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Pinpoint is horrible!!!!

A

Anonymous

Guest
I keep reading about how you pinpoint in the different detect modes other then "pinpoint" but I will be damned if I can figure it out. I have used test coin, buired coins ect and all I get is a multitued of sounds and beeps and whistles, and am totally unable to pinpoint unless I go to "pinpoint" which works good as long as there is nothing else nearby. This is one hell of a nice detector, but about the poorest pinpoint, and I am not the only one, you only hve to read the forum to see how much problems people are having. I have a hundred ours or so on this machine and am not improving much. I am getting better at distinguishing the sounds but pinpoint is horrid. Half the time I just can't even find the coin at all. wish someone could describe in some fairly simple terms just how to pinpoint, and I have read whats his name's book, and am just as confused. Also am finding a lot of coin but a lot of time i just have to move on becasue i just can't isolate the sig and get a decent pinpoint, or I think I have it and I start a dig and get too embarrased as to the amount of dirt I have removed and just fill it back up and move on. AND would someone please tell me how you clean these coins, the silver is no problem but the wheats are bizare and I have tried a mild elect current, soda, soap, soft rag, coke, etc, and they usually look worse then when I started. I am not trying to get a new coin but the coins look terrible, can't hardly identify the features but under a loop everything is there and defined. Any suggestions. Maybe they are just too far gone to clean, but then why dig them. I would rather just set screen for silver and let it go at that. I am digging a lot of newer stuff but I know there is good stuff there, but I just can't seem to pick it up. hve only gotten 3 barber dimes and 2 mercury dimes. Please help some more. Ken
 
It took a while but I can pinpoint about as good if not better than anything else I've used. Get good signal then narrow down size by sweeping at good rate of speed directly over target, this also helps id. (iron) etc. Then mentally pick spot out and then go to pinpoint and try to match this spot to the previous. Does not take long to get hang of. On no silver I BELIEVE it is just not out there like certain people would like you to believe or you must find out of the way virgin spots.
 
Ken, I felt same way! Ready to tree wrap the damn thing, then got 8 Sunray and used it for couple months. Went back to 10.5 this spring, and holy batman, pinpoint, No problems!? It was like totally different. Being over a good signal makes all the difference too. good luck.
 
Hey Ken,
I usually don't give advice (still need all the help I can get), but for pinpointing I found that after locating a target, I sweep the coil just enough to keep the signal and move it forward until the signal stops. Then push pinpoint and bring the coil straight back. As soon as you hear the pinpoint, the target should be located right under where the lower rod connects to the coil. I use this method and can pinpoint right on every time. It does take some practice, but once you get it, and you will, pinpointing will be a piece of cake. Hang in there, it will come. <IMG SRC="/forums/images/smile.gif" BORDER=0 ALT=":)">
Good Luck....Chuck
 
Ken,I found the 8" coil did the trick for me too. I got tired of spending a lot of time trying to pinpoint and digging fox holes! Pinpointing is a snap with the smaller coil and I havent noticed any great loss of depth.Save the stock coil for the beach!...Try using a rock tumbler to clean the less valuable coins. clad pennies can only take a short spin or there wouldnt be anything left of them...If youre missing silver maybe your settings are off(Im sure one of the resident pros can help with that) or maybe your going to fast and are missing the deeper ones.I found when I slowed down my silver count(as well as everything else) went up.Good luck,Ralph
 
went through the same thing with pinpointing. but when the 5 incher came out that changed everything.pin pointing with the WOT is a breeze.
hang in there youll get.
HH,
stan sjmdc
 
I must agree with you Brian regarding the silver still in the ground. No site is truly hunted out but it sure makes it more difficult to get at what's left. This is the main reason I purchased the Explorer. It seems to be a deeper machine allowing us to snag what others have missed.
Research is just that much more important as time goes on and the hobby attracts more people. Imagine what it must have been like to be the first to hunt an old park in the middle of town.
HH
 
Keith was telling me that right before they opened this park up to be hunted,that he hunted it for like an hour before they asked him to leave,and then they let him stay another half hour.1 1/2 hours=30+ old silver!That was back in the early 70's I believe.Those were the days!
 
"Another voice in the night". Everyone has this problem until they find a method that works for them.
I,for one, almost never use the pinpoint setting. When I find a good hit I simply move the coil back while "rocking" slightly right to left keeping the target centered under bar until the signal goes away. This way the target will be centered at the front edge of the coil, not under it, so you can keep your eye on the spot while setting your detector down. Trying to guess where the target is under the center of the coil leaves to much room for error. If I still can't find it I turn 90 Deg. and repeat the above. This usually puts you right on.
In the end the only foolproof method is to invest in the Sunray X-1 probe which does better than any other product you can buy. It has more range than any other pinpointer and works thru your Explorer so you hear the target in your headphones. Go to http://www.findmall.com/sunray/index.html and you will find everything you will need. Everyone that has this little gem has nothing but raves.
 
