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How important is a pin pointer

tomfl

New Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2013
Messages
18
I see lots of youtube vids where guys use a big MD to do a gross search for an object and then use a pin pointer to narrow down the search area. But I also see lots of youtube vids (mostly on beaches) where as soon as a gross search locates something a scoop is used to dig and dump and then the dumped sand is checked to see if it got the object, then another scoop if needed.

I am not sure how important it is to have a pin pointer unless you are in a place where you really have to limit how much you can dig and need to make as small a hole as possible.

How many of you guys use a pin pointer compared to just using a big MD.:?:
 
I don't use one on the beach at all.

Sent from my Armor_3 using Tapatalk
 
I find it improves target recovery time. I can easily dig/recover twice as many targets with a pin-pointer than without. Also, it helps you avoid striking a target with your digging tool. So, if you can afford one, it's worth having. That said, you're on your own for deciding on which one. I have the Fisher F-pulse and it's love/hate relationship. Great when it works, worthless when it doesn't, flavor of the day predictability.

Good Luck!

JP
 
It is very important. You can do without one, people didn't use them for many years detecting because they didn't exist. But as others have said it really reduces the target recovery time and helps you dig the accurately for the target so less digging and searching. When hunting for coins in a school/park type setting I get cut a very small hole right where it needs to be. Which saves abuse to my body and makes it easy to leave the area just as it was before I arrived.

And a good pinpointer is also important. I bought and used one of the generic orange pinpointers from China and it had very little range, maybe an inch and a half tops. With that I couldn't find the target before digging because it didn't have the range.

And keep in mind that when digging unless your target is actually made of silver/gold it will come out of the ground about the same color as dirt. So even after digging sometimes the target is a bit difficult to find.
 
The "juice" in metal detecting is about saving time and doing less work/damage to the ground. This is why so many detectorists focus on the newest tech - so they can ignore more trash and focus on more treasure.

A pinpointer continues this idea, such that it allow you to spend less time searching a hole or plug. On the beach, this is less of an issue, as your beach scoop and gravity will remove all of the sand with little effort or time needed. So all that's left are a few items that were too big to pass through your scoop's holes. Your fingers and eyes are able to do the rest when picking out the metal object.

In the dirt, using a scoop in this manner isn't possible.

In my experience, a pinpointer is able to save me...say around 2-5 minutes of searching per hole/plug. If I were to dig 10 holes in a metal detecting outing, that's 20-50 minutes I can spend searching more ground or deciding to dig that iffy signal. In other words, if I have 3 hours for a metal detecting session, the pinpointer just increased my search ability by between 11% and 28%. Think about that, a $80-$130 piece of technology increase my metal detecting ability/efficiency by as much as 28%.

So yeah, pinpointers are kind of a big deal.
 
Very important unless you're a screwdriver poppin' cladder with skills akin to Mudpuppy.

If I, by chance, forget my pinpointer... I turn around and go home to retrieve it before I dirt hunt anywhere.

Not too helpful on the beach when you have a scoop. I do see some of the dry beach hunters use them on the YouTube though.
 
I don't usually carry one on the beach. But I would not try dirt fishing without one. Greatly speeds up the recovery and you don't tear your plug up looking for a target. A good pin pointer is well worth the money. Don't buy one of the knockoffs. Quality is where it is at.
 
Eliminate the sand scoop completely, and I would ALWAYS use a handheld pointer, in every venue. As stated earlier, I would turn around and go home to retrieve my pinpointer if I realized that I left mine home.
 
I know affordable pinpointers are relatively new as far back as MD'ing goes but I'm not sure I would would be interested in the hobby without one. I briefly started with a just a metal detector but it took me so much more effort and time to find my target without one, not to mention really ugly holes in the grass. Probably the veteran guys who are really sharp pin pointers to begin with wouldn't need one but I would say it's not essential but highly recommended.
 
Prior to ordering the Simplex I did not have a pinpointer. I ordered a pinpointer with the new machine and now I can't see MD without it.
 
I'm a newbie, but I bought a Garrett 'Carrot' because all those guys on TV use them. I figure if the Pros use it, there must be a good reason. And, it makes sense to me, to have something to identify an object when everything looks like dirt. Just my $0.02.

b/r

RB
 
If my pin pointer broke I would immediately order another. I hunted for about two years without one. Way too long.
 
I operated with only my Garrett AT Max metal detector (w/Z lynk earphones) for about a year. That device has a surface pinpointer feature to help center over the strongest signal position for a given target and a target depth estimator. It worked well for two dimensions. If I had a deeper hole it couldn't couldn't locate the target (or targets!!!) as surely, particularly if the targets were in very close horizontal proximity but significantly separated vertically (target size, geometry and attitude also being factors). When I bought a Garrett AT Propointer (also Z-lynkable), it helped considerably for sorting out targets vertically (I always re-scan the hole after pulling a target) and focusing any additional shovel/trowel work. I find that I can actually use it to surface survey for any nearby shallow targets that I missed with the AT Max MD, when set the Propointer to maximum sensitivity. It can get a bit crazy in junky areas as the pinpointer will scream at me sometimes over something shallow when I just set it aside without turning it off while working in a hole. It doesn't seem to discriminate at all.

I have also been having some fun with another device. It functions as a close in pinpointer. It has a limited range (inside of 4"). It is actually a hand held building wall metal detector under the Zircon brand name for use as a stud finder (nails and screws), wire finder and pipe finder to map out service lines inside walls.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Zircon-MetalliScanner-m40-Handheld-Electronic-Metal-Locator/19534266

The Propointer can reach out a bit farther than the Metalliscanner m40. The m40 lets me know that I'm getting close with good precision. It also runs on 9 volt batteries, but they seem to last a lot longer than with the Propointer. It's a decent confirmation device because the Propointer occasionally seems to have a personality, particularly when the battery is getting near the bottom of the barrel. Sometimes it seems to go squirrely and squeak at everything. I frequently turn the Propointer on and off, if for no reason than to conserve battery. I also put electricians tape over the knob on the top of the device to keep dirt out of that area because you need to have clean threads to keep a good seal after battery changes. A trick I learned from others is to put the tip of the Propointer into the dirt that you are wanting to scan, when you turn it on, as a kind of "ground balancing" or environmental calibration.
 
I took my pin pointer for granted for a long time. I hunt mostly parks and fields, but my Garret Carrot recently ran out of batteries and I didn't have a spare. Boy, did I learn how important it was to me when I didn't have it! Just makes things faster and with a lot less mess. Don't really need it at the beach though...
 
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