OK Tom, here is the straight skivy, from one who has owned a LOT of pinpointers trying to find one that actually WORKED. My first was a tiny-tech. It lasted about 3 months and then the on/off switch quit working. The unit itself worked respectably well, but I found the unit fairly fragile. Another I had was a TreasureMate, and this was a better unit. It lasted me about 4 months, and again the switch quit working. I returned it, and they fixed it, and it worked about 2 hours after that. Once again it went back, and now it is a back up unit. I have also owned a Bullseye, like the one mentioned in the previous post. White's has missed the mark on this one. Of all the units it is the least sensitive. Oh, it has an adjustment switch inside, but it is either too sensitive, and goes off when you get it close to the dirt, or it is too insensitive and barely works when a coin is in the dirt. No happy medium. The unit I finally wound up with is a DetectorPro. This unit clips nicely to my chest harness, has frequency control to avoid conflict with your main detector, and the sensitivity control actually works. Above all, the unit works with VCO pulse induction, which is a far superior method of putting out a signal. It works in salt sand or highly mineralized soil, the probe itself is waterproof, and since the box itself mounts on your hip or in my case, the chest harness, protecting the main unit is a snap. Here is an example of how it works...Say you have dug the hole, pop the lid, and no coin in sight. You flip on the Pro, insert, and find you have a slight clicking sound. That indicates that you are up to 3 inches from the object. After you remove a little more soil, the clicking changes to a continuous tone, but still no coin. A little more dirt and now the tone is a high pitched whine. That is what you are looking for as the object is directly situated next to the probe head. Presto, you have found it. With this method of detection, you are never wondering just how close you are, and the unit is sensitive enough to let you know when you are on the right track, even when the object is rather distant still. I have even got signals with my main detector that indicated 3 inches down, turned on the pinpointer, and placed it on the ground at the point where the main machine indicated. I have found that if the DetectorPro does not make a whisper at full sensitivity in this situation, just forget it. The object is a lot further down then 3 inches, and large. The main machine is fooled by large objects that are deep, but not the DetectorPro. Since its range max's out at 3 inches or so, the deep object is invisible to it. Just another way it saves you time digging up those old deep paint cans! I have used one of these units for months now, with nary a hiccup. It still is on its first battery. And if you think that this unit has had an easy time of it, just check my web site. I do a LOT of metal detecting, hours at a time .http://www.rvi.net/~readyed/METAL%20DET.htm
This unit is by far the most expensive pinpointer around, but ABSOLUTELY WORTH EVERY PENNY. Why? Because it works, flawlessly, and effectively.
And by the way, I have no connection with this company other than I am a very satisfied customer.
<FONT COLOR="#ff0000"></FONT>
"> <img src="/metal/html/tongue.gif" border=0 width=15 height=15 alt=":b">