Moneybox
Philip & Sandra Box
This is a very capable little machine if youre looking for small surface gold and for most of us thats most of our finds. However the SDC2300 is also the source of a lot of annoyance and frustration for many of us as well.
Some wont agree with me but thats ok. For you theres no good reason to continue reading. Before you go any further, just be aware that any modifications made to your Minelab detector will most likely void all warranty. This detector is old enough to be well beyond the warranty period.
A couple of weeks back we headed out as usual, well not quite as usual. Mrs M is very restricted on how much time she can bare to be wandering about on stony ground so at the moment we go out for perhaps an hour or two before heading home for a break.
Well on this occasion the SDC gave trouble as it has on many an occasion although when youre out for a week or more a short delay in getting the machine running doesnt upset your plans too badly. It wasnt actually the machine that played up but it was the all too necessary earphone adaptor cable. The small wires on the detector end of the adaptor cable had an intermittent connection. The small wires appear to be too brittle to put up with connecting and disconnecting the 6-pin plug.
When it comes down to it the real problem is that tiny little 6-pin audio plug that only fits the poor quality Minelab supplied Koss earphones. For anybody serious about decent audio, aftermarket accessories are required and the adaptor cable makes this possible.
Broken wires on this occasion were like the last straw that broke the camels back. Id had enough of the SDC and the 6th adaptor cable.
I planned to eliminate the lousy little 6-pin plug and the adaptor cable. With that the annoying little rubber cap went too. And then while I was at it I got rid of that annoying little plastic lanyard on the battery cover. This modification will likely reduce the detector's water resistance so not recommended if you submerge your detector.
You'll need a few tools. There are a variety of fasteners so you'll need both Allen keys and Torx keys. And then a drill, 10mm spanner and side cutters.
Of course, the soldering iron as well as solder, heat shrink insulation, a small switch and waterproof boot and a bit of multi strand wire as well. I also used silicone grease on the seals and a dab of marine sikaflex on the cable where it entered the waterproof housing.
The photo shows that only four of the six connector pins are used. The red and white wires are connected through to the 1/4" female socket on the other end of the adaptor cable and two of the pins are linked. The purpose of the linked pins is to deactivate the SDC's external speaker when the headphones are connected.
We will often unplug the headphones to operate the speaker when we're working together to find a nugget. It's this connecting and disconnecting of the 6-pin plug that causes the adaptor cable to fail, sometimes within a week or two of receiving it new.
My plan is to install a switch in there, replacing the soldered link between pins. Then the cable will remain connected, with the flick of a switch activating the external speaker.
Back of the 6-pin plug...photo 1
Back of the 6-pin plug...photo 2
A new hole drilled for the cable to exit the housing.
The connection of the wires from the back of the 6-pin plug connected to the switch and the new cable.
The new 1/4" Socket is very poor quality so the job is not finished. When finished the white cable will be cut down to about 80mm and the socket will be fixed to the detector housing. The will be no reason to move the cable therefore it should not break.
Tests so far indicated a poor/loose connection with the cheap 1/4" socket but a flick of the switch brings the speaker alive. For some reason it also boosts the headphone audio at the same time. That can be helpful when studying a faint signal.
Nuggets found during testing didn't quite cover the cost of the conversion
.
Some wont agree with me but thats ok. For you theres no good reason to continue reading. Before you go any further, just be aware that any modifications made to your Minelab detector will most likely void all warranty. This detector is old enough to be well beyond the warranty period.
A couple of weeks back we headed out as usual, well not quite as usual. Mrs M is very restricted on how much time she can bare to be wandering about on stony ground so at the moment we go out for perhaps an hour or two before heading home for a break.
Well on this occasion the SDC gave trouble as it has on many an occasion although when youre out for a week or more a short delay in getting the machine running doesnt upset your plans too badly. It wasnt actually the machine that played up but it was the all too necessary earphone adaptor cable. The small wires on the detector end of the adaptor cable had an intermittent connection. The small wires appear to be too brittle to put up with connecting and disconnecting the 6-pin plug.
When it comes down to it the real problem is that tiny little 6-pin audio plug that only fits the poor quality Minelab supplied Koss earphones. For anybody serious about decent audio, aftermarket accessories are required and the adaptor cable makes this possible.
Broken wires on this occasion were like the last straw that broke the camels back. Id had enough of the SDC and the 6th adaptor cable.
I planned to eliminate the lousy little 6-pin plug and the adaptor cable. With that the annoying little rubber cap went too. And then while I was at it I got rid of that annoying little plastic lanyard on the battery cover. This modification will likely reduce the detector's water resistance so not recommended if you submerge your detector.
You'll need a few tools. There are a variety of fasteners so you'll need both Allen keys and Torx keys. And then a drill, 10mm spanner and side cutters.
Of course, the soldering iron as well as solder, heat shrink insulation, a small switch and waterproof boot and a bit of multi strand wire as well. I also used silicone grease on the seals and a dab of marine sikaflex on the cable where it entered the waterproof housing.
The photo shows that only four of the six connector pins are used. The red and white wires are connected through to the 1/4" female socket on the other end of the adaptor cable and two of the pins are linked. The purpose of the linked pins is to deactivate the SDC's external speaker when the headphones are connected.
We will often unplug the headphones to operate the speaker when we're working together to find a nugget. It's this connecting and disconnecting of the 6-pin plug that causes the adaptor cable to fail, sometimes within a week or two of receiving it new.
My plan is to install a switch in there, replacing the soldered link between pins. Then the cable will remain connected, with the flick of a switch activating the external speaker.
Back of the 6-pin plug...photo 1
Back of the 6-pin plug...photo 2
A new hole drilled for the cable to exit the housing.
The connection of the wires from the back of the 6-pin plug connected to the switch and the new cable.
The new 1/4" Socket is very poor quality so the job is not finished. When finished the white cable will be cut down to about 80mm and the socket will be fixed to the detector housing. The will be no reason to move the cable therefore it should not break.
Tests so far indicated a poor/loose connection with the cheap 1/4" socket but a flick of the switch brings the speaker alive. For some reason it also boosts the headphone audio at the same time. That can be helpful when studying a faint signal.
Nuggets found during testing didn't quite cover the cost of the conversion
.
