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Found some clubmates discussing who (and when) invented the first pinpointer. Google just found some hints. Feel free to discuss...

Got sick of buying 9v batteries for my Profind pp. Blackube just came out with rechargeable 9v lithium batters that have the same voltage as an alkaline. A little pricey at $25 for 2 but the PP no longer falses out when put on it's side then turned back up. This used to drive me crazy. Batteries put out near full power until they run out instead of fading in power like alkalines do. IMO worth the few extra bucks.

Does anyone know specifically what goes wrong with the Garrett AT pin pointers? Both of mine were sent in previously, and both of them developed the same issue again. They turn on but do not detect any metal. Is it the electrolytic capacitor, the flat pack The IC or is it in the coil itself that is the problem? Is that long rod a radio frequency coil? I'm kinda getting tired of pin pointers dying like that. Any ideas would be helpful.

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... So I'm just getting back into the hobby after many years (actually decades, but I'm choosing not to use that term out of denial!) 🙂 Back then things were a bit simpler it seemed, either that or I was young and ignorant... Anyway... 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... And I'd love to have a pinpointer to make things a bit easier when digging targets, but realize that I can't likely afford one. Unfortunately things here in NZ come at a premium, and all the "good branded, and known quality" pinpointers, are fairly pricy. So I am facing 2 options: 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) "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. The "SUMGOTT Waterproof Pinpointer" on amazon for about $50 NZD shipped (seems to have decent reviews on amazon if that means anything): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YHCDHB6 The "UCPJLV Upgraded Waterproof High Sensitivity Pinpointer" on amazon, for about $85 NZD shipped (again seems to have decent reviews): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08HCR9XK8 What I'm seeking is some input on whether the cheap options are likely to work well enough for some basic beach and park hunting (not diving, maybe searching in surf or wet sand). Are they likely to give enough advantage just through their basic function, to speed up and enhance the hunting experience, considering the cheap price, even though I acknowledge I will likely want a better one ultimately in the future, and considering I do have a detector with a pinpoint mode. Or should I just stick to the detector only, use it's pinpoint mode, knowing that realistically it will be at least 2-3 months before I'll be able to get a "decent" pinpointer. Thoughts? Input? Suggestions? Anyone have any actual hands-on experience with one of these? etc... Thanks in advance!

Today was out in a park, shooting coins with a friend. (Between us, got three forties wheats, 1940 Jefferson, a Mercury, and a silver ring) Beauty weather for December: high fifties, sunny. Nice day. In the middle of it all, whilst I was rooting in a hole, my TRX pinpointer started playing a song! I thought it was telling me to change the battery. No, it was playing a weird little ditty. Neither my friend or I could recognize the tune. Anyone have any light to shed on this? I found a YouTube video from 6 six years ago, but I'm not even sure it was the same song... I wish I had thought to record the song with my phone, but I admit I failed to think fast enough. 😞 Oh, White's Electronics, you shall be missed!

Earlier people were looking for a TRX pinpointer. Centerville Electronics has a refurbished one on their used page for $95 with a 6 month warranty. Already have one or I would have jumped on it. Cheers

So I have the Green headphones and have them currently paired to the Multi Kruzer but it seem that if I pair the pin pointer to the same headphones then the headphones won't be paired to the detector? Either or and not both? If that is the case it is kind of a bummer but not that big a deal. Audio on it isn't super loud with the waterproof cover on.

I bought a Nokta Makro Pulse Dive, but I won't snorkel, I need to buy goggles and snorkel, what else? I have no experience, but I am willing to work hard to learn, only by using Pulse Dive can I avoid crowds, and that is, what kind of bag to use in the water to reduce drag to collect!

From what I have experienced, you can only silence the audio on the probe with Z-Link. The vibrate will still sound on the probe. If this was intended to be a stealth mode, it's not. If there are people near by, they will hear the vibrate moter making noise. Kind of defeats the purpose. I would like to see a complete silent mode at the probe and audio in the headset. Your thoughts?

Other than the Falcon MD 20 Probe, does anybody make a Prospecting specific Pin Pointer for small gold? Thanks! Walt

"AT Pro Pointer = TRX" I did an Air test last night. The TRX found a 1 grain piece of gold 1/2" from the tip. The Carrot wouldn't find it at all!

