Probes, yes or no?

[Keeshond John]

I live a few miles away from a White's dealer and have looked at the detecting probes for around 100 bucks. I've never used one before. Do you folks think these things are worth the effort for coin shooting? And how does the White's probe compare well with other makes? I have not background with these things at all.

Thanks.

 

[Butch in Colorado]

I prefer the vibra-probe. I used the old White probe and did not personally like it. Way too boxy for me. Probes will make your coin recovery much quicker. Quicker recovery means more time to detect, means more targets, means more coins...... you get the picture.

 

[Tom Slick]

After using just about every probe available over the past 35 years, I'd recommend the Garrett Pro Pointer over the White's, Vibra-probe or even the DX-1.

 

[cvs]

If you want to try a probe and not spend a lot of money check out Harbor Freight Tools, they have one for about $16.00. So for less then $20.00 you can get a feel for what there like. I have one and it's comparable to the Whites for depth, 1

 

[BarberBill]

I seldom detect without one. Speeds up recovery considerably on items have taken on the color of the soil and are hard to see.
BB

 

[tiger1968]

My name is Walt and I live in Massillon, Ohio right next to Canton the Pro Football Hall of Fame City. I have been metal detecting since Aug. 2005 or 2006. I have a probe and it is a Whites. Approx. 50 to 80 % of my finds are made with my probe. If you don't have one you are missing a lot of finds!!! When you dig up the ground and put it in the pile to look for coins etc. you will be supprised how many more coins you will find. Good Hunting.

 

[R-bass]

A probe that's tethered to your MD all the time may be the draw back to sun ray probe. If you have more than one MD than a portable probe may be the key but the draw back there is you can lose your probe because it can drop from your pouch or left it at home or just lost it.But if you are rich then sun ray all your MD's

 

[gordygroover]

I have the Whites Bullseye pinpointer....I am on my third one as there was a on/off button issue that made the units conk out.
Whites replaced each of my units with a new one and I believe the switch issue has been fixed.
Great customer service but as a pinpointer the Bullseye is just 'fair' in my opinion.
Does speed things up but you have to have the device pretty darn close to your target. I would be happy with an inch of signal strength. Too much may hamper results. As mine has a maximum of a half inch in undisturbed soil I feel it is just borderline adequate as a pinpointer goes.

 

[Ism]

The Harbour freight goes a little better than an inch max. Its good for finding out just how much easier it is to recover using a pinpointer. But when you use the Garrett pro pointer, you will throw the Harbour Freight pointer in the trash. Good luck

 

[goodmore]

I use a Vibraprobe. I love it. My eyes are not young anymore. Finding a coin in the dirt can be a pain. I have a goal to slow down and enjoy the hunt more this year. The Vibraprobe is still going with me.

 

[floridason]

Using a probe!!!! YES. I started out w/ Whites that came w/my MXT (in fact w/both of them). I kept seeing where everyone on the MXT Forum was raving about
the DX-1 that attaches to the Machine itself. I called around and got one for $173.00 shipped. I use it on my older MXT and my grandson uses one of my Whites pinpointers when he goes hunting with me. So YES, get a probe, you will find it makes recovery a lot faster. GL and HH KC

floridason retired

2 MXT's, DX-1, lotsa coils

 

[nw1886]

I've turned around and went home because of forgetting my pinpointer! In a typical coin hole, it is somewhat manageable to not have one. If you are doing much in the way of jewelry searching...forget about it. A huge percentage of rings/foil stay with the sod and you end up with a lot of real messy and time consuming recoveries by not using a PP. Yup...once used, your common sense will demand having as good of one as you can get in the future. (I have a couple Whites but I am under no illusion that there aren't better ones out there.) My Bullseye's have the newer button style and have never let me down but too many folks have narrowed in on the Garrett and DX-1 ,as the best.... for those reviews just to be fanboy stuff.

 

[Larry (IL)]

Once you get a pinpointer, you will wonder why and how you went so long without one. No matter which one you get, they are worth every penny........

 

[BarberBill]

Larry said it well. Even the less powerful pinpointers are better than none, and the bettoer ones are great. IMHO
BB

 

[Old Katz]

I just gave my old pinpointer Harbor Frieght CenTech away. I went with the ProPointer and its
incredible! For $25 more you'll be in heaven with the Garrett ProPointer. I paid $129 for mine. Some people have shopped
online and got it still cheaper. I'm not puttting down Whites; they make surpurbe detectors butu their PinPointer can't
stand up to Garretts ProPointer.

