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Need Pin Pointer Advice


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I know the carrot is highly thought of but I have seen some heavy users say the tip can wear and expose things.  I am looking at the Pulse Two in One and like what I see including what seems to be a better protected tip.  Another option is the Quest Scuba Tector again with additional tip protection.  Problem is both are kinda new and I have seen some bashing, especially on the Quest.  The thing is no matter how many whistles and bells something has it's basic function has to work or nothing else matters.  I am not wed to any of these three choices; just the ones that my research has turned up so far.  Any advice welcome.

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I have a 1st generation Tek-Point (15ns pulse) and a TRX ( 12 kHz VLF)  that I'm quite happy with.  Both have been robust and flexible enough in their operating settings to handle most any situation I put them to.   I can recommend both of them.

I got a Nokta pinpointer with my Gold Kruzer purchase but I haven't used it yet so can't say anything about it.

HH
Mike

 

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I'm with Mike Hillis. I love the TRX. Depth is unrivaled and you can change shells if it wears. I also have the Tek-Point and love it as well. Pretty close on depth, maybe even has an edge on low conductors. You can't go wrong with either of those two. Personally I haven't been impressed by the carrot for a while now compared to those two. Not even a close contest in my opinion. I must admit to being curious about the Nokta Makro convertible Pulsedive as well. I'm going to be adding it to my arsenal rignt next to the other two. Seems to have competitive depth as a pinpointer and that new 8" coil for it is the cake topper.

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1 hour ago, Steve Herschbach said:

You left out the most important information... what is it you need a pinpointer for? What are you expecting out of one?

Wow, tough crowd here.  😀

Truth be told I don't have a good answer to your question.  I just got my Excal II delivered and the battery is charging (for around 15 hours more).  Watching vids on youtube lots of guys seem to do what I will call gross location with a big machine like the Excal and then use a pin pointer to hone in on just where the object is and that is what I was gonna use it for.  But as a secondary use I might also like something with the add on head for what I will call simple location.  Often times I know folks who drop something in the water at a dock or on a boat and ask for help locating it, glasses, keys, whatever.

But your question really has made me rethink my need for a pin pointer.   I just assumed it was something everybody used to speed things up in locating an object that had just been detected.  But I have also seen some vids where they just keep digging, sifting, dumping the sand and run a big detector over the dumped sand till they find the object.  And the Excal does have a pinpoint mode, maybe that is enough.

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Well, I’ve done a lot of water hunting and never used a pinpointer. It’s usually just scoop and sift, or scoop and dump in a sifter. Bending over to poke a pinpointer around would be a waste of time and remember, pinpointers do not have the range of the detector itself. In most beach situations the pinpointer is going to do nothing until the target is out of the hole anyway.

I do have a Pulsedive on order, but it will get used more as an independent mini detector than a pinpointer.

I really only have extreme need for a pinpointer when working in parks or other areas where digging must be limited as much as possible. Most other situations I just dig and use the tools to recover. Scoop or sifter for beach, nugget scoop for gold nuggets.

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There are simple homebrew ways to prevent/reduce tip wear. When my original black Garrett Propointer wore through ( the potting resin was visible ) , I cut off the pointless 'sifter blade' so it was round at the tip, and fitted a short 40mm length of heatshrink sleeving over the tip. A little EVO-STIK or similar light duty adhesive helps hold it in place. It lasts 4 - 6 months ( dirt digging with heavy use ), and has been successfully protecting my pointer for 4 years+ now.

Regarding:
" I assumed [a pointer] was something everybody used to speed things up in locating an object"
They certainly can save time, it depends on how you use them. But their ability to help avoid damage to finds by clumsy digging ( in dirt ) is their best feature. Knowing where the target is, and hence where to dig/not dig, accurately, is very effective, I rarely damage finds now.

They have quite a number of uses, though many are dirt-specific.
This is a post of mine from another forum:


Advantages:


a)finding targets in the sidewall of a hole


b)verifying the target is in the bottom of the hole


c)allows you to close in carefully on the target, avoiding damage to it


d)very shallow targets can be precisely pinpointed before digging, reducing digging


e)a probe will often find things in the spoil-heap more easily than the traditional methods


f)on pasture, the target is often in the turf. A probe will help you extract it without ripping the turf into bits


g)on park land, for example, where broken glass, sharp metal rubbish etc, occurs, a probe will minimise how much handling of the dirt you do.


h)where multiple targets occur, eg. a nail and your intended target, the probe will allow you to seperate them.


i)in woodland, where roots are a problem, the pointer will help you negotiate the roots, so you can just shift the earth where needed, minimising damage to the roots, and time spent.


j)they usually have an LED torch [US:flashlight] in them, which is handy in fading light, or in a deep hole



Disadvantages include:


a)it's one more thing to carry


b)and one more thing with a battery that might go flat/get left at home/etc


c)they are easy to lose, tread on, etc


d)they can slow recovery, due to the 'inching in on the target' effect


e)some of them have a beep you can't turn off, which may not always be ideal


f)expense


g)they won't always find the tiny targets




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  I'm the exact opposite on using my pinpointer!  I use it constantly! 

