Which pinpointer?

[Western PA 74]

Has anyone tried the $20 pinpointers from eBay? Just wondering how good they are.

 

[CallMeGrey]

I've seen and tried 2 of them that unknowing people bought. They are chinese knockoffs that aren't worth $20 IMHO. I do know that some people have bought one, and having never used a good pinpointer, believe that they work just fine.

 

[randy]

IMHO, the one at Harbor Freight which is made in China and marketed as a stud finder is useless. I forget how much it is, but it was cheap and not worth it. I even use my Garrett Carrot as a stud finder.

But I don't love the Garrett Carrot. I see it as the best house in a really bad neighborhood. I have yet to use a pinpointer that I would endorse, but the Carrot is at least acceptable. It works (more or less).

I would love to see someone (hello ML, XP, Nokta) come out with a really good pinpointer. The world is your oyster, But, perhaps they don't see how lame current pinpointers are, or the problem is harder to solve than it seems.

My pinpointer is definitely the weakest tool in my toolbox, but hope springs eternal.

 

[hoser]

Hey when I first started I had a Whites Bullseye PP. It worked but nothing like the new ones on the market. I also bought a Cen-Tec pinpointer from Harbor Freight for like $16. It worked ok but wasn't long till I switched to the Garrett, and I ain't going back.

 

[Digalicious]

But I don't love the Garrett Carrot. I see it as the best house in a really bad neighborhood. I have yet to use a pinpointer that I would endorse, but the Carrot is at least acceptable. It works (more or less).

I would love to see someone (hello ML, XP, Nokta) come out with a really good pinpointer. The world is your oyster, But, perhaps they don't see how lame current pinpointers are, or the problem is harder to solve than it seems.

Those are interesting comments Randy.

What do you imagine the "holy grail" of pinpointers being like?

 

[rreahard]

I really like my Whites TRX. I wish they were still being made. If/when my TRX craps out I think I'll try one of the XP pinpointers.

 

[bowwinkles]

I would also say that the old TRX is the greatest, and the up the shaft detecting of the carrot makes it the least desirable.

 

[markinswpa]

Has anyone tried the $20 pinpointers from eBay? Just wondering how good they are.

I like the Garrett carrot. IMO you get what you pay for. Forget the 20 bucks knock-offs. Good luck. Mark

 

[Martin_V3i]

I would also say that the old TRX is the greatest, and the up the shaft detecting of the carrot makes it the least desirable.

Which is why I carry both the TRX, plus my Fisher F-Pulse. The Carrot is weak in depth IMO

 

[Western PA 74]

Maybe I'll just save the $20 and get a decent one. Thanks for all the input guys!

 

[too_pointer]

I have always used Garrett's. I have the Garrett Carrot right now, and it is worth the money.
too_

 

[Captain Silver]

Much as I hated the old black Garrett, it was definitely better than the current orange Garrett...My favorite pinpointer is a SunRay probe

 

[Martin_V3i]

Maybe I'll just save the $20 and get a decent one. Thanks for all the input guys!

Do exactly that.

 

[randy]

What do you imagine the "holy grail" of pinpointers being like?

Its hard to say, but I can offer a general comment. Just faster. For me, I'm about efficiency, and I think 80% of my target recovery time is wasted with the pinpointer. My Carrot sometimes has no depth at all, and I have to test it against my digger. Half inch from the digger, no signal, so I have to power cycle it just to fix this. I sent it in to Garrett, and they claimed they fixed this, but they did not. I put it in the hole, no signal, put it near the digger, no signal, power cycle, wash rinse repeat. Very annoying, but it does work in the end.

It falses so much on the most powerful setting that it is useless in mineralized dirt. The mid setting seem to get a dime at no more than 0.5 to 0.75 inches. It needs more range, and needs more targeted range on dimes. I think what I don't like about it is that the field comes from the middle of the device rather than the tip, but devices claiming to be tip-active (and I forget which ones now) don't seem to work as well.

Its best feature is its ruggedness, but from what I understand, the orange material is less rugged than the old green material. Google "carrot condom" to see what others have done to fix this problem. Mine is not worn down yet, but it will be in a matter of time in our rocky soil. I just don't have the patience to deal with another after market fix for something like this, but it is much more rugged than the cheap knockoffs being discussed. That Harbor Freight one didn't last a month in the field for me.

