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I'm a bit of a pinpointer fanatic, I own all of the good ones on the market but only a few really stand out for me, the White's TRX for its small target sensitivity and tip only detection is one and the ability to change housings, albeit it's a discontinued product from a company that no longer exists, a real shame as a generation 2 of that pinpointer would have real potential, as it stands I rarely use it, it's just not as stable as other more modern pinpointers that run in similar sensitivity levels but that tip sensitivity is still a very appealing feature. A bit like the Gold Bug 2 of pinpointers, a classic. Other standouts are the Nokta Pulse Dive being a diving unit that can run coils it's very different to many of the pinpointers on the market, and also runs as a standard pinpointer with it's pinpointer tip, it's the perfect unit for a beach hunter with the standard tip for on the beach and coils for in the water. It comes with a 5.5" Coil but I have the larger 8" coil for mine and it does indeed provide a bit more depth, being a Pulse Induction pinpointer it does have good depth compared to the others too, especially as targets get larger, just not ideal for smaller gold nuggets. The PI side of it makes it cancel out salt/salt water very well at the cost of sensitivity to very small targets. All others on the market are much the same although a few like the Pro Pointer AT Z-Lynk and XP Mi-6 have a wireless technology that allows you to connect them to certain models of THEIR detectors to have the pinpointer audio come through your headphones if that's your thing, it's not something I care about so doesn't get much attention from me. Both are great pinpointers too, but don't really stand out from the crowded pinpointer market anymore. The Minelab Pro-Find series has a couple of stand out features that makes it different from others available, although I found mine a problematic pinpointer returning it twice for warranty and gave up on it, I prefer other pinpointers with no feature of it standing out enough to continue using it. The Ferrous Tone ID (basic discrimination) works quite well, and can use useful for situations like a nail and a coin in a hole together saving some time, and the DIF technology to prevent interference with nearby detectors does appear to work to a certain degree, the pinpointer works better than many with the GPX's and GPZ that other pinpointers can cause annoying interference. So where can pin pointers go in the future? One particular model which is the Sphinx 03 is my favourite, unfortunately many will never get a chance to own or at least in the near future due to sanctions on Russia because of a war and it's a Russian made product so not available on the worlds market but we won't get into that, it's not what this forum or post is about. I was lucky enough to be able to buy one early on from a friend living in Kazakhstan which is next to Russia, he was able to get one from Russia for me and DHL it to me (the only carrier that would take the battery). It's been my favourite pin pointer ever since I got it, having many different features to other pinpointers and likely features other brands will or would like to replicate although it has a number of patents that will likely prevent that. It comes with a magnetic holster which all you do is put the pinpointer in it and it turns off, remove the pinpointer and it turns on, it's very quick and easy. It also comes with a tip protector although for tiny gold I don't use this, I want the tip as close to the targets as possible. It's charging is by USB-C with a built in lithium battery. First and foremost is the mobile phone app for configuration, it still has traditional button pressing configuration but we all know how bad that can be, the first mentioned pinpointer the TRX is a prime example, a single button to try and set numerous functions, complicated and difficult to change settings, many others as the same, well all are really, a button or two and various methods of using the buttons with holding them down and waiting for beeps or jingles do perform tasks, tedious and just seems primitive. When I bought it the app was only in Russian as they only really sold it in their area however they were very receptive when I asked and worked to make an English app, I helped with some translation of that. I took these screenshots last night after receiving a new app which also includes over the air firmware updating and a new firmware version. So, this is when you fire up the app, it tells you how to connect the pinpointer, basically just hold the power button down and it beeps then it will also connect. The back of the pinpointer has a well placed light, it's used for functions like this but also for discrimination of targets, red for ferrous and green for non-ferrous. Discrimination accuracy is about the same as the Minelab Pro-Find, both are very good but unlike the Minelab with only tones you have the light indications also. Once I connected the new App version it immediately let me know a new firmware was available so I flashed it on, this is done over the air, through the Bluetooth connection to the phone, it downloads the update from their server and puts it onto the pinpointer, this for me is a first, I've never had a pinpointer I can install new firmware on before. The update screen, you'll see I get a little credit at the bottom of the firmware, helping with the English translation. So I clicked the install button which is just hidden a bit under the