Plans set for electronic receiver

[signal_line]

In some cases, money probably does buy a better locator. Certainly don't use that as a rule in this bloodsport! LOL As Dell Winders says, $2000 is about the maximum any frequency discriminator should sell for. That was a few years back and things change. If it's got L-rods, don't spend much money unless you know how to use the rods. Pretty much all devices just have some gimmick. Most of them are just that and not much else.

 

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[signal_line]

It's been almost a year since this thread was started and it gets me a little embarrassed thinking back on how quickly this was "supposed" to take. There's no question this project has been out-of-mind for a few months now. My sense of urgency to complete this project has been changed more to a sense of caution and safety. So I'll feel a lot better about this once I get that covered. LOL, the thought just occurred to me just add a pair of insulated lineman's gloves for extra safety.

 

[signal_line]

Don't know if anyone caught that one, but the idea of "extra safety" was meant against some kind of legal action. Kind of the "catch-all" phrase lawyers use. LOL Of course I want this device to be as safe as other outdoor electrical equipment--but if you drop a trouble light into the bathtub... Actually the insulated gloves idea is not such a bad idea when it is raining or wet/damp ground when handling the transmitter/antenna.

It's back to the work bench. Got an idea for antenna insulation.

 

[signal_line]

Not setting any speed records here with this project. Not even the slow and steady tortoise. But I am inching my way to the finish line. Could have had all this done months ago. The device has been working and I don't plan to change anything. Basically just need a good housing for everything including the transmitter coil and wiring. As I said before, like Ferrari, I don't really care what the thing looks like as long as it wins the race. But, I know most people want something with the fancy Star Wars case.

"With all the times that I've been burned
By now you'd think I'd have learned
That it's who you look like
Not who you are."

~~Jackson Browne

 

[signal_line]

I guess I need to make a youtube video some day so people can see. The old "picture is worth a thousand words" probably be an understatement. I just need to get everything in order before that happens.

I've always said this device is not perfect and never will be. The video will surely show how the signal moves around especially during the first few minutes before it locks on. If you have a low patience threshold like me, I don't like waiting.

 

[signal_line]

Back to my flip-flopping...again! This one is not actually a total change, just an addition I have been considering all along. I guess I would describe it as an antenna stabilizer. I like sweeping the receiver antenna by hand, but I have to admit that if it was on a more solid base, I could get even more accurate line to the target. So this is something I can just "duct tape together" to try out for starters. Of course eventually it needs to be portable. Now I just need some time. I just feel this will make someone an expert in a much shorter time span.

 

[morbiusandneo]

A video on Youtube is actually an excellent idea!! JUST DO IT!! It don't have to be perfect. Make it at least 5 minutes. 10 minutes is best. Talk and explain it as best you can. GOOD LUCK!!

I guess I need to make a youtube video some day so people can see. The old "picture is worth a thousand words" probably be an understatement. I just need to get everything in order before that happens.

I've always said this device is not perfect and never will be. The video will surely show how the signal moves around especially during the first few minutes before it locks on. If you have a low patience threshold like me, I don't like waiting.

 

[signal_line]

It's going to be a while before I get a video out. Unfortunately, the state of the project looks very much like it did last December--rubber bands, tape, cardboard, wood, and other materials. LOL. Not quite your Star Wars case. Of course this device is not science fiction.

 

[signal_line]

I feel guilty I haven't got much done on the project this past week. I do have an idea for the stabilizer so it's just a matter of getting started. That 'ignition" seems to be the hardest part right now. LOL Pretty much convinced myself that this is a needed addition. Soon.

 

[signal_line]

Strike one! LOL Actually this ain't my first attempt. Obviously I need something that is not so neanderthal-crude. Felt like I was wearing a strait jacket, or like trying to run in a dream. LOL Could not get it tuned as precisely as is needed. At least I see where the problem areas are. Now the question is which angle of attack is going to work best. Right now it's just too touchy.

 

[signal_line]

Did some work on the antenna stabilizer today. Needs a little more assembly tomorrow and I'll give it a shot to see if it can aim at the target more accurately than by hand. It all sounds so simple; it all seems so easy; it all looks good on paper. LOL I learned a little bit from my past mistakes and I just hope my memory holds. LOL So I am cautiously optimistic this thing just might work nearly as good as expected. I mean it works by hand so it ought to work much better, kind like how they clamp a gun into a vise. Will know in the A.M.

