Cen-Tech Pinpointer from Harbor Freight Review.

[Silversmith45]

Just thought I would let guys on the fence know that I bought two of them opened them up and installed a dipole switch and vibrating motor out of old broken cell phones. The board circuitry looks good and all the solders were very nice, I will give one of them a thorough test and see if the main switch is still problematic but my first impressions are very good.

I tore up an old cell phone and couldn't find a vibrating motor . I guess it didn't have one. I have another but don't have anything to fit the screws. I think I'll take a hammer to it. I picked up a spare pinpointer ahile back but I haven't had any trouble with the first one yet. I covered the tip with liquid tape (liquid plastic) to seal it.

 

[hoser]

I just bought one in the Saginaw Mich. store and had a 20% off coupon so it was only $14.00. This is my third PP I own. I have the BE-II that I use all the time, the Vibraprobe 560 I use when it is wet, raining, or I'm hunting in the water. The Cen-Tech is purely a backup unit in case my BE-II gives up in the field, or if someone else is hunting with me. I plan on installing the buzzer from a cell phone as the speaker is a little too loud. I would rather feel than hear. All in all its really not a bad little unit for the price. For someone on a tight budget this would be a good PP till they could afford a better one.

 

[Digger Dan]

I got a pretty good deal on E bay... It was a used Garrett for 30.00 works pretty good, I am all for saving money but sometimes cheaper isn't better...

 

[hoser]

Just installed the buzzer from an old cell phone and checked all the connections. I'm good to go on this. Boy! those buzzers are really tiny, but it didn't go too bad. The hardest time I had was getting the buzzer out of the phone. I left enough wire from the speaker so if the buzzer goes bad I can always change back. I also tweaked the sens pot and gained a little more depth. Now if the snow would just go away I would love to try it out in the field.

 

[woodstock]

And I disagree!

I bought a Harbor Frieght a few weeks ago and seeing as I'm still living with frozen tundra I desided to modify it alittle. First I went to RadioShack and bought a better off/on switch. This is very EZ to do and costs about $3. Seeing as I wear headphones that cover the ears completely block out sound I bought a vibrating motor or buzzer and removed the wires from there's and replaced with the vibrator. I took a piece of plactic tube and covered the back of the vibrator and glued it in place with superglue. The vibrator was another $3 at Radipshack but you can get one from an old cell phone for much less if you want. I love the vibration rather than the squealing and besides that I coundn't hear it when I was wearing my headphones in the first place. I also put on a RadioShack toggle switch to shut off the light when I wasn't using it for Flashlight in the first place. Again, you may have one sitting around in a junk drawer at home or again you can get one at Radioshack for another $3 and is a EZ to do two wire modification. While it was open there is a little blue box that I beleive is a sensitivity trimmer. It has a little screw on the top. Carefully adjust this to maximize the Pin Pointer's sensitivity. Be careful because it's a very small part. I also took a bigger sensitivity control knob and reamed it out to fit over the tiny stock one, Before I glued it over the other I placed a little "O" ring over the stock one and then glued the big one over it. The ring keeps it from slipping out of adjustment and is way easier to adjust perfect.
After I was done I now have the CHEAPEST but one of the best pinpointer's I've ever owned! It easly out preforms any you can find for under $100.I get
a bit over 2" on a quarter and 3" on a half. A dime hits at about 1 1/2" +! I bought the Harbor for $15 and added $9 in parts and about a hour of my time.
So for $24 I have a pinpointer that's stomp on a Bullseye, Vibraprobe, Fisher,
and Tiny Tec Deluxe.
It was EZ and money well spent and fun to do!
And as far as being cheaply made, there not any more flimsy than any of the above I listed. Your not suppossed to use them like a trowel! e'nuff said!
Woodstock

RickO,

I agree with you on buying quality as you can tell by MD's I own. The reason I bought it in the first place is to see if I really wanted to spend the money on a PP. I have been detecting for years without one as when I started there weren't that many available and I just never got a round to buying one. I also think that if your new to the hobby or on a limited budget it's not a bad deal if it works for you.

And considering the cost variation between the different PP's it's hard to tell what will do the job for you and what is extreme overkill. In my mind I would rather buy something that is at a throw away price and see if indeed I need to invest my money in something more middle of the road or go top end.

Besides I live close enough to a HF that I ran down there for the fun of it. I have several tools from HF that are chinese knockoffs (what isn't anymore) that work great for the amount of use that I give them.

 

[Sturgell]

I tore up an old cell phone and couldn't find a vibrating motor . I guess it didn't have one. I have another but don't have anything to fit the screws. I think I'll take a hammer to it. I picked up a spare pinpointer ahile back but I haven't had any trouble with the first one yet. I covered the tip with liquid tape (liquid plastic) to seal it.

I put one in both of the ones I bought, pulled one from a Motorola razor and one from a Blackberry that I drowned in the ocean. I have seen in other threads that in some phones the vibrating motor is in the battery pack.

 

[Silversmith45]

I put one in both of the ones I bought, pulled one from a Motorola razor and one from a Blackberry that I drowned in the ocean. I have seen in other threads that in some phones the vibrating motor is in the battery pack.

I found a cell phone battery pack while detecting the other day.

