My “new” Dual Field PI & hanging out with OBN (Joe)

[Sand Swinger]

Well, it’s taken me 56 years, but after swinging VLF’s and starting as a kid with a BFO & TR, I finally took the plunge into PI’s by adding a “new to me” White’s Dual Field PI to my beach hunting arsenal.

I’m an ole’ turn the knobs, beep & dig kinda guy, so I like great detectors with simple controls, and the Dual Field looked to be right up my alley, only 3 knobs so not too complicated. And after swinging a Minelab Sovereign Elite for the last 14 years, a PI doesn’t scare me as I’m used to digging ½ way to China on the beach with my 12x10 & 15x12 SEF Butterfly coils, lol.

Due to OBN & his buddy Mike’s generosity, I was able to acquire a Dual Field PI that OBN used to own and had modded to accept an external Excal battery pod, and external headphones. Although OBN has retired from making his custom battery pods, since I was getting the PI he used to own and modded, and as a favor to me, he graciously agreed to temporarily step out of retirement this one time to make me a custom battery pod for the Dual Field.

So earlier today I drove down and got to spend a few hours with OBN. We discussed the new battery pod, he found a shaft that would work for the Dual Field, and we got to test out the DF using a set of his handmade headphones. Man, quarters, dimes & pennies sounded so sweet! Joe’s going to replace the external battery cable with a new/better cable, and tweak things a bit. I’ll be going back again to visit once all the tweaks have been completed. I also have some Teflon silver coated hookup wire left over from my amp building days that I’ll be giving to Joe to use for any of his future mod projects.

I’m getting close and am almost done with this PI project. Now, I just need a lower rod to fit the DF coil, and a good set of waterproof headphones. Joe recommended Tony Eisenhower, like a bunch of others on the forums, so I sent Tony an email earlier to ask if he could make me a set.

MANY Thanks to Joe & Mike for getting me hooked up with the Dual Field PI. Although I would take my Sovereign into the water a bit, I was always worried about it getting wet or getting swamped by a rogue wave. So now, I’m really looking forward to hitting shallow water without worrying about the control box getting wet, along with of course, getting some serious depth in the saltwater.

 

[TORRERO]

Well, it’s taken me 56 years, but after swinging VLF’s and starting as a kid with a BFO & TR, I finally took the plunge into PI’s by adding a “new to me” White’s Dual Field PI to my beach hunting arsenal.

I’m an ole’ turn the knobs, beep & dig kinda guy, so I like great detectors with simple controls, and the Dual Field looked to be right up my alley, only 3 knobs so not too complicated. And after swinging a Minelab Sovereign Elite for the last 14 years, a PI doesn’t scare me as I’m used to digging ½ way to China on the beach with my 12x10 & 15x12 SEF Butterfly coils, lol.

Due to OBN & his buddy Mike’s generosity, I was able to acquire a Dual Field PI that OBN used to own and had modded to accept an external Excal battery pod, and external headphones. Although OBN has retired from making his custom battery pods, since I was getting the PI he used to own and modded, and as a favor to me, he graciously agreed to temporarily step out of retirement this one time to make me a custom battery pod for the Dual Field.

So earlier today I drove down and got to spend a few hours with OBN. We discussed the new battery pod, he found a shaft that would work for the Dual Field, and we got to test out the DF using a set of his handmade headphones. Man, quarters, dimes & pennies sounded so sweet! Joe’s going to replace the external battery cable with a new/better cable, and tweak things a bit. I’ll be going back again to visit once all the tweaks have been completed. I also have some Teflon silver coated hookup wire left over from my amp building days that I’ll be giving to Joe to use for any of his future mod projects.

I’m getting close and am almost done with this PI project. Now, I just need a lower rod to fit the DF coil, and a good set of waterproof headphones. Joe recommended Tony Eisenhower, like a bunch of others on the forums, so I sent Tony an email earlier to ask if he could make me a set.

MANY Thanks to Joe & Mike for getting me hooked up with the Dual Field PI. Although I would take my Sovereign into the water a bit, I was always worried about it getting wet or getting swamped by a rogue wave. So now, I’m really looking forward to hitting shallow water without worrying about the control box getting wet, along with of course, getting some serious depth in the saltwater.

Isn’t Whites out of business? Do you worry about that if the machine breaks?

 

[pepperj]

Congratulations on the put together project.

Best of luck on getting it wet and breaking it's cherry, with a something gold.

 

[Sand Swinger]

Isn’t Whites out of business? Do you worry about that if the machine breaks?

