The Sphinx 03: The Best Pinpointer You’ll Never Own

[☠ Cipher]

There’s an innovative pinpointer maker, called SphinxMD out of Russia and they have launched the mother of all pinpointers in the Sphinx 03. The problem for us in the USA, and the West, is our sanctions by design make doing business cost prohibitive. If you’re a fellow techie I suspect you’ll still want to know exactly what it is you’re missing and where the industry will be headed. I happen to have one on hand to review. 

What’s in the Box:

A Sphinx 03 pinpointer. A magnetic holster. A lanyard. A tip cover. A type-c charging cord. Manuals. Optional: A drop leg magnetic holster with pouch and extra tip cover. 

Ergonomics and handling:

This pinpointer fits nicely in the hand. Button placement is dead on. There’s nothing awkward about it. The button is robust and springy, yet easy to activate. The hard shell plastic makes it easy to clean and keep looking nice. It comes with a tip cover with scraper blade.

Features:

SphinxMD was the first to implement a magnetic on/off holster in the Sphinx 02. This feature has been carried over to the Sphinx 03, works as it should and without delay. It is at the ready as soon as it’s withdrawn from the holster. This saves valuable time (and wear) otherwise spent on button operation.

Sphinx 03 has iron discrimination, which when compared to the Minelab ProFind, works exceptionally well. With the ProFind I had to be right on top of iron for the iron tone to activate. By then I’m already distracted. That’s not the case here. The iron tone and LED alert have sufficient depth/range, saving valuable time. The iron tone is trustworthy in that I have not experienced any falsing on non-ferrous metals. If it says it’s iron, it’s iron. 

The Sphinx continues to innovate with the first ever app for a Pinpointer. That’s right, all functions can be accessed and changed to suit your preferences via the SphinxMD app. This is a first for pinpointers in the industry to my knowledge. It was quick and easy to set up and with a long press of the button you’re synced in the app within seconds. Everything can be customized, activated or deactivated from sensitivity and sound on down. Don’t want to use discrimination? You can turn off the alert. Don’t want to use the magnetic feature? It too can be turned off. This is not a wonky novelty app. It works well. This system is actually much easier and quicker to implement than a series of cumbersome button sequencing nobody ever remembers. If you’re a tinkerer like me you’ll enjoy the interaction and amount of customization this setup allows. If you want to set it and forget it, you can do that too as the changes are wirelessly implemented instantly and remembered. 

The Sphinx 03 is also IP68 to a depth of 6 meters (20 feet). I have had a chance to use it under water and it’s integrity held up. It has a built in rechargeable lithium battery. I will update when I’ve carried it through a full cycle. The cap is well threaded and easy to remove, yet fits snugly; a necessary combination for a waterproof and rechargeable pinpointer. 

Other notable features include high sensitivity with high response speed, battery life indication, lost mode, fast detuning with memory function, and automatic Interference protection system which has worked well for me even at the highest level of sensitivity. I have not experienced instability or erratic operation.

Depth/Range: 

Very comparable to the ProPointer AT in this regard. This is not bad at all for a pinpointer boasting a discrimination feature. Discrimination costs a little depth, and so to still be as deep as other leading pinpointers is a plus. Where this pinpointer begins to walk away from others is in its sensitivity to sub-gram and micro jewelry invisible to pinpointers like my Bullsye TRX. The Sphinx 03 also has 360 degree field of detection, rather than tip only detection. 

Aesthetics: 

While this doesn’t matter to everyone, it does to me for a couple of reasons. One is pride in ownership of a well crafted tool. Another is it demonstrates pride in craftsmanship by the manufacturer. The Sphinx 03 is a sporty looking piece of tech, and the tip cap adds to this appeal. An optional accessory for this unit is a nice drop leg holster, also with magnetic on/off. I love drop leg holsters and unlike my SHRXY drop leg holster, the material is smooth and easy to keep clean. It also has a nice snug fit.

 

 

[sodbuster]

interesting piece of equipment.   Are the adjustments by app only, or can it be done manually?

[☠ Cipher]

30 minutes ago, sodbuster said:

interesting piece of equipment.   Are the adjustments by app only, or can it be done manually?

Good question. You can make adjustments via the app or manually through a sequence of button presses. Once you’ve used the app though, it’s hard to go back to button sequences. 

[Old Miner Don]

SOLD!!! How much?

[☠ Cipher]

15 hours ago, Bedrocker said:

SOLD!!! How much?

This depends on where you’re located. In Russia they are priced at 10990 Rub., which is equivalent to $129. I have one because the maker wanted a diversity of opinion, uninfluenced by geographical pride etc. It was explained to me that US and Western sanctions make doing business in this hemisphere too much of a burden, yet I suspect if you wanted one bad enough and were willing to cover the costs you might still be able to get one. But I’m unsure of that as I sit here. Pavel is a member of this forum and maybe he will chime in on this. 

[☠ Cipher]

17 hours ago, Bedrocker said:

SOLD!!! How much?

The answer I’ve seen given to those in the US and the West is to write info@sphinx-md.ru

[Old Miner Don]

50 minutes ago, ☠ Cipher said:

The answer I’ve seen given to those in the US and the West is to write info@sphinx-md.ru

Thank you! We'll see.

[sodbuster]

thank you for the information.   

 

[phrunt]

buying one!

 

Where this pinpointer begins to walk away from others is in its sensitivity to sub-gram and micro jewelry invisible to pinpointers like my Bullsye TRX