Steel Phase Amplifier

I never altered the detector settings just altered the filter had the volume at half on the booster but I found I had to turn the threshold down :Y: using headphones

Awesome John. Congrats

I purchased a SteelPhase when they were first released (Serial No 03) and due to work commitments and pissing rain in Qld I've had no chance to use it as yet.

I am very keen to hear of any experiences using this unit with an SDC.

I am also keen to know how an SP01 works with an SDC and wireless headphones as I am a bit mystified how this will work .

I have ZERO knowledge of technical stuff...so here goes.

It seems to me that no matter what you could do to boost a signal from the SDC to the wireless transmitter by inserting an SP01 before the transmitter......any transmission of signal beyond the transmitter is then governed by the capability of the transmitter...so that the headphones will only receive what the wireless transmitter allows.

If I am right, the wireless transmitter might have parameters that wont allow filtered or amped signals to go beyond it.

Has anyone tried the SP01 with wirless headphones...if not I might be the first when I can get the hell away from work and get into the goldfields.
cheers
Mike

Sorry Mike I am using it on a new 4500 ask Nenad he may have tried it on a sdc :Y:

MikeB05 said:

I purchased a SteelPhase when they were first released (Serial No 03) and due to work commitments and pissing rain in Qld I've had no chance to use it as yet.

I am very keen to hear of any experiences using this unit with an SDC.

I am also keen to know how an SP01 works with an SDC and wireless headphones as I am a bit mystified how this will work .

I have ZERO knowledge of technical stuff...so here goes.

It seems to me that no matter what you could do to boost a signal from the SDC to the wireless transmitter by inserting an SP01 before the transmitter......any transmission of signal beyond the transmitter is then governed by the capability of the transmitter...so that the headphones will only receive what the wireless transmitter allows.

If I am right, the wireless transmitter might have parameters that wont allow filtered or amped signals to go beyond it.

Has anyone tried the SP01 with wirless headphones...if not I might be the first when I can get the hell away from work and get into the goldfields.
cheers
Mike

Click to expand...

Hi Mike,

With wireless headphones, (as you can't tap into the receiver in the headphones) the only way to connect up the sP01 (or any other booster) is to first connect the booster to the SDC adaptor lead, and then plug the transmitter into the sP01 output. So yes, you are right, the sound coming to your headphones will be governed by whatever the transmitter is capable of transmitting.

The good thing is that the Deteknix Transmitter can handle a slightly boosted audio signal (although I know they wouldn't have been tested for this), so you will still be getting some of the benefit of the sP01, but some of the nuances in the audio may be lost. I have tried it and it still gives a desirable improvement, but I would advise using the volume very sparingly. Do you have the WireFree Lite or Pro headphones? On the Pro's you can connect them with the cable, so you can do a comparison on the sP01, direct plugged to the SDC vs through the wireless connection. I have found there is a slight improvement in overall clarity and signal definition using the WireFree Pro's direct plugged into the sP01 - actually the headphones are a very good match! Have a go and see what you think if you have the Pro's.

The other way to incorporate the sP01 into a wireless set-up would be: Deteknix Tx to headphone socket (or SDC adaptor), then Deteknix Rx with short patch lead (1/4" to 1/4") into sP01. Then connect headphones or speaker to sP01. This in theory should be better, as the Enhancer is doing its magic AFTER the audio has been transmitted, and you are not transmitting a boosted signal.

You could always run the sP01 direct plugged when you are in open ground, and use the wireless headphones when in scrubby terrain and don't want to get snagged up.

Here is what I have found so far with my Steelphase booster.



I had a day off today due to the weather in Bendigo.

Thanks Nenad

very comprehensive reply to my post and as always...very helpful. You are a champ!!

I would lile to thank Pat & Nenad for a great booster. Works a treat with my Zed.

I took my SP01 out on the weekend for the first time.

I use a SDC2300 and Gog Phones. I made a belt pouch for the SP01.

The SP01 turns the SDC2300 into a whole new machine ... normally I run the SDC2300 on high tone, Sensitivity 4 and Threshold 4 unless the EMI is low then sometimes I can run on Sensitivity 5 Threshold 4. With the SP01 I found Low Tone better and that I could run on Sensitivity 5 and Threshold 3.

