PICKINI V4 - an easy to build, self adjusting PI detector

[kosacid]

why use a bc107 instead of just a general-purpose what's the advantage? had to order them lol

[MartyJ1963]

Hiya all,,,,I thought I'd finally better post some pictures of the ring I found and one of the Pickini's I made,,,I have made two Pickini 4's now,,both are housed in identical enclosures with the same decals. The enclosure measure '124mmX96mmX40mm' and is made of Aluminium.The basket coil I found the ring with was a 300uh made wth 16 strand/600v/0.5mm wire that came to 2.6 ohms. Great little project! Thanks. Marty

[BC547]

@kosacid:
when I bought the Pickit3 at the time, there was no interface board included.
So I made my own. Only the top 8 pins of the 14 pin package are required - to make it compatible with an 8 pin PIC package:

http://www.geotech1.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=37669&d=1478186444

Connections :

http://www.geotech1.com/forums/showthread.php?23400-PICKINI-V4-an-easy-to-build-self-adjusting-PI-detector&p=222749#post222749

[BC547]

@BKY1337:

I generated the gerber files from Eagle according to this tutorial https://www.build-electronic-circuits.com/gerber-file/.

When I had sent them to AllPCB, I got an email to ask if they were double-sided.
I then replied that this was a simple, single sided board and the only gerber files needed were:
.drd = drill file
.sol = solder side copper
.plc = silk screen component side
.sts = solder stop mask solder side

This resulted in the board shown in the picture. I am quite happy with the result. Mask color is black and by making the modification from pseudo-double-sided to single sided, I got 7 boards for the initial price of 5.
Not sure if this extra through-hole metal makes any difference ?
I am quite sure, it won't influence performance.
The main factor in performance is - as quoted before by MartyJ1963 - THE COIL !

Best regards,
- Bernard

[BKY1337]

If you want through plated holes then you need to send them gerber files with through plated ones.

[kosacid]

if anyone bought a kit here is the settings remember to tick the power setting

[kosacid]

i think you have to order them double sided then they will put the through holes in, only thing is it is more expensive i like the through holes though, i didnt have to wait long for mine it was like a week but i think the programmer is on the slow boat

[BC547]

Very nice PCBs.

I once ordered 5 PCBs at https://www.allpcb.com/.
Delivery time was about 3 weeks and my boards did not have the through hole metal like yours:

[kosacid]

back to building giving the drones a break just need the programmer now

[6666]

even though they were wound with the same geometry/configuration were 3"-4" less in depth than winding one with 16 strand 0.5mm (600v) wire,,

interesting observation, I wonder why that is ?

[MartyJ1963]

Hi Bernard,,,,,Yes, those 3dss coils work brilliantly on your Pickini 4,,,I have tried it with both Copper enamelled wire and stranded wire,,,stranded wire working the best,,,I made 2 x 3dss test coils with single strand copper enamelled wire, one with 0.5mm and one with 0.7mm,,the 3dss with 0.7mm was more sensitive (by about 1" inch) than the 0.5mm wire,,,but both single strand coils, even though they were wound with the same geometry/configuration were 3"-4" less in depth than winding one with 16 strand 0.5mm (600v) wire,,,,,in fact, while I was testing all 3 of the coils the other day (on woodland paths near my home), I found a large women's gold ring that contained diamonds,,,it was at a depth of 12"-13",,,I made sure I covered the same area with all 3 coils and by doing that the 2 x enamelled wire coils had missed the ring, but when I went over the area a 3rd time with the 16 strand wire coil I got a loud target,,,I was surprised how loud it was at the depth I recovered it from,,I make all my P.I Monocoils with this method and wire and nothing else because I'm so pleased with them,,,,when I have time later, i'll clean the ring up a little more and post a photo of it before my partner claims the ring as hers!,,lol. It's a brilliant little detector and the 2nd one I made for my partner is as sensitive as the 1st so I'm really pleased. I think I'll be detecting a lot more of these country paths!,,The beach is too far anyway,,lol. Thanks. Marty

[BC547]

This is why life is beautiful.

Euuhhmmm, where I live it is called "Flanders Fields", the battlefields of WW1.
The fields are infested with lead shrapnel balls, which by the way also give a nice signal on an induction balance detector.
Another pain are all the copper grenade pieces that these fields are littered with.
As you say: a nice cleanup action and good if you are interested in militaria, but definitely a pain in the back at the end of the day...
We usually try to avoid these fields and search behind the front line.

[WM6]

Meaning that you need to do a lot of digging on farmland ( depending on how clean it is ) to find anything valuable>

This is why life is beautiful.

So, dig all targets - you never know ......

and, at the end - your farmland will be clean.

[BC547]

@Marty:
Thanks for the info on the basket coil.
I will also try it one day.

@Rick:

It's ok also in the countryside or only on the beach?

Both.
The main advantage of any PI detector on the beach is that it is not influenced by the mineralised wet sand. Searching on wet salt sand is almost impossible with most of the VLF detectors.
The main disadvantage of a PI detector in the field and on farmland is that it does not have discrimination. It will report any piece of metal with a preference for iron chunks. Sometimes these turn out to be a valuable artefact after cleaning but mostly these iron blobs are just junk. Meaning that you need to do a lot of digging on farmland ( depending on how clean it is ) to find anything valuable>
Another advantage on farmland is that a PI detector mostly goes deeper than a VLF detector. I have found items with Pickini on farmland that I had swept multiple times with an XP GoldMaxx Power, simply because they were deeper in the ground.

Have fun, and please report back on your findings in the field.

[MartyJ1963]

How to wind a 3dss coil

@Rick,,,,I found this file on 'How to wind a 3dss coil',,,hope it helps. Marty