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Stud finders, really. any good hacks for these? — Parallax Forums

Stud finders, really. any good hacks for these?

mikedivmikediv Posts: 825
edited 2009-09-17 20:14 in General Discussion
I had to run to Lowes for some stuff to finish my water heater and they had a bunch of really cheap Stud Finder on the clearance table 1 dollar each and they work fine . Stanley units I bought a few and was wondering if anyone has done any kind of
projects using stamps or prop chips? Can the range be extended like a Ping unit maybe ??

Comments

  • HollyMinkowskiHollyMinkowski Posts: 1,398
    edited 2009-09-16 21:19
    Stud Finders!? For a dollar!


    If you set the sensitivity just right you could use it like a proximity switch.
    So that just touching the front of a panel would activate something..or maybe
    just picking it up would. You could easily make use of the low current that goes to the studfinder's
    indicator LEDs.

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    "Where am I? Where am I going? Why am I in a handbasket?"
  • mikedivmikediv Posts: 825
    edited 2009-09-16 22:55
    Lol really they were out of the package so a buck Lowes where I live has a clearance table they put stuff on. last year I bought an awesome table saw for 100 bucks it was normally $289.00 pretty sweet the only thing was the box was torn up but it had everything still in the packages.
    I just bought 5 of these the all seem to work except one I have not taken them apart yet I am hoping there is something I can do with them maybe some type of sonar?
  • P!-RoP!-Ro Posts: 1,189
    edited 2009-09-17 01:35
    I believe they work as a metal detector, finding the nails. Try testing it and see.

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    PG
  • CounterRotatingPropsCounterRotatingProps Posts: 1,132
    edited 2009-09-17 01:36
    These things only go pretty shallow into the wall and drywall is about all it can penetrate - and then usually only 1/2 or 5/8 inch max.

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  • HollyMinkowskiHollyMinkowski Posts: 1,398
    edited 2009-09-17 04:00
    They don't just detect metal.
    They are somehow sensitive to any sort of mass.
    You can set the sensitivity to where bringing
    your finger right up near the sensor will cause the LEDs to light.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    "Where am I? Where am I going? Why am I in a handbasket?"
  • davejamesdavejames Posts: 4,047
    edited 2009-09-17 16:12
    The general, run-of-the-mill stud finder detects changes in capacitance - so there may some neat hacks lurking.

    How about a capacitance-controlled Theremin? Cooool....


    DJ

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    Instead of:

    "Those who can, do.· Those who can't, teach." (Shaw)
    I prefer:
    "Those who know, do.· Those who understand, teach." (Aristotle)
    ·
  • mikedivmikediv Posts: 825
    edited 2009-09-17 20:14
    I don't know that's why I thought I would ask , CounterRProps yea I tried it on a few things the are only effective a very small,,tiny level I took apart and it actually lost power so I think davejames my be onto somehting the ones I have . Have all the parts epoxied so I can not salvage anything decent but for a buck the 9V battery holder was a deal. Does anyone think they could be used to do some kind of detecting underwater maybe?
    Holly you never shared what you did with those cordless drill motors? I took one of mine apart but left the motor attached to the chuck with just a 9 volt battery the thing has lots of power its slow but it could move a lot of weight I'm guessing
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