Yep, they've been out of business for the last 5 years or so, and nope, not worried about the machine breaking electronics wise. If the coil goes bad, I know it's gonna be a hassle to search for a replacement, but I'm sure I could find one, may take some time. I still have my Minelab Sovereign Elite & X-Terra Elite to use if the Dual Field were to go down. I still swing my Sovereign, but even though Minelab is still in business, they no longer support Sovereigns. But they still support Excals since they're still making & selling them, and an Excal is basically a waterproofed Sovereign circuit wise. From looking at some PI schematics, and chatting with experienced PI practitioners, especially guys that actually design & build PI's, PI circuits typically aren't complicated circuits compared to today's digital detectors. As long as the components are standard size, through hole mounted types, and not teeny, tiny surface mounted components, I can remove them, test & replace them, no problem.

I was actually surprised when I saw the waterproof box for the DF. When I was down at OBN's, he removed the top lid. 1/2 half of the control box was empty, that's where the stock batteries would go. The other 1/2 is where the circuit board is located, although there was a lid on top to keep the circuit board area separately sealed. The entire area for the circuit board couldn't be more than 3x3 or 4x4, it was tiny compared to the size of my Sovereign's circuit board. So, the entire PI circuit board fits in this little square section of the control box. The circuit is probably somewhat simple, probably doesn't have a lot of components, so I'm sure I could do initial troubleshooting to see if it may be a simple fix, or if I'd have to reach out to the guys with PI design experience to get their help.

 

[TORRERO]

Yep, they've been out of business for the last 5 years or so, and nope, not worried about the machine breaking electronics wise. If the coil goes bad, I know it's gonna be a hassle to search for a replacement, but I'm sure I could find one, may take some time. I still have my Minelab Sovereign Elite & X-Terra Elite to use if the Dual Field were to go down. I still swing my Sovereign, but even though Minelab is still in business, they no longer support Sovereigns. But they still support Excals since they're still making & selling them, and an Excal is basically a waterproofed Sovereign circuit wise. From looking at some PI schematics, and chatting with experienced PI practitioners, especially guys that actually design & build PI's, PI circuits typically aren't complicated circuits compared to today's digital detectors. As long as the components are standard size, through hole mounted types, and not teeny, tiny surface mounted components, I can remove them, test & replace them, no problem.

I was actually surprised when I saw the waterproof box for the DF. When I was down at OBN's, he removed the top lid. 1/2 half of the control box was empty, that's where the stock batteries would go. The other 1/2 is where the circuit board is located, although there was a lid on top to keep the circuit board area separately sealed. The entire area for the circuit board couldn't be more than 3x3 or 4x4, it was tiny compared to the size of my Sovereign's circuit board. So, the entire PI circuit board fits in this little square section of the control box. The circuit is probably somewhat simple, probably doesn't have a lot of components, so I'm sure I could do initial troubleshooting to see if it may be a simple fix, or if I'd have to reach out to the guys with PI design experience to get their help.

You are certainly more handy than me when it comes to fixing machines 😂

 

[pepperj]

Yep, they've been out of business for the last 5 years or so, and nope, not worried about the machine breaking electronics wise. If the coil goes bad, I know it's gonna be a hassle to search for a replacement, but I'm sure I could find one, may take some time. I still have my Minelab Sovereign Elite & X-Terra Elite to use if the Dual Field were to go down. I still swing my Sovereign, but even though Minelab is still in business, they no longer support Sovereigns. But they still support Excals since they're still making & selling them, and an Excal is basically a waterproofed Sovereign circuit wise. From looking at some PI schematics, and chatting with experienced PI practitioners, especially guys that actually design & build PI's, PI circuits typically aren't complicated circuits compared to today's digital detectors. As long as the components are standard size, through hole mounted types, and not teeny, tiny surface mounted components, I can remove them, test & replace them, no problem.

I was actually surprised when I saw the waterproof box for the DF. When I was down at OBN's, he removed the top lid. 1/2 half of the control box was empty, that's where the stock batteries would go. The other 1/2 is where the circuit board is located, although there was a lid on top to keep the circuit board area separately sealed. The entire area for the circuit board couldn't be more than 3x3 or 4x4, it was tiny compared to the size of my Sovereign's circuit board. So, the entire PI circuit board fits in this little square section of the control box. The circuit is probably somewhat simple, probably doesn't have a lot of components, so I'm sure I could do initial troubleshooting to see if it may be a simple fix, or if I'd have to reach out to the guys with PI design experience to get their help.

How technology has evolved over the past 50+ years.
The White's detectors were a big steel box with a handle.
The wrists were well worked back then detecting.