Can anyone tell me what Frequency the Pro-Find 35 operates at? I can't find it anywhere. Is the search field off the tip like the TRX or 360 like the Garrett? Thanks! Walt

I hope I am not asking a stupid question here, but I have a question about the carrot pin pointer my grandfather had. When I was learning his detector, a Equinox 800, I tried to use the pin pointer that he has to find the item that was showing on the detector. I never got a response until I got within a couple of inches from the item, it turned out to be a dime from the 1930's. What is the usual range of these pin pointer carrots, and is this one working properly if I had to be that close to the dime. I really want to learn this equipment so I can use it properly. Thank you Caleb

I did some river hunting and descided to take my MK out with the waterproof wired headphones and my ProFind 35 pp for piking through the river clay as it is waterproof. Left my PI machine home because the power lines make it impossible to use in the stretch of water I was hitting. I realized that the Profind 35 does not effect the MK in any of the frequencies at all with the wired headphones. The green wireless ones go bonkers with 5 and 14khz modes with that pp and I can only use 19khz with them. Strange how the bluetooth headphones react with the profind. I always assumed the interference was with the coil or control box and not the headphones. In park hunting I had gone back to my old Whites Bullseye pointer as it plays well with all my machines regardless.

Seeing Simon resurrect Norvic's idea of replacing/removing the shaft from a Minelab Gold Monster 1000 to convert it to a pinpointer: and also seeing Steve H.'s earlier mention of the Pulse Dive smaller coil performance for rings: "I was impressed by the performance of the 5" coil, easily exceeding what my normal pinpointers do on my classic 'Steve's wedding ring air test'" in this thread got me wondering (for those who don't have a ML GM1000 sitting around colleting dust) if the Pulse Dive w/5" coil attached would be a good option. Has anyone tried this?

So, I'm going to get another pinpointer for a backup, and would like something to compliment (or replace) my Garrett Pro-pointer AT. I've heard good things about the Teknetics Tek-Point , and the Fisher F-Pulse, which I believe are essentially the same product. Anyone have any other suggestions?

Hi Guys, What are you guys using as lanyard for your pinpointer. Regards.

Well I have a Minelab Pro Find 35 and have mentioned it is unstable and erratic. It is STILL UNDER WARRANTY. I did contact Minelab about the issues. They responded back and asked for more information. I responded back with the requested information. And for a few days heard NOTHING. This got me thinking and not in a good way. Is it possible that where I purchased it from did some dicey things? The serial number was provided to Minelab of course as well as dealer name and date of purchase. Does anyone know what kind of checking they do on such things? Better yet, how long would it take to get a definitive answer from them? Yeah yeah its just a pin pointer but not a cheap one when it was purchased last year.

Well, I may have blown it. Almost seven weeks ago I ordered the Pulsedive pinpointer and 5" coil package plus the 8" coil on Amazon. Amazon split the order between two suppliers. The 8" coil was shipped from Sports365' - not sure who that is other than an Amazon vendor, as the site provides no real info. Well, the stuff showed up just over a month ago, but I've been very busy with new detectors and classes. It all sat unopened. I finally got around to opening it all up, and when I pulled the protective cap off the end of the 8" coil small plastic parts fell out. Somewhere between Turkey and my doorstep it looks like something must have hit this thing on the end hard enough to break it. Over a month since I ordered.... I'm probably screwed. But I sent a message today via Amazon to the vendor to see what if any response I will get. I'm afraid this will end up being one of those lessons learned. I can't believe I did not open immediately but it is such a minor item and it's been so long since I had anything wrong brand new in the box that I got lax. I'll let you all know what the vendor says. I guess I at least have the Pulsedive and 5" coil in good working order.