bottom bar on the screenshot, it took a couple of minutes then the pinpointer long beeped and the app said Update completed and it was ready to go, very cool feature. Now another cool thing, how often are we seeing lately with detectors being bricked when people are doing their firmware updates? I've seen it with all brands someones had some trouble during the update and killed the detector, it seems to happen a lot, then they're sending the detector back to the manufacturer for repair/replacement, who knows what happens when this occurs outside of warranty, the outcome may not be good. With this pinpointer you can recover a corrupted firmware yourself easily. See the ? on the connect screen, if your firmware is stuffed you won't be able to connect so it will tell you to click the ? for help, when you do you're met with this screen While on that screen all you do is hold the connect button down in the app and it recovers your firmware back to factory fixing the pinpointer for you, this is certainly something detector manufacturers need to learn from. In some cases it may not be possible with their detectors and the way it flashes the firmware but it should be something they all work towards in the future with future models. Once I'd installed my firmware I could click on the check for firmware updates button and it reported I'm up to date. Now I'll just show some screenshots of the app, and the settings you have to play with and explain a few of them. You have the 4 sensitivity levels however the 4th one is the very interesting one and one I wish some gold prospecting VLF's had. Basically, the pinpointer is pushing out the maximum sensitivity/depth it can do and you can fine tune that level 4 setting to your soil conditions and target type to get the best depth and sensitivity possible. If you're in mild soils such as myself you can use a coin or a little nugget or even a shotgun pellet as a target in the air and force the pinpointer to provide maximum depth, if you push it too far the pinpointer can become unstable or react to the ground however once you get the hang of it and work out the depth best for your soil with some experimenting you can get the best out of the pinpointer. It would even help people in hot soils as they can fine tune the pinpointer using a test target to get the best results in their soil too. The pinpointer is capable of hitting a #9 lead pellet and gets more depth on it than the TRX which is the only other pinpointer I own that can react to a #9 pellet by touching its tip. I really like this feature being in mild soils. Think of a bit like the Equinox 800 how many could run in maximum sensitivity, then the Manticore came out with even higher sensitivity options but few could ever use them but some could max it out like myself in some locations. Well with this pinpointer sensitivity 4 pumps out the maximum possible from the pinpointer so likely taking the Manticore above its maximum then you can adjust it so it suits your ground and targets, pushing it as far as it will go until its unstable and then save that setting and you've not got your setting 4 maximum sensitivity setting. The selectivity setting is the discrimination, you can turn it off and on, surprisingly there is no noticeable depth loss when it is turned on like some detectors have. This is the magnetic function description, I leave this turned on as it's handy being super quick and easy to turn off and on the pinpointer just by putting it in its holster, it says it may impact battery life but when you charge the pinpointer once every few months or so it makes no difference, the battery lasts a very long time, you can see your battery level too on the left side just below the pinpointer picture, 92% at the moment on mine. In the sound setttings you can adjust the pitch to suit your hearing and you can either have Tone or Pulse, the Tone and Pulse option is available on the XP MI-4 and 6 pinpointers too however they don't have the pitch adjustment. It also has the lost pinpointer alarms and you can set times etc for them and another cool one is the auto shutdown in holster time, because you never have to turn it off and on yourself using the button using the magnetic holster function where it supplies enough power for itself to use the magnetic function it will automatically do a proper shutdown at your requested timeframe. It doesn't interfere with any detectors in its low power mode from what I've seen, and in its normal mode is no different to any other pinpointer, you just noise cancel the detector with the pinpointer on if it's running on a similar frequency. I've had no problems in this regard and I use it commonly with my GPZ, GPX 6000, CTX, Nox, Manticore, Vortex and Algoforce. Once configured to your desired settings you just click the save settings button and you're good to go. The app also has the instruction manual available from it along with the patents information, so I guess because of these patents you won't see plenty of this stuff on other pinpointers in the future unless they come up with their own ideas however it really does seem like the pinpointer from the future and others feel very outdated. I hope other manufacturers start to put more effort into their pinpointers, they seem a neglected part of the lineups and clearly when effort is put in you can make a truly fantastic pinpointer. It's a shame this Sphinx 03 isn't available on the open market, hopefully one day that will change but until then, other manufacturers need to take note and work towards a more modern pinpointer.

