My custom Harbor Freight 9 Function Metal Detector (MD6008)

Looking good! Seems like that would be a fun summer project! Can't wait to see how it was all done! I like the pinpoint toggle!

nice, very nice, you should call it a Wit's (an intellectual opportunity)

pretty cool!!!

Good Old American ingenuity- nicely done. Cant wait for the "for dummies" do it yourself version

Love the MODS!!! Love to tinker myself...

I'm going to subscribe to this thread, could you post your updates and links to your new threads here please? It'd be easier for everyone to keep up instead of looking for new threads....

GREAT JOB!

This is actually hilarious! GREAT job!!!

I ran into a post about the cheap pin pointers and was considering getting my brother one. So I went to Harbor Freights website and they have a store in Winston-Salem. And, I took a look (on the website) at this detector. Low bucks on something that works, I actually considered getting one for myself. But since I have 3 detectors right now, and it was a bit of a drive - I opted out.

Now, I've followed this thread sporadically, and what the heck!!!

You've swayed me, I just may get one... Now, if I had better eyes and steady hands....

But then for a project like your's, maybe I should just be outside digging in the dirt instead.

Your project is extremely interesting, and educational.

Accolades to you

Impressive mod!

Great attention to detail!

I love your mod! Can you help with mine?

First off, your mod is awesome. I won't even come close to that. That said, I am attempting to mimick this mod:

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/metal-detector-modifications/306836-12-pvc-frame-water-resistant-mod.html

So, I've been interested in giving metal detecting a go for a very long time, but could never justify spending a bunch on a decent detector. Then I found out about the Harbor Freight 9 Function Metal Detector. I bought one, and I decided to mod it up before taking it out. The materials are really flimsy.

I'm wondering if anyone can help me out here. I gutted the HFMD9, and set it up the same way as the detector in the above. I desoldered the coil cable from the main board, as well as the useless meter. I got everything packed into the wet box, resoldered the coil cable to the board, but now, when I turn the detector on, all it does is beep, at everything, metal or not. Just holding the detector still, all it does is chirp non-stop. Is it because I did not re-solder the meter to the board? I'm pulling my hair out and I am about to give up and just junk all of it. I took a picture of the main board before I desoldered it, so all of the wires are back where they need to be. I don't see any terminal bridging from solder that could be causing a short. Do I need to bridge the "+" and "-" where the meter was wired to the board? Any help would be great! Thank you.

Update
Did the mod project turn the MD6008 into a $500 or better detector? Nope. Can I help someone else mod one? Nope. I tired several times when asked and I don't think many got far with it and just wasted their time and money - and 7 years later I am of no help beyond my original instructions.

Save yourself the effort, frustration, and money and simply buy a Bounty Hunter Tracker IV. It has the modern ergonomic shape, same or better in ground depth, and is actually 100% stable and ready to use - all for often the same amount of money.

If you already have the HF MD6008, or it is all you can afford, enjoy it as it is. Overall the stock MD6008 is a good detector for the price.

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Interesting to see another tried to reach me about the HF MD6008 mod on here. I am posting this message for the details and links I have for anyone interested, and the final outcome. Sorry but no need to contact me further on this mod as I can not help. I know someone online will find this thread again regardless of my new post, or because I'm an active member again and ask.

I can honestly say after 7 years time I have no memory of the project, so what was wrote about the mod project at that time is it. I haven't touched the modded detector since.

I was contacted off and on for several years about my project, most contacted me in various stages of modding one themselves, but I never saw anyone else's projects or heard of another being completed besides mine.

Sadly Photobucket removed all the photos and I can't edit my original post so I placed those original photos in a photo album on FMDF. The original website I made for my tutorials/details/photos about my mod are available on the WayBack Machine from here.

The detector worked fine for a few hunts, but wasn't anything special either. The detector developed a ground balancing(?) issue (falsing over soil and in air at times) on the last few trips I used it on. Problems most likely due to excess heat (late summer) much like the Harbor Freight sold Cen-Tech 97245 pinpointer. The 97245 I found instructions for modding that with a 100 Ohm NTC Thermistor and solved the problem, so likely one would need to be added to the MD6008.

After those last trips and problems with the detector instead of digging back through the electronics and trying do a repair, or improve the original by adding a thermistor or such, I bought another detector. I couldn't justify spending any more money or many more hours on the project. The modded detector itself however was kept, I covered it and placed it into storage.

Thanks for the update, it's good to know about the reliability issue. Think I have one of these in storage - I never gave it a fair shake but may pull it out and gift it soon to a friend to see if he can use for collecting brass.

shellhouse said:

Thanks for the update, it's good to know about the reliability issue. Think I have one of these in storage - I never gave it a fair shake but may pull it out and gift it soon to a friend to see if he can use for collecting brass.

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Glad to update the thread and let it stand on it's own with new updated links.

Gifting it would be a great idea and let it get put to use. Stock setup it does about 3-4" on clad (at least on max depth I found with it), so depending on your friends brass size/depth need it should be helpful.