How does the PI-iKing compare to other scuba detectors? My son is forever dropping things from his yacht (including keys, phones, tools, fishing rods, spearguns etc).. Although he’s a good scuba diver and spear-fisherman, where his yacht is anchored at the mouth of a tidal river the visibility is always close to zero.. Although he’s had a couple of successful duck-dives, he’s found the best way to recover lost metallic items has been to attach a powerful Neodymium recovery magnet (pulling force of 68 kg) to a rope and trawling it behind his tender.. I must admit his ingenuity surprised me, he definitely doesn’t get that from me (just the butter-fingers).. But however good ‘magnet fishing’ turns out to be, he’d like a cheap waterproof detector to increase his recovery arsenal.. there’s no way that I’ll lend him my Equinox (it hasn’t even arrived yet).. but if he gets a PI-iKing I will borrow it for here on the island (could be just what I’m looking for to search under the jetty at Picnic Bay and shallow wrecks).. This thing is waterproof to -30 metres and runs at 20.28 kHz.. I’m not sure why they call it a Pulse Induction detector? Could that be true? Or do they add ‘PI’ to the label just to entice suckers like me?

Well, I took the plunge and bought my first Nokta-Makro product. I went to my nearest dealer and he had one left. Just the base pinpointer without coil. This actually worked out better for me because I was primarily interested in the 8" coil and didn't want to have to purchase the 5.5" which I doubt I'll ever use. So I paid just $99 for the base unit and he ordered me a coil for $84. This way I pay $183 and get the coil I want, rather than $160 and $84 = $244. Doing it this way, you would not get the nifty carry case however. You'd have to order that separate if you want it. In a few days when the coil comes in I'll leave some thoughts on that. For now, I'll say this and rather begrudgingly...I think this pinpointer is the best deal going right now, even if you don't want the full setup and just want a pinpointer. Like every other NM product released particularly over the last couple years it's very well built, and it is built with the future and innovation in mind. I didn't want to like this company, for a lot of reasons, but they have more to do with my own sentimentality for American and even Western products. Particularly here in the US I didn't want to see companies like Whites boxed into a no win, no profit situation. So, it's never been about performance. I watch the forums and social media enough to know the performance and build quality was there. I needed a product I just couldn't resist. At first I thought that might be an Anfibio or a Simplex, but even they haven't broken down that wall. The original full Pulsedive was already almost too good to resist on its own. Then when Dilek quietly announced the 8" coil and I saw the evidence that it was boosting depth by 30% and coverage too obviously, that set me over the finish line. We know what an underwater metal detector costs in this hobby. Their are competing products that don't offer this much, at a far greater price. Many people seem to do quiet well with just straight forward Pulse induction, and you can't beat 60m (200 feet). Let's face it, if you're looking for lost jewels or a ship wreck, disc is probably mostly out of the question anyway. It would be for me. So not only will this be a pinpointer for me, it will likely be my anything past 10ft primary diver for a while. The base unit is rather large for a pinpointer, but that's to be expected with something that converts to another form, and I don't mind that at all. There's also a possibly unintended advantage here where if any part of this machine fails, it's so compartmentalized you can replace it rather cheaply and easily. The unit feels good in the hand and to me is easy to program/adjust. So far, I have done limited depth comparison, but it seems to be on par with some of the more powerful pinpointers, like my TRX and Tek-Point. If straight up pinpointer depth is all that matters you still seem better off with a TRX, but not by much at all now. That gap is closing and could probably be filled via software at some point. Like the TRX, you can replace any wearable external part on it, including shell. Unlike the TRX you can add on to this (probably in more ways than coil in the future), possibly update its software?, recharge its built in lithium ion battery, pair it with existing and future products, and clearly see it's flashlight. $99 vs $160 bear in mind as you process that. With the base pinpointer I got two caps, several gasket seals, a lanyard, charging/update facility cord, and a well constructed holster. I have no complaints about field performance. Like the TRX and Tek-Point, The power is there to pinpojnt objects above the ground before you ever begin to dig. If you're one of those that thinks that's too much power for a pinpointer, you can dial it back as much as you like too. I do prefer a tip only pinpointer, but I'm not much bothered by those that detect along the entire shaft either. These are my initial impressions. They may be better classified as a value comparison, but I'll leave that up to Steve. I'll share more of the smaller details and coil info when it comes in and I gain more experience with it. At this point though, if I were just starting out, or needed 1 good pinpointer, I think I'd be foolish not to consider this the best deal out there and a no brainer If it could be my only unit. I don't see myself parting with the TRX because it still is the flat out depth demon and I admire it just as a pedal to the floor piece of technology. I do think I will be parting with my Tek-Point however if all else goes well here. This is what any future Tek-Point needs to compete with though, and that's not about depth either. Tek has the punch. It's the innovation and features that set it apart. Update: initially I assumed updateable software thinking I'd read that somewhere. I'm not sure this is the case, and may have mixed up descriptions in my head. I haven't been able to corroborate that yet.

