Metal Detecting Forums

Metal Detecting => Technical Information => Topic started by: Louis Kriedemann on July 23, 2015, 07:35 PM

Title: bara build
Post by: Louis Kriedemann on July 23, 2015, 07:35 PM
just finished building another successful Barracuda pi.
working beautifully first time out :)

built a spider weave coil for it as well....(took a whole afternoon to make the coil winding)
its not called a spider weave for nothing
its a pretty intricate weave and you cannot lose concentration for a moment and you have to count every slot you use and the amount of turns in each section otherwise its undo all and start over again

still wondering what I will do with all the detectors ;D
I now have 2 baras, 3 and a half surf pi's, my F75 and CZ20
and.....4 scoops

and I can only use one at a time ::) :D

am I silly or am I just getting old ;)
Title: Re: bara build
Post by: Paul van Heerden on July 24, 2015, 06:40 AM
Good work Louis! You are not going crazy, you are just doing what you love. You should make and sell Detectors to people. Pi machines are so expensive at the moment. Sell them for a few thousand. I am sure there will be people willing to buy. Especially if they are waterproof
Title: Re: bara build
Post by: Tony Curnick on July 24, 2015, 06:42 AM
You have them because It's just Lekker Louis !!......welldone on the build,how about a pic or two?
Title: Re: bara build
Post by: Tony Curnick on July 24, 2015, 06:47 AM
I suppose the half PI is the one I deft fully created under the influence of Hansa Pilsner ??.....".Beer makes you to smart to understand electronics"
Title: Re: bara build
Post by: Louis Kriedemann on July 24, 2015, 08:41 AM
I suppose the half PI is the one I deft fully created under the influence of Hansa Pilsner ??.....".Beer makes you to smart to understand electronics"

 ;D ;D spot on Tony
Title: Re: bara build
Post by: Louis Kriedemann on July 24, 2015, 05:38 PM
You have them because It's just Lekker Louis !!......welldone on the build,how about a pic or two?

have just finished the pcb and external wiring and a coil
not built into a housing yet. hope to start that over the weekend
must also make a template to vacuum mould the coil housing for the new coil
then i will take a couple of pics
Title: Re: bara build
Post by: Louis Kriedemann on July 24, 2015, 05:45 PM
Good work Louis! You are not going crazy, you are just doing what you love. You should make and sell Detectors to people. Pi machines are so expensive at the moment. Sell them for a few thousand. I am sure there will be people willing to buy. Especially if they are waterproof

making a completely waterproof detector is one hell of a job if its to be done right and you need waterproof pots and all and they are pretty expensive.
made a waterproof housing for my surf pi and it works pretty well but only tested in about 1m of water
(modified 60mm mortar housing)
Title: Re: bara build
Post by: Barney on July 24, 2015, 06:39 PM
Hi Louis,  how does the Bara compare to the SurfPi?  I am tempted to build the Bara but I don't see any PDF files on Silverdog's site wrt the assembly. ???
Title: Re: bara build
Post by: Louis Kriedemann on July 25, 2015, 09:13 AM
Hi Louis,  how does the Bara compare to the SurfPi?  I am tempted to build the Bara but I don't see any PDF files on Silverdog's site wrt the assembly. ???

Hey Barney. the bara and surf are very similar designs although the bara has a slight edge over the surf
there is not much info on the bara build although they are pretty straight forward
if you want a good challenge and an excellent detector to build which has full build documents available you should get the MPP
(mini Pulse Plus)
the complete step by step build docs are available on Geotech1. join up and go have a look see. its a great technical site to be on and browse through anyway
Title: Re: bara build
Post by: Tony Curnick on July 31, 2015, 07:01 AM
Do you thinks they would let me build one with my less than appropriate  electronic history ??
Title: Re: bara build
Post by: Paul van Heerden on July 31, 2015, 07:44 AM
Do you thinks they would let me build one with my less than appropriate  electronic history ??

Sure.....you could then have half a bara as well :D
Title: Re: bara build
Post by: Louis Kriedemann on July 31, 2015, 11:18 AM
Do you thinks they would let me build one with my less than appropriate  electronic history ??

of course they would Tony......but they WILL lock your beers away until you finished ;D ;D
Title: Re: bara build
Post by: Tony Curnick on August 06, 2015, 06:51 AM
Thanks for the confidence boyz..Especially  Paul.....But I've hung up the old soldering station for good....So there will be a hole lot more IRF's, IC's, resistors and caps to go around!!!
Title: Re: bara build
Post by: Louis Kriedemann on August 19, 2015, 09:21 PM
finally got the bara together with the spider weave coil. the air testing and setting up went quite well and i managed to get pretty amazing depth indoors.
I took it down to the beach this afternoon for a short test in the wet and dry and black sand and the sensitivity is amazing.
dug out plenty of tiny pieces of wire and junk with loud and clear signal
its as stable as a rock and dead quiet in the wet or dry and even bumping the coil on the wet sand had no sound effect
the coil is not shielded as the spider weave is designed to be self shielding, which it most definately is
the detector is pretty sensitive to EMI(electro magnetic inteference) though as most pi detectors are
I will take the control box apart and do some internal shielding in the box and see if that will help
the interference was very localised and only bothered me on a 20m stretch of beach, as soon as I move away from the area all is quiet again

