Making a coil for the Micronta 4000 VLF metal detector

[Golden_K]

Hello.....

I have came across an older VLF metal detector which was made by radio shack back in the day...
This is the Micronta 4000 model. The coil that came with it is an 8" coil which I think is a very small and non sufficient for my application.
The metal detector works great! After playing around with the settings and tuning for a couple of days I have figured it out how to tune it.
Works great on big objects such as keys, AA battery size objects ... but will not react to a gold ring.
I would like to make a better coil to fit this VLF detector and help me find really small gold pieces on bedrock.
The of the coil to the detector is a 5 pin connector but when I was taking the detector apart I have noticed that it had only 4 wires connected to it.
So my question is would anyone know or can steer me in the right direction of making a coil for a VLF detector.
It would need to be a really small coil as I do not need it to penetrate deep (or cover big area), I want it to find small pieces.

Thanks everyone in advance.

 

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[DizzyDigger]

GoldenK..first off, welcome to TNet...

A coil is basically a transmit/receive antenna, and is made by
wrapping a copper wire in a specific configuration, and having
that wire tuned to the frequency that the detector transmits at.

Some coils may have separate transmit and receive antennas built
into the same coil. These coils are then tuned to the operating frequency
of the detector.

Honestly, if it will not react to a gold ring using the larger coil, a smaller
coil wouldn't make a bit of difference.

To find those small pieces I'd suggest investing in one of the Gold Bug
detectors or one of the other gold specific units on the market.

 

[Slingshot]

You can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear, but I enjoy tinkering with projects like that too. You might try your local library for INSIDE THE METAL DETECTOR by Overton & Moreland as it has information on making your own detectors, coils, etc. Kind of technical, so some background in electronics helps.

 

[vpnavy]

Hello...

I noticed this was your very first post - so, Welcome Aboard Golden_K! You didn't list your state (or country) in your profile. So, you might consider jumping over to Sub-Forums: Select Your Area.... and selecting location information (i.e., clubs, hunts, finds, legends, maps, etc.) directly related to your state (or country). You might also consider adding your state (or country) to your displayed profile (SETTINGS -> EDIT PROFILE) so if you ask a question, etc. - people may have more success helping you (your location may helps etc.)...

 

[cudamark]

Unless you get enjoyment out of playing with obsolete electronics, forget that project and get a better detector......preferably a detector made for small gold nuggets, if that's all you're looking to find. If you need a multipurpose machine for finding a variety of items, there are some of those on the market too.