Pinpointers

[glacialgold]

The Nokta Accupoint is my primary. Like other posters have mentioned, it's not quite as sensitive as the Garrett Carrot, but I like the menu display and the ability to connect to Nokta headphones via Bluetooth when using the Legend. Usually I can get a good enough estimate from the detector to be within pinpointer range in the hole or plug -- if I'm far off, I've either done a poor job localizing the target with the detector, or it's something bigger and deeper than anticipated.

The Carrot is my backup, otherwise. Slightly more depth than the Accupoint, and it's just a solid all-rounder.

The Fisher F-Pulse gets some use, too, because it's by far more sensitive than either the other two on anything besides gold or tiny targets. I use it when searching for shallow targets/recent drops to quickly pinpoint and pry out of the ground with maximum efficiency. Issue for me is I like to use the MXT Pro with the Detect Arrow coil in that same scenario, and the F-Pulse generates a bunch of annoying interference with that particular detector when it's turned on.

Can't speak much to the newer Minelab Pro line up. I have a Pro 20, but it's sensitivity is very limited relative to the other ones, and it's real finicky about turning on consistently for me. 

[skywatcher]

Just my 2 cents based on very hard soil enviorments.

teknetics/fisher pulse  green is my fav.  Best of the best in hard soils and sand great depth sensitivity adjustment and great warranty support even had some out of warranty machines fixed at no charge. The first generations had a defect the push button would loose the rubber seal around it and it woud flood in mud water or salt water. They have fixed that and if machine has any issues they just send you another one.

Quest XPointer II never fails either great machine for money but their customer support is not good. they take for ever to answer.

Garret carrot is not as sensitive and trustworthy on hard soils but last very long if taken care of.

there are more expensive machines but for $ involved and durability cant beat these.

[D&P-OR]

Thanks to everyone that responded to this pinpointer post/thread.----I really appreciate you taking the time to do so.--------Del

[Bill (S. CA)]

I have a number of pinpointers and my use varies by whether the detector can connect via wireless or requires a standalone.  When I use my Deus II the XP pinpointer is awesome.  Ditto for the Carrot If I am using my Apex.  But for a standalone I still like my original black Garrett pinpointer. Super simple to use.

 

[MD4V.org]

The original, the Garrett Carrot.

[pavelka72]

I read your messages and it was interesting to note that no one wrote about the response speed, but this is what determines the speed of reaching the target, along with sensitivity.

regarding Chinese fakes, the answer is simple - treasure hunting is limited in China and there is no "school", no practice. "Experts" who produce these useless sticks for your money do not even understand what they are copying)

Quest pinpointer - these are also Chinese guys and they do the same, for example, the magic holster was stolen.

[palzynski]

2 hours ago, pavelka72 said:

I read your messages and it was interesting to note that no one wrote about the response speed, but this is what determines the speed of reaching the target, along with sensitivity.

regarding Chinese fakes, the answer is simple - treasure hunting is limited in China and there is no "school", no practice. "Experts" who produce these useless sticks for your money do not even understand what they are copying)

Quest pinpointer - these are also Chinese guys and they do the same, for example, the magic holster was stolen.

This was true 30 or 40 years ago , Chinese were just copying other countries products. But times are changing and they are now design and manufacture their own products . Dont underestimate them.

For example the Quest Xpointer Xmax was the 1st pinpointer featuring a digital display  . The idea was copied a little later by other MD brands btw ..

 

 

 

[pavelka72]

23 minutes ago, palzynski said:

This was true 30 or 40 years ago , Chinese were just copying other countries products. But times are changing and they are now design and manufacture their own products . Dont underestimate them.

For example the Quest Xpointer Xmax was the 1st pinpointer featuring a digital display  . The idea was copied a little later by other MD brands btw ..

 

 

 

you could argue with me if you had the knowledge.

the Chinese don't understand what they are copying. the coils are wound incorrectly, there are no stabilization circuits (that is why false alarms appear and sensitivity drops when the supply voltage decreases). I am not talking about defects. Do you think that these devices cost 15-20 dollars just like that (given that there were at least 2 intermediaries between you and the manufacturer? No, they are assembled from garbage and are practically impersonal in the manufacturer's name.

Regarding quest max - the input part and the coil design are stolen from TRX, they only installed a next-generation processor, which differs by one letter. I wrote about the holster above. So your ideas about what the Chinese stole 30-40 years ago are wrong, nothing has changed. Except for the technologies that allow them to make beautiful and cheap devices. When there is no school, experience...

Regarding the display in the pinpointer. A dubious advantage for a device that works in the dirt. If you dig, I don't need to explain this to you.

[phrunt]

I had a snoop around and the magnetic holster is patented to Sphinx that is used on the 03 pin pointer, the patent wasn't in English so I translated it to read it.

Sphinx 03 magnetic holster patent

I put the translated patent on my Google drive, so it does appear Quest did copy this feature for their pinpointer and let's face it, they have a dubious past with First Texas taking them to court and winning in the past for patent infringement when they stole the T2 so it's little surprise their current pin pointer is based upon the TRX.  You'll note Quest don't have a magnetic function patent on their pinpointer.  Whites was an easy target to make their pin pointer seeing they no longer exist, Garrett would have to try do something about it, but seeing they're not even using the design maybe it's not worth it.

It's the reason I haven't bought a Quest V80 when it has a lot of attributes I like it in a detector and its very cheap here compared to competitors but they have a bad history of copying other products and I guess that may not have changed.   They're also not going to sell their new flagship V80 in the US as there is some possible patent issues there too.

As for Chinese manufacturers we can't tar them all with one brush, although they are the major source of counterfeit detectors, if I want a fake detector I can look to China to buy it, right from entry level to the most expensive detector on the market they have a copy.  They also have some brands that are completely independent of this making their own detectors and have a reasonable range of entry level to low-mid level detectors available at cheap prices.