Myers Depot Metal Detectors

Pinpointers

R

Rollie

Full Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2016
Messages
190
Location
Ames,IA
I'm looking forward to getting back at it in a few weeks. We have been south for the winter and I don't do any detecting in the winter. But in a few weeks we fly north, and I'm ready to get going again.

I bought a cheap pinpointer last summer. It is one of those Harbor Freight nail finder type pinpointer. In my research I found that there is the "why pay more" crowd, and then there is the "don't waste your money crowd", so I saw it and for the price I decided to go for it. Actually, it worked pretty well last summer. But in order for the pinpointer to pinpoint anything it had to be touching it. Or darn near touching it. I did a lot of stirring with it, and it found items if they were in the stir, but I couldn't just pass it over a little plug or pile. Do more expensive pinpointers have a range or a depth, or do they all have to be touching to indicate a target? It would be nice to have something other than the detector itself to pass over a plug to see if something is in there. If it is the case that it has to be touching, I'm happy with what I have.
 
Yes, the 'real' pinpointers have depth. The White's TRX, the Garrett 'Carrot', and the Nokta all seem to get about 3". That may or may not sound like much, but it's enough to get to the center of a typical plug, and enough to tell you if your hole if off a bit.

I went with the White's TRX, for a couple of reasons.
First is it can be 'ratcheted' down as you get closer. Ie, when it signals, that means you're about 3" away. Press the button, and the range reduces, so you can actually pinpont where the target is. The TRX has 9 steps of ratcheting, but I never need to go passed 3 to really zero in on the target.
Secondly, it seems to be built like a tank, and is waterproof. I've dunked mine into saltwater holes, and it is still performing flawlessly. I've also seen videos of a guy beating it on a tree and no damage to the unit resulted.
Third, and this is something lots of folks think is a downside to the TRX, but unlike the Garrett, there is a break in the signal from the tip to the back. The reason I like this is if the target is in a sidewall, as I slowly lower it into the hole, there will be a break in the signal, indicating the tip is now past the target. I have found this to be very helpful in shortening my retrieval times in some instances.

I also like the fact that there is a lanyard loop built into the battery compartment cap, vs. the Garrett that requires an add-on metal ring of sorts to be able to secure a lanyard to it. At ~$150, I don't want to walk off without it, or have it drop by accident.

The strengths of the Garrett from my research is; it has a better (brighter) LED light; is all orange, making it easier to see; has a digging rib. Those things weren't very important to me, and the comparison videos I saw out there had the TRX winning in depth, which was my #1 priority.

I also didn't like all the threads/reports of Garrett failures, albeit their customer service is supposed to be great. I had one need to call White's about mine; the holster snap broke, and they sent me a new holster in 4 days. No complaints there.

If I were buying another one, it would be a TRX again.
 
They all work.

I have owned a few and like em all. Right now Im using a Minelab. Garret makes a darn good pinpointer. TRX is deep and very sensitive. You can snipe gold with it. But not real handy in a trashy park.

I think you will like the feel of the original black garret. The TRX, garret Carrot, and nakota all require a extra button push or a wait time to use while it beeps its ready. These are all deal breakers for me as I like to hunt. Not stand there with a plastic turd in my hand waiting for it to get ready or requiring me to push buttons multiple times.

Pin pointer doesnt need to be deep, unless your digging deep holes. My take on them anyway. The Harbor Freight can be wired to just stay on while you use it. Just the sens button will need adjusted every so often. Good Luck.
 
Here comes a can of worms... :worms:

I am OLD school. I tried to use one a few times. I was faster using my coil. When I cut a plug and flip it over. I run my coil over the plug. If it is their , I use my screwdriver to work it out. If not in the plug, I scan the hole. If their, I put down my cloth for my dirt. I dig a little deeper. I grab a hand full of dirt and pass it over my coil that is beside my hole. If not their, I put the dirt on the rag and dig a little more. Dirt in my hand. BEEP BEEP. I have it. Now, I dump half the dirt in my other hand and pass the coil again. I keep breaking this down till I have my target. In real life, It only takes me a matter of a few seconds to do this. After 40 years of practice , It gets very easy and fast. I also use a screw driver I ground down to probe into the ground when I know it is shallow. I can pop a coin out pritty quick with that screwdriver.... So, I don't like them pointers. Just not for me.. My .10 cents worth.. KEN
 
Rawhide said:
I have owned a few and like em all. Right now Im using a Minelab. Garret makes a darn good pinpointer. TRX is deep and very sensitive. You can snipe gold with it. But not real handy in a trashy park.

I think you will like the feel of the original black garret. The TRX, garret Carrot, and nakota all require a extra button push or a wait time to use while it beeps its ready. These are all deal breakers for me as I like to hunt. Not stand there with a plastic turd in my hand waiting for it to get ready or requiring me to push buttons multiple times.

Pin pointer doesnt need to be deep, unless your digging deep holes. My take on them anyway. The Harbor Freight can be wired to just stay on while you use it. Just the sens button will need adjusted every so often. Good Luck.
Click to expand...

From grabbing the pinpointer, to pressing the button, my TRX is ready by the time I bring it to the hole. It literally takes less then a second for it to be ready. Just sayin'.
 
I use the Minelab pinpointer, cost me 175AUD (126USD) new. You can change the sensitivity of it, you probably could be able to do this with other pinpointers as well but I've only familiar with Minelab's.

