Pinpointing your find

Hi, yes all detectors vary somewhat. Most are always near the center of the searchcoil. Best method is to "plant" some coins and practice finding them. With practice you'll get better at digging producing smaller craters ;) The best advice you'll hear is practice, practice, practice. Metal detecting is much like any other sport, with time and experience you become proficient.
HH
Greg
 

Thanks for advice greg. It makes sense that the target would be towards the center. Can't wait to get started.
 

I have been scanning one way and then 90 degrees to that and zeroing in that way. I believe the field from the coil is narrower left and right and longer front to back on my detector (ACE 250). I am not sure of that however. But it seems to work very well. I have only had my detector a short time and I am already starting to think a pinpointer is also a good idea. Depth seems to be harder to figure than location. Some times the coins pop right out and other times... Can someone recommend the smallest pinpointer that works well (and hopefully cheap). I definitely one that doesn't look anything like a gun!!
 

While I believe that pinpointers have there place, I don't feel that detecting in a field, beach or playground is where they prove themselves. I don't know of any detector that doesn't have a pinpointing feature, whether it be manually crisscrossing the target or using an actual pinpoint mode (all metal or non-motion mode) that is on most detectors.

If you begin to rely on a seperate pinpointer, it will only slow you down. If you have lots of time and don't ever intend on getting in a hurry then I guess it would be OK, but time is money.... ;) Personally I have never used one, nor do I plan too, I really feel they are more of a hinderance than they're worth... JMHO... :)
 

mike98000 said:
I have been scanning one way and then 90 degrees to that and zeroing in that way. I believe the field from the coil is narrower left and right and longer front to back on my detector (ACE 250). I am not sure of that however. But it seems to work very well. I have only had my detector a short time and I am already starting to think a pinpointer is also a good idea. Depth seems to be harder to figure than location. Some times the coins pop right out and other times... Can someone recommend the smallest pinpointer that works well (and hopefully cheap). I definitely one that doesn't look anything like a gun!!
Click to expand...

The 'sweet spot' on the 250 is the tip of the inner coil.
Signals are radiated from the outer, and received with the inner. I used the center as my target when I first got mine, and found I was more often off by a few inches than not. One can pinpoint with the center if so inclined - Be aware that your target will be a good 3 inches ahead of that.

I take it you meant you don't want a pinpointer that looks like a gun. Why not ? Think the cops might mess with ya ?
One of the best, and certainly the cheapest, is shaped like none other than a gun, I love the thing and wouldn't go detecting without it.
Its adjustable detection range [say,for a quarter] is anywhere from about 2 inches at max, to dam near nothing at minimum.
Larger targets will have greater range, and smaller targets less.
It has audio,vibrate and visual alerts - And even a little LED light for lighting up those pesky dark holes [that actually comes in handy now and then when detecting near sunset and/or in an 8 inch hole]. And it costs about half/a third of what other PP's cost.
They are on ebay sometimes - This here is the cheapest source I know of http://www.billsdetectorsales.com/pinpointers.html

Be aware that with any pinpointer you may get, their long PVC necks are fragile and tend to snap off rather easily.
I snapped mine twice probing a bit to aggresively, but managed to patch it back together with JB Weld.

I've found that they in no way detract from my pinpointing abilities with the detector itself.
I pinoint everything I find with the detector, then:
In sand, wood chips or pebbles stick it in and make sure I'm in the right spot.
I almost always get a nice beep, then proceed to recover the target.
In the ground - If its a strong signal, often you can stick the pinpointer right on the spot on the groud where you think it is, and if it beeps [or vibrates] you know the target is right there less than an inch or so down. I can then make a little slit in the ground and yank it out with my fingers.
If the target is deeper, I'll dig a bit then periodically probe the hole, bottom and sides, and also the escavated dirt pile.
This can very well save you time, and also save you from damaging a target with over zealous digging.
Quite a few times I've been off on my pinpointing by just an inch or less - More than enough to throw you way off.
No matter how good you get, this will happen at times - A coin in the ground slanted to a side, for instance, will throw your pinpointing completely out of whack. A hand held pinpointer is not at all fooled by this, and as you move it around the sides it will tell you right where that little metal bugger is hiding.
 

Both my machines have a set of icons across the top with two lines or scales running horizontally across the LCD. The top scale shows the strength of the signal and the bottom one shows the depth of the target. When I press the pinpoint button I found out early on that the target is centered in the coil when the top scale is completely blacked out across the LCD on top and the bottom scale is showing the shallowest depth. Also the tone you hear will be louder and stronger when right on top of the target. I have Garrett and Bounty Hunter equipment and they both work basically the same.
I also discovered that when the scales won't stabilize and bounces all over the place, more than likely the target is near or on the surface rather than being down ln the soil. Often my machines will identify the target as a coin and won't lock in and if I look close I can find the coin on the surface or tangled in the roots of grass very shallow. Unfortunately my macines will act very similar if the target is trash instead of treasure. I am familiar enough with them now that I can usually tell the difference. this knowledge comes with experience. and getting to know my machine. Help any? JIM
 

I just want to say that I took the tip from Xraywolf and bought a pinpointer from wwwbillsdetectorsales.com and I already have it!! They have free shipping on everything and he shipped it right away and I got it yesterday. I got the cheap one for 16.95 and I am well sataisfied for the money I paid. I tried it out and it is saving me plenty of time all ready. Sometimes it tells me things are very near the surface and I don't even have to dig. It detects metal at about 3/8" inch away. I would have gotten the more expensive one but it looks exactly like a gun!!
 

I agree with the others. Practise makes perfect when it comes to pinpointing.
Here's my experience with a pinpointer. When I bought my MXT a Bullseye II pinpointer was part of the package. Told my dealer I didn't want one. Told him I've been detecting for twenty years. Never used one, don't need one. The cost of the package was going to be the same whether I got the pinpointer or not. Well, I'm glad I have one now. ;D It has come in very handy. Especially when the suns going down and it's pretty black down in the hole. The light on the Bullseye II is a definate plus. Also helps in locating small targets that I've missed and ended up in the pile of dirt I've removed. The size of plug I dig in parks and schools is usually about three inches in diameter. Sometimes I'm off just a bit in my pinpointing and the bullseye is great at finding a target that is in the side of the hole. Do I use it every time I recover a target? No. But when I need it I'm glad I have it.
 

Hey thanks for the tips. I just received my White's detector today. Looks like a whole lot of fine tuning and knob turning on this unit. I've got a lot of time to burn and holes to dig. Question on the coil, it's sealed in a plastic outer shell. Can this be submersed in fresh water?
 

Try this, hunt and find a target. Then sweep backwards till the target is lost. After that slowly sweep forward until you first get the hit again and dig around that. It works great for me 90% of the time my target is in the bottom of the hole or in the plug.

HH!
 

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