Hello, I have a cable detector from B&Q (Draper??) and it's pathetic! (very
vague as to where stud or cable is, especially if metal object nearby).
Looking to buy a decent one, say from RS, preferably with a row of LEDs to
help locate cable etc. What can the group recommend?

Regards,

Alan.

On Tue, 22 Jul 2003 10:56:02 +0100, "Alan"
wrote:

Hello, I have a cable detector from B&Q (Draper??) and it's pathetic! (very
vague as to where stud or cable is, especially if metal object nearby).
Looking to buy a decent one, say from RS, preferably with a row of LEDs to
help locate cable etc. What can the group recommend?

Regards,

Alan.


You're right - the cheap ones are junk.

I bought a Zircon Triscanner Pro in Home Depot in the U.S. for about
$25. RS have them as 389-4050

I would recommend it. I believe it uses various forms of digital
signal processing to do the scanning. It works very well at finding
stud edges etc. The important thing is after placing it on the
surface, give it a few seconds before moving, then you get good
results.


..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

Andy Hall wrote:

On Tue, 22 Jul 2003 10:56:02 +0100, "Alan"
wrote:

Hello, I have a cable detector from B&Q (Draper??) and it's pathetic! (very
vague as to where stud or cable is, especially if metal object nearby).
Looking to buy a decent one, say from RS, preferably with a row of LEDs to
help locate cable etc. What can the group recommend?

Regards,

Alan.


You're right - the cheap ones are junk.

I bought a Zircon Triscanner Pro in Home Depot in the U.S. for about
$25. RS have them as 389-4050

I would recommend it. I believe it uses various forms of digital
signal processing to do the scanning. It works very well at finding
stud edges etc. The important thing is after placing it on the
surface, give it a few seconds before moving, then you get good
results.

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

Presuming that a 'stud' in UK parlance means "A wooden upright,
such as a two by four or 100 mm X 50 mm, that forms part of the
structure of a wall or partition". Studs on 16" or 24" centres,
say?
Since most of our walls are like that and finished with
plasterboard (sheet rock) held on with either screws or
galvanized nails I have found that a very strong magnet is
extremely useful. It will stick to the wall at the location of a
nail/screw.
Also I have done some experiments with a magnet in the vicinity
of electrical house wiring.
Provided the electrical circuit is switched on AND electric
current is flowing through the wires (this is essential) one can
often feel the vibration as the small magnetic field produced by
the alternating current interacts with the hand held magnet.
Haven't determined yet if one can do this at any distance from
the wires in order to find them within a wall; but the idea looks
worth while.
One source of such a strong magnet can be a scrapped computer
hard drive.
Terry.