I need help with idx pro silverdog red pcb!!

[Tibuck19]

he has 3 coils George. you have to read whole story. i grasp something with pots.
if in a pot leak dirty/salt water wait a problem. also maybe a wear of brush and coating of pot.

Good day KT, I was suspecting the same thing also, which is why i replaced all of them, i even went as far as buying a fancy BOURNS 16$ 100K from digikey for the sens, the only one that has not been replaced is the GB which i am waiting on a new multi turn to show up.

[Tibuck19]

Good morning George, Hope all is well? as well as can be these days anyways, i replaced most of the poly film caps that seem to be connected to both TX and RX line, the only two i have not replaced, however i have tested is the 220 picofarad and the 100 puff that is connected to the 393 u8. I have never made a coil for this detector, one of the coils, Don had made for me and the two others are Whites made coils Which all worked perfectly till the end of the summer, there is a very very good chance your assumption is correct, idk why i somehow feel something that is connected to the 393 u4 or the 347 u3 is out of wack?

[kt315]

he has 3 coils George. you have to read whole story. i grasp something with pots.
if in a pot leak dirty/salt water wait a problem. also maybe a wear of brush and coating of pot.

[Qiaozhi]

I've never built the IDX, but I was under the impression that (compared to the TGSL) the extra depth was due to coil tuning. i.e. The TX and RX coils were tuned closer to resonance. Perhaps a tuning capacitor value or the coil inductances have drifted over time. That's of course the main problem with resonance tuning. It wouldn't take much to throw it completely out of wack.

[Tibuck19]

Morning Waltr, i have all the voltages to the ic's are at 8V, but just to be sure, i replaced the Voltage regulator and the electrolytic caps, i have not measured the millivolts out to the coil as im not sure how to do that, nothing is getting warm, everything works as it should no problems with discrimination ... just what i feel is a huge depth lost, which is why i like the IDX so much more in comparison to the TGSL, before it was double the depth of the tgsl and now it is around the same. i will hook up the X and Y to my oscope to see if the detector is reading targets even if i cant hear them? i am almost tempted in replacing every single poly cap just in case one of those are the reason, At this point i'm Gutted, these days financially has not been the best for anyone, I spent a little over 70$ in replacement chips and caps hoping it will fix it but at this point i feel i only brunt money i dont really have. and i have bought a 15inch coil for this detector.

[waltr]

Did you measure the supply Voltages?

[Tibuck19]

I hate to have to ask for help yet again, however, I have no clue what to try next, My IDX was working great, hitting 42CM on air test with a 10 inch coil, Detecting with it was fun and getting good depth, digging out quarters 10 inches deep. Around the end of summer, i notice the detector was not performing and was also getting more noisy, than it used to be. Now the max it is getting on air test is 34Cm, I replaced the Caps around the NE5534 the 5534 itself, i bought replacements for all the ic's. For the 347 i got a LF347n, Lf347bn and a LMC6484ain(LMC6484 reduced depth by half), Replacing it has made the idx quite again however still no change in depth, I also replaced all the 393 with 393pe4's no change, i also replaced those with lm2903p's Again no change, i replaced all the 358's with lm358n and i tried lm358an. I have 3 coils and all three coils are showing the same amount of depth lost, between 5 to 8 Cm. is it a TX problem or an RX? i also replace every transistor and diode. i would appreciate any clue as what i can do next to being this detector back to how it was.

[Tibuck19]

Yes, I like better sockets for the same reason.
The bottom ones in your photo are 'machined pins' and available in DIP sockets.
A bit more expensive but well worth not having trouble later.

Two single strips is a nice way to do the DIP sockets.
Just insert a DIP chip to ensure the two rows stay aligned when soldering into the PCB.

Yes indeed, seen the Dip 2 row versions, they are a little more expensive as you say, but if you figure the gain of eliminating problems, and total cost of a DIY detector! they are still a very sound investment, For the single rows I have now, I was thinking of using the cut resistor leads and giving the two right angle bends to act as alignment jumpers while soldering , that way I wont accidently heat the ic

[waltr]

Yes, I like better sockets for the same reason.
The bottom ones in your photo are 'machined pins' and available in DIP sockets.
A bit more expensive but well worth not having trouble later.

Two single strips is a nice way to do the DIP sockets.
Just insert a DIP chip to ensure the two rows stay aligned when soldering into the PCB.

[Tibuck19]

Got it. Was recommended by Ivconic, post 37, 39,40 of IDX-PRO+VDI thread:

https://www.colonialmetaldetectors.c...MetalDetectors

It might be common knowledge in the electronics world, However, I have always used standard Dip sockets (AKA el cheapo's) while swapping ic to find the best performance I notice a decrease,when I pulled a ic out and put it back in, If I had not known how the detector was acting before and after, I would of thought there a other problem, after replacing all those Dip sockets for better Dip strips, Everything went back to normal and a little better! Just something to keep in mind, From now on all I will be using is better ones.

Photo : top Cheap sockets, Bottom better Dip strips.

[nonkapo]

Got it. Was recommended by Ivconic, post 37, 39,40 of IDX-PRO+VDI thread:

https://www.colonialmetaldetectors.com/Fisher10.5SpiderCoil-ColonialMetalDetectors

[Tibuck19]

Somewhere in the IDX thread someone was recommending type of coils for best results, but must search where. That was the reason why i get the board. Additionally the VDI option.

I believe it is the Bluemax 950 coil, there another one, but off hand, I can not remember what it is , I think it was a fisher coil or something like that.

[nonkapo]

Somewhere in the IDX thread someone was recommending type of coils for best results, but must search where. That was the reason why i get the board. Additionally the VDI option.

[Tibuck19]

I have an 50 ohm specially for this. Got few from Bulgaria when vacation (half euro each from here https://panda-bg.com/en/product/Mylar-Speaker-OD50-mm-0-50W-50-ohm-METAL/410423/ ). Two already fixed on the Cuda and Surf. Third one waiting. Components all from trusted seller(Farnell). Just need some accurate resistors.

I have a 50oh on hand and tried it! Its not the best, sound is low almost muffled if that makes sense, Seeing the IDX was back to perfect working order, I went back and tried a few different speakers, from 150ohm all the way back down to another 8 ohm I had, To be honest, I think I was wrong before when I said the 32Ohm was what you needed, because, now it seems to be giving me the best sound, Little too loud but very very clear, Both MPSA and 3904 are not getting warm at all! Also I have been switching all the ic to try to find the best results, they setup now, gives me 42CM on a copper Canadian and US penny, on two different 10inch CC coils, One Don made and the other is a Whites Bluemax 256, I had to change the GB pot to a Multiturn 50K but it seems to GB at 26K, I also have a 7.5inch (or it could be 8 inch) Whites CC coil it hits the coppers at 30CM! I know its only Air test, But I say that rather impressive, Comparing to the TGSL with a 10 inch coil, Max I ever got was 28 CM with the pennies!

[nonkapo]

I have an 50 ohm specially for this. Got few from Bulgaria when vacation (half euro each from here https://panda-bg.com/en/product/Mylar-Speaker-OD50-mm-0-50W-50-ohm-METAL/410423/ ). Two already fixed on the Cuda and Surf. Third one waiting. Components all from trusted seller(Farnell). Just need some accurate resistors.