Earlier there was a post by Cipher about a pinpointer he was gifted by the sounds of it, it sounded great in his post so I thought I'd get myself one being a pinpointer addict. I asked a friend in that part of the world from X-coils if he would buy one for me and I'd pay him for it and ship it over, thankfully he did that for me which I appreciate. Now please keep any replies about pin pointers and not about country of origin or any political views or feelings about countries as really that's not what matters here and that appears like it happened to Ciphers post as it was locked down. I know a few have been wondering how it performs compared to pinpointers they currently own seeing it had such a glowing review. I haven't had time for that yet as it only just arrived but I'll keep this thread updated as I learn more. At this stage all I'll say is it looks good quality, it was very easy to pair with my Iphone and the Sphinx app so I can adjust settings and so on from my phone although the App is only in Russian so I used a translator app to work out what each setting is, I'll probably print out a little cheat sheet until I get used to it, it really needs an English language app if they ever want to sell these things in the English speaking market. To connect it to your phone you just load the app, turn on the pinpointer by holding down the button until a jingle and it pairs up and you can adjust settings, save them and it's all good to go. I suspect I may just set my favourite settings and not need to change them again. I currently have it on charge seeing it's new so I won't do much with it yet as I've got it plugged in charging as I did when i tested the phone connection. I quickly changed it to maximum sensitivity and swung it around a bit and no false signals like my TRX and Pro-Find35 do by moving it around in the air. I tested a few shotgun pellets and the TRX is more sensitive which counters what Cipher was saying although early days and I will do proper testing once its charged up and ready to use without being tethered to my USB charging station by it's very short USB cable. ? I know @jasong was particularly interested in this pinpointer for reasons similar to me, so I'll see how it handles the GPZ and GPX detectors soon, or rather how well they handle it. I like you can just turn it off and on by inserting and removing it from it's holster, something Quest has now also done on their latest pinpointer, I believe Sphinx was first with this function, it works well. It comes with a tip protector with a scraping end fitted and nice loud speaker. Rather than just my opinion I'll put some videos on as I like seeing videos rather than just hearing peoples opinions, I prefer to see what they're saying in cases like this. I'll update as I get more time and information on it. Here is the link to the App on the Apple App Store App Store: SphinxMD (apple.com) I managed to translate the manual from Russian to English so I'll attach it to this post so if anyone wants it they can have it in English, not a perfect translation but good enough. Manual pinpointer Sphinx 03 2023-01.ru.en.pdf

