole box apart completely and blew out the dirt, scoured the box itself and shined up the plastic faceplate. My hex nut retaining the din connector at the back was loose anyway so an oportune time to tighten it and check that the internal power leads were not loose.

I tore the house apart looking for some Teflon plumber's tape to seal the box but none was anywhere. Guess I'll have to open it back up when I get some.

If your CS is dirty too, then send it back to Fisher or have a skilled electronics person get the dirt out for you. Nothing good can come out of running these units dirty. The dust and dirt will soak up moisture and the failure then could be very bad.

The CS was back together and tested at 1:30 am in the back yard. Ahhh ... ready for the new year.

hh

-=john=-

the Coinstrike Homepage

 

[Anonymous]

& good luck out there & in 2006 too! Be sure to post more of your great War of Nothern Agression relics!

 

[-=john=-LexKy]

Hi all,

I had an e-mail that said this:

>Did it (opening the CS) damage whatever seals it up ... ?

No, nothing seals up the CS so opening it can't damage any seals.
That is the problem. The enclosure on these units is a bad joke on us. If I can ever fabricate a better one I will.

4 screws hold together 2 snap-together clamshell halves. No seals exist on these 2 halves. The worst problem however is the face plate. The clear faceplate fits into a channel that has no seal. Since water and dirt fall into the faceplate and are trapped there because of that stupid lip or shroud that surrounds it, there is nowhere else to go but into the control box. A year of casual detecting will soon fill the box with dirt. (I don't know how bad this is around sand on a beach. Obviously salt would get in and corrode everything.)

If the faceplate gets real dirty it has to be removed from the display to be cleaned. Exterior acrylic can be polished.

I am going to try a couple of ways to seal the unit. One is COAX SEAL the other is Teflon plumber's tape. Note if the unit is sealed air tight then some dessicant should be strapped inside to absorb moisture. Away from salt I suggest leaving a vent hole to prevent condensation.

If you are not an experienced electronic assembly person then do not open this unit, send it to Fisher.

hh

-=john=-


<a href= "http://home.insightbb.com/~johnhetti/coinstrike/"> click here for the Coinstrike Homepage</a>

 

[-=john=-LexKy]

Hi,

Dan said:

>(on Excel) I found that the faceplate channeled the moisture to
>a bleeder hole at the top of the keypad. Is this the same with C$?

No. There is no hole in the faceplate luckily or mine wouldn't have lasted through the first day I used it. It was raining of and on.

hh

-=john=- johnhetti@insightbb.com