Laptop metal detector?

[neksmerj]

Gentlemen, your collective genius is required here.

Computers can be made to do almost anything these days, why not a prospecting metal detector? I haven't a clue where to start, I know nothing about programming, but you do.

I just want to hook up a coil of wire, maybe two coils, to say the sound card, run the software, and go out and find some coins, maybe a pair of old rusty sissors, or a gold nugget.

Ideally the sound card and software will do all the interface work, with the split screen showing a graph or some other image to indicate a strike. The other half of the screen will show all the settings with adjustment knobs for tweaking.

I have turned the web upside down, looking for something along these lines, without success.

Please wake me tomorrow when it's done, and I don't want to hear it's impossible.

Ken

[ian]

Gentlemen, your collective genius is required here.

Computers can be made to do almost anything these days, why not a prospecting metal detector? I haven't a clue where to start, I know nothing about programming, but you do.

I just want to hook up a coil of wire, maybe two coils, to say the sound card, run the software, and go out and find some coins, maybe a pair of old rusty sissors, or a gold nugget.

Ideally the sound card and software will do all the interface work, with the split screen showing a graph or some other image to indicate a strike. The other half of the screen will show all the settings with adjustment knobs for tweaking.

I have turned the web upside down, looking for something along these lines, without success.

probably because stand alone metal detectors are lighter, more portable, easier to tune, more robust and cheaper (or have a higher profit margin)



ian

[neksmerj]

Oops, just found a very interesting site if metal detectors interest you, especially laptop based.

It seems there are many hurdles to overcome.

Try this site Let's made a PC-base metal detector with usb interface !!! - Geotech Forums

Ian, forget about the weight, forget about ease of use, it just seems an interesting exercise, and with top end detectors costing around $6000, it just might be a worthwhile project.

Ken