PimentoUK

F75 / T2 control boxes are lightweight, smaller electronics PCB's etc are not the way forwards. A lighter shaft would be viable. The lower moulded carbon/resin shaft could be replaced with a woven rod ( like the ML Equinox for example ). The middle section could be thinner gauge tubing ( like the Eqx; 0.040" versus 0.056" ). The upper isn't suitable for thinner tubing, due to dodgy design. The T2 battery is situated where it's doing useful counter-balance work. If it's replaced with a Li cell, it needs to be a similar weight ( 100 grams ) , eg. 3 x 18650 or 2 x 21700. This would give huge run-times, likely 100+ hours, which would be a unique selling point , but not really that useful to most people. ( Sorry for the off-topic )

Size 904085 means the dimensions are 9.0 x 40 x 85 mm. "90" indicates thickness in tenth of mm, so 9.0mm thick "40" indicates width in mm "85" indicates length in mm So as an 'emergency measure' , you could fit a smaller cell in its place, such as a thinner one, with the same L & W, or one the correct thickness, and width, but shorter in length. Obviously a smaller cell will have a smaller capacity and correspondingly shorter runtime. I've no idea what runtimes on this machine are, so can't say how small you could go and still have a useable machine. Original spec is nominally 3700 mAh I believe? One possible candidate is 804070 size, which appears to be used in some computer gadgetry. I see they are listed on US eBay, US stockist. ( they are 2600 mAh, about 70% of the capacity of the original ) https://www.ebay.com/itm/175146369695 The seller of the above also has a 104080 ( 10 x 40 x 80mm ) , if you think 10mm thick could be squeezed in, it would be a good substitute, as it's 4000 mAh capacity https://www.ebay.com/itm/174763350067

It's possible the new XTerra doesn't have a security etc chip inside it at all. That would explain why it can accept V / Eqx coils - it simply doesn't read the chip. And fitting an XTerra coil onto a Vanquish/Eqx won't work because there's no chip to identify it, so it will just result in a CD error and switch-off.

Yes, I'm familiar with the Ukranian work. They simply took the entire circuit-board from a working Eqx coil, put it in a box, and put a new 'plain' coil on a long cable onto it. There are smarter ways of making a new Eqx coil, but they're not exactly commercially viable, just suitable for the dedicated enthusiasts. The exception is the new Sunray probe for the Eqx. This takes advantage of the fact the original Eqx coil is always still attached, even when the Sunray is the 'working' coil. Hence the security side of things behaves as normal. Geotech1 forum has some chat on the subject of Eqx coils. The original post is about swapping coils about between different machines ( really - putting cheap coils onto expensive machines ) , rather than making new 'cheap' coils for any of the machines.

Quote:"all these coils are only limited to a chip and not the coil itself" A Chip ? In the Equinox, there's a circuit board full of components, including at least two chips, and plenty of transistors/diodes/R's&C's etc. The 'security/identification/anti-copying' part of the electronics is just a part of it. The main bulk of the electronics is a low-noise pre-amplifier circuit with differential output, to boost the signal levels befor sending it down the cable. There's no compelling reason why new XTerra coils will have too much in common with the other machines. The upper freq limit of the XTerra is 15kHz, the coils may not be capable of running higher, for example. Vanquish/Eqx coils have a transmit-coil made from 'pseudo-Litz' wire ( hundreds of strands of fine-gauge enamelled wire ), to get good high-frequency performance. The New XTerra may just have a single strand wire, for cheapness. The Vanquish and Equinox do have a lot in common, though the Vanquish looks to have a simpler pre-amp, probably not such a low-noise design as the Eqx. The security etc etc chip may be the same basic part ( a serial-access memory device ), but will no doubt be programmed-up to identify as 'Vanquish Only' instead of 'Equinox Only' , to stop people hacking V coils onto the Eqx ( of all the 'hacks' , this one is the most plausible ). The Mandingo's coil is almost certain to have an inertial sensor ( accelerometer or rate gyro ) inside it, much like the CTX coil. This then more-or-less means a microcontroller chip too, for serial data communication. It's a different animal entirely, so there's no way a Vanquish/Eqx coil will work on the Mandingo.

I'm also wondering what "All metal mode" on the Mandingo means .. Zero disc? Prospecting mode?

This topic was covered somewhat in the 'Sea Ghost' aftermarket Eqx case thread. It has a 3D-printed case, with all the buttons on the front panel. And also here: https://www.detectorprospector.com/forums/topic/14071-why-didnt-minelab-think-about-it/ I think 'side buttons' have their place. I personally don't want the backlight button anywhere it can be inadvertently pressed. If I'm detecting 'low key' at night, a 'flashlight incident' is not OK. I think the 'Power On/Off' button may benefit from being a 'Proper' switch for electrical reasons (eg. zero ON resistance ). Membrane / carbon spot / rubbery type buttons are fine for data being read by microprocessors.