Watching this review really made me want one. It seems to accomplish what Minelab kind of missed, and that is the ability to discriminate at a good distance from the object. This is what the ProFind 35 should’ve been. With Boost engaged this beast will easily hit a coin at 4”. The LCD seems super helpful in many ways, from determining what settings are what, and adding a visual dimension to discrimination. The price also seems very reasonable relative to what it does. Sooner or later I’m going to have to have one. But I already have 4 pinponters here and a Mi6 on the way to make 5. What justification can I come up with to own this too? ? but anyway, what do you guys think…does this represent the ideal pinpointer? Will it lead to a new era in pinpointer design? Will an LCD and ever advancing discrimination become standard after this?

Hi all, I’m running a Minelab GPX6000 and finding that isolating targets can be a little tricky at times. I was curious what pinpointers (if any) people are using specifically while detecting for gold. Do you rely solely on your main machine, or have you found a particular pinpointer that really helps? Anything new in 2025 worth checking out? Thanks in advance .... looking forward to your input.

I was lucky enough to be one of the few Beta testers for the new Nokta Makro Accupoint and now that I’m officially released from the NDA, I’m going to attempt to do my first detailed review of a new product. I've only been detecting for around two years, but I do know what I enjoy using and what works well for me in my area of SE Ohio. I do want to point out that I did not get a chance to test the Accupoint on a beach, all my testing was done in fields and parks. Additionally, these are the results I got during my testing and realize that some of these results will vary, depending on your specific location. I would also like to point out that this is just my opinion, which is based on my relatively short amount of time detecting. I have eleven pin-pointers from most of the main manufacturers, but my “go to” pin-pointer has continually been the XP MI4 or MI6. For comparison purposes I will use the XP MI6 and the Quest XPointer Max. I apologize for the picture size, I couldn't quite figure out how to adjust the fonts, and the sizes of the pictures to be more consistent. In the Box When you open the box, the Accupoint comes with the items that you normally expect to receive: a holster, lanyard, charging cord, extra O-ring, and an extra tip protector. In order to use the Accupoint paired with the Legend headphones, you must upgrade your Legend software to version 1.12 for Accupoint (Test version?). Ensure that you do a factory reset on the Legend after you have updated to the new software. Build Quality The Accupoint is sturdily built. It has a one-piece thick plastic outer shell, with a replaceable protective tip. The end cap houses the audio output, which acts as a cover for a removable audio booster and the internal speaker which is located beside the USB Type-C charging port. The end cap has three locking lugs that turn and lock the end cap in place, as opposed to a traditional screw on cap. I submerged the Accupoint in my bathtub for 10 minutes and this did not have any effect on the Accupoint when I took it out of the water and turned the unit on. Finally, the internal lithium polymer battery lasts approximately 25 hours, and remaining battery life is displayed on the LCD screen through the use of a battery indicator icon. Unscrew the cap and you can see the removable audio booster, the speaker, and the USB Type-C charging port. Size/Weight Dimensions are about the same as the Quest XPointer Max and slightly thicker than the XP MI6. The Accupoint weighs in at 217 gr, versus the Quest at 185 gr, and the XP MI6 at 170 gr. Not a big difference but you can feel that the Accupoint is a little heavier. Settings The menu settings are accessed by holding down the On/Off button while the unit is on, until the red status bar indicator reaches the setting icon and you hear one beep. The menu settings are extremely user friendly and very intuitive, unlike most other pin-pointers, where you have to memorize how to access different settings. Sensitivity: Sensitivity level consists of settings from level 1 to level 9. Factory setting is level 7, and I found that in the areas that I detected, a setting of level 8 or 9 falsed. However, on level 8, after I performed a frequency shift, that quieted down the Accupoint. Ultimately, I ended up using the Accupoint on the factory setting of 7, as it seemed to detect items at the same depth as a setting of 8 or 9. After digging nearly one hundred targets, it does seem that the Accupoint hits targets a little harder than the Quest or the XP pin-pointers at the edge of detection. Sound and Vibration: Not much to say about this other than the Accupoint operates in three modes: Sound, Vibrate, or Sound and Vibrate. Search Modes: Tone 1: All metal mode. Tone 2: Discrimination mode. This mode discriminates between ferrous and non-ferrous items and gives a different, distinct alert and vibration for an item that is determined to be ferrous. Lastly, the Iron Off mode, which does not detect iron. In this mode, the Accupoint did not detect an iron square nail, but the Quest identified it a non-ferrous until it was approximately 1.5 inches away from the nail at which point the tone turned to ferrous. On several occasions during my testing, the Quest gave a ferrous signal on items at the edge of detection, that the Accupoint identified as non-ferrous. In every instance that this occurred, the item ended up being a copper wheat penny. Bluetooth: There are three Bluetooth settings: Off, Bluetooth Headphones, and Bluetooth Headphones with pin-pointer speaker. · Please note that you pair your pin-pointer with your headphones, not your detector. · Leave your Legend detector off while pairing the pin-pointer to the headphones. Pairing Process: Turn your headphones on, the turn on the Accupoint. Go into the Accupoint Bluetooth settings and select the Bluetooth Headphones setting. Wait for 1-2 minutes, until you hear the pin-pointer through your headphones. Once you pair it the first time, it will connect from there on out until you turn off the bluetooth. If you are trying to locate a target and you power on the Accupoint, the headphone connection is immediate, but once you turn off the Accupoint it can take up to ten seconds to disconnect and revert back to your detector audio. Additionally, while trying to locate a target, I found that occasionally the bluetooth says “disconnecting”, through the headphones. The unit did not disconnect and performed without an issue, but it did concern me initially until I got used to it. Frequency Shift: This setting is used to prevent interference with other detectors operating nearby. The Accupoint has three different frequency shifts. A frequency shift helped reduce falsing on sensitivity level 8 in the area I was detecting. LED Flashlight: This setting has two modes, on and off. The flashlight is considerably larger and brighter than any of my other pin-pointers. Volume: The Accupoint has two volume levels, Low and High. This pin-pointer is louder than the XP MI6 but not as loud as the Quest, which is really loud. Since I have loss of hearing, it would have been nice for a third, louder level. But the factory high setting is probably plenty loud for those who do not have a loss of hearing. LCD Screen Backlight: The Accupoint has two backlight levels, low and bright. Even set on bright, I still had to turn out of direct sunlight to be able to read the screen. Factory Default: Self-explanatory. Compared Pin-pointers: I have eleven pin-pointers. Of those eleven, I generally use the XP MI6 pin-pointer. After testing the depth of the Accupoint in my ground, I figured that I would compare this to my XP and the only other discriminating pin-pointer I have, the Quest XPointer Max. Of all my pin-pointers, the deepest is easily the Fisher F-Pulse, followed by the Quest. The Accupoint is third on that list, and beats the XP, Garrett Carrot, and the Dr Otek. I don't count my Whites Bullseye TRX because it is no longer available, although I do really, really like mine. What I don't like: Honestly, the dislikes are just a matter of preference. My opinion will probably change as I use it more, but I prefer the side On/Off button of the XP MI6. The button is on the top of the Accupoint and is easy to push but I’m just not used to it in that location, so I continually find myself feeling along the side for the button. The other issue I disliked was falsing in the higher sensitivity settings, but that was fixed easily enough with a frequency shift, retuning the pin-pointer, or lowering the sensitivity setting. What I like: This is a really nice pin-pointer and I think that Nokta Makro did themselves proud with this one. Its very well made and feels good in the hand while using. It is simple to use and the menu is extremely easy to use, which is nice for a change because I can never remember how to get into menus of my other pin-pointers. The replaceable tip protector is a nice touch for those that tend to destroy the tip of their pin-pointer. Lastly, after digging nearly one hundred targets, I can say that the Accupoint found everything that the Quest or the XP found, and identified ferrous or non-ferrous targets more accurately than the Quest. Great job Nokta, I think I have a new favorite pin-pointer.

