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Looking For Advice On Starter Pinpointer (too Cheap, Or Not Too Cheap... That Is The Question...)


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I agree that Simon would be the guy to talk to. I’ve never used a pin pointer at the beach in the last 7 years. A quality scoop like a Sito? (I believe they are Australian) may be just the ticket. Too small of a scoop does not get the job done. Good luck!

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On the subject of scoops, Short handles make you bend over too far. 👎 Long handles make the scoop heavier and you have to use your foot to kick it into the sand. 👎. About 16-18" handle is just right in the dry sand and san be used in the wet sand if necessary although a longer handle works better in the wet. For the dry, get a scoop with a wire basket as they sift the sand much quicker than drilled or punched holes with a lot less shaking. I prefer Plain steel over stainless as they are lighter and less expensive. Forget plastic and aluminum scoops don't have wire baskets. I'm all for stainless or aluminum long handled in the wet and in the water. 

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10 hours ago, Monte said:

Hey everyone, new to the forum, so please go easy on me as I ask my first stupid question of what is likely to be many..  'Welcome' to Steve's Forums, and back into this great sport.

 

I've blown all my "hobby budget" (or technically my wife did buying me a present). Getting the Minelab Vanquish 540 for Christmas to go do some beach hunting this summer... .. The Vanquish 540 is a very good detector.  I've been enjoying this sport for over 55 years now, have a good set of detectors in my outfit, to include a V-540 Pro Pack and a 2nd V-540 is due to be delivered tomorrow.  I'll keep the 5X8 on the one I use the most now and have the 9X12 on the 2nd unit to be at-the-ready for wide-open areas, such as a beach, open grassy park, plowed field, etc.

 

So I am facing 2 options:

  1. Just suck it up, and wait. The Vanquish has a pinpoint mode, and that is probably good enough to do my first couple hunts. Then I should be able to afford a decent pinpointer such as:
    • Nokta Pulsedive, which is about $200 NZD locally, shipped.
    • Minelab Profind 35, which is about $265 NZD locally, shipped.
    • Gold Century Pinpointer, which is about $99 NZD locally, shipped. (seems like a bit of an "unknown quantity", not much about this brand)
  2. "Cheap Out" and get a random non-known brand, imported one from Amazon, which I can justify now because it's dirt cheap, and then upgrade later on.... I have 3 Pinpointer that serve me well.

My #1 most reliable is my Nokta / Makro Pulse-Dive Pointer.  I use it with my Simplex + because it pairs with the headphones, and I also use it with FORS CoRe, FORS Relic, XLT, Bandido II µMAX and Silver Sabre µMAX and F5.  I have the Garrett 'Carrot' AT w/Z-Lynk that I use with my two Apex devices along with my MS3 headphones. 

The 3rd Pinpointer I have is a White's BullsEye II.  Not the same as my two trusted pinpointers, but it works fine and thy have lasted me better than the China-made knock-offs.  I piked up a brand new in-the-box BullsEye II very reasonably, and I have it on-hand to use as a 'loaner unit' for friends and family.

Monte

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Hey Monte, thanks for the welcome, and re-assurance I've made a good choice for the detector! And for the suggestions on pinpointers. I'll look up the BullsEye II as an option!

10 hours ago, relicmeister said:

if eBay is an option with shipping to NZ I suggest looking for a used one from the well known brands. You can usually get one for a good price that way. Stay away from the knock offs and Chinese brands. 

Hey relicmeister, eBay is an option, unfortunately shipping is usually the big issue. Currently shipping to NZ is significantly more expensive than usual out of USA/Canada. Businesses that have arrangements (Amazon) are a bit more reasonable, but even their shipping costs have gone up. Right now on Amazon it's fairly normal for shipping on a $25 item to be $20. On Ebay, that same $25 item will in most cases be $50 in shipping. We have a local alternative to eBay in NZ called TradeMe, but it's a smaller audience, and used metal detecting gear is fairly uncommon (and it's full of chinese importers/resellers of items from Aliexpress).

5 hours ago, Joe D. said:

Hello Glasswalker,( Explain the name)?

   Welcome to the forum! All the pinpointer suggestions given will work great! But a long handled scoop is a must for the beach; more so than a pinpointer! A stainless steel one will hold up longer than an aluminum one, but is a little heaver!

   There is another member of the forum you should talk to from NZ! His forum name is Phrunt (Simon), and he has some stuff in common with you background wise! He may be able to be of assistance to you, being that you two are fairly close to one another! You can personal message (PM) him by clicking on his name anywhere on the forum, and than clicking on the little envelope, in the center of the screen! Good Luck with the new/old hobby!👍👍

 

Hey Joe, agreed on the suggestion of a scoop! Trying to find one locally, unfortunately they are apparently impossible to find here! (I can find the smaller stainless steel ones with a very short handle right on the scoop, for like $90 NZD). But yet to find a reasonable source for one of these. May have to DIY something... 

Also yeah already talking to Simon as well, he has responded to a couple of my other threads! Great to know someone else familiar with both the local area and my detector. He's already been a huge help!

3 hours ago, BeachHunter said:

I agree that Simon would be the guy to talk to. I’ve never used a pin pointer at the beach in the last 7 years. A quality scoop like a Sito? (I believe they are Australian) may be just the ticket. Too small of a scoop does not get the job done. Good luck!

