[Paul van Heerden]

I have decided to take the plunge and build a Pi detector for myself. I found a kit online that all you have to do is solder the components on (harder than I probably think) and make your own coil, shaft etc. The kit I bought from http://www.silverdog.co.uk/shop/index.php?route=common/home. It cost me approximately R600.

The board and components have arrived, and I will probably try and make a start with it tonight along with my son-in-law.

I thought this might be a good thread to post a build log if anyone after me tries to build the same. I know luuk has build one successfuly, so thankfully I will have some help if things go wrong.

Here are 2 internet pics of the board and components. The ones I got look exactly the same

[Danny]

What is that a lucky packet lol


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[Johnny Oneshoe]

Wow L U, looks interesting. please keep us informed how it's going. A blog will be great. Things like final costs ect. will be great too.

[Louis Kriedemann]

i actually weighed my f75 and surf pi today for interests sake. the f75 weighs 1.6kg and the surf pi weighs 1.5 kg (with 8xAA batteries in)
can swing it all day long
these are my evil twins

[Danny]

Interesting do you get diagram with the kit on how to plug all this pieces together ? And is it going to be waterproof ?


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[Louis Kriedemann]

Interesting do you get diagram with the kit on how to plug all this pieces together ? And is it going to be waterproof ?


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you buy the kit which consists of the printed circuit board and the electronic components
the board is screen printed to indicate the various component placements.
all the parts must then be soldered correctly on the board. (hope to hell you never made any mistakes)
wind a coil, make a coil housing and shaft etc etc and you have a detector
As for waterproofing....if you want it to be waterproof then you must build it all into a waterproof housing and fit waterproof glands for the cables and so on

[Danny]

That is high risk for someone that don't know electronics ,USAULY PI machines are more expensive that a VLF MACHINE but it look simple


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[Louis Kriedemann]

I think the main reason for pi being quite expensive is that most are built to be waterproof and all the fittings and housings and making the detector neutrally buoyant costs quite a bit
doing it yourself does not cost that much but its not easy to make a detector completely waterproof. splashproof is no problem at all. you can even make your ace 250 splashproof (it might look a little bit funny but it works)

[Danny]

I also bought my self PI Machine for one reason dig everything miss nothing but also hunt in area where there isn't so much iron and trash


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[Johnny Oneshoe]

On the siverdog's site, they have a blog and how to wind a coil.

[Paul van Heerden]

So I spent some time (OK...3 hours) last night starting to solder everything together. Because I know nothing about electronics and soldering I was going pretty slow. I was surprised however how smoothly it was all going. All you have to do is us follow the Parts List (http://www.silverdog.co.uk/shop/image/data/partslist.txt) and the screen printing on the board. The PCB will tell you what part number should go where. You then consult the parts list to see what the component is that the part number refers to. For example, you will notice the marking “U5” on the board. In the partslist, you will scroll down till you see U5 and then reference which part is used. In this case its the 78L05. Easy Peasy.

All I can say is to take it slow. I started on the power supply end (the left) and worked my way to the right. I would only solder one or two components at a time to make sure that everything fitted together properly and that there was space for everything.

One thing that I must mention, which I figured out the hard way, is that there are a few spots where you need to solder one or two components together. In the PICTURE 1 below, I have circled some of these areas. What you have to do here is insert all the components that need to be there before you start soldering. If you don't, the solder will run onto the adjacent pad and block the adjacent hole. Now you cannot get the next component in because the hole is blocked. I had to use a solder sucker a few times to open up some holes that I should have put components in before soldering.

As you progress with your soldering, make sure that none of your solder areas are touching the adjacent ones, because this will cause a short circuit. Only the ones like I have mentioned above should be touching. You will also need a pair of wire cutters to cut the legs off the components after you have soldered them in. I made sure that I kept some of the longer legs that I cut off, because you will use them to create some solder bridges on the PBC. I have shown an example of this in PICTURE 2. I will continue tonight with the soldering, and hopefully I can get it all done (not too sure if I will finish though).

I have also loaded a few PICTURES of how far I have come, and if anyone can see an error in my soldering or component placement/polarity, please let me know.

I will keep you informed of my progress. I have also been using this blog (http://www.adrianandgenese.com/blogger/2012/07/13/how-to-build-a-surf-pi-1-2-pulse-induction-metal-detector-from-a-diy-kit/) to help me along with the build.

[Louis Kriedemann]

remember when you solder to keep it short and precise so as not to overheat the components, otherwise they will be cooked even before you start.
your board is coming on nicely. its a relatively simple project but is an enjoyable one and in the very near future you will enjoy the fruits of your labour.

[Paul van Heerden]

Thanks luuk

[Danny]

The name surf PI .is that whites surfmaster PI ?


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[Paul van Heerden]

The name surf PI .is that whites surfmaster PI ?


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Yup. This board is basically a copy of the Whites surfmaster board, so should perform just the same if everything is done right