Hi team, Last year I have been using 22'x Coil in WA and have difficulty identifying targets in big holes. I am thinking pin pointer might be a good option as well as it has iron dismination (Quest Max and minelab pin 35 or 40). Qs: 1. Do they both work well in mineralized ground in WA? If yes to what extend compared to GPZ14 or 22 coil or GPX? I mean, would pin pointers be more accurate when detecting onto a hot rock? 2. GPZ and GPX cannot tell iron rubbish, how accurate could the pin pointer do? 3. How deep could a pin pointer go roughly? Many thanks, Ethan

G'day, I need to buy a pinpointer ... its a toss up between the Minelab Pro-find and the Garrett pinpointer. My uneducated guess right off the top of my head is that they would have the same performance. Any advice on any possible advantages of one over the other? The advertising for the Minelab pinpointer says that it is a VLF. Is the Garrett also a VLF? Are there any PI pinpointers sold, by anyone? Regards, Rob (RKC)

Experiences seem to be split 50/50 on worth the money and complete trash. Would one of these be able to pick up 100- mesh gold in hard rock veins? I'm guessing it wouldn't having trouble picking up higher grade stuff at several ounces per ton, but what about it's application on scanning seems for lower grade ore? So far all of the gold I've found has been -150, usually one or two colors per pan.

Are the Minelab Pro Find 35 & Pro Find 40 good pinpointers?-----What's the difference between those two models?

ya know ive only owned 3 pinpointers in my life until yesterday i had no idea pinpointers had discrimination...re tunning etc the first pinpointer i used was a nokta the grey one with orange cap the nokta i paid 99.00 mid last year then i bought vevor of e bay for 25.00 with free shipping...still have it...recently i paid 149.00 for a red pro find 40 or should i say wasted cause some minelabfreaker posted on another forum it woul pick up a penny at 6 inches.what a line of minelab bs....i just got done watching 2 you tube vidios of the carrot and the 40 theres no difference in either in depth on all targets but my 25.00 vevor off ebay has about a full inch better detection on all coins then the garret or minelab ...go figure...lo lol lol...why does a pin pointer need to discriminate isnt your big fancy high tech 1500.00 minelab suppose to do that tell ya junk or not before ya even dig....re tune not sure what hype thats all about....beeps if ya leave it around...thats what a lanyards for....and i read this 40 detects deeper then the 35...lol.lol the nokta is about equal to carrot and 40.....my 25.00 vevor beats the carrot and 40 hands down 1 button on off volume....