 

[Sand Swinger]

You are certainly more handy than me when it comes to fixing machines 😂

I used to rebuild guitar amps 15 - 20 years ago, totally stripping the pcb board, components down to bare chassis. I'd then replace with my hand wired board loaded with top quality components, hi-end transformers, etc. (the attached pic shows the original chassis w/pcb & el cheapo components at the bottom, the chassis on top is the chassis from my amp that I totally rebuilt).

So, I have a workbench, digital soldering station, lots of different gauge Teflon silver coated wire, lots of different resistors, electrolytic capacitors, diodes, all kinds of electronic components. I'm not familiar with detector circuits but I can look at a schematic to see what's connected to what, what the component values are, and hopefully fake my way through a repair, lol. If all else fails, I'd reach out for assistance on the forums and hopefully, someone experienced with my detectors circuit will help or at least offer some suggestions on what I can try to fix the problem.

 

[Sand Swinger]

How technology has evolved over the past 50+ years.
The White's detectors were a big steel box with a handle.
The wrists were well worked back then detecting.

Yeah buddy, you ain't kidding. Here's the first 2 detectors I've owned. These aren't mine, I grabbed the pics off the net. First detector my mom bought me around 1969, was a Heathkit that we had to assemble, solder components to the PCB, basically put everything together from scratch. Look at that metal handle, reminds me of an umbrella for some reason. It was totally ANTI ergonomic, lol. Because it wasn't easy to swing, my mom got me a White's Coinmaster IV, I think around 1971. Compared to the Heathkit, the Coinmaster was a dream to swing.

But the downside to the Coinmaster was how the shaft connected to the coil. Look at the pic. The coil wasn't adjustable. There was a fixed angle "ramp" molded into the coil, so the detector had to be held a certain way to keep the coil parallel to the ground. The handle was nice, better than the Heathkit, but having to hold the detector at a certain angle while hunting did take a toll on the wrist.

 

[Sand Swinger]

Quick Update: Got some additional parts coming, almost there!

Got an email from Tony Eisenhower last night, he’s shipping my waterproof headphones today (Monday) and provided tracking number. I custom ordered a set of his waterproof Blue Divers headphones, cups are bigger/wider than his white phones, which will provide better noise attenuation, also is adding his enhanced impedance matching circuit for louder volume, and holes in the bottom of the cups to drain water faster and more thoroughly. With better noise attenuation and louder volume, my goal is to increase my odds for hearing those faint, whisper targets against the sound of waves crashing around me, as well as planes flying overhead, screaming kids, go-fast boats zooming by off the coast, and all the typical noises we hear on the beach.

Thanks to the generosity of some forum members, I have a couple of lower rods & clevis’ coming, hopefully this week, thanks to Craig & Bill.

Thanks to a heads up from Surf Master (Earl), Serious Detecting has an Anderson straight travel shaft for the Dual Field at 26% off. When I ordered, a discount popped up for $7.00, so I got the entire straight shaft for $113 and free shipping.

Thanks to a reply post Cfmct (Craig) made to a guy earlier this year, who was looking for a coil cover for his Dual Field, Craig suggested trying Centreville Electronics. I clicked the link, they didn’t have any coil covers for the DF, BUT they had orange O rings for the Dual Field, priced $5.00 less than a guy on eBay, so I bought several as insurance in case they go extinct. I also noticed them selling a complete Whites Surf PI Diver’s Rod set that includes the upper rod, grip & arm cuff, and also the lower rod with clevis, all for the grand total of $12.95. The Dual Field control box is the same for the Surf PI & PI Pro, so should fit with no problem. Couldn’t help myself but at that low of a price, I had to order 2 sets. I’ve been thinking about detecting while snorkeling so these rods would be perfect.

OBN (Joe Beechnut) is doing a few last-minute tweaks to the Dual Field, including replacing the external battery cable that will run to my new OBN custom made Excal type battery pod. Minelab cable was originally used, but it developed 2 large slit cracks in the outer covering, exposing the inner wires, so OBN’s gonna use better cable and rewire.

It’s all starting to come together and looks like I might be about a week or two away from having this Dual Field put together. Wife is looking forward to this. Not because of the detector mind you, she’s looking forward to going back down to DE to hit the beach, and the Dual Field is her guarantee that we’ll be heading back to the beach ASAP, lol. Thanks to the Dual Field PI, she’ll be happy, I’ll be happy, and life will be good. Not expecting to, since this will be my first time swinging a PI, but I think swinging a Minelab Sovereign Elite in all metal for the last 14 years has prepared me to swing a PI, but if I’m lucky enough to hit gold the first time out, can’t wait to see her face, especially if there’s diamonds involved!