Making my own pinpointer

Rammjäger

Elite Member
Joined
Sep 4, 2007
Messages
4,158
Just out of curiosity,
I'm planning to make my own customized pinpointer.
I have got already some ferrite antennas ( I only need one of them:D)
and copper cable . Electronics - I will use one of those personal
handheld security detector circuitry.
Now I have to get a Ohm multitester and meassure how much ohm
resistence there is in the original round coil - try to get the same Ohm
amount resistence in the new lineal primary and secundary coils.
Then I will get a plastic hinge and put it at the middle in order to get
this pinpointer shorter in longitude as much as possible.
It should not be larger than 7 inches when folded.
Let's see what turns out :lol:
 

Attachments

  • bobinado.jpg
    bobinado.jpg
    32.7 KB · Views: 13,470
Hello, I'm also thinking of building a pin-pointer. I have all the tools and have a lot of electronics under my belt. Harbor Freight has a nice volt/ohm meter for under $5. They had them on sale a time back for $1.98 and I purchased 4 of them. I'm looking for a good circuit, schmatic, for a pin pointer. If you have a link for a circuit please share. Best of luck with your project.

Jim, Mobile, AL
Fisher F5
 
Hello, I'm also thinking of building a pin-pointer. I have all the tools and have a lot of electronics under my belt. Harbor Freight has a nice volt/ohm meter for under $5. They had them on sale a time back for $1.98 and I purchased 4 of them. I'm looking for a good circuit, schmatic, for a pin pointer. If you have a link for a circuit please share. Best of luck with your project.

Jim, Mobile, AL
Fisher F5
Hello Jim,
It's nice to hear someone has this project too.
To make things easier,I plan to adapt this good circuit to a "new" coil.
The 5 inches diameter original round coil gets about 4 inches on a mid
sized coin. Therefore the circuitry is powerful enough to get a good depht.
I first intended to modificate its form without cutting it off and it began
to make the same tip,tip.....tip,tip,tip....tip-tip-tip-tip-tip sound
(just ike the ProPointer does.)
I guess this effect is because of the coil's wires "seen each other" ,but
the sensitivity was not good enough. By adding a ferrite and changing its
position,the effect should also change for the better.
Check / Probe /Check /Probe .... is the only way to find the best result.
I marked each one wire with colours which match before cutting them.
 

Attachments

  • circuito pinpointer.jpg
    circuito pinpointer.jpg
    75.5 KB · Views: 8,607
The larger the circuitry is,the more powerful it will be.
Don't look for simple ones,but for larger ones...
This one is, in my opinion,the best for this purpose.
Look at the 2 potenciometers,each one for setting the
sensitivity/balance of each coil.
 

Attachments

  • circuito 1.jpg
    circuito 1.jpg
    45.6 KB · Views: 13,210
That's cool! I'll eagerly await the final product... HH
NC
OK,
As soon as I get all the materials I need I will report.
But first I need now to get some digital Ohm tester.
Looking now for one of these in some internet auction :lol:
 
I am just looking for that digital multi tester.But I was not sure
how many Ohms should I expect for a small coil to have.
I researched it and there seems to be very low Ohm resistence.
Somewhere inbetween 2 and 20 Ohms should be the norm.
So I should get a multitester that measures low Ohm amounts in
the Ohm range ...:roll:
 
Coil Resistance

The coil resistance will be very low, 1 or 2 ohms or less it depends on the amount of wire or turns. The most important thing is the inductance of the coils. This changes with turns, size of form they are wound on, the material it is wound on and the size of the wire. This might be difficult without some test equipment. You will have a good chance of making them the same if you wind two identical coils. Same form and turns.

Best of luck with your project.

Jim, Fisher F5
 
The coil resistance will be very low, 1 or 2 ohms or less it depends on the amount of wire or turns. The most important thing is the inductance of the coils. This changes with turns, size of form they are wound on, the material it is wound on and the size of the wire. This might be difficult without some test equipment. You will have a good chance of making them the same if you wind two identical coils. Same form and turns.

Best of luck with your project.

Jim, Fisher F5

Thank you Jim,
for this help and info. I will try all combinations possible.
I have seen also some pinpointers have 3 separate coils wrapped on
the ferrite rod. That is, the primary coil divided in 2 sections and
the secondary coil at the middle.
Again:
this is not a modification of the electronic circuitry,
but only modification of the coil in its shape.
This challenge is fun and I hope to get the best possible output/sensitivity .
I will give my best,or I will die trying :lol:
Miguel
 
There's no way...

There's no way you'll even come close to what a Garrett pro pointer can do. Just bite the bullet and get one. I know it sounds like a lot of money but in the long run, if you are going to be digging a lot of targets, it will pay for itself.

If mine stopped working in the middle of an outing I'd just pack up, go home, order another. I will not hunt without one.
 
I am just looking for that digital multi tester.But I was not sure
how many Ohms should I expect for a small coil to have.
I researched it and there seems to be very low Ohm resistence.
Somewhere inbetween 2 and 20 Ohms should be the norm.
So I should get a multitester that measures low Ohm amounts in
the Ohm range ...:roll:
If you have a harbor freight close you can get the meter there. I believe that they also sell a pinpointer for around $20.00 bucks.. but then you'll miss the fun of building one... as for the ohm's of the coils, you could add a small pot, in series, to each coil and adjust the ohms(of the pot) to get the best performance. just my 2¢
 
If you have a harbor freight close you can get the meter there. I believe that they also sell a pinpointer for around $20.00 bucks.. but then you'll miss the fun of building one... as for the ohm's of the coils, you could add a small pot, in series, to each coil and adjust the ohms(of the pot) to get the best performance. just my 2¢

I will use the pots that are already there in the circuitry.
I don't want to begin making the coils until I get that Ohmtester.
Because I don't want to cut and weld so much wire unecessarily
trying to guess how much wire I need.
I have already a good pinpointer.Not a ProPointer ,but one that gets
true 4 inches on a coin target.Only problem is that it has a 4 inches
diameter round coil and I would like to narrow down the target as much
as possible.
It will be fun adapting one of these,you can believe it :D
 
I have a Garrett G-2 Enforcer Handheld detector... I just took it apart and checked both coils.. they ohmed out approx 4.6 ohms.. I hope that helps...
 
I have a Garrett G-2 Enforcer Handheld detector... I just took it apart and checked both coils.. they ohmed out approx 4.6 ohms.. I hope that helps...

Thanks for the tip,it will help me.
I have been looking in internet for cheap multitesters but
they seem to measure Ohms from 200 Ohm and upwards....
I would like to be sure the multitester I buy is suitable
for that use:roll:
 
Thanks for the tip,it will help me.
I have been looking in internet for cheap multitesters but
they seem to measure Ohms from 200 Ohm and upwards....
I would like to be sure the multitester I buy is suitable
for that use:roll:

the "200" would be from zero to 200 ohms...The next scale prob "2000" which would be from 201 ohms to 2000 (2k) ohms....
 
Back
Top Bottom