Cen-Tech Pinpointer

[Old Katz]

KyDigger:
Thanks for the tip about the CenTech.
Thats worth fileing away.

I may have to send that on to other CenTech owners from time to time.

The CemTech was my frist pointer and saved me from many hours
of frustration because I couldn't find the target even though the detector said
"ITS RIGHT THERE UNDER YOUR NOSE." But I have to say I'm sold on
the propointer. Maybe someday when I'm feeling rich I'll try the SunRay.
Katz

 

[Critterhunter]

Garrett makes great products, please don't get me wrong on that. If you can afford one buy it. If you can't the centech is better than nothing.

That's the thing, I'm not a fan of Garrett products myself. The GTI series never impressed me when I ran some tests on those. Depth was decent but man did it have a VERY tight sweet spot at maximum depth. Move off a hair and the target would go away completely without even a trash signal. That, combined with some experience with prior Garretts, is why I had serious doubts about all the good things I was reading on the net about this pinpointer. That was until I was "forced" to use my friend's in the field here and there. I always told him that pinpointer is the best metal detector Garrett ever made.

I had the original Whites Bullseye years ago but never really used it. I was always the type who just would grab the plug with one hand and sweep it over the coil while I was on the ground to look for the target. I had the Sunray probes on my Explorers so I could track down targets with that. With the Sovereign's depth those plugs can get pretty big (lengthwise) so I started to have to use two hands to do that and it was starting to become a hassle. I try to keep the hand I hold my detector with relatively clean by not using it to sort through the dirt or mud. That's why it's important to be able to use my left hand to turn on and use the pinpointer and probe or dig the target. At first that's a bit awkward since I'm right handed but watching a friend do this convinced me to learn. He doesn't even take his arm out of the detector to dig a plug. I still prefer doing that because I often need a little better strength to dig these deeper plugs in certain ground.

I could have went with the Sunray probe for the Sovereign but I wasn't a big fan of those on the Explorer due to the extra weight and mess of extra cables. They are also more expensive and don't offer you the ability to use them on other machines or help a friend quickly find a target without having to lug your machine over to him. The only real advantage they have is the ability to discriminate targets through the detector. I don't know about most people but once I dig a plug I'm going to dig out every piece of metal in there because nails or other trash may be masking more coins than the one you've found with the Sunray and it's discrimination circuit. Because of this I don't want any discrimination ability with a pinpointer. Mainly the weight, extra mess, and price to set up a Sunray that you can only use with one machine is what turned me off about them, though.

Here's another way I look at it. Using the Centech was like having to use one of those small thin diggers they often give away with detectors. It has it's use and is better than nothing but a good quality digger of normal size makes recovering targets so much faster and less frustrating, same way I liken that to using a good quality pinpointer. I am glad that those Centech's are so cheap though, because it should at least help some people who would otherwise not buy a pinpointer do a little better job at finding targets without widening a plug to a huge size.

Here's a tip for the ProPointer: If you get one of those large can type signals on your detector that can sometimes sound good enough to be several coins de-tune the probe by turning it on close to a piece of metal. Now bend down and check the ground with your ProPointer. Since it's detuned you'll be able to see single coin targets laying next to each other if it turns out it's a coin spill, or it will still trace out as one large target if it's a can or other piece of metal. Saves time having to probe or dig these types of large signals to be sure they aren't multiple coins.

 

[Old Katz]

Hey CritterHunter:
I never knew you could detune the propointer. Whats your precedure?
More valuable information!

I use the Ace 250 but I much prefer the Whites MXT.
I can criss cross an area with the Ace 250 to make sure
I didn't miss anything and then go back over it with the
MXT and STILL find what the Ace missed.

Katz

 

[Critterhunter]

Before turning the ProPointer on hold it within 1 to 3 inches or so away from a piece of metal and then turn it on. When the unit auto adjusts it's sensitivity level to get stabil it will now set the sensitivity much lower than normal because of the nearby metal making it sound off on power up. Not only is this a handy way to trace the outline of bigger objects and see if they are seperate targets or not, but you can do this to really zero in on a target in the hole if roots or something are in your way and you want to use strategic probbing/digging to pop it out.

De-tuning the unit mostly comes in handy when you have multiple targets laying around or are trying to percisely outline a target to see just what it is- multiple coins or one big piece of metal. Another handy feature would be finding targets like coins or rings in playground areas where they might be very close to a metal pole or something. Since I'm using a 5" coil now I can envision situations where I'd be locating these targets right up against fences are other such metal objects. That's when de-tuning is going to be real handy.

I plan to secure a plastic tube or heat shrink to the side of it via zip ties in which a metal wire is placed. Bend the wire so it doesn't slide without pressure and then bend a loop or "L" at the back end of the wire that will be easy to place your thumb in or on to slide the wire back and fourth as needed. If you are de-tuning the pinpointer simply slide the wire forward before turning it on. If you are super tuning it for more depth simply turn it on first and then slide the wire forward until it just starts to sound off, backing it back a bit to where the unit goes quiet.

Now you've got an easy one-handed way to either detune or super tune the ProPointer and you never have to use two hands to unholster it, turn it on, de-tune or super tune it, use, turn off, and re-holster all with your left hand. The only thing to remember is to make sure the wire is slid back so it won't de-tune it on the next power up. It doesn't take much movement to go from one to the other. Just make sure it's farther back/away from the tip then you feel you need to be so that there is no chance of de-tuning the unit on power up. If you notice you seem to be getting less depth then chances are the wire is closer than it should be and is de-tuning it when turned on.

Somebody mentioned the other killer feature of this ProPointer that I never really covered. It's got a really great variable audio/vibration as the tip gets closer to an object. You can pretty much tell by how fast it's vibrating/sound off just how much deeper the target is. Sort'a like a depth meter on a detector but instead of a number on the screen you've got audio/vibration to indicate that. Really a nice feature.

I'm glad myself that the unit has the vibration ability because I often can't hear a pinpointer with certain headphones on. Some complain the audio is a little too loud and might attract attention but I don't find it to be excessive. If you want to quiet it down just put some tape over the speaker hole or better yet seal it with rubber cement like Shoe Goo. Once my warranty runs out I plan to waterproof it with the Shoe Goo, but until then I'll just put a piece of tape over it as that's about the only place water can get in. Garrett says the tiny speaker hole is somewhat waterproof since you can rinse the whole unit under water but I'm not sure I trust that for any length of time.

Yet another random thought on both these pinpointers...I found that half the time I couldn't get the Centech to sound off touching the plug even if the target was inside it. It required me to break the plug apart to see if it was just too deep inside it, and often was. I'm not a big fan of doing that because it makes repairing the plug hole a little more messy. The ProPointer has always had enough depth to see through the entire width of the plug. So long as I slide the unit down the entire length of the plug it's going to sound off if it's in there. I can then narrow down exactly where the target is by either de-tuning the unit or just holding it further away from the plug and then just break off that piece of dirt to expose it. Really just holding the ProPointer further away from target(s) is better than detuning it as the variable audio/vibration will be strongest when the tip is pointing directly at it.

With the Centech I'd find myself not getting a sound from the plug or inside the hole, so I'd sit there and debate which was which...is the target still deeper in the hole or is it deeper in the plug where the Centech can't pick it up? Because I'm lazy I'd often destroy the plug first to see if it's in there. If it was then great but if it isn't then I just made things messy when I didn't have to and created more work for myself. Yea, I know I could pick up the plug and sweep it over the coil or get back up to re-check the target but that's the whole point to owning a pinpointer in the first place- so I don't have to do those things.

 

[silversmith]

Great stuff, CH. I enjoyed it. Thanks.