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Pinpointing???

A

Anonymous

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I've just had the Explorer for a few days. Pinpointing. It seems very difficult to pinpoint with the Explorer. I've been crossing the target exactly as described in the manual with the "X" pattern. However, most of the targets well away from that center location.
I own a Periscope (an absolute must I would think) and it helps quite a bit on shallow targets, but even that has trouble locating the deep targets. It has to get in the general area, but if there is trash around, even the Periscope has to know the general area where the true target is.
Does anyone have any tips that might help improve pinpointing over what I am doing now?
Thanks,
Alton
 
best way I have found is lift the coil away from the target and about 6 inches off the ground, then hit pinpoint and move it back over the target.. do it a couple times from both directions.. you will get it to within an inch after getting used to it.. also consider thge X1 probe as an accessory.. its the best.. lets you hear the targets using the explorers circuits and through the headphones, so even if theres trash,, you can listen for the tone your looking for
 
Remember, your target isn't going to be under the center of the coil. It's going to be under the label on the front of the coil. HH-Coinshooter65.
 
Hello Alton,
I saw your posting on the DFX forum where you made mention to the fact you were going to include the Explorer in your "evaluation" and use of different detectors. It is good that you have taken the oportunity to given the Explorer, let us say it's "dues". One of the first things I thought about was "wait till he uses pinpointing".
I have seen a few people knock this "utilty" and ask what ever could be the problem. I do recall that when I was learning to use pinpoint mode it usually amounted to frustrations that nearly led me to buy a Periscope when it first came out.
All I want to say is, hang in there and use the methods and advice described in this forum by a lot of the people who know how to use it. Practice often a method that familiarises you with pinpointing with Explorer, you will find it is a very powerfull usful tool.
It did not sink in for a while until I read the manual qite a few times.
Page 59 in section 5 Quckstart Introducing Pinpoint, of the manual desicrbes, "Pinpoint is designed to zone in on a target with subsequent passes.For this reason it is recommended that you maintain the sweep speed height above the targeta and NOT to pass reapetedly back and forth across the target at various heights. This INCORRECT method can cause the detector to DESENSENTIZE and reduces the depth of pinpoint"..........what???.
Could this also be a reason for the targets, in some cases, not being accurately located by the onboard pinpoint?
This is what MY manual says and is not in the manual you can download in the PDF format from the Minelab site. Maybe I have a later version of the manual.....I hope.
Depending on the soil conditions,I always use the "first" take on where my target is and I say 90% to 100% it is accuarate at basically all depths of detection.I found that trashy areas could cause a little bit of a problem, but on the salt beach it is very accurate.
Enjoy the learning and happy hunting.
DAVE Di
 
What is an X1 probe. Would I need one if I own the Periscope?
Does these post mean that you do or do not raise the coil to pinpoint? I'm a little confused by the replies.
Thanks again,
Alton
 
I must have missed reading that it pinpointed under the label. Did it mention that in the manual or is that just general knowledge?
Thanks,
Alton
 
What I do is move the coil back and forth and side to side. Works good for me and yes the target generally ends up under the label on the coil. (Not mentioned in the manual). I lift the coil away from the target the press the pinpoint button then return the coil to the target area. If you do not do this sometimes you will get a solid pinpoint tone when you are nowhere near the target. In fact I guess you could swing the coil around everywhere and the tone would continue...
 
Alton,
The X1 probe is made by Sunray and hooks right up to the Explorer. The probe is accualy a 1 inch loop and you have a toggle switch to toggle so you are either using the main coil or the 1 inch coil(probe). Now this comes in very handy for both the surface targets and the deep ones as it has around 3 or more inches of depth. For most hunting the X1 probe is the best while the Periscope probe is a good for areas where you do not want to dig unless nessesary in well groomed lawns and dig only when you know excatly where the target is.
Now on the louder or surface targets i will get a general area where the target is and switch on the X1 probe and use it to find the target as it will find it within a inch in diam, Now on the deeper ones i will pinpoint with the loop, dig out a plug and go into the hole with the X1 and find the area where the target is so I can retreive it with no problem and not do any unnessesary digging.
Now on pinpointing with the Explorer I found a way that works good for me. Find the target in disc, lift the coil away from the target and any metal and push the pinpoint button and release. Now bring the loop to the ground and swing the loop over the area side to side while bringing the loop back to you untill you lose the signal, then while swinging the loop go forward untill you hear the target. Now the target should be right under the front of the loop under the Minelab label. Now that I see where it is I will turn 90 degrees and do this again and they should be in the same spot. I even after doing this and knowing where the target is I will be able to quite going side to side and just push the coil back and forward and find that it is in the same spot. After this I can dig out a plug and find the target in the plug or in the center of the hole.
The thing that makes the Minelabs differnt in pinpointing is the double D coil that is hot the lenght of the coil and the target will be anywhere in the lenght of the coil is why when we get a signal we use the tip of the coil for pinpointing.
Good luck and be patient
Rick
 
on the deeper targets I'm digging lately it seems the pinpoint mode can't reach them, it's silent or gives a pathetic beep or two, it's so useless its not even funny. If I flip the joey coil on edge and poke it down in the hole I can get a good signal but I'd say from 8+ inches on silver dimes the pinpoint mode stinks. I love this detector but the pinpointing feature needs work.
 
The way I pinpoint is different than everyone else.But I offer it so maybe you can try all methods and decide which works best for you.
When I find a target that I feel is a good one.I circle the target a full 360 in the regular detecting mode,not pinpoint.If there are two targets close together,this will help you center it pretty much.When you circle the target like this it for one helps you decide if the target is a good one and repeats from more than one angle, and it will narrow down the area quite a bit.I would think that part is standard practice among everyone,now the next part is where I differ.
After I have it narrowed down and I am sure I want to go after it,I raise the coil and push the pinpoint button.Lower the coil to the area you have it narrowed down to,making the first part of your x <b>with the little raised dot on the center of the coil.</b> When I have that part of the x for sure centered,I turn 90 degrees and repeat till I have the X centered using the raised dot as the point of the target.What makes it difficult is when you have multiple targets close to each other.That is where the circling and narrowing it down first helps.If you have the general location in disc down but are having a hard time getting it to pinpoint where you think it should be,then you have to work it.Some times you have to find just the right angle of the dangle to squeeze a pinpoint out with multiple targets.This is,IMO,what everyone has trouble with,seperating multiple pinpoints.With time it is very do-able.Let me also mention,if there are no other targets around,and your pinpoint is just not where you think it should be,it is usually a rusty nail.
I can't stress enough,no matter what procedure you use,take your time pinpointing,till you are confident your target is under your mark.Contrary to popular belief(Dave's,he saw the 3 silver coins I scratched out of 70+ so far this year)I can pinpoint and hit my target first try with a probe if I want to.The only time I am off is when I don't take enough time pinpointing and rush it or it is a coin on edge or it is a nail in the side of the hole that fools me.
The X-1 probe is a must!Even when you get pinpointing down,it still is awesome.I would not want to detect with out it!
 
If you are not getting a good pinpoint,unless it is on edge,then I would say you are pressing your pinpoint button way to close to the target,JMHO. <IMG SRC="/forums/images/biggrin.gif" BORDER=0 ALT=":D">
 
yeah it detunes way too fast, so you gotta get the coil back fast.. you gotta do it again if it starts in with that solid tone.. at any rate on the deep stuff you should be able to just use disc to be very close to the target..
 
I'll test this, but as a rule I point my coil towards the horizon before I press the pinpoint button, at least two feet off the ground. Let me test this and see if I notice a difference, thanks.
 
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