Myers Depot Metal Detectors

My AT Pro mods for getting serious in the water

Ice Scratcher

Ice Scratcher

Elite Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2012
Messages
18,347
I have been in the water a lot lately...

I found the transition from the dirt pretty tough (understatement)...

Right off the bat, I noticed how hard it was to swing through the water. Then I remembered seeing a you tube video, I think it was Grave Digger Max's video, of him taping his coil wire up the shaft of his machine..

Well I really had no intentions in the near future of switching from the 5X8 coil or adjusting the length of the shaft..

So in an effort to streamline it on a hydrodynamic level, I taped up the coil wire and ran it straight up along the side of the shaft... I also removed the lower cam lock too, it is held in place by the spring loaded button anyway..

How well did it work? Well I have about 30 hours on it now and it is awesome!! I used regular electrical tape and it is holding up just fine...

I met up with fellow member FortuneFinder the other day, he is running the same coil and all, and we traded machines for a second to assess the difference. It was impressive to say the least... He said he will be doing the same to his, after swinging mine for only ten seconds..lol..

Here are the pictures..

IMG_3940_zps11a5f314.jpg


IMG_3941_zps40872998.jpg


Thanks for looking and all the best on your quest!!

<*)))>{
 
matmit said:
Are those the regular headphones?
Have you ever gone under water with any headphones?
Click to expand...

Yep, just the stocker muffs...

I have not dunked my head yet, I need an waterproof set still.

I have learned to use my foot to help lift the scoop in the deeper water from my chest and almost up to my chin..

With a waterproof set, and when its warmer, I might be dangerous lol...

<*)))>{
 
Ice Scratcher said:
I have been in the water a lot lately...

I found the transition from the dirt pretty tough (understatement)...

Right off the bat, I noticed how hard it was to swing through the water. Then I remembered seeing a you tube video, I think it was Grave Digger Max's video, of him taping his coil wire up the shaft of his machine..

Well I really had no intentions in the near future of switching from the 5X8 coil or adjusting the length of the shaft..

So in an effort to streamline it on a hydrodynamic level, I taped up the coil wire and ran it straight up along the side of the shaft... I also removed the lower cam lock too, it is held in place by the spring loaded button anyway..

How well did it work? Well I have about 30 hours on it now and it is awesome!! I used regular electrical tape and it is holding up just fine...

I met up with fellow member FortuneFinder the other day, he is running the same coil and all, and we traded machines for a second to assess the difference. It was impressive to say the least... He said he will be doing the same to his, after swinging mine for only ten seconds..lol..

Here are the pictures..

IMG_3940_zps11a5f314.jpg


IMG_3941_zps40872998.jpg


Thanks for looking and all the best on your quest!!

<*)))>{
Click to expand...

Not wanting to sound Stupid but I recently started water hunting as well and yes it is totally different and very hard to swing the detector through the water. I noticed that the drag on the coil and rod is there so swinging fast is out of the question. So my question is how much resistance can the coil wire be moving through the water if it is tightly twisted around the rod and held in place in two locations with a strap of some kind Like I said dont want to sound stupid but I see no reason to tape the whole shaft unless you are having falsing issues with the coil cable moving Oh and I also removed the lower cam lock due to sand getting in it and making it hard to remove the lower shaft to clean but If this helps in the water I might have to give it a shot
 
Txdirtfisher said:
So my question is how much resistance can the coil wire be moving through the water if it is tightly twisted around the rod and held in place in two locations with a strap of some kind Like I said dont want to sound stupid but I see no reason to tape the whole shaft ....................
Click to expand...

It helps on a hydrodynamic level. If you want to see what even having a foot of extra wire under water effects, just try to wave a pencil through the water.. Now put it on the end of a three foot stick and try the same.. The spiral really make for a lot more surface under the water.

If the wire is not taped up fully, the water has to flow through and or over two things. When it is taped up completely like that, along the side, it is seen and felt by the water as one. Also having the coil wire running up the side also helps to streamline it better in the one direction.. When is comes to water, EVERY little bit helps..

I hope this clarifies it a little better...

If you looked at the lower units, i.e. outdrives of high performance racing boats VS. everyday outdrives you will notice how much cheating resistance in the water can matter. It is like air X 1000...