It seems odd to me that there are no reviews anywhere on the new ProFind 40 pinpointer, just the initial box openings and repeating the features. Surely someone has used one in the field and has an opinion they would like to share. Asking for a friend. ?

I'm wondering how well they work With an mxt , thanks

Always had my doubts about these things for placer work. I mean; bed rock cracks, under boulders or just a quick pass through in screened material before it being sluiced or drywashed. Usually I reach for my trusty GB2 for such applications. Always thought the pin pointers are better left for the parks? Perhaps I should be more open minded........?

This is probably an "oh duh" topic for more experienced detectorists, but I ran into it, so I thought somebody might benefit. It could be an issue for other PI detectors besides the Axiom. When running your frequency scan on the Axiom, turn on your pinpointer first. I recently bought the Garrett "Carrot" Pro-pointer with z-link and I found that right around channels (45-47) there is interference from my Carrot on the Axiom. I'd never thought to do this until one day when the Axiom picked channel 46 and then I turned on the pinpointer which resulted in noisy chatter between Axiom and Carrot. So I've added another step to my startup process. Put on a coil. Turn on the pinpointer Factory reset the Axiom Run frequency scan on the Axiom Set the Axiom up for ground conditions & preferences

Does any one have any experience with this foldable hand held underwater detector? I wonder how sensitive it is on womans gold rings? I like the small foldable design. I could easily bring it in to my health clubs swimming beach area on a small private lake. They would throw a hissy if I walked in there with a regular detector. TIA

I looked on eBay but I didn't see any there, I assume somebody must have one they are not using somewhere in the world, it was a very popular pinpointer and not very many still functioning today, there has to be someone with a broken TRX that has a holster sitting in their closet I would have made this post in the classifieds forum but I'm not actually looking to buy one today, I'm just putting feelers out for when I will want to buy one in the future, if I do, right now I keep my pointer in my finds bag instead of in a holster, but this spring I might want to change things up

One of my favorite things to do on a Saturday morning is watch salt and clear water diving/metal detecting videos. This morning I happened to notice that Micheal Oliver had some kind of small external attachment on his PulseDive which he claimed gives him extra depth and was purchased through detect-Ed. Initially I had my skeptic hat on, but hear me out. I suspected, based on how the attachment looked that it was a magnet filter of some sort housed in a strap. So I got out my PulseDive, a ruler, a quarter and various sizes of magnet filters I pulled from a TV set. Lo and behold, I was able to boost depth on a quarter from the usual 6” to as much as 7 1/2 to 8” depending on the size filter I used and placement. The only issue, which is easily addressed is affixing the magnet filter to the device (externally, no operation needed) just below the coil. Try this for yourself. It’s pretty eye opening. And I didn’t think it would work for beans.

It has iron discrimination and the holster will turn the pointer off when inserted, and on when removed. Very affordable price. Will post my results later. Thanks, George.

I have a Minelab Pro-Find 35 pinpointer and really like it, but I think it suffers from thermal management issues and will be sending it in for warranty. I'm sure the replacement will be good, but I'm looking to buy a second pinpointer for a spare and was wondering what a is the best one to get.

Does anyone have any idea how many TRX Bullseye were sold? The number of units could provide information about how many TRXs may appear in the future for replacement (parts or the old one).?

I know the carrot is highly thought of but I have seen some heavy users say the tip can wear and expose things. I am looking at the Pulse Two in One and like what I see including what seems to be a better protected tip. Another option is the Quest Scuba Tector again with additional tip protection. Problem is both are kinda new and I have seen some bashing, especially on the Quest. The thing is no matter how many whistles and bells something has it's basic function has to work or nothing else matters. I am not wed to any of these three choices; just the ones that my research has turned up so far. Any advice welcome.

After reading a post from rumblefish he had asked the question? "So I got to wondering, what is the minimum flake/nugget size that can be detected? Could anyone with an SDC (or even a Pro Pointer) post and tell me their results?" So I thought I would try a small nugget with the x-pointer, don't know the size of this nugget but the x-pointer would not detect it, Yes it was on level 4..

Minelab PRO-FIND 40 Pinpointer VS. MI 6