Sunray Probe to the Garrett PROpointer

[JASONSPAZ1]

I know deep in the archives this has been over before. I am not interested in comparing the depth between the two probes. Here is my situation. I am still recovering from nerve damage from a neck injury and the fact is that I need to go as light as possible this upcoming spring with my Sovereign GT. I don't want to get rid of the GT as it's performance has no equal to me. I just want to know if anyone switched from their Sunray in-line probe to the Garrett PROpointer and if they have any regrets about it.

Thanks in advance
HH
Jason

 

[fir469]

I use a Propointer and have tried other people sunrays and seen them in action, and personally I'd never go to a Sunray. It adds weight, and doesn't have the increasing audio when approaching the target in the hole. I understand wanting the use of the Sov's features such as the tone ID when using the sunray, but at the point that you're recovering a target you've already decided it was a diggable target, so what's the need for the Sov's info?? I'd rather have the increasing audio pointing me in the right direction while in the hole. I can't tell you how many times I've chased targets only to find it in the side of the hole thanks to the direction along the entire shaft and the increasing audio telling me I was close and it was in the side wall. Plus it gives the added benefit of being able to use it with any detector...

 

[dbsmokey]

I find that the Sunray, in pinpoint mode, on my Sovereign DOES increase in volume with nearing distances (in pinpoint mode). I don't usually use it in discrimination mode. What do others say? It does add weight to the overall detector, but I find it so much easier than having to haul another piece of equipment along. When I use my TDI or my Excal I now miss the Sunray sorely.

 

[Rick(ND)]

Myself on the Sovereigns the Sun Ray S-1 is top dog, I have the Uni Probe built into the headphones too and tried this one plus the Garrett Propointer and still like my S-1 the best. The Uni Probe is deep, but no disc so in some area is is tough to be digging the good target when it is seeing all the iron and other metals. On the Sun Ray S-1 I put it in all metal pinpoint to find the target as it will see a target deeper and the volume will increase as you get close to the target, then if there is several targets I will switch to disc and dig the one I want while leaving the others. This also comes in very handy on some of the deep iffy ones as I can hear when I am close to any target and when I get close enough I will switch to disc also and if it nulls I don't have to dig any deeper. This probe has saved me a lot of time finding the target and recovery is so much faster and a lot smaller plugs too.
If I didn't have the S-1 my next choice is the Uni Probe as it goes deep , but these are not cheap as they have a great headphones too. For the price the Garrett Propointer is the best hand held I have seen, but are not as deep as the Sun Ray or Uni Probe so you may have to do more digging to get close to a target before it will work.

 

[hershey1]

People who criticize the Sun-Ray probe have'nt used one. Press pin-point and zero right to the target the coil signaled you to dig does not matter how many other targets are in the hole. I have a Garrett pro pointer because Sun-Ray has'nt made a probe for the G-2 yet and if Garrett is all you have then fine but it don't come close to a SR. Sorry about your health condition. But until you get in better shape do what you have to do and I wish you well. Good luck and HH

 

[Critterhunter]

I've used the Sunray Probe on my Explorers and I much prefer the Garrett Pro Pointer. Less weight and mess. Can be used with any machine. Cheaper. And I don't care about discrimination once I commit to bending down and digging a hole. I'm going to remove any and all metal in that hole. Who's to say there isn't a coin laying behind a nail or something, so I don't want the pinpointer to discriminate out anything at this point. The compact size, ease of use, and excellent increasing audio/vibration of the Pro Pointer is all icing on the cake. If my initial check doesn't sound off to the target I've got a washer tied to a string that hangs off the back of the Pro Pointer. I just grab the washer with my thumb and slide it down until it just sounds off, then back it off a bit. Now I can about double the already excellent depth of the Pro Pointer, which is also handy for popping clads quickly with a screwdriver or working a nice lawn that you don't want to dig in. Just super tune the Pro Pointer and get the extra depth when you want it. Garrett also has an excellent I think two year warranty on this probe. Mine runs about a year on a 9V so it's very good on batteries. Since it's not tied to a machine it would be easier to sell it if you should need to down the road, and I like being able to leave my machine in one place while I go over to help a friend find an elusive target he's digging. I'm not a big Garrett fan (with the exception of the AT Pro) but I must admit this Pro Pointer is one quality product that in many respects is heads and shoulders above other pin pointers I've used.

 

[ZOFCHAK]

I've had both the Sunray and the Pro Pointer and much prefer the Garrett. I did not like the extra weight and extra wires of the Sunray. Also having to clip and un clip the pinpointer from the shaft was very annoying.

