Pinpointer Question

[Mike Hillis]

For small gold I use the Whites TRX.   It runs at 12 kHz and it detects off the tip.    Finds it all.

I also use the Tek-Point.   It runs good too, but its locked in 15 ns pulse delay so it doesn't always hit the small stuff well in my opinion.   But it is a gen 1 model so I can't speak to the gen 2 model as I don't have one.  

HH
Mike

[strick]

My carrot is my fastest recover....and  most sensitive and I have 4 different ones including a pi and the trx

[BeachHunter]

On my Garrett carrot I can set the sensitivity to several levels. On the most sensitive setting I can, depending on the object and it’s orientation, be 3-4” from the target. On the least sensitive setting, it has to be almost touching the target to sound off. Easier to pinpoint when in the least sensitive setting because one is closer to the target. Good luck!

 

[Guest]

Thank you all for your thoughts. It seems to come down to a basic choice of PI vs VLF where PI is most represented by F-Pulse and VLF gets split between the Garrett Carrot and the TRX as most popular. A person is unlikely to go far wrong with any of those choices for most common metal detecting, they are known to be good machines from reputable manufacturers.

My problem comes down to a choice for a specific. Micro jewelry in turf. Jewelry is all I hunt, but turf is the only place I need a pinpointer. Everywhere else I am in sand and use a little scoop waved over the coil like prospectors often do or a large scoop in the water. The pinpointer I use now, the old black Garret ProPointer which I have had for years, seems to work fine but it cannot be said what I miss. The problem of unknowable unknowns.

The only turf hunting I do is a simple technique I learned here. When I get a hit, I run the pinpointer over it and if it hits again I probe it and pop it with a screwdriver. Beside the fun factor, where I hunt in parks and sport fields the caretakers are very concerned about digging. A screwdriver leaves scarcely a blade of grass out of place, and I have yet to be bothered by anyone for it.

Of course you see the unknown right off the bat. What if the target does not sound with the pinpointer? Well then, one simply moves on. But what if it is a good target in range and the pinpointer simply is not sensitive enough to get it because it is small or fine? Well then, you lose and never know. The curse of the unknowable unknown.

Whether the pinpointer is sensitive off the tip only or around to the sides is not so much of a concern since I do not dig. I am only looking at the very top of the soil profile for recent drops and seldom probe more than an inch or two. Doing this with the basic Garrett I have works well as far as I know, but ignorance is not always bliss.

Also the question of PI vs VLF. Is there really a particular advantage to one over the other, or to having both for certain things? This year with new PI detector I am going back into some especially challenging sites with bad ground and emi problems that I hope to solve with the Mirage. I am looking for just that little bit more edge from a pinpointer to unmask targets lost to others.

 

[kac]

Not sure but seems after reading the posts the TRX might be the best bet. PI is good if you have really really bad soil or use them in the salt. In the salt it is almost useless to have a pp since you use a scoop and when you scoop run the detector over the hole and if it doesn't ring LQQK in the scoop. Pretty brainless hunting.

Would be nice if the vlf pp had some sort of discrimination where you could nudge out iron. Can't tell ya how many times I dug big holes and had to sift through nails and bits of rust to find what I was looking for.

[Guest]

kac,

You are right about the TRX for sure. An endorsement from Mike Hillis when you are talking jewelry is something to pay attention to. If you are hunting jewelry, his posts are always worth reading.

For my purpose though, discrimination is the last thing I want in a pinpointer. I run my Makro Gold Racer in all metal all the time specifically to avoid the masking effect of discrimination and use only sound and screen to decide what to dig, and pretty much dig everything that is not obviously iron. I do not want to reintroduce the effect with the pinpointer. This year I will be taking the no discrimination idea to the next level by using PI at some sites.

I dig a lot, but the digging is pretty easy where I hunt most. For places where the digging is not easy and may cause damage, I do as outlined above.

[Jeff McClendon]

Hi SLGuin,

Your problem is similar to mine. The parks I hunt in have the same restrictions. I have to have a dependable pinpointer that will hit a 2" to 3" target or like you I may pass it up depending on the current soil conditions. I don't concentrate on micro jewelry like you do. If you have the opportunity to test some pinpointers the ones that will consistently hit tiny pieces of foil and gold earring posts are the minimum requirement. Some quality pinpointers just can't do that.

Jeff

[Guest]

6 minutes ago, Jeff McClendon said:

If you have the opportunity to test some pinpointers the ones that will consistently hit tiny pieces of foil and gold earring posts are the minimum requirement. Some quality pinpointers just can't do that.

You are quite right Jeff. Stud earrings are the test piece of choice when evaluating for micro. 10k white gold to be precise. Some pinpointers do not get them at all, and some will not get them at any distance. To date it has not mattered enough to worry over, this year if it ever stops snowing, it will matter more. 

Hunting micro is different and distinct from other kinds of metal detecting, and most closely resembles what nugget hunters do. At least the way I do it. This is why I modeled what I do after Steve's detector prospector concept. It is an idea that works for me, and thinking with that basic mindset makes it easy to adapt things to work how I want.

To me, the big value of gearing toward micro is not exactly the micro itself. Those stud earrings are worth very little most of the time, and not worth the time alone. The real value to my mind is in the increased sensitivity to all jewelry. I dig more to be sure, but find more too and can see more valuable fine jewelry while not be walking over any heavy gold men's rings in the process.

The jeweler who looked at my finds last year said one particular stone in one of those earrings would have been worth $15,000 if it were real. As it was, it was a lovely cubic zirconia which was then mounted in a nice setting for my wife. She does not complain about what my detectors cost. Two lessons in that, maybe one of those big sparklies will be real some day, but really, how often would a woman wear earrings that expensive to play soccer or volley ball? However, they will wear a wedding ring almost anywhere, are often reluctant to take them off, and some of those rings are made of wire that is finer than most detectors want to get easily.

3 years ago, I went to a very small beach near me with my trusty CTX 3030 and my brand new Compadre. First I hunted that little beach with the CTX and got a handful of goodies, nothing special, but hunted with enough attention to detail that I expected to find everything that was there. Next I followed right behind with the Tesoro and found a further handful of goodies that the Minelab completely missed. None of it was valuable, but still. There was a big lesson in that for me as a jewelry hunter.

Long post, sorry. All this is my opinion only and worth every penny you paid for it.

[kac]

I believe that a vlf may pick up more on tiny finds better than a pi that may or may not go deeper. The Profind 35 I have has an iron signal with a low uneven vibrate that does help when it works. It is super sensitive but unfortunately I feel the quality isn't there and probably a hit or miss when purchasing.

I use the pinpointer mostly in parks where I don't heave out a pile of dirt to the side and swing my detector over it, the grounds keepers tend to frown on foot high mounds of mud all over the place. Between the 2 vlf pp's I have they both detect small objects with no issues and the newer profind does go deep. I would lean towards the vlf over a pi in this case. Just my hunch you might be better off. Whites has a good rep on customer service so they do have your back.

[Guest]

You could be right kac,

If the only difference is depth, it hardly matters. Watching some pinpointer videos today seeing depth comparisons, it can be seen that even the most basic ones get deep enough for me on coins. The PI pinpointers have a clear depth advantage, but in absolute terms the carrot and TRX are deep enough. The difference to me is how sensitive to small. For that nearly every reputable pinpointer is said to get small enough by those who like it. Even the Garrett ProPointer I have may be good enough for just hunting recent drops even though it is not as sensitive to small as I would like.

But then, how small does a person want to try and go in turf anyway? Confusion and dementia do not mix nearly as well as I thought.