Hmm, I suppose when I said "Equals it ..", I really meant: "Has sufficiently low latency that it's not really noticeable to most people in a detecting scenario, hence it's comparable to WiStream" WiStream may be 20msec, BT-LE may be 30msec, but you would be hard pressed to tell. After all, [i]most[/i] detectors have over 70msec latency, and you get used to that. [ Tek T2 / Fisher F75 stated as 78msec lag in normal detecting modes, I'm unsure about the newer FA (fast) mode ] Edit: Here's a photo of the Eqx 800 PCB: the two completely seperate wireless systems are at the top edge of the PCB ( with the chamfered corners ). The black squares are the RF chips, there's a seperate quartz crystal oscillator module for each chip, a fair pile of R's and C's on top and bottom of the board. They couple together into one antenna, along the edge of the board. ( these are the official EMC test lab photos ) https://md-hunter.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/opening-the-minelab-equinox-800-600-03.jpg

I know electronics is my area of expertise, but I've no idea how much the wireless chip, it's associated peripheral bits, and the cost of placing them on the board would cost. Then there's the extra PCB area - this costs too, and makes the machine bigger. Not forgetting the pile of software that the main brains has to run in order to control the WiStream link; remove that, and the designers have a load of free program memory, that could be used to add functionality to the detector.

Don't forget that adding WM08 compatibility would add to the detector price. Having a second set of wireless transmitter electronics for the Wi-Stream system is supposedly not needed, as the Bluetooth LE specification equals it, in terms of latency, anyway.

They are not at all compatible, unfortunately. However, you may find my Equinox Compact Shaft project gives you some ideas: https://www.detectorprospector.com/forums/topic/14805-my-compact-eqx-shaft-project/

They are quite commonplace, the low cost has resulted in them being fitted into all manner of gadgets. For example the hand-controllers for Nintendo WII games machines. Simple remote-controlled helicopters / drones use them to maintain level flight, or to stabilise the direction the heli is pointing (yaw control) . Modern cellphones have a load of these sensors in them. Hard-disk makers use them to detect the 'dropped laptop' problem, parking the heads quickly before impact. Image stabilisation of video cameras / camcorders was an early common application in commercial products - the sensors measure the shake/movement of the camera, and the data that is read from the CCD sensor is manipulated accordingly. https://uk.farnell.com/w/c/semiconductors-ics/ic-sensors/mems-accelerometers?range=inc-in-stock&sort=P_PRICE

Putting rate gyro's / accelerometers in a coil is nothing new, the CTX3030 has one, I'm sure the Manticore will have one. They are very cheap, sub 2 Dollars for a lower spec one. Detectors use band-pass filters to help seperate the 'target signal' from the 'target plus ground signal' . Think of a hifi graphic equalizer with '330Hz' set to maximum, all the other sliders set to minimum. In the case of a metal detector, the target 'pops-up and disappears' at a predictable rate as you sweep over it. Using a band-pass filter centred on about 10Hz is roughly what works best for a typical sweep speed. But if your swing is slower, a lower freq band-pass filter would be better. What an inertial sensor like a rate gyro can do, is let the microprocessor brains know how slow/fast your swing is, and automatically optimise the band-pass filtering continuously, to cater for swing-speed variation. Other uses include: The CTX3030 has a display mode that shows multiple targets in a line on screen. It needs to know which direction you are sweeping, so it displays the left-to-right correctly. At the end of every sweep, you reverse coil direction. Sometimes this can cause a false signal. If your machine knew you were reversing sweep direction, it could momentarily reduce sensitivity, giving no falses. Ground signal pickup obviously varies with coil height - if you coil is 6 inches above the ground, your coil is clearly going to see a lower ground signal. An inertial sensor could in theory measure the up/down wobbles of the coil, and use this to compensate for the (probably) matching ground signal changes. This could help give a more stable auto-ground-tracking function. Or it could reduce ground-signal falses, possibly increasing depth slightly, though use of multi-freq is the primary depth-enhancer, other techniques are just 'fine-tuning' .

The problem with the 'multiples of 62mm' bit is that your cable is likely to be 1000mm long. Maybe it's more correctly multiples of 61.3mm - that's about 1/2" difference over 1 metre. So it's not practical to get the length correct, when the cable is many wavelengths long. And the [i]exact[/i] frequency used is somewhat unknown. The 2.4 GHz ISM band specifies 2.412 - 2.484 GHz as the 'nominal' channels; this gives half-wavelength values of 62.2mm to 60.4mm. For HF/VHF radio gear, we're talking half-wavelength multiples of 1 foot or more, so there is a real chance of getting it 'right' . And also the real-world physical opportunity to fine-tune the cable ( shorten it, anyway ) at the antenna end. Edit: "Does this mean leave the shield on or strip it off?" In this application, simply removing it is the practical solution. The case for unshielding the inner-wire, but leaving the stripped outer attached, is when you want to make a T - shaped antenna feed. Where the co-ax is the vertical of the T, the two top branches are the inner conductor and the removed shield. This is not appropriate for a water-antenna, as encapsulating it in a water-tight way would be a headache, for a start.