On the beach, in the wet and dry sand, i only use the scoop to dig the target and get it to the surface! I then kick the scoop of sand to fan it out! Than i either see the target immediately, or if  it's hidden or too small to see, i use the pinpointer! After testing the hole, and then the fanned area with my coil!!  In the water, i use the scoop in the normal way! Letting the water sift the sand out!  I guess i'm weird!👽

It sounds complicated, but actually goes extremely fast! And my Scoop arm never gets tired!  I've never damaged anything shaking it around in the scoop, since doing it this way!

Inland sites, i wallow out a space behind the target with my Sampson shovel, and shove the pinpointer tip in to locate it!  I rarely ever cut a plug, because South Florida soil usually does not plug well! It just falls apart, and makes a mess on the surface! My way is nearly invisible when I'm done, and does little to no damage to the turf!

Also, I'm probably one of the few using the Treasure Products 585 Probe in this way! But it has worked great for me! My knee's don't mind the bending and digging!  When it was new, i dipped it in liquid rubber,( not the handle) and slid a cap on the tip! when that wear's out, i just recoat and replace the cap! 👍👍

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15 hours ago, PimentoUK said:

Regarding:
" I assumed [a pointer] was something everybody used to speed things up in locating an object"
They certainly can save time, it depends on how you use them. But their ability to help avoid damage to finds by clumsy digging ( in dirt ) is their best feature. Knowing where the target is, and hence where to dig/not dig, accurately, is very effective, I rarely damage finds now.
 

I detect on inland sites  

Yes I agree the main advantage of a pinpointer is to avoid to damage targets. 2 days ago I found with my Vanquish 540 a very nice silver I am sure I would have damaged it without a pinpointer because it was at the bottom of the hole and the soil is very dry at the moment. BTW I use a ML profind 35 , a very good pinpointer , the only one having an iron disc very useful to id big deep iron targets often id as good targets by the detectors.

One more thing , the use of a pinpointer is also linked to the size of the coil , I have a Vanquish 540 with the 3 coils V8 , V10 , V12:

- with the small V8 8X6 coil I never take my pinpointer

- with the V10 10X8 coil I take it and often use it in the field

- with the big V12 12X10 coil a pinpointer is almost mandatory , I use it all the time

 

Concerning the pinpointer disadvantages :

a)it's one more thing to carry

--------> yes

b)and one more thing with a battery that might go flat/get left at home/etc

---------> carry a spare battery ( a 9V for the profind 35 )

c)they are easy to lose, tread on, etc

---------> no risk at all with a leash attached to the holster , see pic below

d)they can slow recovery, due to the 'inching in on the target' effect

---------> in most cases they rather accelerate the recovery , just my opinion .. 

e)some of them have a beep you can't turn off, which may not always be ideal

---------> no beep on the profind 35

f)expense

---------> 135e for the ML profind 35 

g)they won't always find the tiny targets

--------->  yes 

 

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You are being harsh about my 'negatives'.

Yes, attaching your pointer to a lanyard/cable will stop you losing it, most pointers nowadays have a loop built into them, similar to cameras etc, so this can be attached. And for older pointers, like the orginal black Garrett, you can buy a special tabbed washer that fits under the battery cap, to give it a cord attachment. But not everyone wants to be attached to their pointer, just as they don't care for corded headphones attaching them to their machine.

If you don't use a pointer, you don't have to carry a spare battery for it.

Expense: this is a BIG problem for newcomers. Spending 150 US Dollars on a top brand pointer is a major investment, when compared to spending Zero on the no-pointer option. There are now a number of cheap copy/clone/lookalike pointers priced below 30 US Dollars, some of which seem to work OK , though it's no doubt a choice minefield.

Beep or silent is an option on a number of current pointers. One of the first modifications I did to my Propointer was to ( rather cleverly, I think ) add a beep on/off control. I had plans for controls of the white LED, too, but I just settled on sticking black electrical insulating tape over it, if I wanted to be discrete.

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