Pinpointer or not?

[oscar6972]

Going off on a slight tangent, I see the general standard seems to be for the Garrett pin pointers. With that said, I see there are other, much cheaper options - my question is, are the cheaper ones still functional? I don't doubt they are most likely not as up to scratch with the latest tech as the Garretts but have the cheaper ones performed adequately in the past prior to the Garretts? Or maybe they're still useable to some degree anyway? What are people's thoughts on which probes are ok?

The only cheaper one I would use is a White's bullseye 2. I think you can get them for about 50 quid. You may have to watch where and when you use it as they aren't waterproof.

There are really cheap ones available but I've never heard anything good about them so I've always steered clear. My mate still uses an old sherlock DTS probe and he swears by it, they still pop up on eBay for 20-30 quid.

I think the Bullseye II is tip sensitive only whereas the more expensive ones react all down the probing sides.  That said I have heard the Bullseye II does the job well for the price.  You can pick up the Nokta one for £80.oo and they are well regarded.

Not exactly cheap at £80 though Keith!

The White's is indeed tip only but does the job admirably. I know some people find the 360 degree detection area defeats the object of pinpointing and prefer the tip only of the White's model. I used one for a year and it never let me down, the only reason I switched to other brands was the waterproof qualities.

[Keith67]

Going off on a slight tangent, I see the general standard seems to be for the Garrett pin pointers. With that said, I see there are other, much cheaper options - my question is, are the cheaper ones still functional? I don't doubt they are most likely not as up to scratch with the latest tech as the Garretts but have the cheaper ones performed adequately in the past prior to the Garretts? Or maybe they're still useable to some degree anyway? What are people's thoughts on which probes are ok?

The only cheaper one I would use is a White's bullseye 2. I think you can get them for about 50 quid. You may have to watch where and when you use it as they aren't waterproof.

There are really cheap ones available but I've never heard anything good about them so I've always steered clear. My mate still uses an old sherlock DTS probe and he swears by it, they still pop up on eBay for 20-30 quid.

I think the Bullseye II is tip sensitive only whereas the more expensive ones react all down the probing sides.  That said I have heard the Bullseye II does the job well for the price.  You can pick up the Nokta one for £80.oo and they are well regarded.

Not exactly cheap at £80 though Keith!

The White's is indeed tip only but does the job admirably. I know some people find the 360 degree detection area defeats the object of pinpointing and prefer the tip only of the White's model. I used one for a year and it never let me down, the only reason I switched to other brands was the waterproof qualities.

Absolutely mate.  As I said Bullseye II does the job well for the price.  I would consider it next time if it's still around.

[Peter]

You can pick a decent second hand  Whites Bullseye II up quite reasonable on E Bay for around £25 to £35 .
 
For the last 6 months or so I`ve  had a Garrett Carrot ,but I`m still undecided whether to keep it or not as I`m so used to My Whites Bullseye II that I`ve still got and keep in reserve . So I just might sell the Garrett and go back to using my Whites Bullseye . Nothging wrong with the Garrett, but I just can`t get used to using it after all them years using a Whites Bullseye.

[Nigel at Regtons]

Bullseye II is old technology same as all the cheapie probes out there, the newer type of electronics where you don't have to tune the unit and increasing  tone as you get closer to the target makes an OK probe into a tool that you can't do without, so yes, buy a cheaper probe but the old saying buy cheap buy twice springs to mind.

[Peter]

Bullseye II is old technology same as all the cheapie probes out there, the newer type of electronics where you don't have to tune the unit and increasing  tone as you get closer to the target makes an OK probe into a tool that you can't do without, so yes, buy a cheaper probe but the old saying buy cheap buy twice springs to mind.

 Well Nigel, Well I`ve had my Whites Bullseye ll 5 years now ,and its still going strong . I`ve had THREE Garrett pinpointers in that time and not really Gelled with either of the Garretts styles , and had nothing but trouble with the first two black Garrett ones  .I said I`d never buy another Garrett but when the Carrot came out I though "go on then, try it and see if they`ve improved on them any ? "
Like I said , I don`t know why ,but I just don`t have the 100% satisfaction feeling even with this Garrett Carrot.It just ain`t floating my boat. 

[shooter]

I wonder who will be the first to make a pinpointer with a nice little meter and some discrimination?

[lifeguard]

I would like to by a pinpointer,but I have just bought a flat, so now all the money goes into that...
I have been searching around 8 years and tried my friends Garrett pin pointer this year and I loved it! At once I was confident that the object is deep under the coil, then dug a big hole and tried with pin pointer and realised that its a coin laying aslope in the wall of the hole. I was happy i did not harm it. And I learned that not all the big holes mean that the object is deep in the ground.
I think it is not an unnecessary thing. It is better to have one, mainly at deeper things.

[shooter]

You should have learnt that on your mummy's knee.  Get your pinpointing sorted out with the detector and you won't have to dig holes that are deeper than a target that is off centre.  We've all done it, but some will never learn!

[Keith67]

You should have learnt that on your mummy's knee.  Get your pinpointing sorted out with the detector and you won't have to dig holes that are deeper than a target that is off centre.  We've all done it, but some will never learn!

I have witnessed some very experienced detectorists miss the target slightly on occasions.  Clearly from the comments it is a choice, not a piece of equipment needed by poor hole diggers.  You started the thread by asking Gary if he carries one.  How many people do you know who can use a Deus better than Gary.  In your first response from Peter he shows you a video.  Gary uses a pinpointer.

[Nigel at Regtons]

I agree, it's not something you need however as some point you will want one & once had one will definitely miss it when you haven't.

I would say it makes you more efficient.

[13oots2]

I wonder who will be the first to make a pinpointer with a nice little meter and some discrimination?

I've forgotten what it is called but there is one for the White's V3i that acts like a 1" coil, the readings are displayed on the White's screen

**Edit** It's called the DX1

[shooter]

You're bound to say that Nigel.  You sell the blooming things!!

[Willy muffit]

I have been detecting since the Minelab sovereign was their top detector  and 100% agree with Nigel

 it makes you more efficient.saves you lots of time I have a pal when he hears a target he does the wiggle then whips his Garrett pointer out and its truly amazing how many times it picks it up he digs a jaffa size hole and is on to the next target in no time

all this old tosh about learning to pinpoint makes me laugh

[oscar6972]

I have been detecting since the Minelab sovereign was their top detector  and 100% agree with Nigel

 it makes you more efficient.saves you lots of time I have a pal when he hears a target he does the wiggle then whips his Garrett pointer out and its truly amazing how many times it picks it up he digs a jaffa size hole and is on to the next target in no time

all this old tosh about learning to pinpoint makes me laugh

Bang on the money mate! I've done this loads of times now especially with the Garret carrot as it goes quite deep. the combination of learning what depth my deus is telling me the target is at and the power of the carrot means I can dig a small hole with my trowel rather than scooping out spade fulls all the time. Beep-Probe-Dig-move on!!

[Keith67]

Pasture is where it's invaluable for me.  Pin point with the coil.  Dig a decent size clod.  Pin point to exactly where it is.  make the slightest cut in the sod, target out, perfect clod back with no evidence of a hole and all done in 60 seconds.