Superscan PI

[nasios]

Hi Nasios,

Thank you for your reply. Yes, those are the usual parameters I'm familiar with for a frame coil like yours. Thanks for confirming.

Hi GeoMax, nothing my friend , from flag i look we are far because i stop to use and i can give you for try, now my next project i want to build the superscan for try something other

[GeoMax]

Hi GeoMax, nothing my friend , from flag i look we are far because i stop to use and i can give you for try, now my next project i want to build the superscan for try something other

Hi Nasios

What else would you like to try with the Superscan? The Superscan doesn't have a ground balance circuit. Therefore, the detector is unusable for most projects/regions in Australia. In your case, I suggest to build the GS5 or the GS5-lite. Both detectors have almost the same front-end and transmitter circuitry as the Superscan, but the GS5 or GS5-lite also has a ground balance circuit.

[eduardo1979]

Hi Nasios.
As Geomax mentioned, that's absolutely correct. I built the Superscan a few years ago. It's a fairly deep detector for high-conductivity targets due to its low operating frequency, but lacking ground balance, it's completely useless for searching in highly mineralized soils like those in your country. If you want to experiment, I recommend building the GS5-LITE that I posted on the forum, but modifying the frequency and timing to match the Superscan's settings. That way, you'll have a Superscan with ground balance.

[nasios]

Hi Nasios

What else would you like to try with the Superscan? The Superscan doesn't have a ground balance circuit. Therefore, the detector is unusable for most projects/regions in Australia. In your case, I suggest to build the GS5 or the GS5-lite. Both detectors have almost the same front-end and transmitter circuitry as the Superscan, but the GS5 or GS5-lite also has a ground balance circuit.

Hi GeoMax
For the SuperScan, I would like to build something new as a project. To be honest, I would also like to build it together with someone who is starting out with it, so we can discover problems and find solutions along the way.
As for the GS5, if I remember correctly, I built the minipulse about 15 years ago, i buy Silverdog’s pcb. i think is same ?
I wasn’t particularly satisfied with it, and I think I either gave it to my nephew or it is still somewhere around here.
I remember that it could get quite good depth, but I wasn’t very happy with its overall performance. The Delta Pulse, on the other hand, was a detector I really enjoyed experimenting with. It had quite a few problems with false signals and instability, and sometimes you would dig a hole and find nothing. But for testing, air experiments, and generally experimenting with different ideas, I really liked it.
So I would prefer to do something new with the SuperScan because i read have better depth from DP

[nasios]

Hi Nasios.
As Geomax mentioned, that's absolutely correct. I built the Superscan a few years ago. It's a fairly deep detector for high-conductivity targets due to its low operating frequency, but lacking ground balance, it's completely useless for searching in highly mineralized soils like those in your country. If you want to experiment, I recommend building the GS5-LITE that I posted on the forum, but modifying the frequency and timing to match the Superscan's settings. That way, you'll have a Superscan with ground balance.

Hola amigo eduardo1979, I started learning Spanish, so I hope next year I can come and visit spain,
About the gs5 lite, I would really like to try it. If I understand correctly, if we change the frequency and timing to the Superscan settings, we can have something like a Superscan but with ground balance. Is that right?
Do you have the PCB files for the GS5-LITE? I would like to build one and experiment with it.
I already built one superscan from the Rospy PCB I found here, and I finished it, but I have a few problems. There are three things I cannot find in the PCB information, and I’m not sure if they are buttons or potentiometers. I’m also afraid I may have burned something while testing it.
I’m retired now, and my children live in Australia, so I have plenty of time for experiments. I really enjoy building and testing detectors, even if sometimes I make a mess and have to start again!
What I’m really interested in knowing is if we change only the frequency and timing, can we keep the good depth of the Superscan and at the same time have ground balance for the mineralized ground in Australia or other because i travel?
I’d really like to try this as a new project.

[eduardo1979]

Hi Nasios.
I've attached the updated GS-5 LITE files. You can change the synchronization times and frequency to those of the Superscan, and that way you'll get a Superscan with ground balance. I recommend you first build the GS-5 LITE as is and then start with the new modifications. I also built the ROSPI a few years ago and it worked very well for me, but as you know, we're dealing with another detector without ground balance, like the Superscan. That's why I encourage you to build the GS-5 LITE, since it's a metal detector that many people have built with good results. Good luck.

[GeoMax]

Hello Eduardo1979,

You mentioned "ROSPI" in your post. I've never heard of this detector. Could you please post the circuit diagram? Thanks!

[Op04]

Hello Eduardo1979,

You mentioned "ROSPI" in your post. I've never heard of this detector. Could you please post the circuit diagram? Thanks!

Hi Geomax,
I think he mean Rospy, it was hand drawn by him. check post #22

[eduardo1979]

Hello Eduardo1979,

You mentioned "ROSPI" in your post. I've never heard of this detector. Could you please post the circuit diagram? Thanks!

