Profind in the field

[Ron from Michigan]

First ,I'm not easy to impress with new equipment.After watching all the videos and reading specs and what if posts, does the Minelab Pro Find work well in the field?I was very impressed with the sensitivity and dialed it back a little ,my guess still exceeds the other popular pinpointer.There is a second or two delay sometimes before the Profind will actually work,didn't find this a problem.Viberates much better that the other hand held pinpointer in this category I only kept it in the chirp and vibrate mode.Didn't take a lot of effort to pin point targets in the hole, the intensity of the sound and vibration increased and made this very easy.Found a silver dime at about 7 inches and no scratches made recovery very easy.Very nice first time out with the Minelab Profind.Thanks Ron

 

[Critterhunter]

Ron, good job on the silver dime and great field report.

There is a thread in the Main forum about it right now with several videos compared to the Pro Pointer. I'm surprised to hear you say it's vibration is better to you, because all the reports I've heard about that aspect so far said it was much weaker at vibrating than the Pro Pointer.

I posted some comparison numbers of my Pro Pointer in the main forum to it depth wise. While the Minelab did edge out the Pro Pointer a little on it's highest sensitivity setting, the Pro Pointer appears to go deeper when supertuned than the Minelab supertuned. See that thread for details.

That's all I care about, because if I can't hear a target I don't want to play with buttons. Just supertune and get it over with, and as said when super tuned the Pro Pointer appears to get more depth. Well, he super tuned his Minelab and got 3" on a large token air testing. I supertuned my Pro Pointer and got the same 3", but I was using a dime as a target. A bigger coin as the target will give you greater depths in air testing, so had I used a big token (his was about the size of a large cent) instead of using a clad dime as my target I'm sure I would have got even more than the matched 3" in depth.

The Minelab looks to be a nice pin pointer but I'm not seeing any killer depth advantage or anything so far to make me want to leave my Pro Pointer or pay more than I did for it myself.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Critter,I was pleased with its performance except the delay when turned on.I still conclude that this pinponiter gave better feed back on targets with vibration than the two Pro Pointers I had.My brother Kevin in Virginia used one and finally sold it because it would only vibrate just slightly(worn out by over use).He still uses the Pro Pointer along with the Sunray on his F75.I suspect the Pro Find and Pointer are made off the same platform.Thanks Ron

 

[Critterhunter]

Thanks for the further info Ron. Interesting that you think they might be very similar platform wise...

 

[sierraimage]

Great information on both units Thank you for all who have posted.

My superficial, but somewhat technical question now.....the belt hoster? It shows tiny skinny dress belts on every picture the company provides (not sure who wears that belt in the field). Will the holsters on the garrett or the minelab fit over a military pistol belt which is about 2 3/4 inches wide? with the thickness and metal clasps, maybe even a bit more. Please let me know your real life experience or size of this belt holster loop. I use the military belt when DT'ing and don't need another thing to wear that won't fit on my belt.

Thanks for your help.

pic of military pistol supply belt.

 

[Critterhunter]

So the other day I got around to re-testing my Pro Pointer with a large copper token that looked to be the size of the one he used for his target when he super tuned. I kept turning off/on and re-supertuning the Pro Pointer to verify results and I was getting 5 & 1/2" some times, 4 & 1/2" others, but most of the time after turning off/on I was getting right about 5". So it appears the Pro Pointer might beat the Minelab when both are supertuned, because using a clad dime the other day I still matched his 3" supertuned depth. I know these depths are probably going to be much different in the ground and don't expect to get that much depth in normal use, but it's good to know the Pro Pointer appears to have the raw power/sensivity to at least match the Minelab when both are supertuned.

Now, here's one thing about it...I did all my prior testing and then this test by laying the Pro Pointer flat on it's side in the grass, so that it was being soaked in a ground load. Because you can super tune these pin pointers and do air tests and get great depth maybe, but when they are touched to the ground they'll sound off even if no target is present. You have to back off the air adjusted super tuning a bit once the tip touches the ground in order to make it not false on you. That's why I did my test with the Pro Pointer on the ground, so that I wasn't getting better testing in the air that is unrealistic because it's useless when it touches the ground. See what I mean? Also, the testing has to be done right after power up, because both will get more sensitive over time due to the capacitors heating up and causing the auto tuning to drift.