<*)))>{
 
Kes

Kinda makes sense I guess but must not have felt the resistance I guess that you mention anyway good luck and thanks for the explanation I myself like to switch coils for the different locations I hunt so this would not work for me unless I can get me another ATP for just water hunting again thanks and HH
 
Wouldn't one of the heat shrink tubes be better then electrical tape..its not gummy on the inside and easy to remove when you need to and sticks fast.

Some of the md'ers are using the shrink tubes for their sand scoop handles and machines for surf searching.

Also if you tape it to the side then isn't there going to be a big loop at the top from the left over wire???
 
Great idea to reduce water resistance. Not sure about using the sticky tape.. but all good.:takeoff:
 
Great questions guys!!

DetectorOCD said:
Electrical tape is awful to clean up after you remove it though. I'm not sure the cleanup is worth the benefit.
Click to expand...

Some tape is worse than others concerning the sticky residue left, this is 3M and I don't think it is too bad. Also I have no wish to remove it, if I ever do, mineral spirits makes really quick work of that job..

Dark Chameleon said:
Wouldn't one of the heat shrink tubes be better then electrical tape..its not gummy on the inside and easy to remove when you need to and sticks fast.
Click to expand...

Heat shrink would probably be the best ticket in town!! I thought of that as well, but did not have any at the time. Next time I would go that route, this was more of an experiment that worked awesome first try. Next time, if there is one, I will try to find some shrink wrap, but it is like $10 for a piece. You would still want to tape the cable in a few places to insure good positioning before the shrinking, unless you have ten hands lol..

Dark Chameleon said:
Also if you tape it to the side then isn't there going to be a big loop at the top from the left over wire???
Click to expand...

I was surprised how little was left at the top. Just a couple, no more than three wraps near the control box. Having the extra coils near the control box is not that big of a deal. It is the other end of that "long lever" that is best suited to be streamlined..

<*)))>{
 
Not trying to sound like a jerk, but any electrical tape (3m, scotch, etc) gets gummy and nasty when you remove it, especially if it was wet. I suggest doing what another poster said and use shrink wrap instead. You can easily cut it off later if not needed. Just my .02.

GL and HH
 
DetectorOCD said:
Not trying to sound like a jerk, but any electrical tape (3m, scotch, etc) gets gummy and nasty when you remove it, especially if it was wet. I suggest doing what another poster said and use shrink wrap instead. You can easily cut it off later if not needed. Just my .02.

GL and HH
Click to expand...

Like I said above...

And..

I have wrapped the tip of my pinpointer several times. No goo when I unwrap it. It my very well have everything to do with the amount of time it is left on?


<*)))>{
 
Ice Scratcher said:
That looks to be a good temp fix for the water, if it had a slit down the length of it... You could take it off when you were done hunting, and clean it out... It might be a wash on restance with larger diameter though..

<*)))>{
Click to expand...

it was just a thought :lol: yea I figured cut a slit down it and it would be easy to take off and on for coil changing and quick cleaning of the shaft. I used self sticking wrap on my shaft before and learned that after a while in the water and heat it became a mess....basically didn't hold up very long
 
Get a carbon shaft and run your coil cable up the center, no electrical tape needed. That's what I'm going to be doing on a DYI build for a PI Saltwater machine.
 
I thought about running it inside of the plastic/aluminum shaft and although you might get it to go in the bottom of the tube, not sure, It needs to exit the shaft pretty close to the control box, on an ATP there is not a lot of extra length on the coil's cable.. If you cut a hole big enough for the connector to fit through, it will weaken the shaft too much..

Someday I might try to get a straight shaft but I think it will still need to be ran outside the shaft...

<*)))>{
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Hound46
ETrac headphone plug repair-sponsors?
Replies
4
Views
157
Ken Clad
Ken Clad
W
D-Tex Coil Cable ?
Replies
0
Views
112
west40texas
W
S
xp deus shaft modification
Replies
6
Views
333
Steve
S
Hound46
Sunray Gold Pro headphone repair
Replies
15
Views
371
Laxsaltman
Laxsaltman
CountyWorker
Moved the pod on an 800.
Replies
5
Views
331
IDXMonster
I
Back
Top Bottom