Pro pointer issues

[61Cadillac]

My Pro Pointer is starting to have a little trouble turning on and off at times and gets a little chattery once in a while when it isn't even near any metal. I've heard the problem is caused by dirt getting inside the unit through the speaker holes and around the switch cover. Im going to send it in for service when the season is over at the end of October, but if i can fix the issue on my own until l send it in it sure would be a lot less annoying to ise for another month. Has anyone taken one of these appartment on their own and been able to clean it out and repair it? Looking for tips before I just start disassembling it.

[stewart73]

Join the possessed Propointer club. You can try a new battery and also putting a coin or piece of cardboard inside the end cap so the battery is more firmly pressed against the contacts. Other than that, I would send it in. Garret is well aware of the many problems with these units and is usually pretty good about it.

[dogpound]

can't help ya out with a fix except for suggesting to call garrett. my propointer has been a work horse for over 2 yrs now, the first thing i did when i got it was cover the speaker hole with electrical tape ta keep out dirt and moisture (plus it quiets the unit down). the past 6 months mine has been acting up(gettin chatty) but it seems to fix itself once i shut it down and restart it.

[ga5150]

I've only had mine since March, and the first thing I did was tape all the way around the speaker. Within the last week, it's began chattering just like all of your posts above mention. It can be nowhere near any metal and it'll be chirping away. If I turn it on and off a few times it'll finally work enough for me to find my target. It's starting to slow me down and become outright annoying.

To answer the OP's question-no I have no idea how to take it apart and fix it. I'm hoping to see an answer here as well.

Rodney

[Patton]

Don't know if anyone else does this but I clean out the speaker slots with a toothpick after every hunt. I'm so old that I need to HEAR the sound as well as feel the vibration.

[goodmore]

I filled my speaker holes with Silicone. Mine gets fits every now and then. I just turn it back off and then on again. It seems to settle down. I tried to replace it with the Minelab Profind, but I just like the Garrett better.

[reyzer]

looks like i will be sending mine back next week. it is doing sort of the same thing.
is there any other pointer that is more reliable, just cant see having another pro pointer as a back up.

[61Cadillac]

Thanks for the in put on this guys. I thought i had read on here somewhere about someone taking theirs appart and cleaning it and that it fixed it right up. (Or maybe i only thought i did when i was reading the forum after takng my Ambien....) I plan on sending mine in to get fixed, I just don't want to loose a week & a half with it when I've only got about 6 more weeks in the season. I will be buying a second one this winter to have as a back up and so when friends go out and use me older detector they will have one to use. I might try the Minelab pointer for the 2nd one. It's a little more pricey but it would be good to have the two to compare. I like that the Minelab one has a couple of different operational modes too.

[OZARKS]

Mine does that when the batteries are low or bad. New batteries get it back to good

The speaker holes on mine are covered with electrical tape, quiets it down but I can still hear it with headphones on. Works great! And, no need to clean the holes in the speaker!

[rwj]

Mine was only a few days old and it got real chatty. New battery and it was free of dirt in the speaker area. I turned it off then on again and it reset itself. I am suprised a rep from garrett doesn't read about all of these complaints and address the issues.

[HarveyH48]

Don't know about world wide, but they've had plenty of return for service, just from this forum...

There are at least two threads, where the PP was disassembled, the more recent had photos of the guts. Seems like the switch assembly is spring loaded, and a little tricky. Parts fly everywhere, as you slide the PCB out. There was a tip for avoiding the search for those tiny parts, and a spring, but figured for $127.50, just isn't worth the adventure. Garrett has fixed/replaced all failed PP, simply for the cost of shipping it to them. If you call, they might even send you a shipping label... They will make it right, in two weeks or less.

[Dirt Nuker]

Add me to the "Possessed Pinpointer" club. I think I'll try the nickel trick as well as electrical tape over the speaker.