Best Rechargeable Pinpointer?

[phrunt]

Seeing the rechargeable requirement rules out the Garrett Carrot, I'd go the XP Mi-4, if it was realistically available to buy the Sphrinx 03 is better than all of the pinpointers I've ever used, in saying that I've not done much with Nokta except the Pulse Dive, I had the others though.

[Jeff McClendon]

I really liked my XP Mi-6 as a standalone, unpaired pinpointer. I did not care for all of the episodes of incomplete or very delayed pairing and unpairing with it and my XP detectors including Deus 2.

I recently purchased the Nokta Accupoint. I have not even had a chance to use it paired up with my Legends. I have used it as an unpaired, standalone pinpointer with Legend, Deus 2 and Manticore. So far, it has been outstanding.

I have just been using the default 7 of 9 sensitivity setting and two tone ferrous/non ferrous setting. It has not disappointed one bit.

I have also done direct comparisons with the Accupoint at 7 of 9 sensitivity, Garrett Carrot at max sensitivity and a Fisher F Pulse at max sensitivity. The Accupoint running at 20 kHz is by far the most sensitive to sub 0.15 gram gold nuggets and micro jewelry which does not have to be touching the Accupoint for it to give a clear non ferrous response even at 0.5 inches from the tip or sides. The Garrett Carrot will respond to these small gold targets but only when they are touching it on the sides near the tip. F-Pulse also has no response at the tip and a weak response on the sides near the tip.

Very impressive results from the Accupoint for gold prospecting and add in the ferrous/non ferrous target tone identification and wow. Once again, Nokta have delivered with a product that does exactly what they claimed it would do similar to the Legend.

[STA]

I use the Acupoint. It can be fussy sometimes in bad emi, and does not get along with the Legend if running single frequency at 20 kHz. I was unable to pair it and now do not care to. Most of the time it behaves fine and I like it for it’s ability with small jewelry. The legend’s ability with small jewelry needs a pinpointer like that. It is amazing how small this combination will get.

[wltdwiz]

Nokta Accupoint.

[Bob'ke]

"Phrunt said: Seeing the rechargeable requirement rules out the Garrett Carrot, ....."

Why not keep it simple: Garrett Carrot with a rechargeable 9V...? 🤔

[Bill (S. CA)]

If you are willing to buy a rechargeable battery as others has suggested then any of the aforementioned pinpointers will do the job for you.  It's really up to your preferences.  As a standalone, do you want ultimate simplicity?  Ferrous/non-ferrous?  A display screen?

I have used all of the pinpointers mentioned and find that I like them all.  But to be totally honest, I instinctively reach for for my Garrett most of the time.  It's just so rock solid and easy to use.

One note: the XP in pitch audio has by far the coolest target tone. 

[Jeff McClendon]

I wrote some very nice things about the Accupoint above. Now I will give you another opinion.

I mostly use handheld pinpointers for helping me find deeper coin sized targets in iron mineralized dirt that I also have to dig with a screwdriver or probe due to digging restrictions. So I can't dig a 12" by 6 to 8" deep plug with a shovel and then search in the plug or hole with a handheld pinpointer for what seemed to be a 6 to 8" deep target. That scenario only requires a pinpointer to have a depth range of 2" or even less.

Instead I have to use the coin popping method: cut a slit in the turf, fold the two sides back out of the way and start pinpointing for the target. If the target is 6 to 8" deep or more I need a pinpointer with 3 to 4" of range in order to reassure me that I am over the target.

I tried this out with the Accupoint today at a local park on US coin targets that I knew were 4 to 6" deep by their audio response and their depth reading on Deus 2's horseshoe profile. Yes they were 4 to 6" deep US coins when recovered. Unfortunately, the Accupoint did not hit those targets until it was basically right on top of them as in about 1.5" away or less running sensitivity 7. Changing to sensitivity 9 did not help. Also, these were non-ferrous targets. I was using the Accupoint in 2 tones with ferrous target responses accepted. So the four US coins and one 5" deep aluminum pull tab should have had non-ferrous responses. Instead, they started out with ferrous responses and only became non-ferrous about 0.5" from the targets. So for this type of hunting and target recovery, the Accupoint is basically useless to me. A Garrett Carrot will also hit targets like this at about 2" depth so again basically useless. XPs Mi-6 paired to an XP compatible detector which opens up the possibility of a lot more settings slightly outperformed the Garrett Carrot and could hit coin sized targets about 2.5" deep.  The pulse induction Fisher F-Pulse and Teknetics Tek-Point will hit these targets at 4" depth.

Sure, the F-Pulse/Tek-Points are hyper sensitive and sound off on mineralization, EMI and detector crosstalk which can be super annoying, but their depth is ridiculous even in high mineralization.  Mine will hit 4" deep coin sized targets from the surface and that really helps me with coin popping type target recovery. I could barely get the Accupoint to hit 1" deep pull tabs today. If the F-Pulse and Tek-Point were more sensitive to small targets where the Accupoint really excels I would not have bothered to invest in an Accupoint.

I need to get to a gold prospecting location and try the Accupoint there on sub 0.25 gold and on the many iron/tin targets in the location nearest to me and see how it handles that kind of situation where depth is not an issue and where sensitivity to really small targets due to the Accupoint's 20 kHz operating frequency should be useful since I don't have any digging method restrictions there.

After doing plenty of testing and seeing unbiased reviews showing a maximum 2" sensitivity on a US silver dime, I believe my Accupoint is working normally. Hopefully Nokta can boost the sensitivity another inch sometime in the future with a software update.

[phrunt]

5 minutes ago, Jeff McClendon said:

A Garrett Carrot will also hit targets like this at about 2" depth so again basically useless. The pulse induction Fisher F-Pulse and Teknetics Tek-Point will hit these targets at 4" depth.

Have you tried a Nokta Pulse Dive? I find it deeper than the F-Pulse on coins, not sure how that would translate for you but probably quite favourably. 

[Jeff McClendon]

5 hours ago, phrunt said:

Have you tried a Nokta Pulse Dive? I find it deeper than the F-Pulse on coins, not sure how that would translate for you but probably quite favourably. 

Yes I owned a Pulse Dive for a while and no it did not out perform the F-Pulse on coins where I hunt, not even remotely close.

So for the OP's original question, right now I can't recommend the Accupoint  as a pinpointer with an internal rechargeable battery if you have digging restrictions like I do in my area. I would go with XP's Mi-4 or Mi-6. I haven't used Quest's top of the line pinpointer and I don't know if it has internal rechargeable battery operation of user replaceable batteries.

[STA]

The Acupoint is the only rechargeable pinpointer I have ever had. It works ok, and is very sensitive to small, so is fine for what I use t for. I do not believe it is exceptional, and it sometimes does not get along with he legend, I cannot use 20 kHz with it at all.

I also have black and orange Garrett’s and the f-pulse. For turf I prefer the f-pulse, though that is not rechargeable. In truth I am not entirely pleased with any of them, rechargeable or not. The multifunction buttons are a problem for me. On all of them i am forever fumbling with them and changing settings accidentally or going into menus and being unable to get out without screwing them up.

I like the pulse because it hits clean and is deep but am always fumbling with it. I would like to be able to just turn the blessed thing on without worrying about holding the button too long or not long enough. The Garrett’s are the same but not as deep and do not hit as clean as I like.

Me, the Acupoint is good for tot lots. For turf I want something better but do not know a rechargeable machine for that.

Sometimes I forget if I am supposed to hold long or short, and am usually unable to do either the first time reliably when I intend to even if I do happen to remember which I wanted to do. You can about imagine what that looks like.