SwampFox

Since cost is no obstacle, I would explore GPR Ground Penetrating Radar. In my past experience GPR shows disturbed soil in lines or waves this could indicate previous intrusion i.e. the Fiber Optic Casing with the copper indicator Tracer. In a past Life I did many last mile Fiber to the Site (End User) installations. Of course we knew the start and end points of the fiber casing. However we often did not know the exact location of the travel of the fiber which causes issues when installing power poles and other semipermanent structures. We found a solution using inductive coupled RF this is not a perfect solution to your problem but it is work around. You can buy a low powered transmitter on ISM Frequencies we often used the 13.56MHz, we used a Magnetic Loop Antenna to loosely couple that power to the tracer wire then we used a very small receiver that was very inexpensive. (Not that cost is a factor, but because open trench construction sites are a hazardous environment. Things get damaged, lost or treated roughly, so an inexpensive item can easily become a consumable item. If any of this is of interest to you contact me and I can walk you through it. All this is not a perfect solution however it does work and might just be an answer for you to consider.

Thank you Steve, I in fact own and use 2 DFX's as well as a Spectrum Eagle. I have as of lately been on a much simpler mission in building Lithium-Ion battery packs for several Whites and a couple of MineLab metal detectors. For years I have always used Alkaline Batteries in a standard battery pack instead of using rechargeable batteries. The reason being is Ni-Cad and Ni-Mhd batteries start to loose voltage the second you start to use them so I used Alkalines because they are much more stable voltage wise. Only recently have the Li-On batteries come to a point in their development that the Voltage is super stable until the current is depleted somewhere in the 75th percentile. But back to the coils I am first working with the Whites DFX as well as a couple of MineLab detectors I have already built a couple of DD coils. I am experimenting with the angle plane of the coils to see if I can enhance in any way significantly, the functionality of the detector. I am basing my work on the fact that Magnetic Loop Antennas can null out interference by being off peak to the hottest point of a received signal. I know the Transmitted signal should be coupled as best as possible, however in my experience often a weak almost unreadable signal may be detected by rotating the Receive Loop off to one side or the other from maximum coupling. I work with a guy a few years ago who used various ferrite cores, some loop others bar shaped to cause the magnetic pattern to be shaped into an extended or oblongated pattern. Anyway thank you for your previous information in your earlier post. Laurin

The figure 8 or BigFoot is one of the designs that I want to try, since they are no longer in production. There are a lot of detectors out there that people are still using and would like accessories for besides the newest out of the box. Sure if ya got megabucks you can buy the newest, but many folks want to start detecting without spending a fortune, others like the detector that they have and would welcome some add-ons for their existing machine. 😉 so I'm looking into producing some coils. Yes I heard the guy who said I could never equal what the factory built. But as an Electronic Engineer I know for a fact there are many products that are built to the minimum standard and can always be tweaked for maximum performance by not just hitting the minimum and shooting it out the door!

I am located in the US and in Northern Georgia to be exact. The name was given me by an old gentleman who I often encountered in the Mountains of North Georgia while hiking, camping 🏕 and fishing 🎣. I've always been an outdoors person from young childhood. When I was 4 years old a friend and I spent most of our preschool days outside weather permitted. We continued that into adulthood in Scouting. I since raised 3 kids that way and they are raising their children the same. Of course Metal Detecting and Gold Panning are a part of that.

Hi guys and Gals, I'm new here but been hunting since 1964. I'm an Radio Frequency Electronics Engineer. I design and build all kinds of Radio Frequency devices. I have been thinking about building my own pick up loop coils. I built some years ago when I worked for a fledgling metal detector company back in the MetroTec Days. If I recall correctly it was for a BFO type detector. I am now working with VLF Motion Detection and Descriminate type detectors, and a few Pulse Induction (PI) units. Most units operate between 3.0 and 40.0 KHz. Any input would be appreciated. Thank you 😊 Laurin the old SwampFox