Vibraprobe 560 Switch Mod

[Ron Brown]

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Here's the way I installed a switch on my Vibraprobe 560 so I could turn it off when I want to. First you'll need a rubber leg boot that is used to put on the ends of table and chair legs, size inch and a quarter, which can be bought at a hardware store, Home Depot etc. Next buy an off and on switch plus two 9 volt battery snaps from Radio Shack etc.
Remove the plug on the end of the probe and cut off the ring at the end of the probe where the plug is installed. Now measure the diameter of your switch and drill a hole slightly smaller in the centre of the rubber cap. Solder a red wire and a black wire to the switch and install it in the cap. Next put one snap on the battery and one on the probe. Now solder the black wire from the battery to the red wire from the probe. The black wire from the probe connects to one side of the switch and the red wire from the battery connects to the other side of the switch . Put it together and that's it. To turn on the probe you still have to hold the tip up and flip the switch but turn it off by flipping the switch again. No more waiting for the probe to shut off.
here's a few pictures.

 

[Daniel A.]

Thats good thanks. Dan

 

[Mi$$ouri Jim]

I did nearly the exact same mod a few years ago. I used the exact same switch & 9vlt connectors as well (except the 9vlt connector was made of hard plastic). But I used a rubber cork (wittled down to fit inside the endcap). To turn it off I usually just hit it on the ground or my leg (depending if I was standing or on my knees at the time). I LIKE your idea of the rubber furnature-leg cap! Couple of questions..... is it hard to pull the cap off? And is it a tight fit with the wires/connectors/battery/switch inside the pinpointer?, because it sure is with my mod version.

 

[balkoths]

What I want to know that since you have modified the probe with a on and off switch, is it still waterproof. It seems that it wouldn't be since you have cut the plug out of the end of it and installed the switch where the plug was.

HH
Randy

 

[Ron Brown]

I wouldn't submerge it under water but have used it in wet conditions and had the whole thing covered in mud and it worked okay. Sometimes I had to hold the switch down to keep it on but this was in extreme conditions. I find the switch very handy and I mostly use the probe in dry conditions. HH

 

[Ron Brown]

The cap slides right off and there is plenty of room for wires and battery . I bump the switch against my leg also to turn it off or on, very handy. If the switch fails in the field you can easily connect the wires back together and the probe will work like it did before the switch was installed. HH