Myers Depot Metal Detectors

Why pin pointers? Seriously?

I do not own a PP... YET. However it IS COMING! I was hunting with Robo99 and several others yesterday and borrowed a Propointer from one of the gentlemen with us. I would have never seen the "big picture" so well if I had not used that pp'er ( can I say that on here? :laughing: ). It made a world of difference! That being said, I still can't afford the Garrett or some of the others, but I can grab one of the Harbor Freight elcheapo's for $16 and use that. Still will make it alot easier! HH Buried, I know I'm having a blast!:D
 
Buried said:
I'm just curious though, that with my recovery time being around 60 seconds per target, how much improvement would a pin pointer be?

Keep in mind my targets are only 6 inches or above. The only thing I have ever dug below that was a can. I'm sure I'm missing out on deeper targets, but honestly, unless its junk iron or a can, my MD won't really pick it up below 6 inches. I'm still using my first detector, which is what "some" would call junk, it is a Bounty Hunter Tracker 4. But I came into this hobby without knowing how well I, or my family would like it and how much we'd want to spend on a gamble of interest.
Click to expand...

Buried, we were with you at first. Seemed stupid to drop a couple hundred on a machine that could go down 6 inches and get a handheld that read a couple centimeters for half the price. BUT I think the savings is in the fact we spend far less time trying to pinpoint the signal WITH the detector, rather than the pinpointer. We get a signal, Cat is on the machine, if it is shallow I drop down and find it quick through the top and pop it out, often without a whole. If it is deeper the time savings come in that we don't need to worry about that perfect pinpointing with the machine. To ensure I don't damage the item, Im going to dig a slightly larger plug and pop it out, then a quick run around the edges is usually enough to find it.

We are still fairly new, but for example, digging in frozen soil - like I did yesterday - the pinpointer saves A REAL LOT of time because it is so rock hard...high mineralization, and above all quality of machines....I don't think a pinpointer is critical and I do think it can becomes a crutch. I think that without the advent of it there would be a lot more people who start and quit metal detecting.

Worth a try, but I don't think people need to get up in arms about it...I'm about to do some cleaning...I have an upright vacuum and COULD have a small cannister, it would help in some areas - I didn't get that add on and still can clean my house! Just my 2 cents!
 
Surely it's down to personal preference? I have a pin pointer but only use it on rare occasions and normally to locate a very small item! Do you need one? Well, there is no reason why not? Like the boy scout motto says, "Be Prepared!"
 
I have had my garrett pp for two months and I'm still not sure if I really think its necessary. I bought my at pro then the pp a few weeks later. I use it about every 8-10 targets. Not having one the first 1.5 years I think I'm just not in habit of using it. Im a actually thinking of trading it for a sniper coil so I do agree with the op. It seemed like it was a tool I couldn't do without so I purchased it and now out of habit I guess I have to almost make myself use it. I do know I'm not normal though. Hope I helped Good luck and HH to all
 
Your opinion, your preference. Others will be along to recover what you had trouble pinpointing with your coil.

Sent from my A500 using Tapatalk HD
 
Yeah---what they ALLL said!!!I personally use the cen-tech from harbour frieght-which i weatherproofed--and changed the switch--to a on/off type-which suits my needs perfectly--gets almost as deep as garrett2-2.5"----but to each his own--Good luck and HH
 
Not sure anybody needs a $100 propointer, but if it makes locating the target easier, and you can afford it, no reason not to have it.

I use a Fisher pointer. Wouldn't go digging without it. If I'm digging in a sandy area the targets will generally pop right out. But most often when digging in a darker, damper soil clad has turned the color of the soil and has dirt cake to boot. Not so easy to locate.

As someone mentioned, tiny targets would drive me nuts without a pointer.

Like to see you mod, if you can. I have an old stud finder just sitting around.
Might be worth the mod since it has leds for locating.