Problem is I can't seem to identify one specific sound to try and center unless I am in "pinpoint" If the target is close to the surface it seems to get several different sounds all over the place, (i am using IM -6) and if it is deeper it is extremely difficult to isolate. on the deeper ones if I go to pinpoint it just doesn't seem to work. For example I had one yesterday that showed about 6 to 8 inches, I spent a lot of time trying to pinpoint because I had a nice sweet sound, but after digging about 10+ inches i went back to pinpoint again and it was directly over the hole except there was another pinpoint about 6 inches away showing about 6 inches deep, so I dug it to get it out of the way and it sounded nice too. but after digging about 10" there was nothing there but a 2 inch wall in between and when I got P....sd and dug it out there was the penny about 4 inches. Needless to to say I quit and went home as it was dry ground and difficult digging and I just didn't need that kind of inaccuracy from such a prime detector. And I just don't like to buy the "best there is" and get something inferior like the pinpoint and then be told I need to spend a couple hundred more to get an accurate pinpoint as that switch over should have been installed with this expensive machine.
 
hello yes the pinpoint does , how we say in french ? suck! i use a drop cloth it cuts down on the mess. remember this machine has a ton of power and a 10.5 loop. i,am getting coins on edge pretty deep . plus all the nearby trash does not help. i have gotten better. my pals useing the xs for over a year now are still digging some big and deep holes. if i wanted to dig neat holes i would sell my xs and get my xlt back , then of course i would,nt find much!
 
for sure, but I don't think I will get the x1 or whatever it is, I am going to take an option on a backhoe, might is well dig it in one sweep rather then dig a massive whole with a 2" scoop.
 
Ken-
I agree one hundred percent with you. The pinpoint on the Explorer leaves alot to be desired. I guess it is one of the sacrifices that has to be made to have the Double-D design. After all, the coil on the Explorer covers a hell of alot more ground than the concentrics. I bought my Explorer three weeks ago. I have been on this forum griping about the pinpoint ever since. I have included a pic of my solution. I detect with my Explorer, and then pinpoint with my Tesoro. Works great, good combo!
 
that's exactly what I have been doing but have been embarrased to admit it. I have an old lobo and have to get it out to pinpoint, what a bunch of BS for a $1300 machine
 
I can pinpoint and take a screwdriver and hit the target almost every time,and could since I got it.Coins on their side is a different story but still unless it is trash it is always in the plug I cut.
Just out of curiosity,how big of plugs do you cut in diameter?
 
Ric-
Back when I had my Spectrum XLT, it would take me about 5 seconds to pinpoint exactly to the center of my coil. I could then keep a visual on the ground where the hole in my coil was and move my coil away. I would take a Hole Hog (three inch diameter), and get the coin in the plug every time. I always knew how deep my target was because the XLT told me exactly how deep my target was WHILE I was in pinpoint mode. Maybe I am spoiled by the pinpoint on the XLT. When I first got the Explorer, I would pinpoint, and it would seem like every target was 10" long. I would narrow it down side to side. No problem. I could get the target in the center strip, but couldn't figure out where the target was in the 10" strip from front to back. Every time I pinpointed, I thought I had found a butter knife or something, because the signal was so long. I have been taking my Explorer to the beach, and practicing my pinpoint. I am extremely accurate pinpointing at the beach. I will take the detector, and narrow the target into the center strip on the coil. Then, I move the coil from front to back until the signal disappears under the front toe of the detector. Then I move the coil forward again until the signal reappears, and I know it is under the front of the coil. Works great at the beach, but not so good on dry hard packed ground, because sometimes the signal isn't so strong and it warbles. Any advice?
Chris
 
Chris,
After you have pinpointed the way you did, look at that spot and turn 90 degrees and pinpoint again at that angle and you will find the target where those 2 spots come together at the tip of the loop (under the minelab decal on the original loop). If those 2 spots move try it from a diffenrt angle again. I find once I do this I can just go forward and backwards with out going side to side for a good pinpoint. Now if it is a surface target you may want to lift the loop up a couple of inches to realy pinpoint.
Give it a try and see what you think as it works good for me as I can dig a plug and it will either be in it or right below in the hole most of the time unless the target is at a angle.
Rick
 
The pinpoint is exactly under the little dot behind the label.More than likely just how I got used to it.But to me,that little raised dot is like a lazer sight.
And I turn my whole body exactly 90 degrees,well not measured.You know what I mean.I don't usually angle my detector standing in the same spot,I turn my whole body with a death stare on the first part of the X.Just like Rick said.
Also,another thing that might be giving you trouble is the hole hog.Most of us cut a lot bigger diameter plug,at least on deeper stuff.It helps for coins on edge,and alot of people think the bigger plug helps the grass to stay alive,because the bigger plugs have deeper dirt attached to the plug.The roots do better that way.But I have never used a hole hog,not sure how deep a plug you can pop.In good soil I can usually get about 4-5inches deep.But not as dry as it is now.With the bigger diameter plug you get funny looks,but you can put it back and hardly tell where it was.With the smaller plugs(Not a hole hog) they tend to break apart on me and look alot worse trying to put the pieces all back together.
 
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