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The GPX 4500/5000 from my experience have quite large detection holes, or targets they're weak on even though the size of the nuggets should be well within their reach, I have a number of nuggets sizes that the GPX 4500 and 5000 should love yet they struggle to hit on them, and in some cases miss them entirely. I'm not sure about the Axiom but this is the biggest problem I find with the GPX 4500/5000, switching timings can help in some cases but not all and you're not exactly going to run over areas in all different timings to ensure you got it all, well you could but it's easier just to use another detector without this issue. Later detectors like the GPZ and GPX 6000 hit these same "difficult" nuggets fine, so technology has evolved.

yea, I tend to be unlucky sometimes with stuff breaking for no reason 🙂 Nokta have asked the NZ dealer to try track down my receipt to see when it was purchased so hopefully the new owners can track it down. I think I'll have to end up buying another coil, or I may just give up on it, I haven't used it yet anyway, hopes and dreams had me thinking I would, but just never get around to it.

Now I've tweaked my Sphinx to what appears to be close to the point where it might lose stability, still works fine in my soil in this setting so I recorded some tests vs the other pinpointers with it now tweaked. It's fun toying around with the Sphinx as there is so much you can adjust and play around with. I really like this sensitivity tweak setting, I wish detectors had it also.

Yes, I've been saying since a few weeks after getting my Manticore less is more when it comes to sensitivity, I've found 16 the sweet spot for my soils, maximum depth while maintaining the best ID's, 18 is OK, over 20 and things go south quickly. I guess it's good to have that extra power if a situation arises that can use and take advantage of it though but you just have to be aware if you're up over 20 red lining it you're losing traction and may skid out of control 🙂

Thanks for that infromation, that connector he sells is for when the other side breaks, mine broke on the yellow plastic which is the coil housing so sadly that won't resolve my problem. It seems the probably is possibly more common than I thought. 😞

Ok, so this is just a quick little video showing the result of my first attempt at raising the sensitivity while keeping it stable and working on the ground. I'm going to push it higher than this yet as it still works perfectly stable and fine in my ground but I thought I'd just do a little demonstration of the difference, it's quite easy to raise the sensitivity beyond factory maximum, however you want to do it in small increments to ensure it remains stable so I guess you'd want to test it out for a couple of hours each time you increase it as nothing is worse than an unstable pinpointer I think 🙂 It's why I don't use the TRX as its too unstable in high sensitivity and when you lower it so it is stable other pinpointers that run more stable perform better. Once I've worked out my safe maximum sensitivity, I'll re-do the first video showing its performance vs the others. If I find my maximum sensitivity doesn't work well at a location when I'm out detecting I can always quickly drop back to factory maximum sensitivity, it has 1 (low), 2 (medium), 3 (high), and 4 (user configured) When I first read the translated manual, I thought the user configured sensitivity was just a setting you could do within the range offered already in the sensitivity settings to suit your ground, so a setting somewhere between medium and high for those that found high didn't work in their ground, I never realized you could actually go far higher than the factory maximum sensitivity, awesome feature.

I think it was just so stiff to undo the plastic couldn't cope with it, I haven't seen @Nokta Detectors on the forum for a while, I sent them an email yesterday, haven't had a reply as yet. I tried to buy the bigger size coil yesterday to replace it but the NZ dealer has no stock so I emailed them, no reply either yet. I might just order one from Australia at least they have stock, I intended to use the pinpointer in summer but never got around to it, it's a nice idea in my head that just never becomes reality 🙂 The weak point seems to be that rectangle hole in the yellow plastic where the crack looks like it started.

Sounds like work to me 🙂 If I was a dealer, I'd be contacting them quick smart trying to get a dealership and if they're confident with quality warranty could just be dealer replacements within the warranty period for faulty units. I think this pinpointer would be popular if it had an English app and dealers in other markets. As it stands now the way you have to get one it's just not going to happen, no english app, no dealers, a pointless warranty as it would cost more to send back than it's worth.

