TRX target recovery xcellence

bowwinkles

Bronze Member
Nov 3, 2012
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The past few weeks, I have watched the array of comments about the Kellyco Vulcan and now the New Whites TRX pin pointers. The reference has mostly related those new tools to the now old Garrett pointer. The main talk has largely dealt with the fact that Garrett has first class customer service. This is mentioned mainly because of the list of issues that has plagued the Garrett and the fact that the factory service has been quick to take care of those problems. Not much is mentioned about the need pay shipping back plus insurance which my experience has showed to be about $15 per trip to cover that charge.
There are two new players now in the ring and I will honestly say that both perform to my way of use, far better than my twice returned Garrett. Though not perfect, the Vulcan serves me much better than my Garrett ever did and is close to my Minelab performance which trails the Vulcan by a slight margin when it comes to sensing depth. These conclusions are made without any super tuning, just out of the box and turned on. Here comes Strike three which in this pin pointer game puts the Garrett back in the dug out for the remainder of the season and the new Whites at bat on home plate. The same talk about factory service that previously elevated the Garrett out front should now shift to the Whites factory service which locker room talk has them even better than the Garret service. Kellyco is also quick to solve (exchange) (replace) (refund) on their named items and they are very easy to reach.
The Whites and Vulcan went with me on a short hunt where I located the targets with my main detector then used the pin pointer to cover the same area. I would locate the in ground targets (never dug) and then see if these two pointers would see the target. My past weeks with the Vulcan have shown me that it is the most capable as far as depth (over the Minelab and Garrett) and I have been satisfied with that fact. The forum talks have the Whites performance as doing well but that comparison was mainly against the old Garrett’s ability as the reference. There are other pointers like the Pistol Probe that and others but they lack the proximity alert that is a blessing shared by these new products and may also fail to achieve the sensing depth. Out of the box and tuned to “chirp” only and no vibrate (which is a battery saver) this is how it performed against the Vulcan.
The first thing I noticed was the sensing is at the tip and not all along the barrel of the probe like the Garrett. This makes for much faster recovery. A plug dug with the target high on the sidewall could be thought to be at the bottom with the Garrett’s full length sensing. This is also one of the reasons why the Minelab and Kellyco pointers shined over the Garrett along with their superior depth sensing (no super tune) during my tests. I installed a protective cap from Home Depot and proceeded to get the feel of this device. The tip is somewhat smaller than other pointers and this does make it easier to probe into the plug if necessary. The targets I located with my main detector were probed for and determined to be in the 5 inch range. I then used the probes to test sensitivity. None of the pointers could see the 5 inch coins (which later was determined to be clad pennies). I slowly removed soil until the pointers began to see the target. The first indication was from the whites which started the chirp at about 4.25 inches then the Vulcan at 3.75 inches and followed by the Minelab which held out down to 3.5 inches. The Garrett did not get into play until 1.75 inches. I repeated this test several times but finding coin targets that fell into the 5 inch depth was hard so I had to use 6 plus inch targets and prob then remove soil to meet that range.
I am very happy with the whites at this point and the alert is loud enough for my old ears. As time allows I will do a little more but now the Vulcan is back up and the TRX is primary.
 

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Three hours today and all went well. I was having thoughts of when I changed from standard shift vehicles to automatic shift vehicles. I still had a tendency to reach for the clutch. Well This TRX pin pointer also takes a little re programming of the old brain. Once you get more use to the way the TRX works the recovery process goes much better. The pulse rate of the audio is fast and if you relate this rate to what you remembered when using previous pointers you get the idea that you are closer than you actually are. This signal screams when the target is close. The last hour of to days hunt showed just how well this new pointer works. The soil I was in today was clay and the depth I got yesterday seemed to be slightly less but still very impressive. The other slightly negative thing was having other metal items near the dig site that are to close and believe me this pointer will notice them, so the digger and other metal items needs to be slid back a little. I believe most everyone will enjoy this pointer once you get past reaching for the clutch.
 

I find it totally interesting the lack of interest in this new product.
 

Bow, I will be trying the Whites when I buy my next US made P/P. I have had to return my 2-Garretts a total of 4 times between them.
One under warranty and the other 3 times out of warranty.
I love the Garrett when it is working right, but that's a serious failure rate for an expensive pin pointer.
BTW you can get a Garrett clone for $55 shipped. (That's the price of shipping and repair of a Pro Pointer.)
Won't say where, but I will try one the next time my real Garrett P/P fails. And based on my experience, that day will come.
 