 

[signal_line]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't know if you caught that one..a primal scream. LOL

Yeah, another strike out. Did I learn anything from it? Yeah, I learned I don't want to mess with the antenna stabilizer again. LOL

 

[signal_line]

I guess I would compare it to clamping a gun in a vise. After some adjustments it works great for a stationary target. With the electronic LRL receiver, it's not the target that moves, rather the locating conditions that are changing. If the machine goes from pegged to nothing, I guess I'd call that trying to follow a skunk trail.

 

[signal_line]

Maybe I need to explain the skunk trail thing. Once a skunk sprays it's odor, the whole area is so saturated that it is nearly impossible to sniff-out the skunk in all of it. BTW, I met a woman who said she liked the smell of skunks and she thought someone should make skunk perfume. LOL

Back to the issue, i don't know how difficult it would be to have some sort of auto tuning. I tried working the power level control while sweeping the antenna (during solar storm conditions) and it was unlikely that I could get that to work in real life.

 

[signal_line]

Better get a printed copy of this one. LOL I am willing to admit there is some possibility I can get this antenna stabilizer to work after all. i was in the yard today working with the latest version I don't know what to call it because I already struck out. Somehow, Strike Four just doesn't seem to have a ring to it. LOL Right now it' not too smooth so I have to run it a bit hotter. And this means it won't pinpoint as good. My changing philosophy is that a good wide signal is better than a narrow skittish one. And it still can be used as a handheld. But I still have ideas for a smoother movement, lighter weight, etc. that I hope will make it acceptable. It's close, but it's not there yet, and we all know what that means. LOL

 

[signal_line]

So the question right now is ho much stability can be traded off for ease of portability of this antenna stabilizer. Sorry I'm thinking out loud here. Or should any stability be traded off? Need to make a parts run and find out how many issues this new version will have. LOL And I am leaning towards the more stable version. I know a guy who has a big telescope. The base has a bunch of weight in it for stability so the thing weighs 800 lbs. So I guess a pound or two is not all that much extra weigh (what I have now) for the large increase in stabilty. Not all that much trade-off in portability. But I'm still going to find out anyway. LOL

 

[signal_line]

I don't know, I forgot what strike I am on now. Think this last one was number 5. Feels like I made reverse progress today. Ouch! Too lightweight and the darned thing is flimsy. For now I have shelved the whole antenna stabilizer project just out of the pain it is causing me. Obviously this requires more optimism than I have right now. And it's just not working any better than hand held. And more hassle, too. Well, tomorrow is another day.

 

[signal_line]

I'm trying to understand the issues on the stabilizer and then try to see if I can get around the obstacles. Really opened up a can of worms on this one. LOL Got a couple ideas to try when I get the motivation. All this gave me a good headache and the aspirin ins't working.

My feelings here are even if you had a device that could move the antenna with micro control, the signal is not so stable. This is where the slight hand movements are so much more able to "ride with it" probably (because I've never surfed) something like staying with the wave while surfing. With the stabilizer the antenna is just not free to move like what is needed. So far about all I can get is the general area of where the line is, maybe ten degrees, sometimes better. That's still usable just much nicer to get more accuracy like in good conditions one degree when hand held.

Conditions have been stormy so I really haven't had the chance to use the antenna stabilizer much in calmer geomagnetic conditions. It can only be better.

BTW, went back to Strike Number 4 (SN4) and decided it really doesn't weigh all that much and is more stable. So that's where I am now. All could change if I decide to beef up SN5. Probably got no choice but to go that route and then i won't have to wonder what. This is probably simpler than I imagined so it's back to the grindstone.

 

[signal_line]

In a way I wish I hadn't opened this can of worms, the antenna stabilizer. Something inside me says it all for the best, but I recall when i was young my cousins were forced to drink "toilet water" as they called it (mineral water). "It's good for you." Needless to say I said I'll pass on it. LOL

This has got to the point "If it ain't broke, not fix it." I'm just starting to think this stabilizer is a bad idea. LOL

 

[signal_line]

I'm starting to realize why others have gone this route and were not totally successful. The solar magnetic conditions are something we are going to have to live with. And it appears to me the antenna stabilizer is not at it's best during the geomagnetic instability.

This isn't something new--people have talked about this for the last 30 years. Most people, especially skeptics, do not have a clue. Maybe this is how I came to where I am now. I have the L-rod skills and knowledge that others do not possess. And I have the desire. It really astonishes me how little interest there is in this. I've told several people about the device and everybody seems to have something else to do. Won't even return a phone call. Build a better mouse trap and the world will beat a path to your door...not. And when i see the worthless garbage that is out there and the huge prices, it's even worse.