Hey BeachHunter, you're echoing other comments as well which is great. I may be able to get away without a pinpointer if I'm focusing on beach hunting, but a scoop is apparently going to be pretty critical. That's the first specific brand recommendation I've heard (and would be great if they are made in AU, because at least shipping from AU is easier to here!) Thanks! I'll look into Sito.

2 hours ago, Tom Slick said:

On the subject of scoops, Short handles make you bend over too far. 👎 Long handles make the scoop heavier and you have to use your foot to kick it into the sand. 👎. About 16-18" handle is just right in the dry sand and san be used in the wet sand if necessary although a longer handle works better in the wet. For the dry, get a scoop with a wire basket as they sift the sand much quicker than drilled or punched holes with a lot less shaking. I prefer Plain steel over stainless as they are lighter and less expensive. Forget plastic and aluminum scoops don't have wire baskets. I'm all for stainless or aluminum long handled in the wet and in the water. 

Hey Tom! this is great info, I hadn't considered a wire basket, that might even be something I could DIY reasonably easy (I was trying to find pre-perforated steel here that I could use to DIY a scoop, but couldn't find that either). But wire mesh of the right size might be doable... Interesting idea! 

The pics of different scoop options are quite helpful too. Thanks!

Thanks everyone for the awesome suggestions and feedback!

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5 hours ago, Joe D. said:

Hello Glasswalker,( Explain the name)?

Sorry Joe, just realized I skipped this one. The name comes from a roleplaying game I played as a kid. I adopted it as a handle then, as it seemed appropriate (The glasswalkers were an ancient tribe which adopted modern technology and were outcast for it because it was contrary to the ways of nature followed by the other tribes, while they tried to find a balance between the natural world, and the technological one). At the time I was a nerd, into Science, and Tech, and Computers, etc... And had trouble fitting in. So I thought it was an appropriate moniker to choose for myself, as I also had hobbies that involved outdoors, camping, hiking, fishing, (and metal detecting at the time!). So I balanced the natural world and technological one as well...

I held onto it from a pretty young age, and while I am no longer socially awkward, or have trouble fitting in, the name's stuck for several decades, so now it's permanent 🙂

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Do consider a long handle scoop for the dry sand as well as the wet sand or you will be bending up and down. Stainless steel is the way to go. I’ve used mine as a shovel and just to do a quick grab for surface items. The hand wire basket types sometimes will allow smaller items to pass through.

I’ve owned both types and the hex holes are my preference after hundreds of hours of sifting sand both wet and dry. Best of luck out there!

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I didn't read the entire thread either, but I will say, I've been detecting for 25 years and have never needed a pinpointer at the beach.

For the dry sand, you want a wire mesh scoop, or one similar to the Stealth above. Either a long handled or hand held type. Don't get the kind with the spaced out round holes, they don't sift well. The hand held mesh scoops are easy to make if you are good at building things. All you need is some half inch hardware cloth, some sheet metal and a pop rivet gun.

Nor is there any need for a pinpointer in the wet sand. Once you get the target out of the hole, just kick the sand around with your foot to locate the target.

Pinpointers are a necessity in the dirt, but if most of your hunting is at the beach, you don't need one.

I only recently started using a long handled scoop on the wet sand. If you are on a budget, a plain old shovel will work just fine and a lot of times, I still choose a shovel over the scoop if there are any rocks around. Rocks will destroy a scoop in no time.

Here is the hand held scoop that I made 20 years ago for the dry sand. I've dug holes nearly two feet deep with it and it still works great.   5" x 9" 3.5"

 

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Probably the best value pinpointer on the market at the moment is the Nokta Pointer at $99US, keeping in mind that you may want to do some dirt detecting in the future.  Further details linked below:

https://www.noktadetectors.com/metal-detector/nokta-pointer/

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  • 3 weeks later...

Well , I did read the whole thread....(As well as a bunch more since I joined the forum!).

My advice is wait.  Then get the one phrunt has been using , you share similar soil. And it solves the import problem too !

I detected for 30 years without a pinpointer , or a sand scoop , and didn't have one built into the detector...

I made screens . big screens , little screens ,floating screens  with  1/8" , 1/4" Hardware Cloth mostly  , figured 1/2" would lose too many smalls.. I have seen some that use plastic screen but never tried it figuring it wouldn't last too long but it is a good idea if you want to use a PINPOINTER in it Skuh kuh kuh kuh kuh 

Usually wood framed and the floaters just added pool noodles to the sides.

Gigmaster in Fla. has some U-Boob vids of some floaters that he made with PVC.

Even without anything but a shovel or one of mom's old garden trowels  , I could still pick through or spread out the sand/dirt and use the detector if I couldn't see the target.

Having one now , I do think it speeds things up , especially when I miss the target with the hole and probe the sides  to find which way to go. 

I have bad elbows from hefting too many amplifiers and speaker cabinets so prefer smaller lighter tools and chose my sand scoop and shovel size because of it.

OK , I'm popeye size too  (I've seen you describe yourself as more the Bluto type so just adjust to your preference ...) 

 

I envy you folks down in NZ and Aus for the population density.

More unfound targets and less people looking...as we say up in MY neck of the woods    OH AYUH !

 

 

 

 

 

 

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