Katz

Field Test & Evaluation Of Garrett's New Pinpointer - The Pro-Pointer by Uncle Willy
Posted by: Uncle Willy [ Send a Message ]
Date: September 09, 2008 11:09PM Moderator
Registered: 4 years ago
Posts: 21,487

Garrett is the house that innovation built and over the years one innovation after another has poured forth from this well of electronic wizardry - and their latest innovation, the new Pro-Pointer, is once again going to raise the bar for the competition. Unlike many boxy, akward, flimsy, hend-held pinpointers out there the Garrett PP is a sleek, slender, light, streamlined, ergonomically appealing little gem that fits the hand like a glove and is as handy as six fingers - plus it's tough as a tank. Its size and weight is 9 x1.5 inches and weighs a mere 7 ozs.
** FEATURES **

The PP is microprocessor controlled, non-motion all metal, with maximum sensitivity, requires no tuning or adjustment, features audible and vibrating alerts that increase in intensity the closer to the target it gets, has a simple on/off switch, an LED flashlight, 3.75 inch scraper/raker blade, and has side-scan capability. It will operate for 30 hours on one nine-volt alkaline battery and battery change is a piece of cake - just unscrew the end of the pointer, drop the old battery out and the new one in and it has a low battery alert. The PP can also be detuned over a target just like your detector. Has a working depth of two inches on coin-sized targets, more on larger objects. It can also be used to scan walls for any kind of metal. It comes with a nifty drop-in holster allowing you to whip it out like a six gun, shoot your target, and drop it back in the holster. It is classed as water resistant and can be used in the rain and rinsed off under running water. The wand can be submerged to just below the speaker.

** FIELD TEST **

I have been testing the prototype and production model over a period of a couple of months and have used it on many hunts in many situations. On one hunt in a park right after a rain the ground under the grass was quite muddy and the PP proved invaluable in locating coins in the gooey mud..I even retrieved a couple of coins from the mud at the bottom of a water puddle. Three coins that really lit my fire ( three silver Ben Franklin halves ) were recovered in bark chips in front of the swings in a local park. I got one of those wide signals that sound like junk so I whipped out the PP and scanned the area and got no signal at first, so I scraped off some chips and waved the pointer over it again and then got three separate signals. Those three finds really made my day.
I repeated this again in another playground when I got four different wide signals and checked them out with the PP. The first three turned out to be crushed pop cans buried in the chips which I traced with the PP and determined them to be such but the fourth signal was a horse of a different color. I scanned it with the PP and got three separate signals which turned out to be three quarters grouped together. At another park I located a fancy earring encased in a small clod. among a bunch of other small clods.

At another park I got another wide signal that was shallow so I whipped out the PP and scanned the area and got three signals ( and this is a lesson in target masking ). I removed the first target which was a bottlecap. The other two turned out to be a penny and a quarter. Together these three objects cancelled each other out and appeared as one object to the detector.

Finding a coin in the side of a hole requires a certain procedure. Since the wand on the PP picks up at a full 360 degrees you can stick the PP into the hole and get a signal but you will have no idea where the target is, so you pull the PP back out of the hole slowly until the signal just quits. This will give you the elevation of the target in the hole. You then angle.the PP and spiral the tip around the inside of the hole at that elevation until you hear and feel the strongest signal, then you have located the target



** SUMMARY **

I really like this pointer and it has proved invaluable in retrieving targets and saving time and frustration looking for coins in bark chips or soil that have turned the same color as the chips or soil. And locating your target quickly and accurately in mud is self-explanatory I feel Garrett has hit the bullseye on this one and produced a tool for the discerning treasure hunter. In all my hunts with the PP it never failed to perform as I thought it should perform and it is so easy to use, as handy as it gets, and is tough as nails.

The MSRP on the Pro-Pointer is $149.95 but there will be dealer discounts and specials, so watch for those. For more information contact your local dealer or the sponsors of this forum or you can contact Garrett directly at Garrett Metal Detectors, 1881 W. State Street, Garland, Texas 75042. You can call them toll free at 1-800-527-4011 or email them at sales@garrett.com You can also visit their web site at www.garrett.com

 

[Old Katz]

Here is a second review by John Edmondton:

A Review Of The New Garrett Pin Pointer
Posted by: John-Edmonton [ Send a Message ]
Date: August 27, 2008 09:04PM Registered: 4 years ago
Posts: 6,196

I received the Garrett PRO-POINTER on Friday evening, used it after work on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday for a total of about 12 hours. First three words that come to mind....."I LIKE IT." It looks Garrett researched what is available out in the market place, worked on improvements and even went the extra mile to package it in a nice colorful/pictorial box with both instructions and explanations on it's applications.


