pinpointers; hot ground; interference with VLF detectors

Two shortcomings I have encountered with pinpointers in general have been reacting to hot ground during my two trips to Culpeper, VA and creating interference that I hear on my VLF detectors.
I don't know the technology of the various pinpointers and perhaps someone can school me, here, on them. Are they VLF or PI or something else entirely?

Many detectors offer frequency offset in an effort to eliminate interference from other close-by detectors, but in my experience, this does not work for eliminating interference between the detector and the pinpointer.

If someone wants to enter the pinpoint market, or distance themselves from competitors in that market, providing some means of eliminating interference with detectors would be a welcomed innovation.

Some current pinpointers manufacturers claim to be able to detune so that highly mineralized ground does not create a target signal in the pinpointer. In my experience they have not been entirely successful in accomplishing this. So this, too, would seem to be another opportunity for achieving separation in a market that is becoming more crowded.

What do you say about this?

Thanks,

Wayne

Pleasant Garden, NC
AT Max, Nokta Impact, MX Sport, Nokta FORS Relic, GPX 4800, Infinium, Racer, Deus, F75SE, Nautilus DMC II (order of acquisition, last to first)

Does an archeologist argue with a plow? A bureaucrat with a bulldozer?

I asked Whites about this same problem because I had seen Videos were the TRX messed with peoples detectors and was not that it was not an issue but the videos said otherwise any way I decided stay with the Bullseye II for a few reasons, 1) it Runs at 36khz so it does not interfere with my MXT that runs at 13.889khz and 2) because it runs at 36khz it can see bits down to 0.02 grams, and 3) I don't need a pin pointer to find coins at 4 inches because I use the detector for that, and 4) I can use it for other tasks because it is 100% variable so I have been able to find a single screw head in a wall,. and it never has issues with Hot Ground, I also tried it on a magnetic sign that Ground balances at 86 to 87 on the GND Meter, I know the new slim line models are Cool but there are a lot of good reasons not to buy them,

If you want a good PI / Waterproof Pin Pointer the there is only one I would buy and that is the Vibra Probe 580,

Check this page out, Scroll down to the 3rd row and you will see it, There are also no switches to wear out and in my opinion this is the best of the best,

Good luck, Hope this helps,

John.

[www.seriousdetecting.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/30/2016 07:55PM by auminesweeper.

Some good questions Wayne.

I have always been both interested and fascinated with just how different manufacturers and different models of detectors isolate their detectors electronics from EMI.

What really got me interested in this was when I witnessed my original f75 SE model picking up my Garrett pro pointer with it even turned off.

I do know,,,pulse detectors,,don't play well with it seems most Vlf detectors.

I say this because I used my ATX one time and a gent was trying to use his Blisstool V5,,, he had to get a lonnnnnnng ways from me to get his unit even close to being stable.

Also it seems electronics are limited in pinpointer s for obvious reasons-- cost and weight.

I wouldn't expect much depth out of any of my pinpointers in super hot soil,,,this just basing this off of depth achieved with a Vlf detector (most).

This could also be the reason we see some folks who use PI units looking for gold to actually use something like a gold bug or at gold to check dirt spoils with vs using s pinpointer.

We all have our favorites for different reasons. I love the TRX. I love the depth. It interferes with some detectors and some it does not. Minelab's pin pointer was marketed as being detector friendly, but I had issues with that one as well. At one time all we had for a modern pin pointer was the Garrett. I went through quite a few with falsing issues. One did it on it's first hunt. The bottom line: There are quite a few to choose from now. Competition is good for the customer. You can be brand loyal. You can have waterproof. You can probably find one that doesn't interfere with your detector.

The Pro-Pinpointer coil stays energized when off..

That's why it heard it..

The makro Pinpointer will de-energize when off..

The Minelab might too???I would have to research it though.

Keith

“I don't care that they stole my idea . . I care that they don't have any of their own”
-Nikola Tesla

Good post.....pay good bucks for a pinpointer and it screws up your big bucks detector is a no no.....

I think the Garrett carrott falses more than the older ProPointer. Just my observation. I have the sensitivity turned way down on the carrott to keep falsing down. ALL of them false in bad dirt though. You can balance them to the ground and that helps.

Daniel Tn Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I think the Garrett carrott falses more than the
> older ProPointer. Just my observation. I have the
> sensitivity turned way down on the carrott to keep
> falsing down. ALL of them false in bad dirt
> though. You can balance them to the ground and
> that helps.

If ya can train a Pig to go Truffle Hunting ? I am thinking of training one to Sniff out Gold,, Any Idea where the Batteries Go ?

John.

If you want a pinpointer for hot ground, better off with a Pulse induction pinpointer such as the units from Deteknix. Yes they can interfere with VLF detectors to a degree, though I guess that's just a trade off for stable operation in mineralised or salty conditions.

Seems to be a difficult proposition to have a single pinpointer that will not be prone to causing interference to either VLF or pulse induction detectors. The Minelab Pro-find does deactivate the coil circuit when turned off, though that is mainly for use with pulse induction detectors. The Pro-find is probably the worst to use with my Deus, neither get along when pinpointing for targets, in fact you can't get anywhere near the Deus without it going nuts. You can hold it to the ground on start up to balance out the mineralisation to prevent falsing, but it sorely needs a fresh update to the single button press retune that the others have to offer.

The Garrett Carrot is much more well behaved, it does get a little interference when placed within a foot or so from the coil, but nothing you can't live with. I too have found that the Garrett falses a lot in mineralised ground (volcanics soils in my case), you can retune to reduce the falsing, though it is no better than say the TRX. I actually had some difficulty with it today detecting on some basaltic soils, in some cases I had to retune a couple of times to be able to distiguish between the falsing and the true target. So it can be done, just a little inconvenience involved. Probably the best all-round pinpointer I have used to date, excellent audio and lighting, easy to use single button operation, good sensitivity, and waterproofing means an easy cleanup at the end of the day.

As for the TRX, never had too many issues with crosstalk between it and my VLF's, though as with the Garrett, it doesn't like mineralised soils on the 3 & 4 sensitivity setting (4 is useless for most areas anyway), better off using 2. As with the Garrett, it too can be retuned to reduce falsing, combined with a lower sensitivity setting. It is probably the most sensitive pinpointer to small targets out of all of the ones that I have mentioned, and despite having good depth on the higher sensitivity settings on mild ground, most of those gains are lost in anything apporaching mineralised ground. Aside from that, the speaker volume is ordinary, and the LED lighting really is a token effort.

My original cheapy Deteknix x-pointer fared the best on my volcanic soils, pretty much dead silent operation. Depending on which detector is used with it, you can experience some significant crosstalk between this pinpointer and detector, just have to ensure that the detector is placed a reasonable distance away when retrieving a target. The only downside compared to the VLF units is less sensitivity to small targets, especially if nugget hunting, and also comes with higher power consumption than the VLF units. I can't speak for the newer Deteknix Wader and Diver on interference/sensitivity, not having tried out those particular units.

Might pay to own both a PI Deteknix pinpointer and a VLF pinpointer, depending on where you intend to detect - that should cover most bases.