 

[ual10]

Cen-tech pointer

I bought one, used it one day and the switch crapped out. I tried to re-solder it and messed it up more, I threw it away. I got a Automax v4 when I bought my detector, I'll use that for now, but would like to get a Garrett pro-pointer in the future, I hear they're very good

 

[Coyote65]

After spending the money on detectors headphones and digging tools my cash supply was short, I invested in the Cen Tech harbor Freight cheapo and followed many of your suggestions here and adjusted the master sensitivity "got a little extra out of it" 1 1/2" to 2" re soldered several shabby looking solder joints and ran some silicone sealant along the edges of the case and screwed it back together it's been working like a champ I've even laid it down in early morning dew moist grass and it's still working fine. Tip when sealing with silicone I also sealed around the battery wires were they enter the main unit from the battery compartment.

As long as it keeps working I'm happy and can't beat the price, I'll likely invest in a ProPointer or pistol probe once I get some more mad money in which the Cen tech will probably then become a back up but until then I'm happy.

 

[toehead]

While I agree that there are better pinpointers out there for me it was my only real choice, I have three other hunters under my roof. So spending $100+ on a pinpointer for each of us was out of the question. Less than $80 later I have a pinpointer for everyone, no more sharing. The only issues I have had with a couple of them is the switch, I can fix that when the need arises. And the vibrating motor mod looks like something I might do also.

 

[BlackZ51Vett]

Stopped by our local HF today (Thursday). I asked for some help in locating the detectors that someone told me was coming in on a truck Wedensday night. They looked on the computer and said it showed "Zero" so basically that was all the help the guy was willing to give me. Being the hard headed Marine I am.....I wasnt going to take that alone as the answer. I was also there to buy a machete and a spotlight so while walking up and down the isles, low and behold.....right there in the housewares section sat 2 of these damn things........go figure.
Anyway......I'll be doing the mods to it and giving it a go...........

 

[silversmith]

After I was done I now have the CHEAPEST but one of the best pinpointer's I've ever owned! It easly out preforms any you can find for under $100.I get
a bit over 2" on a quarter and 3" on a half. A dime hits at about 1 1/2" +!

I'm finding I get pretty decent depth too. I am extremely pleased with my unit and thankful for the shared kn owlede on how to tweak or repair this inexpensive gem.

 

[AZWIP]

Howdy... used the HF pp for about 3 months or so... was a great deal for the money... did have to repair the switch twice... just soldered back together... had no probs with moisture during the time I used mine. Broke the 3rd time, I went and got the Garrett Pro Pointer... wow ! Did not know what I was missing!!! The Garrett rocks!!! But I sure do understand the cost etc... and yeah, for under 20 the HF did a great job. But if you do decide to upgrade leter etc... the Garrett is amazing! I get a dime around 3-4 inches under. Really has saved me time. Another thing I like about the Garrett is not having to hold the button (I know, some like to hold the button etc) as I hunt at nite frquently... I use it as a flashligh when digging etc... but again, can't go wrong for the HF at the price... much much better than nothing thats for sure. Have fun.

 

[deerhunter]

Got one!

Whooowhoo!! Just got back from HF and got the last one on the shelf! I really needed one after my find yesterday! I went out for about 20 mins and found my oldest coin(and only old coin), a 1905 Indian Penny in SUPERB condition(pics to follow later) about 8in deep! I'm super excited to go back after the mosquitoes die off, 28 bug bites! It was kinda tough to find without a pinpointer. I'm glad I found the pinpointer today and I'll be modding it this afternoon! I'll let everyone know how it works next weekend.

 

[John W.H.]

I just want to say to whoever cant afford an expensive pinpointer and if there is a Harbor Freight in your area definitely pick one up, I did this past weekend and it helps soo much. I find all the coins in the tot lots that are blackened in the mulch muchhh faster. I love this thing, and for 18.01 thats the total with tax here in Fla, you cant go wrong, the only complaint i have is it doesnt have as much depth seeking as I would like.

Seem's to me you would not want alot of depth capability, It should only sound off when it is very near the target, hence the name "pinpointer". P.S. I use one also and think it performs just fine.

 

[Gib]

Seem's to me you would not want alot of depth capability, It should only sound off when it is very near the target, hence the name "pinpointer". P.S. I use one also and think it performs just fine.

I agree, use a probe that picks up at 4" in all directions and you aren't pinpointing anything.

 

[AZWIP]

Works for me...

Yeah, true about the pin pointer... but with the Garrett... it sounds louder the closer you get... again, works for me, I enjoy the way the sound changes... so, before I even dig... I know that if no sound... I'm at least 3-4 inches away... if I do get a sound, I know pretty well whether I am right on top of it or not... solid sound, I just use the knife to flip the target out. Everyone is different... I like the way it works, of course some may not. Just helps speed up "my" retrieval... in 105 degrees... I like that.

Not for everyone I guess. Have fun either way though, thats what it about. I like gadgets that work, that's probably why I like this PP so much.

 

[ZZZeke]

I just picked up one of the Cen-Tech pin pointers on Friday, did the mods, and tried it out. Wow, for $16 it really works. The HF in Gresham, OR had 5 left on the shelf after I got mine.

 

[TopPop]

I think the quality of the HF detector varies an alot I got one last year and you pretty much had to be touching the target to get it to go off.

 

[deerhunter]

I've already had problems with mine lol Only had it for what a week? First off, very cheaply made. Something must have gotten loose inside, when I turn it upside down to pinpoint it would beep like crazy. I took it apart and it works now for some reason. Secondly, if you are in a very hot area this detector blows!! It was about 96degrees here today and hotter in the sun. The PP would not stop sounding. Sensitivity was all the way down. Took it inside and put on the A/C vent for about 10mins and it works fine again. After reading the manual, max temp range is +129deg. Dont think it was that hot but it didnt work. But for under $20 who can complain???