Steve Herschbach

It only makes sense to copy success. Garrett scored a home run with the original Garrett pinpointer, and now everyone is falling all over themselves trying to cash in on Garrett's success.

I have used a lot of them and at this point it is getting a bit silly. Some are missing the point in that what really makes the Garrett unit great is the simplicity. Some of the new versions are suffering from feature creep, kind of like Microsoft Word and all those functions you really do not need.

The real problem as I see it is I do not need version 20 of the same old thing. How about somebody do something different?

I know what lots of us in PI detecting land want. We want something with far more punch than a regular pinpointer first. Second, iron disc would be great.

When I was in Australia I hit a small nugget at ridiculous depth down into true hardpan. Folks, what once was gravel was now rock. JP was helping me chisel down to it. Finally he went to his truck and got a rare device. Coiltek once made a 3" probe/coil for the SD/GP pulse detectors. Just hook up in place of your main coil or use a switch box. This 3" PI coil packed some real punch and was a real help in finding that nugget.

The problem with the Coiltek probes is they were too cumbersome to really run attached full time to the detector, and so usually were left in a truck or at best carried in a backpack. Then swapped out with the main coil to be used. This means they usually got left behind and were not around when you needed them. And they were brand and model specific. Finally, no discrimination.

Many PI users have worked in tandem with a VLF in trashy areas, marking targets with the PI and then retrieving with the VLF. I have often trudged back to my truck for a VLF when digging an extra deep junk target in tailing piles. A VLF with a small coil and discrimination is a real aid in trashy ground, especially tailing piles. But again this is an unwieldy solution often not available when you need it.

I even went so far as to build mini VLF detectors as shown at http://www.detectorprospector.com/forum/topic/980-tesoro-silver-umax-pinpointer-conversion/ and http://www.detectorprospector.com/forum/topic/1028-fisher-gold-bug-2-pinpointer-conversion/ Even then however these are expensive propositions bulky and with too many features for what I really want. But it shows the need.

There is a company that could do something almost overnight to address this market - Tesoro. Unfortunately listening to customers is not their strong suite so I have not wasted any time trying to lobby them with this idea, but here it is. The Tesoro Compadre.

This is a complete single knob VLF detector that sells for ------ $160.00!! That's right folks, less than some of these hand held pinpointers.

Now what it needs is a small 100% plastic pistol grip and a 3" or 4" coil. Yes, they had one of those off the shelf also they could use. All the little coil needs is to run a super short cable up the super short rod and hardwire into the control box. This should make the unit even less expensive but lets be generous - I would still pay $160 to get one. One knob, variable discrimination, single 9V battery. It would look almost identical to my Silver uMax version only no metal in the handle, no exposed cable, and one knob. It would blow away every pinpointer on the market.

Alternative. That Coiltek 3" coil direct mounted to a PI control box of similar design. No disc but more punch, more ability to ignore ground.

That's my ideas. What do you want? Be realistic - asking a Garrett Pinpointer to have the depth of a 3" coil will not happen.

What do you think we need still in the pinpointer market? If you have a pinpointer, what do you like about it? What do you not like about it?

Not too long ago I posted about converting a Tesoro Silver uMax into a pinpointer at http://www.detectorprospector.com/forum/topic/980-tesoro-silver-umax-pinpointer-conversion/. I finally sold the Silver uMax, but I kept the shortened rod and put the slip mount for a Gold Bug 2 on it. This way I could convert my Gold Bug 2 into a similar setup which I still have today. I put it together this morning just to show it to you!

It is a bit unwieldy with all the extra cable but it actually works just fine. The bent coat hanger is just a hook for hanging it off my belt. The entire unit is 16" long.

Well, it is something to do with the composition of the steel. Stainless steel for instance is difficult for detectors due to having both poor conductivity and low magnetic properties. This being a hardened steel something similar is going on.

I had you check the ground balance to see if the metal was acting similarly to mineralized ground and being balanced out to some degree. Could be all of the above but by definition metal detectors pick up highly conductive or items with high magnetic permeability so this screw lacks both those properties.

Try manually varying the ground balance on the GMT both up and down and see if it changes anything.

Another well illustrated example is for the Minelab X-Terra 705 Iron Mask, which also uses a 20 point overlap.

Good post John, thanks.

A setting of two was always sort of a default "max" setting for me but it is a very fuzzy setting. If people ask these days I say 1.5 - 2.0.

The borderline between ferrous and non-ferrous overlaps. A lower setting gets most all the non-ferrous but will give false positives on quite a bit of ferrous stuff also. A high setting will eliminate nearly all ferrous but also quite a few non-ferrous targets.