Anyway, so I'm pretty happy with the results. Looks like the brand new Minelab was only a little deeper at it's max setting, and my Pro Pointer has been through the wringer in terms of abuse and dropping on hard cement about three times by accident. I wonder how the Minelab will do say a year from now after it's been beat up as well as how realiable it's going to be. I'm also curious about it's battery life as I get close to a year out of my Pro Pointer's. Somebodoy should read the amp draw on the Minelab with the speaker and vibration both turned on to match the Garrett, and take measurements with the unit not sounding off to a target as well as under load (audio and vibration going off). If the same is done with the Pro Pointer we'd then be able to see which one has higher amp draws at idle and sound off, and then that's the one that won't get as good of battery life.

 

[deepdiger60]

Good report Ron it works that all that matters , nice find on the silver Jim

 

[GunnarMN]

Good points critter,

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Critter,I think both pinpointers out of the box are hard to beat.The biggest plus the Minelab has is a sensitivity control,but this will cost the buyer $33.00.The winner the consumer who through two manufactures competing gets a better pinpointer. Thanks Ron

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Sierra,the belt loop does look small,I used a fly fishing vest pocket to carry the Profind.I did slip webbing through the size of yours in the photo without the buckle and it fit, but snug.Hope that helps.Ron

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Jim,time in the field, will sort out how good the Profind will work compared to the Garrett.Thanks Ron

 

[sierraimage]

Thanks for the response on that belt loop thing Ron. Time to buy a new pin pointer.

 

[sierraimage]

Ron, one other question. Does the Minelab and Garette's both need to be moving (pulse) or can they both be held still over the target to register their tones? I know the pisot probe needs to be moving using pulse. Im looking for one that still tones without moving across the target. Thanks again.

 

[opa81]

Have a look at this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCGAhi_2HcI&feature=em-uploademail

 

[deepdiger60]

Very good video i guess i will have to wait and see the outcome from the dealer if you get a different one , if no change the video says it all , and yes why have a sensitivity adjustment at all ? . Update us Jim

 

[Critterhunter]

Ron, one other question. Does the Minelab and Garette's both need to be moving (pulse) or can they both be held still over the target to register their tones? I know the pisot probe needs to be moving using pulse. Im looking for one that still tones without moving across the target. Thanks again.

Neither pinpointer has to be moving to sound off to the target. But, I think I've heard in the past that you get a bit more depth if you are moving the pinpointer around instead of holding it stationary. I never tested that because in normal use I'm just dabbing them tip at the bottom of the plug looking for my target. Not much room to wave around in there sometimes anyway.

One thing I've noticed over the last year. We've been pulling silver that isn't all that deep right out from under thick roots. Also saw a friend pull a nice old bank token the size of a large cent out of roots too. None of these recoveries were easy even with a pinpointer, but at least you could figure out where to poke with a probe or the tip of your digger to work at and fish the coin out of the root mass. I think some of these coins, the ones that weren't super deep or makes or on edge, had probably been dug by others a hundred times before us, but they didn't have a Pro Pointer and so gave up on them, because even with knowing where to "poke" under the roots it still was a major job for us to recover those coins/token. So, if you are hunting under a tree at a pounded out site, don't pass over those "easy" coin signals as just being clad. They very well could be a silver that others never were able to fish out of some roots.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

You can sweep or hold still both pin pointers to find your target.Again,I had good results in the field.The video on the first target tested, notice the clump of dirt in the 12 o'clock position as a marker.The Pro Find was held over this clump of dirt looking for a target at this point too long before reaching the target area,the Pro Pointer was directed right at the target area Hummmmm IMHO,jolly good show mate,but still not convinced.Another problem, what was the actual target? a ring, coin etc.Bottom line do your own home work and don't make a decision with one or two videos,or field test.Good Luck Ron