For any English speakers that end up with one of these I've included the manual I translated to English, the screenshots of the app translated to English and the Android APK that's only available on the RU store so it can be installed on an Android phone using an APK installer which are readily available on the Google Play store. Apple users can just get it at the Apple store no problems. It certainly is an interesting setting, user configured maximum sensitivity. A bit like how the Manticore has a lot higher sensitivity settings over the Equinox, except configurable. You can increase and decrease this maximum sensitivity to be where you want it, well beyond the maximum factory sensitivity. I would have patented this if it's possible as I could see it being used on detectors too, imagine a VLF gold detector where people in milder ground could increase the sensitivity over factory settings because their milder ground allows so and you could just keep increasing it until your ground starts to give trouble. My GPZ I can run on maximum sensitivity in normal just about everywhere I go, if I had this function where I could increase its sensitivity above factory settings to a point just below where it starts to become reactive to the ground, I'd get even better performance and that's exactly what this pinpointer can do, a very interesting feature and one I could see incorporated into high end detectors and one people would love. Sphinx 03 Pinpointer Software and Manual.zip

I would never feel comfortable digging the front strips, here at least they're council owned but they have always been maintained by the home owners, and rightly so, they're an extension of your property really. If it's an ugly overgrown mess it makes your house look bad, so of course you keep it tidy. I put a plum tree on mine as I have quite a large one, it's worked out well, the locals and tourists walking past get some free plums, I don't care as I get too much fruit in summer anyway with my 20 or so fruit trees and it looks nice in spring with its blossums. If someone was out with a detector dgging holes in it I'd be very annoyed! Plenty of places to detect without small bits of grass in front of everyone's houses, a good way to annoy a lot of people quickly. And if you must, at least ask first.

Ok, This is how I think the Sphinx App should look in English If this was done it would be excellent.

Holy crap! you're right. I just adjusted it a little, went outside and tested it on the ground OK, then tested and now the coin I was getting 6cm on I now get 8cm on. The number 9 shotgun pellet now responds on the tip of the pin pointer and doesn't even need to touch the tip, so its now beating the TRX quite easily in both depth and sensitivity. I will keep adjusting and work out how far I can take the sensitivity while keeping it stable on the ground. Thanks for the help, very impressed. I will record an updated video comparing it once I've worked out the best setting for me. Are you also able to provide me with the APK file for the Android app, I'm currently using the Iphone app which I was able to get from the Apple Store, however I want the Android app and it's only available on the RU store.

I have reset my audio to defaults now, I was playing around with adjusting the tones and pitch, a nice feature 🙂 I can not work out how to adjust the sensitivity level 4, I have now switched the pinpointer to 4 but as I can't read the app I can't find where to set up the sensitivity manually to make it higher.

yes level 3 on the Sphinx = maximum and works well for me. In high trash I can see the discrimination and auto turn on and off would be very handy time saving features.

Mine was very hard to remove, it's very stiff, same with the pin pointer end piece, very hard to get it off, I assumed it was so it remained waterproof they made them a very tight fit. Maybe it was a dud from the start. As you can see, it's never been used.

Yes, unless they had a US dealer and service agent then it's not really worth importing one with the costs involved considering the difference is marginal to other easier to get pin pointers although the Sphinx does have great features, the phone apps cool, and the discrimination is better than Minelabs attempt. The good thing for coin hunting is having discrimination enabled doesn't appear to hinder depth, with the Pro-Find it does, as soon as its switched on your depth drops. That's why I left it on during these tests on the Sphinx and turned discrimination off on the Pro-Find, as it just makes no difference to performance with the Sphinx so may as well have it on. The TRX would be great if it could run stable, it just can't, the chances of me having 3 bad ones is slim you'd think unless Whites had major quality control problems, it's weird each of my TRX behave slightly differently, with one even being slightly more sensitive than another, no consistency in builds. I guess they're irrelevant now they no longer exist anyway. For me I just can't run a TRX in maximum sensitivity, not only the instability but also it reacts too badly to my soils in the prospecting areas to run at maximum. Lower it off maximum sensitivity and it improves, on 3 out of 4 it's pretty stable, on 2 of 4 its very stable, on 4 it's a mess. So out of the tested Pinpointers I believe the Sphinx is number 1 for tiny targets seeing its stable at maximum sensitivity and handles the ground fine, I've turned it on in my yard with the GPZ and I can't see any problems but I have too much EMI around to know for sure so I'll have to go remote to test that. The Garrett is really up there though, not far behind the Sphinx in tiny targets when you know where on the Carrot to use, and similar if not slightly better than the XP. The Pulses do pretty good on the size gold I was demonstrating but once you get them on the pellets you see how insensitive they are to very small targets. If Garrett did a mash up between the TRX and the Pro Pointer AT they'd have a killer pinpointer, even if they could make the TRX more stable and more consistent quality it would be great. I wonder if the TRX winding was hand made. @Geotechmaybe able to answer that.

