White's Trx Versus Fisher F-Pulse

[mh9162013]

12 minutes ago, BigSkyGuy said:

What I like about the TRX is it picks up foil! Also turns on/off quickly.

The TRX is also able (on 3 sensitivity) to pick up a few small peices of gold while the F-Pulse on medium sensitivity can't.

Of course, I'm not a prospector, but I guess it's good to know that ability is there with the TRX.

[cudamark]

In salt water (especially with black sand) I need to sink the TRX tip into the wet sand, and then turn it on, to tune it properly. Otherwise it will false just touching the wet sand. After you do that, it works just fine for me at my hunting locations and with my mineralization. 

[Steve Herschbach]

Personally I need both a VLF and a PI detector, and I need a PI and VLF based pinpointer for the same reasons. It's not either/or - it's have both. 

[mh9162013]

8 minutes ago, cudamark said:

In salt water (especially with black sand) I need to sink the TRX tip into the wet sand, and then turn it on, to tune it properly. Otherwise it will false just touching the wet sand. After you do that, it works just fine for me at my hunting locations and with my mineralization. 

I've watched some official White's Youtube videos showing the TRX and they recommend always turning it on with the tip touching the soil.

[mh9162013]

20 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

Personally I need both a VLF and a PI detector, and I need a PI and VLF based pinpointer for the same reasons. It's not either/or - it's have both. 

The thought has crossed my mind...😄

[CPT_GhostLight]

On 2/13/2022 at 6:54 AM, mh9162013 said:

Keep in mind that I'm testing the F-Pulse on medium sensitivity because using it on max means it bottoms out or overloads when even a coin-sized target is still relatively far away, so it's a worthless setting to me.

I run my F-Pulse maxed out with no problems but it took some time to figure out it was the batteries causing the unstable operation, or rather the F-Pulse reacting to the metal content of the batteries. I think it was Carl who posted the F-Pluse Operation Manual, Rev.2 and it made all the difference for me. Here's the section that explains it:

"The front battery is close enough to the coil that it presents a significant target. The PP is factory calibrated with typical steel-cased alkalines to compensate for this. If you notice a loss of sensitivity or falsing after replacing the batteries, it may be due to the composition of the new batteries, and the unit may need to be re-calibrated. See Advanced Features."

I still can't use normal Energizer Lithium AAs but I can use the rechargable Lithiums, as well as Enerloop rechargables, and normal alkaline AAs. Whenever I change battery types (alkaline to Lithium, etc), I do a recalibration and it's all good.

I've attach the FP Manual, Rev2 as a .txt file for anyone who might be interested. HTH

Fisher_F-Pulse_OperationR2.txt

[mh9162013]

1 minute ago, CPT_GhostLight said:

I run my F-Pulse maxed out with no problems but it took some time to figure out it was the batteries causing the unstable operation, or rather the F-Pulse reacting to the metal content of the batteries. I think it was Carl who posted the F-Pluse Operation Manual, Rev.2 and it made all the difference for me. Here's the section that explains it:

"The front battery is close enough to the coil that it presents a significant target. The PP is factory calibrated with typical steel-cased alkalines to compensate for this. If you notice a loss of sensitivity or falsing after replacing the batteries, it may be due to the composition of the new batteries, and the unit may need to be re-calibrated. See Advanced Features."

I still can't use normal Enegizer Lithium AAs but I can use the rechargable Lithiums, as well as Enerloop rechargables, and normal alkaline AAs. Whenever I change battery types (alkaline to Lithium, etc), I do a recalibration and it's all good.

I've attach the FP Manual, Rev2 as a .txt file for anyone who might be interested. HTH

Fisher_F-Pulse_OperationR2.txt 11.42 kB · 0 downloads

Thanks, but I did that re-calibration when I first got my F-Pulse and it made no noticeable difference.

[mh9162013]

Update: the TRX is a great pinpointer to use outdoors...as long as you keep it pointed down. Often, when you move the pinpointer so it's parallel to the ground or pointed up, it falses (EFE?). You can press the button to retune/detune it,  but it'll sometimes start falsing a few moments later when it's pointed in a different direction. Does this make the pinpointer unuseable? Absolutely not! It's still a great pinpointer, but my F-Pulse's stability and consistency has spoiled me, so I've decided to keep that one instead.

But when theTRX is used in the dug hole, it's really great and I see how the "detects from the tip" is very useful and helpful in narrowing down where a target is. The better ratcheting ability is also really nice...

So, the TRX is going up for sale. Glad I got to try it, though.

[phrunt]

I experience the same things you have with the TRX, had I known this before buying it I probably wouldn't have bothered with it, so it's good to see information like this being put up on the internet, if we only ever see the positives of products then we can't make an informed decision.  I'm confident now my first TRX was faulty and my second one is fine, it's behaving exactly like yours and most other people that are happy to comment on the positives and negatives end up saying similar things.  I was more down on it when I thought mine was faulty, now I know it's normal I'm OK with it and am wiling to give it another try.

The TRX has huge potential, it's a shame it's no longer being developed.  I just can't help but think the product could be improved.  It is without a doubt the most sensitive pin pointer, but with this comes side effects of the sensitivity.