The mix is solely dependent on the ground mineralization and the type and number of ferrous and non-ferrous targets in the ground. The coil type is critical. A concentric coil has a different ferrous response than a DD coil for instance that is very dependent again on the level of ground mineralization. That is why it is dangerous to fall into the habit of using any particular setting, though I have been plenty guilty of that myself.

Best practice is to always set a disc control very low and if you find yourself digging too many ferrous items slowly tweak it upwards. If you are hardly digging any ferrous than go lower. Too many people hate digging any ferrous targets at all and if you set to eliminate all ferrous it is 100% for sure that you are passing on many good targets.

The display on the Garrett AT Gold shows the overlap very well. A setting of 30 gets most of the gold but also has you digging some ferrous. 50 eliminates most of the ferrous but misses a lot of gold. 40 is a default average setting. But again, it totally depends on the mineralization and target mix. In high mineral ground with small gold a setting of 40 may miss nearly all the gold but calling it ferrous.

This also highlights how many newer detectors are using expanded ferrous ranges to allow for better target resolution. The MXT has a very narrow and finicky ferrous range to work with.

Of course many people would just say dig it all. But that is easier to say than do in the middle of an old mining camp or a field in Europe.

Hi John,

That is generally how I hunt with detectors like the F75, Gold Bug Pro, FORS CoRe, etc. in other words I hunt in all metal and let the VDI be my guide as to whether to dig or not. I find it is easier for my ear to catch the simple broad responses in mono tone all metal rather than trying to listen to tones. I only go to a dual tone mode when cherry picking. If I was to use an MXT these days I also would probably be running in Prospect mode.

We did the same with a Gold Bug 2. Dropped it in the creek, killed it dead. Dried it out, worked fine and never had a problem with it. Did the same with a GP 3000 off a beaver dam - thankfully it was not turned on or would probably have been a different ending. But dried it out with no ill effects. Fresh water is not likely to hurt a detector if it is properly dried in short order.

I even flooded a Surfmaster PI with salt water, flushed it out with fresh water, and dried it with a hair dryer, and all was fine.

Any regular coil over $300 I feel like I am paying too much.

If you are talking about the Relic Mode tone for the all metal channel the truth is I did not use it as much as I should. Early on in my use of the MXT years ago when prospecting tailing piles at Ganes Creek it was a rather competitive situation not unlike an organized hunt. The race was on to cover ground and quickly recover targets, so I fell into the habit of just chasing the clear high tone non-ferrous targets. It was not until later that I zeroed in on the benefits of mixed mode prospecting and by then I had moved on the the F75. However, one guy who recovered many pounds of gold at Ganes Creek with the MXT did so by learning the machine to the max and employing the Relic Mode third tone to full effect.

I wonder how clear the interior is? It appear to have zoned coloration - a dark blue center?

Download it for free here

I fixed the broken link to Randy's free book above. Pinpointing is covered starting on page 64

You want me to put my Gold Bug headphones in a fish bowl?

Sorry Hobo, just messing with you. Technically speaking the Deus coil IS the metal detector, and as such is nearly indestructible. The controller or headphones with integrated controller are not the detector itself, and can be stowed separately and safely.

It is not that the DEUS is not durable. It is that it seems delicate and so it is a perception thing. I found myself not wanting to toss it in the back of a truck to roll around like I might do with other detectors. I can appreciate why so many people like the DEUS but like the V3i it is massive feature overkill if all you want to do is look for gold nuggets. That is why I sold mine to Ivan!

Almost forgot - download this free book "Understanding Your X-TERRA" by Randy Horton

It is specifically on the 705 but nearly everything applies to the 70 as well.
 

It just takes a little practice and you have had very little. Try beaches or sandy areas (or wood chips) around playground equipment to build pinpointing skills before hitting the turf. I do prefer toggling to Prospect mode with the X-Terra as a pinpoint method as it "sizes" targets well in that mode.

Hitting the target from 90 degree angles is a tried and true method.

Colchester? I am jealous! Been crossing my mind that maybe I am due for a return visit and another shot at Celtic gold. Good luck and have a great time, the DEUS should serve you well there.

http://www.colchestertreasurehunting.co.uk/home.htm

When the Fisher F19 was first announced, the official flyer showed it in a standard black and gold color scheme. Then two "Limited Edition" camo versions were announced, green camo, and pink camo. There never yet has been an actual black and gold version you could buy.