Thanks,


G
 
I am a VERY old school detectorist, and I resisted getting a Pinpointer for a loooong time. I never needed one before and I found my targets just fine (well, most of them). Then, after reading so many reviews like the ones above, I finally broke down and bought one.

I will NEVER AGAIN hunt the dirt without one if I can ever help it. Yes, they make that much of a difference. You don't have to wave the coil over dirt piles or pick up handfuls of dirt to wave over your detector. It's also so much easier and faster to check if the target is still in the hole or out. Angled coins NEVER pinpoint correctly, it's the nature of EM field.

So what do you do when you have a "dry hole"? Keep digging deeper? Randomly start widening the hole? Give up? A pinpointer will let you know if the target is within a few inches of the side of your hole. They also let you know when you are getting close to help prevent scratching. The first time you gouge a beautiful silver coin you will be wishing you knew exactly where in the hole that was before you felt that scrape with your digger.
 
Good questions

Good discussion too.
I would recommend hunting with a buddy who has one, that's why I bought mine.
Try it for free.
Or you could buy one and then if you don't like it, sell it on here like HullGuitars said.
 
anybody know how fragile these things are? i plan on hunting with the wife and will keep about 20 feet from her. we are going to share a pinpointer and just toss it back and forth as we need it. or should i just buy 2?
 
Buy two for the sake of convenience alone. If you stick to one, I bet it's going to be in the air a lot.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
 
scarfish said:
anybody know how fragile these things are? i plan on hunting with the wife and will keep about 20 feet from her. we are going to share a pinpointer and just toss it back and forth as we need it. or should i just buy 2?
Click to expand...

The Garretts Pro Pointer is built like a tank.

As far as needing a PP, I'll tell a story. I began detecting in 2010 without a PP and refilled several holes without finding the target. It was in a summer in Texas where it was 100 degrees about every day, and the soil color and resultant buried coin color was the same(I didn't know what to expect, I was nearly on day1 of the hobby) so I just gave up after waving dirt and getting hot and got out of the heat. I bit the bullet and ordered the pro Pointer, went back to the holes and found the coins at nearly each hole in under a minute. I won't hunt without one now, I bought a second one as a spare. Another story...I loaned my spare to a new friend I had just met a while back when we'd run into each other in a park. He bought one too after struggling with waving dirt, and the first time he needed service on that PP, he did like I and added a spare as well.

Pinpointers, good ones, are a must IMO. martin
 
This whole convo is blowing my mind... truly one of the most wildest threads ive seen... goodluck once u start digging deep targets there buddy
 
garyo1954 said:
Not sure anybody needs a $100 propointer, but if it makes locating the target easier, and you can afford it, no reason not to have it.

I use a Fisher pointer. Wouldn't go digging without it. If I'm digging in a sandy area the targets will generally pop right out. But most often when digging in a darker, damper soil clad has turned the color of the soil and has dirt cake to boot. Not so easy to locate.

As someone mentioned, tiny targets would drive me nuts without a pointer.

Like to see you mod, if you can. I have an old stud finder just sitting around.
Might be worth the mod since it has leds for locating.

Thanks,


G
Click to expand...

http://www.tomstreasures.com/probe.html

I did this mod. I couldn't find the exact stud finder this guy used, but I did find a ShopPro on ebay for 9.99 --- works up to about an 1" 1/4
 
What surprises me is that no one seems to make one that is close comparison to the Pro Pointer. Everybody has their opinions on detector preferences but when it comes to pointers its pretty much unanimous "ProPointer"!

Come on other manufacturers...make one as good as the PP so the prices can come down!!
 
Ok, you make a good point in a way... I guess this is what I'm really looking for here...


What is the REAL difference between a 16 HF PP vs the 100+ G PP?

Please site some specifics.


a $15.00 timex and a $10000 rolex both tell time
 
just dug 98 pennies out of an area about the size of a basketball, they had turned black, the color of the dirt. I would never have found all of them without a pin pointer. Mine is a modified HF model (I am far from Macgiver) also found 2
sewing needles in the same area with the pin pointer.
 
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