This is not a step by step but a overview of the mod.
It's not even in correct order so
if you feel uncomfortable doing it, then don't !
Want to make your Minelab GP Extreme or GP3000
ground balance easy by just pushing a button?
A simple mod to your handle and only two wires
take the hassle out of ground balancing. No more
reaching down under and trying to find that darn
Fixed/Tracking switch again.
This is the switch I installed from Radio Shack.
It's a push to activate, not a push on, push off type.
You need to solder about 2 foot of zip cord to it
I took some off an old wall transformer as its small,
regular lamp zip cord is too large for this. Maybe
some speaker wire would work well too. You won't
need the nut that came with the switch.
This is the panel you need to remove to get to the
fixed / tracking switch on the right. Remove the six
screws and it will come off. Notice where I drilled
a hole for my switch wire to enter the box near the
Minelab logo. Always look before you drill any hole.
DON'T Drill the hole
with the cover on the Minelab!!!
Your certain to destroy the insides if you do.
Not to mention putting
shavings in there to create havoc!
A close up of the switch (fixed/tracking) we will hook up
to once the cover is off.
If your feeling queasy about doing this mod
STOP
and
FORGET IT !
as its not worth ruining your minelab.
If your an old hand at soldering
and hooking up wires then remove the 6 screws
and lets continue with the mod.
This is what it will look like with the screws removed
and the cover pulled out a little. Be gentle with this
as we don't want to create problems. Here you can see
the switch to the right where I soldered the wires to.
You will find that it has some heat shrink on them like
the other switches in the photo. You will have to trim
off a small bit to get to the switch so you can solder
the wires to it. An exacto knife or razor makes it easy.
Make sure to use a couple zip ties or tie wraps to
provide stress relief to the wire so it won't pull off
putting the cover back on. Don't have zip ties then
use string and tie it in a couple places to the other
wire bundles.
Here is a close up of the switch, even though it has
3 lugs only two have wires on them. These two are
the ones we want to solder to. If you prepare the
wire as I suggest in the next photos, its easy. Just
lay the new wire against the lug and apply heat with
soldering iron and its done. If you haven't soldered
before
STOP NOW.
Get someone that knows how to help!
The ends of the wire are simply laid on the lugs and
heat applied and it should melt in place. That's after
you install it in the handle and route it of course.
I used some large zip cord in this photo to show how
its prepared as its easier to see. Strip about 1/2 inch
off the rubber insulation off the ends and pre tint them
with solder as shown above. Both will be silver colored
with solder when this is done.
Then trim them down to about 1/8 inch of pretined
wire as shown above this will make it easy to solder
to the lugs. Remember this is large zip cord for
illustrations only.
Here is the handle you need to drill a hole in for the
button. I rolled the foam grip downward to get it out
of the way. Predrill a small 1/8 inch hole to get it going
then work larger to get the final size you want for a
snug switch fit. Take it easy doing this as the handle
is very fragile. If you do screw up and break it
Chris Gholson at Arizona Outback
has more of them in stock for about $20.00
I put a drop of glue under it to hold it but
feel it wasn't needed as it fit very snug. You will be
drilling through two layers for the long switch to fit
through. You'll see what I mean if you look at your
handle. A dremel tool may make this easy if you get
your hole off center a little. I even used a file to get
my hole perfectly centered since the Gold Gal had
my dremel tool at her lapidary class.
This is a look at the two layers one at top of handle
and one about 1/2 inch down in the handle moulding.
Then I pulled the wire out and glued it down the ribbed
area to the side. Remember all this needs to be done
before you open the box to drill that hole and solder the
ends of the wires to the switch.
To use this feature you need to leave
your Tracking/Fixed switch in Fixed all the time.
It sure makes ground balancing easy to do.
You can simply do it while detecting and never
skip a beat.
It's Great!