Pinpointers

[phrunt]

7 hours ago, palzynski said:

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 ..

Quest didn't come up with that either, I had a pinpointer with a screen years ago I bought from a Chinese generic metal detector manufacturer to test it out, it was only very cheap.  The screens a novelty for sure but pretty pointless as it gets covered in dirt.  This is now one of the many generics with screens, but this started years ago well before Quest and now Nokta did it.

The screen to me is a silly idea and more a value add feature to make a pin pointer appear better, I prefer the App for configuration by far.

[palzynski]

8 hours ago, pavelka72 said:

you could argue with me if you had the knowledge.

I have an engineer degree and 25+ years detecting , so I suppose I have a minimum of knowledge lol ...  

What is your detecting experience btw ?

 

 

[Bob S.]

On 9/6/2024 at 12:25 PM, MD4V.org said:

The original, the Garrett Carrot.

 

Yes Sir, me too! I've been using the Garrett pinpointer since they were dressed in black. Still own it and it still works perfectly. I switched to the "Carrott" AT Z-Lynk because I liked the idea of it being wireless with their MS-3 headphones and waterproof... And the fact I could operate in three sensitivities with audio or vibrate. I also love the big rubber on/off thumb button. Waterproof makes muddy cleanups easy. For me, Garrett's Z-Lynk is the best wireless system I've used. Pairing is fast, easy, and reliable. No perceivable latency. Not remembering in detail, but I did have occasion to return it under warranty for some small reason. The factory returned the innards in a new housing, no charge! Maybe when you nearly wear out the tip, they reward your loyalty! That's customer service.

One thing that has always bugged me on the Carrott though, and other pinpointers as well, is the battery compartment cap. The tight waterproof thread fit makes the tapered not-well-knurled cap hard to remove, especially if you have older fingers. But if you really like and enjoy using something, you find ways to circumvent issues. TIP: I keep a 1/4" wide rubber band with me in the pouch pocket where I store my spare rechargeable 9V battery. I just wrap it around the diameter of the black cap and it unscrews easily. It makes for easy changes in the field. Fact is my rechargeables last a long time in the Carrott.

Hats off to the person first calling Garrett's pinpointer a "Carrott"... The double "R's", "T's" and color works nicely!

[phrunt]

7 hours ago, palzynski said:

  What is your detecting experience btw ?

He makes the Sphinx 03 and all their other range of pinpointers and security scanning stuff.  They make a massive range.

I do believe his names on the paperwork for the Magnetic functions patent amongst others.

I like this one, real spy type stuff.

The SPHINX VM-611RD-2.0 OKO inspection detector of radioactive and metal objects is designed for simultaneous detection of radioactive and nuclear materials by their gamma radiation, as well as objects made of non-ferrous and ferrous metals, during personal search, baggage and correspondence control at checkpoints and checkpoints of any civil and military facilities with wireless transmission to the OKO STREAM base unit.

I hope Pin pointer manufacturers put more effort into their pin pointers in the future, some like the Carrott are great trusty reliable things, but quite basic.   The Minelab's don't deserve the Minelab name.  As detectors reach full potential they may focus more on their pin pointers and start to make some technological leaps.
 

[pavelka72]

9 hours ago, palzynski said:

У меня есть диплом инженера и более 25 лет опыта в поиске, так что, полагаю, у меня есть минимум знаний, лол...  

Кстати, какой у вас опыт в поиске?

 

 

then it makes sense to use this knowledge in relation to the topic of discussion.
I think that you will agree that the abrasive that accompanies you during any search (soil, water) will very quickly make the transparent plastic of the display unusable.
And also, as an engineer with a diploma, you will agree with the opinion that the window under the display in a device that experiences heavy loads is a weak point.

[palzynski]

On 9/13/2024 at 8:56 AM, pavelka72 said:

then it makes sense to use this knowledge in relation to the topic of discussion.
I think that you will agree that the abrasive that accompanies you during any search (soil, water) will very quickly make the transparent plastic of the display unusable.
And also, as an engineer with a diploma, you will agree with the opinion that the window under the display in a device that experiences heavy loads is a weak point.

Here is my Xpointer Max display after 2 years use . As you can see it is perfectly readable . I agree that Quest could improve the display with something brighter in the sun though .

I mainly use the display to check the battery level before going detecting as I hate running short of battery in the field 

The only thing I dont like on this pointer is the ON/OFF button which is hard to push but hopefully it gets softer with the time  . Apart from that I am very happy with it , the best I have used so far ..

[phrunt]

I don't know why they don't use audio as a battery level indicator, that only gives a resolution of 4 bars by the look of it anyway on that display, so 4 beeps for full, 1 beep for low upon startup.

You've kept that display in good condition, it must be pretty tough.

The Sphinx appears to last about 70 to 80 hours of runtime, that's on the specs, I've only charged mine once since buying it as it's only turned on a minute or so at a time, so having a run time like that means it just never seems to go flat.  The phone app gives me the exact battery charge when I open it up so I can monitor it that way.

The Carrot for me is a trooper with the right rechargable battery in it, lasts for quite a while and is just a trusty reliable pinpointer with good performance.  I've had it for years, dropped it on concrete a few times, it has a rattle inside now but still works perfectly 🙂  I quite like it runs on a 9v, I can store in away for years and come back and use it fine, if I do that to some others they'll be dead due to their battery.

The screens on the Chinese pinpointers are terrible, at least the one I tried, the Quest appears a fair bit better quality on the screen, I'm not a screen on pin pointer type of person though.

[relicmeister]

I wonder how far the industry is away from a pinpointer that gives a rough TID or at least 3-4 tones in order to give a pretty good idea of the targets in the hole. Is that even something that would be desirable?  

[phrunt]

8 minutes ago, relicmeister said:

I wonder how far the industry is away from a pinpointer that gives a rough TID or at least 3-4 tones in order to give a pretty good idea of the targets in the hole. Is that even something that would be desirable?  

I asked @Geotech about that once, it sounds like a no go, the DD coil is required for Target ID's, bit hard to do with a pinpointer I believe.  I can't exactly remember what he told me.   It'd have to look something like a pulse dive with a little coil on it 🙂  Although they have done iron discrimination and it works remarkably well on some pinpointers.