 

[Critterhunter]

Also, a few other tricks with the Pro Pointer...You can detune it for less sensitivity by putting it near metal when power it up. That helps for getting a more precise spot on a target that's say wedged between roots and you plan to pop out with a screwdriver or something. It's also a neat way to see if that big "can" signal you hear near the surface might really be a bunch of coins laying near each other. With it detuned you can more precisely outline the target(s). I read of one guy who found 4 or 5 Franklin halfs laying near the surface by checking out what he thought was a can signal with his Pro Pointer. He could see it was really multiple objects.

Another plus to me is I don't have to worry about forgetting to throw the probe switch back when done like I did on the Sun Ray. Can't tell you how many times I would hunt on for ten minutes until I realized that the reason I wasn't finding targets was because I didn't throw that probe switch back to using the coil.

One other trick. While I find this Pro Pointer extremely stable (it has a microprocessor that auto tunes it on power up, so no fussy dials to mess with like on other pinpointers), there have been a few rare situations where the ground was so bad or minerals with black sand or such that the probe would sound off to that. Simply turn it on with the tip touching the ground and the probe will auto adjust to the ground content, sort of like a ground balance on a detector.

 

[Critterhunter]

I've had both the Sunray and the Pro Pointer and much prefer the Garrett. I did not like the extra weight and extra wires of the Sunray. Also having to clip and un clip the pinpointer from the shaft was very annoying.

Yes, I hated that too. I had to use two hands to clip/unclip it, and as a result I also got a lot of dirt or mud on the machine in places where I never normaly touch when detecting. With the Pro Pointer I can remove it from it's holster, turn it on, super tune it, and all that other jazz while only using one hand.

 

[goodmore]

I hip mount so the Garrett gets my vote.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

The S-1 probe has better depth than the Pro Pin pointer.Plus its an extension of your Sovereign sounds and discrimination.Another advantage more convenient when your detector is shaft mounted you don't have to reach for the holster. The Pro Pin pointer uses batteries the S-1 doesn't.Big plus for the Pro Pin pointer you can use with other detectors.The hand held saves weight and much better for hip mounting,but most users who hip mount usually beach hunt and have no need to use a pin pointer.My suggestion if you have more than one detector and hip mount go with the Pro Pin pointer.

 

[dbsmokey]

I hip mount AND use the Sunray probe. I just got an extension for it (or one could buy one from a CB shop, there are links in a thread somewhere in this forum).

 

[NamVetLesTreasureSeeker]

Jason, I have had (4) SunRay Probes, and a couple of HAND-HELD Pinpointers, INCLUDING the GARRETT PRO-POINTER, and I STILL HAVE a SunRay
S-1 PROBE for the SOV-GT FOR S-A-L-E!! Personally, I LOVE my GARRETT PRO-POINTER, because it is GORILLA-PROOF, like the Older FISHER
CZ's, and you can make it VIRTUALLY WATERPROOF by covering the little speaker!!
Now for the SunRay PROBES, they get BETTER DEPTH, but THEY ADD NOTICABLE W-E-I-G-H-T to the detector, YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER
to TURN THE TOGGLE SWITCH back to COIL to be able to RESUME YOUR DETECTING with the detector, Probe CABLE CAN BE A PAIN & GET
in YOUR WAY, while RECOVERING A TARGET!! Also, the COST DIFFERENCE, and the SUNRAY PROBE CAN ONLY be used on a SPECIFIC
MANUFACTURED MAKE & LIMITED MODELS of that make!! But, it all comes down to VALUE JUDGEMENT!! If you are interested in
BUYING my S-1 PROBE for the SOV-GT &/or SOV-ELITE, send me an e-mail!! BEST OF LUCK, whatever you decide!! HH, Les Robinson

 

[UtahRich]

Jason,

This is easy. If you need to keep the load on the Sovereign as light as possible, go without the S-1. The S-1 is great to have, but if you need to lighten the load then the decision is made. See how easy that was.




Rich -

 

[JASONSPAZ1]

I forgot to ask that in my original post.
Thanks in advance
Jason

 

[ZOFCHAK]

I've had the XS-2, Elite and a GT and never noticed an issue with interference between the Sovereigns and the Pro Pointer. Occasionally the Pro Pointer will act up, but you simply turn it on/off and it goes back to working correctly.

 

[Critterhunter]

No, but I have heard of I think the Pro Pointer interfering with the M6 and MXT. It never bothes my GT, though, or vise versa.

 

[larryk56]

I used the Sunray Probes on other detectors and thought it was ok.
I ended up selling it with my other detector and purchased the Pro Pointer which
was noticably better IMO.

I recently looked at the Pistol Probe and liked it best, It's much more sensituve
and I beleive will get more depth.

There is a good viedo demo of the pistol probe on you tube.