Used a Pro Pinpointer for a couple of weeks to replace my S-1 probe

[Ron from Michigan]

The S-1 is mounted back on my rod asm, for me, just works better,greater depth IDs the target and more user friendly.The Garrett is probably the best hand held on the market,but against the S-1 falls very short.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

The older S-1 box has a lot of empty space so I was able to make it even smaller than the newer unit.After a lot of cutting and gluing it turned out pretty good.No probe holder on this set up so I ban strapped the kitty treat jar onto the rod asm LOL it works great.Forgot put the mount on the bottom.

 

[ZOFCHAK]

The S-1 is mounted back on my rod asm, for me, just works better,greater depth IDs the target and more user friendly.The Garrett is probably the best hand held on the market,but against the S-1 falls very short.

I gave my Pro Pointer a short break and tried the S-1, and came up with the exact opposite opinion. The S-1 did have 2 big advantages. 1. You can hear it though the headphones 2. It works in Disc, so it's easier to pinpoint a good target when it's next to junk. But in my opinion the S-1's bulkiness, extra weight and the fact that it's tethered to the detector were just too much for me. If Sunray came out with a smaller, wireless version I would be all over it, but until then I'm sticking by my Pro Pointer.

Nice job on shrinking the control box on the S-1. I wonder why Sunray makes it so much larger than is needed?

 

[Ron from Michigan]

ZOFCHAK,it is tethered to the detector and does add a little weight but I find that acceptable.The performance is much better with the S-1.The Garrett is a great pinpointer and is a great match for most detectors.For deep coins though I would go with the S-1 or Pistol Probe.I probably could have taken more off this older S-1 unit.The newer ones may be harder to make smaller because they have three connectors instead of one.I usually have a routine of resting the detector on my knee while I use the probe,which is very quick and efficient.The pinpointer I was disappointed in was the Uni Probe the performance somewhere between the Garrett and the Pistol Probe at $315.00 expected more.

 

[kered]

As i swap between my detectors regularly(see signature) i mostly use the pocket uniprobe(now have 2), it does cause a bit of interference on some especially the dual field but is well worth it, i have a sunray for the etrac and another one on its way with a sov GT i just traded for the f75. I found the sunray was great on my elite that i sold but not so good on the etrac and so rarely use it in favour of the pocket uniprobe.

I also tried the pistol probe but don't like it for a couple of reasons, the main being that it detects half way up the shaft and doesn't change much in tone as you get closer to the target like the pocket uniprobe and garrett do, this makes it harder to home in, the uniprobe only detects on the very tip and is deep, you can also use the probe it in the water(like the sunray) as long as the control box is kept dry, handy for beach hunters.

In the rain the uniprobe excels too as the control is in your pocket unlike the sunray thats on the shaft and will malfunction if it gets wet

in order of preference for me
1st pocket uniprobe or sunray(depending on detector)
2nd garrett
3rd pistolprobe
4th the rest

 

[goodmore]

I went with the Vibraprobe 580 with my Excal. It interferes with the detector a little bit, but I really had no choice since I needed something that I could go into the water with. I also have the Garrett that I use with the Sovereign. A very nice probe. I wish you could turn that chirpy little speaker off though. The vibration is good enough. I have used the Sunrays on Whites units and on a F75. They are very nice. But since I hip mount the Sovereign the Sunray is just not practical. It seems to me that the perfect probe has yet to be invented. I like the Vibraprobe on the beach. Sometimes finding those thin dimes in wet sand is just a pain in the ass. For me it is about speeding up the recovery time. You have some nice mods going on with that Sovereign. I always like to look at other peoples rigs.

 

[crazyman]

I keep going back and forth about getting the Sunray probe. I hunt in a lot of iron so the tone ID would be great to separate the target from any iron close by. I hip or chest mount my GT so I'm not sure if I would like additional wires hanging on my hip to get snagged up when woods hunting. I'm not sure the probe wire is long enough from my hip to the hole also. I know I could mount the probe to the rod and still hip mount the GT control box so I'm still deciding.

 

[kered]

Crazyman, if you connect the coil to sunray then sunray to meter both on the shaft(one sits on top of the other) the other meter cable then goes to the detector hipmounted it works fine, the sunrayprobe stays on the shaft so not hanging from you belt and will reach the ground, the only cable hanging is the meter to detector same as now. I've just had the GT delivered so i'll mount it and take a photo and post it later on so you can see the setup. If you don't use the meter things get tricky as the sunray comes with a very short cable to the detector control box on the ones i have. I'll also measure the probe cable to give you an idea to the length.

Good interesting tests you did, keep em comming we are all learning something

 

[crazyman]

Kered, I was just looking at a new Sunray probe on the Sunray site and saw where they offer an optional 50 inch cable so I could still hipmount without a meter. I could then mount the small box and probe up under the armcuff area out of the way. The extra length cable is an extension cable though and I wonder if there would be any performance difference. I don't use my meter unless I'm cherry picking an old park and I don't do that often so if I did add the meter with the probe does it matter which one the coil cable goes through first? I'll have to talk to Ralph about using this setup.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Kered,I didn't like the X-1 on the Explorer either and was disappointed.The PistolPro is more difficult for the new user to pin point with.Bill Ladd had a great video out on this probe which will help a first time user understand this probe better.The S-1 and Sovereign are a great combination hard to beat.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Goodmore,the Vibraprobe is one probe I haven't used.No they have not made the perfect probe and still evolving like my Sovereign.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Crazyman,the gentleman I bought that Original from had the S-1 in a hip mount bag similar to your setup.I saw an older S-1 probe on Ebay that should sell for a lot less than a newer one.Probably take an hour or two to cut the box down to size though.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Kered and Crazyman you can make your own extension with a 6 pin mic female and male connector.Not very difficult.

 

[Critterhunter]

I also found the Pro Pointer much easier/less hassle to use than the Sunray Probes I had on my Explorers. The Sunray puts more weight on the detector, gets in my way, required me to use two hands to hitch/unhitch it from the shaft, and so on. Personaly when I bend down to dig a target I'm digging everything out of that hole as there could be coins behind nails and such, so I don't want my pinpointer to discriminate for me. If you super tune the Pro Pointer it gets about twice the already outstanding depth it normaly has. That's great for popping deeper coins/rings where you can't dig plugs, or when your target isn't sounding off in the hole. Also, I like to be able to set my machine down and walk over to a friend to help find a target, knowing the Pro Pointer is always on my hip to use should need be. I feel that having a pinpointer that can only be used with one detector is like having a digger that can't be used with others. Makes no sense, but that's me. Posted a large thread a while back that goes into more details about the Pro Pointer and comparisons to the Sun Ray.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Critterhunter,the X-1 Sunray on my Explorer was a disappointment never worked as well as the S-1.Economics wise one pinpointer for three detectors is better.The Garrett Pro pinpointer is a great product.

 

[Critterhunter]

For the noise the Pro Pointer makes some people fill in the speaker hole with rubber cement. That's about the only place water could possibly get in anyway so people like doing it for that reason. If it's under warranty then they just use tape. I personaly like the audio. I can hear it even with my Sony Studio headphones (Walmart) still on and I go by the sound more than I do the vibration to zero in on targets, but both are equally good in finding the target. Just depends on your preference. To further water proof the unit some people put a rubber O-ring under the screw on battery cover to insure it won't leak. Garrett states you can wash the unit off under water in the sink even without doing these things, so it's got to be fairly waterproof.