I have no less then 5 pinpointers of various makes and models at home presently, and about half of them still sort of work. They have split, cracked, gone out of tune permanently, quit beeping, quit vibrating and some only work on warm days. Turn down the temperature a few degree, and you might as well leave them at home, as they can't be tuned anymore. The ones that have to be tuned every time you turn them on have had their variable tuning knobs just plain wear out. Heck, I even built my own, tweaked it and it ran better then the others for about a year, but it eventually joined the rest in the "box" downstairs.





So, what makes this machine so good? NO MORE TUNING, first of all. The electronics do this automatically. No knobs to wear out. No retuning as the batteries weaken, or changes with the outside temperatures. And when you turn it on and put that probe in a hole to find that hidden coin, a slight BEEP and vibration is IS GIVEN OFF. And both intensify as you maneuver the tip towards that target. This machine goes DEEP! It picks up coins at a distance of about 3 inches, which means that I can quickly find that exact center of the target in seconds, if I can't get it manually with the search coil. Sometimes coins are on a steep angle, and the metal detector coil has difficulty finding the center of the target. Not the PRO-POINTER. It reads the coin directly below. If I couldn't pinpoint that coin with my screwdriver within 10 seconds, out came the PRO-POINTER and within seconds I had the target nailed. Another great feature of this pinpointer, is that it easily tracks the shape and size of the target. A strong vibration plus a strong audio covering a distance of 4" or more means it's a larger then coin size object, so it stays in the ground. If the target is a larger coin like a half, and its in the hole somewhere, but difficult to pinpoint....no problem. The PRO-POINTER can be de-tuned, just like a regular metal detector to make it less sensitive to the target, so it will only sound off when you are right beside it. NO MORE SCRATCHING SILVER COINS.

Ands it gets better yet......it doesn't interfere with the operation of metal detectors like some of the other electric pinpointers do. One particular model interferes with the operation of most of my detectors to the point where they almost become paralyzed. And......the output signal of the metal detector coil interferes with the automatic shutoff on the electronic pinpointer to the point where it won't shut off either. I actually have to remove the battery to shut it off........a great waste precious time towards metal detecting.


Now I just walk around with a screwdriver and probe in my hand, and leave the digger in the bag. About 80% of my finds from sports fields and schools can now be removed with the screwdriver in my hand, which acts as both a probe and removal tool. No more digging holes using my digger to see where the target might be. And this is a real bonus for working well manicured grass, as you can pull targets out of the ground leaving no trace at all. A great way to increase my finds.

And it was designed for the simplicity of the overall use. The 9 volt battery just "drops" in. No more of those cheap 9 volt battery clips to fight with. Simple turn on and go sequence saves a lot of time. You can either shut it off, or just leave it on and use as needed.

Finally, an electronic pinpointer to replace all the rest I have in the "box" downstairs. It really is an improvement on what is available today. And it's built tough!


I think Garrett has bragging Rites On This One. For further information, call a Garrett Dealer.


John-Edmonton

 

[bstaehe]

no one uses the detector pro? i love mine it will get a penny at 3in. but anyway i wouldn't go out without it, it speeds up recovery i would say by half. i would scar alot of coins without it,it has cut that down as well. absolutely i have to have a pin pointer

 

[ronaldj2]

I had a cheap Automax V4 (precision) (joke). It was only 20 bucks at Kellyco when I purchased a detector. It isn't worth a penny over 20 bucks, it is big and cumbersome, it has a metal belt clip which bends too easily and then it wont stay hanging on your belt. I would give you 20 bucks not to buy one(joke). I hope you get my point. I have a buddy who has a Garrett Pro Pointer and he let me try it, I was hooked. I ended up buying one a week later, it has never let me down, it comes with a little holster that velcros around your belt. It beeps and vibrates and the closer you get to the target the faster it beeps and vibrates. It is also waterproof ( i dont' reccomend fully submerging it) but I have rinsed mine under running water many times to clean it. Takes 1 9volt battery which lasts about 15-20 hours, or 5 to 6 months depending on how much you use it. I found many coins and trinkits which I may have missed without it. It also has an LED light which can be helpful in the shade of a plug hole, it is my opinion that this is a good choice. And I have to agree with John-Edmonton. Oh yeah I forgot to mention, If I'm in a park or a lawn the propointer can be used directly on the grass before even cutting a plug, it is that accurate. Ron

 

[calibil]

Gotta have a probe, I carry 2, Garrett Pro Pointer (awesome, takes a beating like the old Timex, great features) Pistol probe for depth.

 

[pastfinder1]

I would refuse to detect without a probe. I have used one called "periscope" for almost 10 years now. YES it is pricey ($581.00) YES it can be bulky but it has paid for itself many times over. Since it is now out of production I will be getting the Garrett to use as a backup in case this one breaks down. I once went 11" down and under a root for a barber dime. Try that without a probe!!