Which pinpointer?

[oldkoot]

I bought a Minelab Vanquish 440 with built in pinpointer. Sometimes it's dead on. Other times it has a huge area 6" in diameter for an object. Just yesterday I was digging in my gravel driveway and had a nice small area pinpointed. I dug down 6" and didn't find anything, but the 440 still pinpointed right over the hole. I dug deeper, still nothing. The 440 pinpointed on the edge of the hole? So I dug out the edge and about 3" down I found a 1972 quarter. I've read about iron halos and how they will give false indication. Do clad quarters also have halos and give off false indications? Will a hand held pinpointer be more accurate than the 440 pinpointer? Makes me wonder if I should have bought the 340 and a good pinpointer?

just so you know all or most metal detectors have a pin point function LOL

 

[oldkoot]

I'm definitely looking for one that just detects on the tip. Not up the sides, that kinda defeats the purpose. What if you point it into a hole and it detects metal, but it's actually reading off the side of the pinpointer? Could be detecting 360 degrees around the pointer.

just a heads
The Quest X Pointer Max is a tip only pin pointer, I have two of them and like them both the last one I purchased is the 2023 model that comes with what quest calls the Magic Holster, which while out detecting you turn the X Pointer Max on and then just put it in the holster while it is on once in the holster it goes into stand by mode when you remove it from the holster it automatically turns back on and ready to pin point, it is also a discriminating pin pointer, which works great it has visual I.D as well as tone I.D to tell you if a target you are pin pointing is ferrous or non ferrous.

 

[Sorthious]

I keep hearing people talk about the depth a target can be detected at with the expensive pinpointers, but, as is implied in the name, the goal is to pinpoint , not to give me a larger area to search. In my opinion, I'd rather have a pinpointer that doesn't start beeping/chirping until it gets within 1-3" of the target. My Kuman(I think this used to be GP Pointers) does this, and when I'm actually touching the metal, it does it's fastest of 3 beep speeds. That's all I need a pinpointer to do. As far as discriminating, I use my metal detector to tell me what is in the hole. I guess if I were in a really trashy area, and the plug I've dug had multiple ferrous items in it, in addition to a non-ferrous item(s), I could see the need to have a pinpointer that discriminates.

Most posts I'm reading, however, are just people saying, "Company X has the best pinpointer", but they never say why it's the best. I know there's the old adage, "You get what you pay for!", but I don't think this holds true as much as it used to; though there are exceptions. Not everyone can a afford a Garret, F-Pulse, Minelab,etc., pinpointer. So, I think it's important that people know which cheap pinpointers are worth it, and which aren't. It's really hard to find honest reviews about cheap pinpointers. Most people just want to say how great Brand X is, while saying how crappy Generic Brand X is, and, more often than not, they don't do any real comparisons. Personally, I'd rather sink my money into getting a better detector than a better pinpointer.

@oldkoot, It sounds like the Quest X Pointer has some unique features that definitely differentiate it from cheap poinpointers! I especially like the stand-by mode while in the holster. I don't, however, like the idea of having the power source built-in. If something goes wrong with it there won't be an easy fix for it; i.e. the USB connectors get bent or a short develops internally. Anyway, the pinpointer you cited definitely has features available that the cheap ones don't!

 

[Sojourner57]

just so you know all or most metal detectors have a pin point function LOL

I was looking at several before I bought the Vanquish. The others didn't list a pinpointer. I may have missed it. I've been known to overlook stuff. I get focused, tunnel vision.

 

[Jski2011]

I keep hearing people talk about the depth a target can be detected at with the expensive pinpointers, but, as is implied in the name, the goal is to pinpoint , not to give me a larger area to search. In my opinion, I'd rather have a pinpointer that doesn't start beeping/chirping until it gets within 1-3" of the target. My Kuman(I think this used to be GP Pointers) does this, and when I'm actually touching the metal, it does it's fastest of 3 beep speeds. That's all I need a pinpointer to do. As far as discriminating, I use my metal detector to tell me what is in the hole. I guess if I were in a really trashy area, and the plug I've dug had multiple ferrous items in it, in addition to a non-ferrous item(s), I could see the need to have a pinpointer that discriminates.

Most posts I'm reading, however, are just people saying, "Company X has the best pinpointer", but they never say why it's the best. I know there's the old adage, "You get what you pay for!", but I don't think this holds true as much as it used to; though there are exceptions. Not everyone can a afford a Garret, F-Pulse, Minelab,etc., pinpointer. So, I think it's important that people know which cheap pinpointers are worth it, and which aren't. It's really hard to find honest reviews about cheap pinpointers. Most people just want to say how great Brand X is, while saying how crappy Generic Brand X is, and, more often than not, they don't do any real comparisons. Personally, I'd rather sink my money into getting a better detector than a better pinpointer.