No, don't consider it. The exposed 31mm length ( in conjunction with the first 31mm of the shield ) acts as a centre-fed half-wave antenna. This in theory has an input impedance that is purely resistive at the intended frequency. This resistance is 50 Ohms, which matches the characteristic impedance of 50 Ohms co-ax cable. So maximum signal transfer from the antenna to the cable occurs. The cable is low loss at 2.4 GHz, so most of what 'went in' comes out at the other end - all you need to do is match it to another similar antenna, and the signal gets re-transmitted. To be extra nerdy, the length of the co-ax cable matters, and it should ideally be multiples of half-wavelength long, ie. 62mm. It matters because the RF signal current flows in the inner core AND the outer screen. ( Anyone familiar with CB radio, for example, would know the ideal co-ax cable length ( rig to antenna ) is 18 feet in Imperial units ( 5.5metres ), and even if your vehicle installation only required 12 feet, you don't cut down the cable, just leave the slack in your trunk etc.)

Not all PI machines are expensive. Here in the UK, we have the C-Scope CS4PI: https://regton.com/c-scope-cs4pi-metal-detector.html But clearly it's not a nugget-hunter, they are mostly used on the beach ( though that is their target market , they are not waterproof, just the coil ) And of course some pinpoint probes are PI, and they don't cost 'car price' .

Apologies, I skimmed the thread, but ... The length of the stripped section of cable should ideally be 31mm, which is a quarter-wavelength at 2.4 GHz. That then makes it an impedance match to 50 Ohms cable. It's probably not going to be far 'off-spec' using 25mm / 1 inch, but the correct length may just give more leeway on antenna placement etc.

From a Europeans' view, it looks a lot like later Nuremberg/Low Countries Jettons. The 'decoration' around the border is an ornamental feature, loosely based on what would've been a real legible inscription. Sometimes they are referred to as 'blundered inscriptions' , just random letters/shapes in a pattern. The eagle is probably the spread eagle of Germany/Austria/Prussia that is depicted. The holes in it are far too neat to be home-made, so I don't think it's a repurposed item. My best suggestion is it's a button, that takes it's design cues from a late-1600's Jetton. An example of a common-ish 'nonsense inscription' jetton is the 'Venus Penny': https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/921901 And the French idea of decorative nonsense: https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/887679

A discussion about this has just been started over on the Geotech1 forum. So far I've not seen any technical posts about it. Another place to check on is "md-arena": https://md-arena.com/wiki/minelab-manticore/ These guys like dismantling detectors, poking around to see what's new and different.

It sounds like you will need to get hold of a Bluetooth LE module that's similar to the WM08. No doubt eventually such gizmo's will be made. Failing that, buy some LE headphones, rip out the electronics, and re-house it all in a small 'project box' , with a stereo 3.5mm socket, and probably a higher-capacity ( longer-lasting) Lithium cell. Tech problem : they use seperate electronics for each ear ... kinda complicates things.

I'm sure some of the more 'entry-level' detectors will have their microcontrollers programmed in assembler. Some may be a mix of compiled code ( often C++ ) and assembler. For example the popular Microchip IC series: https://www.microchip.com/en-us/products/microcontrollers-and-microprocessors/8-bit-mcus https://www.microchip.com/en-us/products/microcontrollers-and-microprocessors/8-bit-mcus/pic-mcus/get-started-now

"I’ve always wondered why polycarbonate plastic (LEXAN) has not been used in an instance such as this? That stuffs tough !!!" The Eqx coil is moulded from a Polycarbonate ( PC ) & ABS blend. My hunch is they used an inappropriate blend - too much PC , or not enough PC. Plastic failure is not my area of expertise, but I recall stress-cracking to be a characteristic of PC, so if anything, I would speculate using less PC in the blend would be better.

"Also the coil cable is very thin at 2mm thinner than the superbly armored Nokta Simplex coil lead" I assume the Simplex has a conventional coil, and coil cable. Meaning no electronic amplifier inside the coil. So it uses screened cable for the Receive coil wires, screened cable for the Transmit coil wires, and possibly another single wire for an electrostatic shield connection, maybe followed by an overall shield, then the outer sheath. That makes for a fat cable. The Equinox ( and I assume the Mandingo ) have a pre-amplifier in the coil, with a differential output. So the RX cable doesn't really need shielding. There are additional wires, for a power supply, and a serial data link, but these can all be thin. The net result is the Eqx / Mandingo has a thinner cable.

The ears are long so that they can easily bend inwards when the bolt is tightened. The bending is spread over a longer length of material, not concentrated over a very short length, like on the Eqx coil ears. Take a 12 inch plastic ruler. Fix one end, can the free end deflect two inches either way? Yes, easily, it's never going to break the ruler. Now take a 6 inch ruler, and deflect it 2 inches. It's straining the plastic more, and if you repeatedly bent it, you may get some cracking and failure. I would've liked to see the carbon rod fit INSIDE the end-fitting, rather than the other way round. That would be a stronger solution.

I doubt that site is known at all in the English-speaking world. I discovered it several years ago while searching for info about my vintage Whites Coinmaster 2 / DH. https://detecteurmetaux2.blogspot.com/2015/06/detecteur-metaux-coinmaster-2-d.html I'm part-way through restoring it. I have it functioning correctly, I just need to put it back together, then take it for a spin.