K4PI Mike

In regard to extending the cable between the pickup head and the circuitry, I was able to accomplish my goal. I wanted to use what I had on hand and not buy a pin pointer. I did extend the cable an extra 16 ft. A friend gave me one of the DIN connectors I needed, male, and I had a female. Got some CAT 5 cable from another friend and wired it all up. It is very possible CAT 5 would not have been needed and just any 4 conductor cable would have worked. I would never recommend this for any serious searching but all I needed was a "yes metal/no metal" indication and it certainly did work for that. It was on a 16 ft pole and I was able to discover the problem with an antenna that I had at 100 ft. Standing at the 100 ft position and reaching out 16 ft to the problem as with just the pickup heed, I wound say was real easy, but it was doable. I had the control head with me. Mike

Hi Joe, well weight is a big consideration ie trying to maneuver the control head along with the pick up coil on a 16+ ft stick of pvc. The Pickup coil is very light in weight so moving it around alone would not be to much of a problem. Being a ham you probably know where I am going. I am using a SteppIR antenna and I want to see if the tape is actually moving in the fiberglass tube. The motor is drawing current but by varying the length there should be an SWR change and there is not. It is director # 1 on a 4 element 32 ft boom SteppIR. The motor can be running but the tape not moving due to a stripped sprocket. It is 100 ft off the ground so a big jog to take down or expensive to rent a bucket truck to check it out. If I find the tape is not moving I will rent a bucket truck and repair it but not before I am completely satisfied it is bad. 73 Mike K4PI

Thanks for the input. I don't mind buying the cable but thought maybe someone had already tried this. I found and extension cable for about $20 so might be worth a try. The Be-Cu strip is about an inch or more wide but fairly thin, Thicker than a standard tape measure. Probably just have to go for it and see. Will keep you posted.

I am new here so there may be a better forum to ask this question so redirect me if needed. I have a Teknetics Delta 4000. I need to probe a fiberglass tube 2 inches in diameter to see if I can detect a copper beryllium strip which should be inside. Unfortunate I cannot get closer than 16 ft to the tube. I have found a 25 foot 5 pin DIN cable that would extend the cable that is on the 4000. I could then detach the pickup coil and mount that on a 16 ft PVC rod leaving the electronics and readout with me. I only need to know if there is something there or not there. The rod is 100 ft off the ground and 16 ft out from my closest reach. Anyone ever tried to extend the cable?. I know it is not a perfect situation but I would save me a lot of money if I can detect the metal strip. Regards Mike