Anyone ever made a locator?

[The one 8,487]

I asked the electronics dept at work about making one after showing them my mk1 ,they reckon you could make one for less than a fiver ,but you would need to search for all the chips as the numbers had been rubbed off them and it would take ages to find the right chips

[tullfan 0]

I asked the electronics dept at work about making one after showing them my mk1 ,they reckon you could make one for less than a fiver ,but you would need to search for all the chips as the numbers had been rubbed off them and it would take ages to find the right chips

 

yep same story here years ago a friend of mine who was an electronics wizard said he could make them for pennies if he new what the number on the chip was,

maybe we should start a thread asking if anyones got a box where the numbers not been scratched of the chip

[liftboy1 0]

ye the IC chip, are different circuits built in them, and pin one is top left corner, Its not money more time. Attach a coin to a collar and get a metal detecter.

[DILLIGAF 0]

The locator works at 457khz, which is the international standard for radiodetection in applications such as avalanche beacons. ALL ferret/terrier finder applications work at this frequency be it analogue (deben MK1) or digital (deben MK3). however 457 is a big waveband so the tuning has to be spot on.

Deben have not been so silly to leave any numbers on any chips ive seen in the last 20 years, but with the aid of a good circuit diagram, a basic knowledge of radio reciever circuits, and a lot of patience it would be easy to find the chip numbers. unfortunately i do not have much time or patience!!

The other difficulty is finding a volume control / depth switch, they are as rare as hens teeth - a switched rotary potentiometer with logarithmic scale. apart from that they can be jury rigged to last another season or more with a couple of simple tricks.

[higgins 75]

The locator works at 457khz, which is the international standard for radiodetection in applications such as avalanche beacons. ALL ferret/terrier finder applications work at this frequency be it analogue (deben MK1) or digital (deben MK3). however 457 is a big waveband so the tuning has to be spot on.

Deben have not been so silly to leave any numbers on any chips ive seen in the last 20 years, but with the aid of a good circuit diagram, a basic knowledge of radio reciever circuits, and a lot of patience it would be easy to find the chip numbers. unfortunately i do not have much time or patience!!

The other difficulty is finding a volume control / depth switch, they are as rare as hens teeth - a switched rotary potentiometer with logarithmic scale. apart from that they can be jury rigged to last another season or more with a couple of simple tricks.

[/quote

the main IC a transmitter is built around is an oscillating chip(some circuits would use a crystal for stability) which puts out the beat signal at a repeating frequency,the receivers look Like AM receivers,this would recieve the beating signal and amplify

it,along with a directional field strength circuit to locate the beat signal.There are many tracking circuits which are simple to make using fewer parts,but for reliabilty and a stable signal more components

are used in Debens locators as it's important that the signal is reliable and strong if using underground as an animal's life is dependent on the system.The important part is the strength of signal as it will be used underground so the signal has to be able to penetrate the barrier(earth,soil etc)most wireless transmitters and recievers work best in line of sight for increased range(meaning no obstacles between them)but the signal is weaker if there are buildings or other obstacles in the way.

[jdconstruction 0]

I had the idea of making a couple of extra collars a few months ago for the mk 1. however have been unable to find 457Khz transmiters for sale now looking into a tuned circuit. will keep you updated