Hi Geomax.
On the forum, I only found the PCB design without a schematic. I drew the schematic based on the PCB layout that was posted here. I've attached both the schematic and the PCB layout. Both are correct. The only thing I did was replace the uA709 with an NE5534, since it's newer and more readily available. I added a potentiometer and an additional resistor to the schematic for adjusting the offset. It's not shown on the PCB layout, but with a large coil, it works without the offset potentiometer.

[GeoMax]

Hi Geomax,
I think he mean Rospy, it was hand drawn by him. check post #22

Hello Op04,
thank you very much for the information about "ROSPI". I've now read the first few pages of the article on Geotech. Somehow I missed it back then. "ROSPI" refers to a user named ROSPY who created the Superscan hand-drawn diagrams. I had seen them elsewhere before but didn't know who had made them.

[GeoMax]

Hi Geomax.
On the forum, I only found the PCB design without a schematic. I drew the schematic based on the PCB layout that was posted here. I've attached both the schematic and the PCB layout. Both are correct. The only thing I did was replace the uA709 with an NE5534, since it's newer and more readily available. I added a potentiometer and an additional resistor to the schematic for adjusting the offset. It's not shown on the PCB layout, but with a large coil, it works without the offset potentiometer.

Hello Eduardo1979,

Thank you very much for the schematic. I've taken a closer look at it. It was fun to study the schematic. It looks like it's a design mix of Minipulse and Goldscan 4 to me.
You mention that you used the detector with a large coil. What is "large coil" for you? Have you used it with a big frame coil 1,5x1,5 meter or with for example a 40cm coil? Thanks.

[eduardo1979]

Hello Eduardo1979,

Thank you very much for the schematic. I've taken a closer look at it. It was fun to study the schematic. It looks like it's a design mix of Minipulse and Goldscan 4 to me.
You mention that you used the detector with a large coil. What is "large coil" for you? Have you used it with a big frame coil 1,5x1,5 meter or with for example a 40cm coil? Thanks.

Hi Geomax.
I used the detector with a 1m x 1m frame coil made from Cat-5 network cable. I built this detector quite some time ago. It's a good detector, like the Superscan, but without ground balance. If you use the detector in mineralized soils, such as red clay, it detects the ground. You can increase the delay to eliminate the ground effect, but you lose a lot of depth. The RosPI has a higher frequency than the Superscan; this can be seen in the value of the capacitor connected to pins 2 and 6 of the 555 oscillator. This detector is very similar to the Superscan; the only differences are the frequency and the switch that toggles between the 12V and 24V power supply for the IRF740. I remember the Superscan also had a potentiometer to adjust the integrator speed, something the RosPI doesn't have, but it can be easily added.

[nasios]

Hi Geomax.
I used the detector with a 1m x 1m frame coil made from Cat-5 network cable. I built this detector quite some time ago. It's a good detector, like the Superscan, but without ground balance. If you use the detector in mineralized soils, such as red clay, it detects the ground. You can increase the delay to eliminate the ground effect, but you lose a lot of depth. The RosPI has a higher frequency than the Superscan; this can be seen in the value of the capacitor connected to pins 2 and 6 of the 555 oscillator. This detector is very similar to the Superscan; the only differences are the frequency and the switch that toggles between the 12V and 24V power supply for the IRF740. I remember the Superscan also had a potentiometer to adjust the integrator speed, something the RosPI doesn't have, but it can be easily added.

Hello Eduardo1979,
i build the rospy pcb but in the GAIN, RESET and REJECT don't have info what we add there?

[nasios]

Hi Nasios.
I've attached the updated GS-5 LITE files. You can change the synchronization times and frequency to those of the Superscan, and that way you'll get a Superscan with ground balance. I recommend you first build the GS-5 LITE as is and then start with the new modifications. I also built the ROSPI a few years ago and it worked very well for me, but as you know, we're dealing with another detector without ground balance, like the Superscan. That's why I encourage you to build the GS-5 LITE, since it's a metal detector that many people have built with good results. Good luck.

Hello Eduardo1979,
Thank you muchas gracias, i will start to build soon

[eduardo1979]

Hello Eduardo1979,
i build the rospy pcb but in the GAIN, RESET and REJECT don't have info what we add there?

Hi Nasios.
In the attached schematic, you'll see a 250K potentiometer labeled SPEED. This potentiometer adjusts the integrator's sampling rate, and you can add it to your ROSPI. You can change the ROSPI's operating frequency to approximately 90Hz, similar to the Superscan, by replacing the capacitor connected to pins 2-6 of the 555 timer with a 47nF capacitor. It's currently 15nF if you look at the schematic or the PCB layout. There are many variations and combinations you can make to create a good detector.