Frankly, I am not a fan of the camo. Mainly because you pay extra for it and I am not willing to pay extra just for a different paint job. So I was happy in January when Fisher announced:

"The special camo used on the F19LTD was ordered in limited numbers and we are nearing the end of stock on those parts. New part number, F19 will replace the camo version and have a standard black finish with a stock white coil and be available at a lower cost. If you are a fan of the camo version, don’t wait too long, when they are gone, they are gone forever. Here are the prices for the F19: MSRP $799"

That is $50 less than the camo version which has a MAP price of $799 so this black and gold version has a MAP price of $749. Only problem seems to be that the limited supply of camo units never seems to run out? I have yet to see anyone advertising the black and gold units for sale.

Why do I even care? Because the F19 comes with the 10" x 5" coil stock, which you can only get as an accessory on the Gold Bug Pro. The Gold Bug Pro Dual Coil package with 5" round coil and 10" x 5" coil is $749.

Now granted you get two coils, but I think you are better off getting the F19 with 10" x 5" coil instead for $749 because of the extra features like backlight, iron tone volume, notch discriminate, etc. I can't swear this makes it any better at finding gold but overall it is just a better all around detector than the Gold Bug Pro and getting rid of the camo makes the F19 at $749 the same price as the Gold Bug Pro dual coil package, also at $749. So do you want two coils, or extra features?

The best way to learn the exact differences between the Gold Bug Pro and F19 is to study the owners manuals carefully.

Fisher Gold Bug Pro Owners Manual

Fisher F19 Owners Manual

Not super new information but most people do not know it so...

Fisher January 2015 - 6” Elliptical Coil Quality Improvement

We have improved our 6” elliptical coils. The plastic will now be injected molded rather than vacuum formed. This change will result in better quality and shorter lead times on the pieces. These new coils will no longer have epoxy bottoms and the new ear design will have vertical ribs. This new style fits the stem with tighter tolerance and minimizes the need for stem washers. New coils will begin shipping as the old stock is depleted. This new style of coil also utilizes a new snap-on style coil cover, which is much easier to install and remove. We will continue to maintain stock of the old style coil cover (p/n 6COVER-E) so be aware of the difference when you order because they are not interchangeable. Here are the affected part numbers:

6COIL-E MSRP $169 (used on F70/F75)

6COIL-E-7-GB2 MSRP $143.95 (used on GB-2)

6COVER-E2 MSRP $9.95 (new coil cover)

The DEUS is an excellent detector (or detectors) and certainly up to the task. I will be surprised if you do not do well with it if you give it the chance.

I actually bought one of the ridiculously overpriced rod assemblies myself. Not sure exactly yet what I am going to do with it though!

You got that right Norvic. Alaska is tame, nothing but bears to worry about. I got down here now there are still bears plus snakes, cougars, scorpions, poison spiders, ticks, cactus, poison oak, etc. I was just getting my head around all that, and now I have to look out for illegal weed and meth operations and the nuts that go with them?

Oh, and do not forget the prospectors with big guns and twitchy trigger fingers! 

I ran my own company for 35 years and because of this I am sensitized to marketing and sales. I love a good idea when I see one.

XP Metal Detectors makes several models of detectors, but the name has become almost synonymous with one model, the XP DEUS. This detector is a marketing dream come true.

When you buy a DEUS, you think you are buying a metal detector with a wireless coil. The coil has a control that is similar to many detector pods just smaller, but can also be controlled via the headsets, though the functions are a bit more limited. There are also accessory coils available.

Except not really. Each DEUS coil runs around $500 and is actually a metal detector. XP divorced the detector from the control pod but they did more than make a wireless coil. The coil is actually a metal detector less rod and control interface.

This means two things. First, XP can come out with new controllers. They could introduce a color display controller if they wished that would work with the existing "coils".

But the real brilliance is in selling you $500 metal detectors without you even realizing it. XP can design a whole line of new "coils" but they can pretty much do almost anything. They can run different frequencies or even multiple frequencies. The could be a PI coil. As long as the existing controller software, which is upgradeable, can interface with a new detector/coil the sky's the limit.

Most manufacturers would love to sell you three or four $500 metal detectors. The genius of XP is in getting people to buy $500 detectors and you don't even get the rod or control box! You have to pay extra to get those.

Makes me wonder if we will see a detector eventually that runs as a phone app. I suspect it will happen, but there needs to be a better wireless connection first as I think the current phone Bluetooth versions may not be up to the task enough for many of us. But then again it may very well be good enough for entry level people. The day is coming I am sure.

Just another reason for me to stay way up in the high Sierras!

I found a place recently with dozens of old wood pallets, each with a wire cage about two foot across and two foot high. Being naive my first thought was "tomato plants?" Is this what they are growing the weed in? Luckily looked like nobody had been there in years.

Never had to worry about this kind of stuff in Alaska! Maybe with it going legal there will be less people doing it in the hills.