I just finished the next iteration of my 9V to AAA battery adapter for my Pro-Pointer AT (Carrot). You can read about it in my blog post that will be uploaded soon (see my profile for the link, if you're that curious), but most of the "juice" is in the pictures. In case you're wondering (or you don't recall my prior blog posts about this building process😞 1. Yes, waterproof integrity is maintained.2. Yes, the performance when using this adapter is identical to using a regular 9V battery.3. Yes, this can still use a regular 9V battery.4. Yes, runtime is less than with a regular 9V battery, but should be enough to get you at least a full day (8+ hours) of run time. I estimate this will get you about 1/3 of whatever an alkaline 9V battery will get you.5. Yes, this can run on other types of AAA cells, including NiCd, NiMH, lithium (primary; think Energizer Ultimate Lithiums) and alkaline.6. I did this modification because I like tinkering and because I really hate 9V batteries. Background info of prior builds:

Seeing how Whites is out of business now , I decided I should get a replacement shell for my trx before they are unavailable and I wear mine out like my old Garrett pro pointer. I ordered from Serious Detecting LLC . $34.93 with free shipping. Not trying to advertise for them, I have just made purchases from them before so thought I'd get it there. Also seen some available from others on E-bay. Sure hated to see White's close their doors.

Hey guys! I was lucky enough to test one of the first sample 8” coil units For the Pulse Dive and what I found was very pleasing! From the beginning I was hoping that Nokta|Makro would make a larger coil for the PulseDive so I was very excited when I heard from Dilek that they were doing exactly that! I was given an 8” coil to test and although I admit that it was essentially a finished product already! My first concern was that the larger coil would be too easy to twist off accidentally due to being larger and having more leverage but upon receiving I found they had already thought of this and actually provide the coil with a harder gasket/o-ring so the friction is high making it harder to twist off and very unlikely to come off underwater! 😃 My next concern was that the coil would be overly sensitive causing it to false excessively in mineralised areas or just from salt water but once again my concerns had already been addressed and the machine was stable in salt water however it is important to note that the machine must be turned on or retuned in the salt water because turning it on in air and entering salt water can cause it to false but of course this is a non-issue just important to note for new players. The depth on this coil in air tests is consistently in the range of 30% more than the standard coil and from the hours I’ve put on it I’d have to say this is reflected underwater also. The coverage is also greater so at a guess I’d have to say the 8” coil scans double the volume of sand in a single sweep than the smaller coil does 👌 Pinpointing on the larger coil is more difficult and I would recommend for low/no visibility conditions using the smaller coil for the speed of recovery however with enough practice and the right techniques it is certainly possibly to hone in your pinpointing skills with this coil. One trick I’ve learnt and seen used with other detectors is to turn the coil on its edge once the target is close to narrow down your search even further and it’s definitely applicable to the 8” coil. I’ve had some questions about battery life with the larger coil and I haven’t noticed a difference so I’m not sure if there really is a difference in current draw from this coil or not but I can still get 8 hours from it which Is enough for one day! 😂 Overall the coil is more effected by mineralisation and EMI which is standard for larger coils and pinpointing is a bit more difficult HOWEVER the depth and coverage in underwater scenarios is comparable to other water detectors costing literally 10X what the PulseDive costs. I have now switched to using this detector/coil combo almost exclusively over my other water detectors (whites Dualfield and Garrett Seahunter mk2) mainly for convenience, low/no maintenance, no cables or knobs to fail and no need to wear headphones however I will still use these machines where there are a lot of hot rocks so I can remove them or reduce their signal by adding pulse delay 👌 Cheers, Ed *photo of gold (and palladium) found so far with the big coil*

I saw this posted on an instagram account. Dwight has done promo stuff for NokMak so it shouldn’t be a hoax. Sent him a message as to a time frame and I will report back if he has any info unless Dilek has some info coming too. I had thought about getting one of the Pulse Dives for super hot summer snorkeling before but the option of a larger coil definitely adds to the appeal.