I spent an hour burying different size lead sinkers at varying depths at a spot where I had recovered around 12 nuggets and testing different settings on the detector and the SP01.

Mode 2 Filter 2 with the volume around 40% seemed to be a good combination that gave the best response overall on all the test targets.

I ended up picking up two small nuggets and the 9 carat gold ring for the day. Both the nuggets gave lovely loud clear signals and I'm pretty sure that I would have found them without the SP01.

When I found some very quiet targets I would switch the SP01 off and test with only the Gog Phones. There were some rubbish targets that I definitely would not have dug if I hadn't had the SP01.

I should add that the ground where I detect is very noisy and mineralised, it's hard to run on Sensitivity 5 because of the ground noise and even a GPX struggles without a DD coil.

To give you an idea of the amount of rubbish dug, excluding birdshot and bullets which I keep in a separate container and have already thrown out.

I usually run the Minelab speaker, on my shoulder, on the 4500 because in most cases I can hear more than I can with the headphones supplied. One problem I have with the headphones is that unless they are worn under a beanie they amplify the wind and every tree branch that you touch. If I get a chance to borrow the Sunray Gold head phones from Mrs M then I get much better audio quality but they are too tight and become annoying after a while.

I planned on shopping for a decent set of noise cancelling earphones to replace the Koss originals when I get home.

If I purchase the Steel Phase amplifier do I still need a better class of head phones?

Phil



No it's not gold but it sure looks good

I think to get the maximum benefit of the SteelPhase you should have good clear response headphones. But it will still make any headphones sound better.

If you want to block wind noise but find the Sunrays annoying well that's a bit of a catch 22, as any of the good noise blocking headphones like the Gog Phones are a fairly firm fit. I haven't used enough of the powered Noise Cancelling headphones to make any recommendations there.

A good compromise may be the Koss TD80. They sit better on the ear compared to the UR30, but don't clamp so hard as the Sunrays.

That's teasing MoneyBox!! That looked so good and then read your comment - deflated!!

But what is it? Sort of like Kimberley zebra rock but not at all.

Certainly a nice specimen whatever it is

Northeast said:

That's teasing MoneyBox!! That looked so good and then read your comment - deflated!!

But what is it? Sort of like Kimberley zebra rock but not at all.

Certainly a nice specimen whatever it is

Click to expand...

Mrs M thinks we have a nice chunk of Tiger Iron. I dug it out and first discarded it while searching for a rare bottle https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=23890 Then Mrs M picked it up with the bottle and applied a bit of spit to bring out its true colours.

Thanks Nenad. I'll leave it until I'm home to do a bit of shopping for head phones. Mail deliveries are difficult when you're on the move and as unreliable as we are.

Tonight we aimed to be on a patch of pending ground but got distracted while travelling down the road following a roadtrain at 90 km/h. I spotted a little patch of broken glass the other side of the old railway line, between glancing at the road from time to time, so had to make a quick u-turn. We picked up eight sunbaking coins, 2x2c, 5x1c and 1 halfpenny. Then Mrs M dissapeared for a bit and returned with an old Schweppes soda water bottle.

Needless to say we had to find another gold occurrence on another pending patch that was a bit closer We arrived just on dark so no sign of gold yet but we had to travel a lot of washed out tracks to get to within walking distance of the indicated spot so that's a good sign

Were can you buy the sp01 from cheers Muk.

They are still on backorder, but we're catching up.

www.phasetechnical.com.au/product-category/audio-2/

Or

www.steelphase.com.au

Cheers how long before you will have stock or do I need to order cheers Muk.

got this little ripper at about a foot and a half,9.64 gramms,lovely inverted signal,the sp1 made the signal much more pronounced.Gotta love new technology:]
mode 2
volume at 2oclock
filter 1
gpz settings
high yeild
difficult
volume 8
sensativity 8
threshold 26
low smoothing
auto ground balance
ground smoothing off
volume limit 8

Well done mate,very well done.
Mackka

Awesome find bigjilm, wish i was there to witness