@oldkoot, It sounds like the Quest X Pointer has some unique features that definitely differentiate it from cheap poinpointers! I especially like the stand-by mode while in the holster. I don't, however, like the idea of having the power source built-in. If something goes wrong with it there won't be an easy fix for it; i.e. the USB connectors get bent or a short develops internally. Anyway, the pinpointer you cited definitely has features available that the cheap ones don't!

you make a very good point, I am very new to MDing so YMMV, my pulse dive pin pointer came with my Legend pro pack and is the first pin pointer that I have used, although it does what it is supposed to do I find the switching system a bit difficult to use especially when wearing gloves, a friend has the Garrette pro point II which he let me try what I found was the ease of use compared to the pulse dive, specifically the switch system, easily turn on and off which in my opinion makes a big difference in which pin pointer I choose to use, and is also waterproof if that matters.

so when hunting assuming you have pin pointed with your machine and have dug a plug a lot of the time your target is very discolored and hard to spot which is why we use a pin pointer, I find as you 1-3"is what is needed so in my opinion ease of use and is what made the difference for me,

 

[Xxray]

I bought a Minelab Vanquish 440 with built in pinpointer. Sometimes it's dead on. Other times it has a huge area 6" in diameter for an object. Just yesterday I was digging in my gravel driveway and had a nice small area pinpointed. I dug down 6" and didn't find anything, but the 440 still pinpointed right over the hole. I dug deeper, still nothing. The 440 pinpointed on the edge of the hole? So I dug out the edge and about 3" down I found a 1972 quarter. I've read about iron halos and how they will give false indication. Do clad quarters also have halos and give off false indications? Will a hand held pinpointer be more accurate than the 440 pinpointer? Makes me wonder if I should have bought the 340 and a good pinpointer?

Coin was possibly on an angle, which deflects the waves that are hitting it on a corresponding angle, and can lead to errant pinpoint . But you just said it pinpointed on the edge of the hole and thats where it was at, so I don't know. Thats what hand held pinpointers are for, targets often lie within the wall, and if you aren't too far off, it will alert you to them.

 

[denny45]

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

I love the sunray probe on my minelab explorer xs. Still works great!

 

[Diga]

Here's two alternate ways to pinpoint:

The first method is called "detune" pinpointing. For detuning, you hone in on the target, then only move off of the target by about 1 or 2 inches, then press the pinpoint button and go back over the target. This will "detune" out most of the target's signal, so that instead of getting that long, eardrum shattering pinpoint noise, you'll get a very short "blip" sound. When you hear that short blip, stay on it and move the coil slightly forward and back. The target will then be under the center of the coil. It's easy and fast to do, but sounds much harder when writing it out. Be careful though, because if you press the pinpoint button while directly over the target, you can detune out the whole target, and then you won't hear anything .

The second method is the "wiggle" method. For the wiggle method, you hone in on the target as you normally do, then do very short wiggles while moving the coil back. When you lose the signal, the target is just in front of the tip of the coil. You can do the same with a forward wiggle, and the target will be just in front of the back of the coil tip.

 

[oldkoot]

Here's two alternate ways to pinpoint:

The first method is called "detune" pinpointing. For detuning, you hone in on the target, then only move off of the target by about 1 or 2 inches, then press the pinpoint button and go back over the target. This will "detune" out most of the target's signal, so that instead of getting that long, eardrum shattering pinpoint noise, you'll get a very short "blip" sound. When you hear that short blip, stay on it and move the coil slightly forward and back. The target will then be under the center of the coil. It's easy and fast to do, but sounds much harder when writing it out. Be careful though, because if you press the pinpoint button while directly over the target, you can detune out the whole target, and then you won't hear anything .

The second method is the "wiggle" method. For the wiggle method, you hone in on the target as you normally do, then do very short wiggles while moving the coil back. When you lose the signal, the target is just in front of the tip of the coil. You can do the same with a forward wiggle, and the target will be just in front of the back of the coil tip.

great tip, I use that method all the time, although I have not tried it with the Legend yet and have not really found that I need to with the Legend, the pin point feature on the Legend has always seemed spot on to me with the Legend, the target always in just ahead of the stem and dead center of which ever coil I am using at the moment, the 6 inch coil is pretty much the same on the Legend

 

[Sojourner57]

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.

I've got a stud finder, any chance they will work as a metal detector? LOL