Lsm, if you are talking about those pinpointers from China, there have been several buyers on here that said they don't work well. No proximity alert, no real depth of detection. There are some videos of these supposed "clones" on YouTube. Spend your money as you wish, but please do your research.

Bowwinkles, thanks for posting your review. I'm still waiting on my first shipment to come in.

Wayne

www.metaldetectingstuff.com
 

I've same luck as above with the garrett pinpointer. I'm on my second one and it barely works. Sounds like the whites is the way to go.
 

I have been reading all I can about TRX! Thanks for posting BW!!
 

been hearing great things about it. now just to save up $160
 

been hearing great things about it. now just to save up $160
Sells form the dealers for $147.. not that much less but feels better than 160 ;-)
 

Thanks for posting....will be buying one soon....think you can detune TRX - if trash/multiple targets in close proximity....gl and hh!!!
 

I started hinting about the TRX to my wife this morning. I was waiting for some reviews and it sounds good. Thanks keep them coming.
 

I see the same question being asked across the forums. "Does this pointer have a sensitivity adjustment?" Well that answer is no (not by switch or knob) but there is a work around by turning the pointer off and placing it near metal and turning it back on the pointer will de tune itself to work at very close distances.
 

I see the same question being asked across the forums. "Does this pointer have a sensitivity adjustment?" Well that answer is no (not by switch or knob) but there is a work around by turning the pointer off and placing it near metal and turning it back on the pointer will de tune itself to work at very close distances.

So what happens when you get a real strong signal and you do a Target Ratchet as described in the instructions?
From the manual:
Target Ratchet
A quick press of the button lets you ratchet in on a strong signal.

That to me says if you get a strong signal and you can not tell where it is coming from hit the button briefly and it will reduce the sensitivity, if still not good, hit it again to ratchet down the sensitive. I can not test this yet as mine is on I-95 heading north from Jacksonville. But from what Philfl posted (the vendor I purchased from) you can do this to adjust from 4.5" down to about 1/2" ..
Unfortunately when a multi-function single button it used there is more of a learning curve and reading and understanding the manual is important. I really think if my interpretation of Target Ratchet is correct, they sure as hell need to hire a better technical writer to do the manual page.. cause that really is about as clear as mud!


Had the written "When an excessively strong signal is found and the location can not be pinpointed, briefly press the button while the pp is sounding to reduce the sensitivity, each press reduces (ratchets) down the sensitivity. " Another assumption I am making is you have to press the button while you are sensing the target, which would make sense if you want the mulit-purpose single button to be related to sensitivity at that time...
 

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What you are describing as ratcheting is the same as what I was saying and that is just de tuning. That same method will also work with some other pointers.
 

Thanks bowwinkles for taking the time to write your review. I appreciate hearing about these as I'm new to MDing and have a Garrett PP but only was able to get out to MD a couple times before the ground froze solid. Hoping to hear more on your review as you get more time under your belt with the unit. thanks again.
 

Target ratcheting-A quick-press of the button ratchets in on strong signals. That is how it is written in the book. My take was the one time hitting the button was all that was necessary. This proved to be wrong once I went through the process with the pointer in hand. If you move in fairly close to the target and hit the button it removes a little of the sensing. As you tap the button more (repeatedly) it actually steps the sensing down in increments. This feature is something I was not aware of because of my original interpretation of how it was written. This is another feature that will make this device even more attractive.

My original method described above will also work without all the tapping. Just turn off and move in close and turn back on.
 

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Got mine in the mail today. Must say in air test it is a good 2" better than any of my Pro Pointers and also fits my shaft mounted pro pointer mount nicely
 

I have seen reported where some feel that the turn on time is to long. My main issue at this point is the automatic shut down after about 5 minutes. Sometimes if you are working a target area (pocket spill) you may take much longer than 5 minutes to make certain that you have cleared all the targets. My Whites will just give a little tone and shut down right in the middle of the search. My minelab will not do this if there is activity. This is a small issue but still aggravating to my way of hunting.
 

I have seen reported where some feel that the turn on time is to long. My main issue at this point is the automatic shut down after about 5 minutes. Sometimes if you are working a target area (pocket spill) you may take much longer than 5 minutes to make certain that you have cleared all the targets. My Whites will just give a little tone and shut down right in the middle of the search. My minelab will not do this if there is activity. This is a small issue but still aggravating to my way of hunting.

Something does not sound right.. that is not how it is documented to work. Did it do the 15 second long beeps for 5 minutes before powering off?
I wonder, have you tried to just tap the switch after that soft beep.. maybe just a warning of inactivity.. like going into standby.. Although that should be documented if that is how it works.

lostPP.jpg
 

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