So, "holy grail", that means pie in the sky wishlist: waterproof (Garrett is now), rugged (like the old Garrett green ones), orange (I like the Carrot because I was always losing the green one in the grass, but fixed that by tying pink surveyor's tape to it), tip-active targeting that works well, more range, and the real holy grail, discrimination. Show me if the target is iron like the old Sunray probes did before I get to it. I get the technical challenges to a motion discrimination pinpointer, but I know enough engineering to know that it is possible. It just may cost alot, but for me, it would be worth it to have this. You said "holy grail" after all

 

[jimther]

Here's a pic of my first pinpointer from about 25+ years ago. Bought it from White's of New England distributor. I made my own leather holster for it back then, and Mike White asked me to make more holsters for him to sell in his shop. I have used the black Garrett AT pinpointer for maybe eight years now.

I still have the MERLIN to use as an emergency backup

 

[Xxray]

Here's a pic of my first pinpointer from about 25+ years ago. Bought it from White's of New England distributor. I made my own leather holster for it back then, and Mike White asked me to make more holsters for him to sell in his shop. I have used the black Garrett AT pinpointer for maybe eight years now.

I still have the MERLIN to use as an emergency backup

View attachment 575418

I had that one, only mine was called the Sherlock, still laying around here somewhere. Also had a vibra-probe, a nifty pinpointer shaped like a gun, which may cause some concern detecting schools.

OP stay far, far away from the cheap knockoffs. They are apt to be sloppy and interfere with your detector, and prone to breakage and malfunction. Also, you are encouraging and supporting 3rd world Asian rip off artists. I don't see how much better a pinpointer can be than the orange Garret. Waterproof, very rugged and alerts to metal superbly. Some say its not sensitive enough, if it was any more sensitive than it is it would defeat its own purpose, you don't want a pinpointer that will alert you to a penny 5" away, about 2" is perfect for me, then you know you are really close to a small metal object.

Outside of that I have tried the XP, nice little pinpointer but the audio alert is very weak, to the point you can barely hear it, and not hear it at all around waves or traffic. Also tried the Nokta pinpointer and it is nice and full featured, but it is huge to the point that you could use it for self defense if you were attacked while detecting. I would only recommend that one if used alot in the water, it even has [an optional] little coil that attaches to it, would be great for scuba/snorkel.

 

[Dig-on]

I will be the odd man out here. I have been using a Treasure probe 580 for many years. I love the tip only detection. I also like the vibration only.

 

[Grizz]

The only one I have experience with is the ML Pro 35 and I like it, but don't have anything to compare it to. My only disappointment with it was when I tried to use it to find lead shotgun pellets in some grouse I shot, it didn't work for that for some reason

 

[Jski2011]

when I decided to get into the hobby, I started purchasing the tools I thought I would need so I initially purchased a Garrett carrot the Legend detector I purchased came with the Nokta pulse dive pin pointer, so I admit I do not have a lot of experience either detecting or with pin pointers, but I have used both in the field within the limited amount of time I have in the field and in my experience with both I prefer the Nokta pulse dive over the carrot YMMV

 

[jimmy clark]

Its hard to say, but I can offer a general comment. Just faster. For me, I'm about efficiency, and I think 80% of my target recovery time is wasted with the pinpointer. My Carrot sometimes has no depth at all, and I have to test it against my digger. Half inch from the digger, no signal, so I have to power cycle it just to fix this. I sent it in to Garrett, and they claimed they fixed this, but they did not. I put it in the hole, no signal, put it near the digger, no signal, power cycle, wash rinse repeat. Very annoying, but it does work in the end.

It falses so much on the most powerful setting that it is useless in mineralized dirt. The mid setting seem to get a dime at no more than 0.5 to 0.75 inches. It needs more range, and needs more targeted range on dimes. I think what I don't like about it is that the field comes from the middle of the device rather than the tip, but devices claiming to be tip-active (and I forget which ones now) don't seem to work as well.

Its best feature is its ruggedness, but from what I understand, the orange material is less rugged than the old green material. Google "carrot condom" to see what others have done to fix this problem. Mine is not worn down yet, but it will be in a matter of time in our rocky soil. I just don't have the patience to deal with another after market fix for something like this, but it is much more rugged than the cheap knockoffs being discussed. That Harbor Freight one didn't last a month in the field for me.

So, "holy grail", that means pie in the sky wishlist: waterproof (Garrett is now), rugged (like the old Garrett green ones), orange (I like the Carrot because I was always losing the green one in the grass, but fixed that by tying pink surveyor's tape to it), tip-active targeting that works well, more range, and the real holy grail, discrimination. Show me if the target is iron like the old Sunray probes did before I get to it. I get the technical challenges to a motion discrimination pinpointer, but I know enough engineering to know that it is possible. It just may cost alot, but for me, it would be worth it to have this. You said "holy grail" after all

When you find a target, an you use the button to shrank the sig. then you need to reset the pointer by clicking the power button a couple of times to retune it back to normal, at least that's what I have to do with my carrot.