i have not got around to making a coil housing for the spider coil yet
I just wrapped the coil in 2 layers of fibre tissue and resin and made the centre mounting fom the same material.
finished with a good layer of jel coat.  I have not yet bothered to smooth it down. might do that later
Title: Re: bara build
Post by: Paul van Heerden on August 19, 2015, 09:29 PM
That looks awesome Louis! You really have the knack of making good detectors. Now you just need a few more arms to swing them all :D
Title: Re: bara build
Post by: Clarence Florentino on August 20, 2015, 09:24 AM
Hi Louis, any recommendation of what I can use to protect the underside of my 8" Sea Hunter coil? I would also like to paint the coil to make it more visible in the water but I'm weary/paranoid not to use anything that could possibly interfere with performance.
Title: Re: bara build
Post by: Paul van Heerden on August 20, 2015, 10:24 AM
Hi Louis, any recommendation of what I can use to protect the underside of my 8" Sea Hunter coil? I would also like to paint the coil to make it more visible in the water but I'm weary/paranoid not to use anything that could possibly interfere with performance.
I have heard that you can use bakkie bed liner spray. It is a rubber compound that comes in a spray tin. Maybe silicone as well??
Title: Re: bara build
Post by: Louis Kriedemann on August 20, 2015, 11:10 AM
Hi Louis, any recommendation of what I can use to protect the underside of my 8" Sea Hunter coil? I would also like to paint the coil to make it more visible in the water but I'm weary/paranoid not to use anything that could possibly interfere with performance.

the easiest thing to use is duct tape. 20-25mm wide. comes in all colours. wrap the coil up with 2 layers of tape. after a lot of hard working the tape does become a bit tattered, then you just remove it a wrap new tape on
as Paul says, you can use the acrylic bakkie liner spray, but it costs a packet. the spray you get in the cans is not the real deal.
silicone is no good in the water and will simply peel off
Title: Re: bara build
Post by: Clarence Florentino on August 20, 2015, 01:36 PM
Thanks guys, I think I'll go for duct tape - nice and simple solution.
Title: Re: bara build
Post by: johan112 on October 01, 2015, 02:22 PM
Hello louis would like to find out can you send met the digram on the bara or surf pi i have build my own metal detector its a BFO tipe bit its not that sensitive and the depth is not to great I heard they say one should go for the PI for depth if you could please help me out would like to build one

Sent from my HUAWEI Y511-U30 using Tapatalk

Title: Re: bara build
Post by: Paul van Heerden on October 01, 2015, 02:29 PM
Hello louis would like to find out can you send met the digram on the bara or surf pi i have build my own metal detector its a BFO tipe bit its not that sensitive and the depth is not to great I heard they say one should go for the PI for depth if you could please help me out would like to build one

Sent from my HUAWEI Y511-U30 using Tapatalk



You can have a look on Silverdogs website for all you need

http://www.silverdog.co.uk/shop/index.php
Title: Re: bara build
Post by: johan112 on October 01, 2015, 02:36 PM
Hello louis would like to find out can you send met the digram on the bara or surf pi i have build my own metal detector its a BFO tipe bit its not that sensitive and the depth is not to great I heard they say one should go for the PI for depth if you could please help me out would like to build one

Sent from my HUAWEI Y511-U30 using Tapatalk



You can have a look on Silverdogs website for all you need

http://www.silverdog.co.uk/shop/index.php
Have you bought the kit from them ?

Sent from my HUAWEI Y511-U30 using Tapatalk

Title: Re: bara build
Post by: Paul van Heerden on October 01, 2015, 02:55 PM
Hello louis would like to find out can you send met the digram on the bara or surf pi i have build my own metal detector its a BFO tipe bit its not that sensitive and the depth is not to great I heard they say one should go for the PI for depth if you could please help me out would like to build one

Sent from my HUAWEI Y511-U30 using Tapatalk



You can have a look on Silverdogs website for all you need

http://www.silverdog.co.uk/shop/index.php
Have you bought the kit from them ?

Sent from my HUAWEI Y511-U30 using Tapatalk


Yes I have, and I have made the Surf Pi. It works really well

Here is my build thread: http://treasurehunters.co.za/forums/equipment-and-gear/building-silverdogs-surf-pi-1-2-detector/
Title: Re: bara build
Post by: johan112 on October 01, 2015, 02:57 PM
How much does it cost to buy the pcb and the components does it come with the kit and the import cost as i see they are from the uk

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Title: Re: bara build
Post by: Paul van Heerden on October 01, 2015, 04:03 PM
How much does it cost to buy the pcb and the components does it come with the kit and the import cost as i see they are from the uk

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You will get all the info off the website I linked. I think I maybe spent R1500 in total for the build. Maybe even less, like R1200.

There are no import costs as it is just posted in a bubble wrap envelope. All the components come with it. You have to solder everything onto the board and provide all the wiring. It is just the pcb and components that you get
Title: Re: bara build
Post by: johan112 on October 01, 2015, 04:08 PM
Would you say iys worth doing it like this or would you say ots better to take the money and buy one or is this pi a very good circuit hahaha you should build me one and i will buy it from you you must post some pics

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Title: Re: bara build
Post by: Paul van Heerden on October 01, 2015, 06:00 PM
You won't buy a detector as good as the surf pi for the money it will take to build one. You have to be careful not to try the board though. I unfortunately can't build one for you :D