I've lost my receipt, the dealer it was purchased from sold his business, I know if it is still under warranty, it would be only just, very close to out of warranty if not out of warranty by a few months. Just wondering if it's a known issue or for some reason mine just broke. I'll send them an email just in case they can check its serial vs when it was sold to my ex-dealer and see in case they can go by that if it's still covered. Either way, it's good to let them know when something breaks abnormally,I guess in case it's some sort of known issue with my batch or something.

I'll put up some photos of my little Cabin once the weather improves, in the middle of a storm at the moment and likely snowing later so I'll wait until the weather clears and get some current ones. Here is a quick video I just knocked up comparing the Sphinx 03 along with the XP Mi-4, Garrett AT, Whites TRX, Fisher F-Pulse and Nokta Pulse dive on some shotgun pellets, nuggets and a coin for a quick comparison between them. I think the TRX is the most sensitive but also the most unstable when at high sensitivity, the Sphinx ends up being the best overall on tiny shotgun pellets as it has almost the sensitivity of the TRX but runs stable at highest sensitivity. I broke my Pulse Dive just before filming this video trying to remove the coil off it to put the pinpointer tip on it, the thing just shattered for no apparent reason. I've never even had the chance to use it but its run out of warranty I think (lost the receipt)

Because the VLF's find the smallest gold better than the 6000, even in 6000 dig holes from recovering a bigger bit you can find very small bits the 6000 is blind to with a VLF. It all adds up and the tiny ones are fun to find and we tend to have a lot more very small gold than bigger bits here.

Has anyone had this happen to them? I've never even used the coil but my Pulse Dive has run out of warranty a few months ago I think, I've lost its receipt it may well still be under warranty, so it's now a throw away having never been used. I had it on the Pulse Dive as I figured I'd never use it as a pinpointer but hoped to use it for a play around in the water at some point over summer but it's winter now and never found time in the previous summer so the pin pointers never been used at all except for some air tests. Today I went to remove the coil to put the pinpointer end back onto it to make a video comparing pinpointers and while undoing the coil it just shattered for no real reason, I can't explain why it would break like this, it's always been difficult to get it off as its a waterproof unit and needs a good seal but I guess this time the stress on the plastic was just too much for it and it exploded. I guess that was some wasted money seeing I never even got to use it.

I'm happy on 16 to 18 for my sensitivity for coins, It appears I'm losing no depth at those levels over my Nox and it's more stable on the ID's. Over 20 I start to notice the ID's going downhill and by 25 they're pretty bad on the older firmware. I have places I can run at 35 and the detector is perfectly stable, no EMI issues yet the target ID's just aren't good at such high sensitivity levels. Where I can see the high sensitivity levels being beneficial is prospecting when I can get the little coil, I don't care about ID's then, I'm digging everything so hopefully it gives it a little boost over the Nox. There is a learning curve with the Manticore that's for sure, it's not just a Nox that's got more bells and whistles, it's a different animal. I think they've adjusted the sensitivity level scale on the new firmware, as the ID's did improve in higher sensitivity levels all the way up to 24 for me really but I think 24 now was 20 on the old firmware or something similar. If I'm detecting a place that I want to cherry pick for stuff and dig as little as possible the CTX, Nox 800 and Vanquish are certainly the better choices than the Manticore though. I can pick our coins with about 90% accuracy on them, about 60% on the Manticore. Maybe with time and more experience I will improve on the Manty.

Prohibition! your house was previously inhabited by bootleggers 🙂

Bold and brave, admirable. Fingers crossed it meets expectations.

Thanks for your reply, I did not know the Sphinx 03 was firmware updatable 🙂 That is awesome and a first as far as I know. I will test it out with the GPX and GPZ soon, it sounds like you already know the results which is a very positive thing. It is Ski season here; I am in the Southern Hemisphere. So far, I'm impressed with it. It may possibly become my primary pin pointer.

Mirrors my experience with the 24k, absolutely no bump sensitivity which can be a huge advantage in situations where it's rocky and you're going to be constantly bumping the coil, I've done this scrape and detect method in spot where my GPZ just kept getting more and more nuggets and then I went through my big dug out pile of soil and found plenty more tiny bits the GPZ missed. I was flattening out the pile and taking layers off at a time much like you describe here, it turns out really fun as I just kept getting little tiny bits on almost every layer I took off. I find the 24k handles hot rocks exceptionally well for a VLF, and in heavy hot rock areas around here the 24k is my detector of choice when I'm using a VLF.