Detector Minerals

I found this to be the most interesting rock at the rock shop. (now at Our House News). It has Pyrite, Galena, and Quartz all in one formation.

What's interesting here is the variations in the luster, crystal sizes and shapes you can find in galena.

This is a pretty large chunk of pyrite. It needs to be broken into smaller pieces for use in a detector, just didn't have the heart.

Here's a nice sample of chalcopyrite.

Zincite just doesn't look detectorish, more like it should be mounted in kid's jewelry, but detects the stronger locals fairly well,
and even better when it's the cat whisker for a detector using chalcopyrite. These pieces came from the smoke stack of a zinc smelt in Poland; natural zincite is fairly tough to come by. As I understand it there's only one spot in the states where it occurs naturally, and it's a small mine at that. The piece second from the left has a copper wire wrap and is ready to become a cat whisker.

I've had some folks tell me they heard carborundum is better than pyrite for shortwave. Truthfully, I don't think so. (but take note dear readership, I'm far from expert in these matters, just sharing some pics here!). However, with any detector mineral, you have good and bad samples. A good piece of carborundum might be better than a bad pyrite sample, and a good pyrite sample is definitely better than a bad chunk of galena.

My first halfway decent stab at a serious perikon. First attempts intentionally omitted.
This detector is quite touchy and susceptible to losing it's contact when the chihuahua walks by, but is very close to galena in sensitivity.
It has a zincite cat whisker and a chunk of peacock ore sitting on a spring clip in the bucket.
It's quite inexpensive to make, the wood base and brass strip comes from a local hobby shop,
the brass bucket, nuts & bolts from the local hardware store and the banana plug from a local electronics outlet,
and in a decent shop be built in a couple of hours (sans finishing the wood base).