I've seen some pinpointers make a consistently loud beep, but the Minelab Pinpointer's beep increases in loudness the closer you get to the target. That just helps with knowing if you should dig deeper or not. :)
 
My next pinpointer will be a TRX. The Garrett works well but its side detection tizzies are wanting me to try something else. :yes:
 
KirkS said:
From grabbing the pinpointer, to pressing the button, my TRX is ready by the time I bring it to the hole. It literally takes less then a second for it to be ready. Just sayin'.
Click to expand...

Actually one of the Whites personel posted 3 seconds to do it's full ground balance. I'd never heard that before, or if it is stringent.
 
Martin_V3i said:
Actually one of the Whites personel posted 3 seconds to do it's full ground balance. I'd never heard that before, or if it is stringent.
Click to expand...

I never ground balance my TRX. I run it at full strength to start and if needed, I quickly tap the button and ratchet it down to zero in. I would buy another TRX in a heartbeat if I needed to.
 
I have one of the black Garretts.. despise it.. can't tell you the times I have cut my plug.. stuck my pinpointer in and dug 10 inches deep to find a piece of wire when my target was 4 inches deep in the side of my hole...!! I bought a sunray for my etrac and love it!!!
 
The Garrett carrot for me, had no problems with it and the time or two I've accidentally left it at home were a pain.
 
KirkS said:
Yes, the 'real' pinpointers have depth. The White's TRX, the Garrett 'Carrot', and the Nokta all seem to get about 3". That may or may not sound like much, but it's enough to get to the center of a typical plug, and enough to tell you if your hole if off a bit.

I went with the White's TRX, for a couple of reasons.
First is it can be 'ratcheted' down as you get closer. Ie, when it signals, that means you're about 3" away. Press the button, and the range reduces, so you can actually pinpont where the target is. The TRX has 9 steps of ratcheting, but I never need to go passed 3 to really zero in on the target.
Secondly, it seems to be built like a tank, and is waterproof. I've dunked mine into saltwater holes, and it is still performing flawlessly. I've also seen videos of a guy beating it on a tree and no damage to the unit resulted.
Third, and this is something lots of folks think is a downside to the TRX, but unlike the Garrett, there is a break in the signal from the tip to the back. The reason I like this is if the target is in a sidewall, as I slowly lower it into the hole, there will be a break in the signal, indicating the tip is now past the target. I have found this to be very helpful in shortening my retrieval times in some instances.

I also like the fact that there is a lanyard loop built into the battery compartment cap, vs. the Garrett that requires an add-on metal ring of sorts to be able to secure a lanyard to it. At ~$150, I don't want to walk off without it, or have it drop by accident.

The strengths of the Garrett from my research is; it has a better (brighter) LED light; is all orange, making it easier to see; has a digging rib. Those things weren't very important to me, and the comparison videos I saw out there had the TRX winning in depth, which was my #1 priority.

I also didn't like all the threads/reports of Garrett failures, albeit their customer service is supposed to be great. I had one need to call White's about mine; the holster snap broke, and they sent me a new holster in 4 days. No complaints there.

If I were buying another one, it would be a TRX again.
Click to expand...

I was originally leaning towards a Garrett Carrot when I was ready to upgrade, but the feature (in bold above) has me now considering the White's TRX.
 
All of the Garrett pinpointers work well. If you don't need waterproof, the propointer II and the original propointer are very dependable.

One trick: If I am having trouble locating a target in a open hole, I take the pointer outside the edge of the hole and slowly trace completely around the perimeter, and then slowly move into the hole, keeping the pointer against the edge and moving around the edge as I move the pointer deeper. This way I can tell if the target is in the side of the hole, or deeper and in the center. If you're off-center, but get a signal in the hole, it is pretty easy to figure that out.
No fun at all if you dig a deep hole and the target is a half inch to one side of the hole.:digginahole:
 
You forgot about the "buy the cheap one, fight with its ineffectiveness, fix the cheap one and finally relent and do the thing they should have done in the first case" crowd

I've never owned the HF, Pinpointers, but before I joined and was a lurker, it seemed like there were 2-3 new threads a week with people sharing how to fix, mod or just frustration with the HF or cheapie pinpointer.

Everyone wants to save money, I get it. But it is worth its weight in gold!
 
Mikey48 said:
All of the Garrett pinpointers work well. If you don't need waterproof, the propointer II and the original propointer are very dependable.

One trick: If I am having trouble locating a target in a open hole, I take the pointer outside the edge of the hole and slowly trace completely around the perimeter, and then slowly move into the hole, keeping the pointer against the edge and moving around the edge as I move the pointer deeper. This way I can tell if the target is in the side of the hole, or deeper and in the center. If you're off-center, but get a signal in the hole, it is pretty easy to figure that out. No fun at all if you dig a deep hole and the target is a half inch to one side of the hole.:digginahole:
Click to expand...

Ya know, that method will be the exact thing you'll do with the TRX anyway if the target is up in the sidewall. IMO the Carrot is an all in one compared to the TRX excluding the extra depth of the TRX. That depth, which does extent outward to the side right at the tip, makes for needing to "swirl" too.

Thing about the Carrot that beats the TRX hands down is the final search in the pile of dirt outta the hole. The TRX gets tedious there with it's narrow beam. Full probe side detection makes the Carrot king then. Full retrieval time for the treasure bag can easily be faster with the Carrot.

All it takes is a little self teaching for how to use the side detection. No pointer can simply be jammed into any hole and be expected to steer right to it's target unless it's a textbook target resting right in the bottom of the hole.
 
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