Some thing cool i found out yesterday about my Pro Pointer

[deepdiger60]

Yesterday i went to a 90 year old park with my buddy Joe this park used to be a outdoor dance park back in the 1920,s its 350 acres with a big fresh water lake made by a glacier 10,000 years ago it is 50 feet deep now its just miles of trails , Joe told me in the past he has found lots !! of old silver there my first signal was a 1951 Rosie i thought great start a few clad quarters some copper do dads then i hit a target i dug it it wasn't really nothing to get excited about a wheat penny 1935 , anyway i filled in the hole and walked about 15 minutes before i got and another good signal i dug it and went to reach for my pointer in the holster and it was GONE !! I said oh no i left it at the last signal way back in the woods i set all my gear down and started to back track my steps very slowly then i hear this very faint sound it was like you hear when a truck is backing up beep beep beep and that is what i thought it was , as i walked it got louder and louder all of a sudden i see my pointer laying on the ground making that beep noise LMAO i had no idea that if you turn on the pointer and leave it on a alarm will sound after 5 minutes if not in use , geezz that is what i get for not reading the booklet when i got the pointer last month . I just thought it was cool and would pass it on to all of you if you did not know it already . Read !! lol HH Jim

 

[matthias]

I failed to read about that too! Thanks for the tip. HH. Matt

 

[Critterhunter]

It's not a "feature", per say. What happens is if you leave it on long enough, it begins to drift out of tune and will then begin to false. This happens sooner in warmer tempertures, so I would assume it being energized is heating up certain components inside which then gets the thing out of calibration for the initial automatic sensitivity adjustment it adjusts to to become stable on power up.

Once I had it in a hot garage, and as soon as I turned it on it would start falsing in probably about 30 seconds or so. I was worried, until I let it cool down and then realized what was happening. I almost always turn it off when I lay it on the ground, just so it doesn't get more and more sensitive, and then might false when I put it back in the hole. Besides, helps save battery power, although it's very easy on batteries and I get near a year out of a high quality 9V such as an Energizer. For that reason I never felt the need to use a rechargeable in it.

I also carry a spare 9V in my tool holster on my left hip that I carry my digger, probe, Pro Pointer, and target ID card in, because I'm so spoiled by the thing now that if the battery goes and I don't have a battery to replace it with, I just pack up and go home.

Can't imagine how I detected for years without the Pro Pointer, and I found the various pin pointers I owned before it were more hassle to tune at power up and didn't give much depth, that by the time I used the darn thing I could have probably found the target with using it in the first place. That's one of the beauties of the Pro Pointer, no sensitivity calibration, and by super tuning it the depth about doubles, to where on those rare occasions when it can't hear the target, I don't have to get back up to re-find it with the detector.

The Minelab Pro Find *does* have a built in alarm for when it's been left to sit on for a while, but not the Pro Pointer. Based on a few videos where I watched them both go head to head on targets being dug, it seems that while the Pro Find gets more depth in the air, that the Pro Pointer gives more depth and a stronger response on targets, in at least some people's grounds.

Many like the inline probes. I owned them on one or two of my Explorers, but hated the extra weight and wire mess, along with having to use two hands to snap/unsnap it and get my detector shaft muddy doing it. With the Pro Pointer I can remove, use, super tune if I have to, and put it back, all with my left hand alone, even though I'm two handed. Some like the inline probes for the ability to discriminate through the detector.

Way I feel about it is that once I bend down, then I'm digging any and all metal out of that hole, because it might be masking a coin I saw first with the detector's coil, and I also don't want to see that metal in the hole on the next visit anyway, so I don't want my pin pointer to discriminate any metals out. Another perk to the Pro Pointer is being able to throw it to a newbie so they can find a target, and often that's going to be enough for them to want one of their own. I can also lay my machine down and go over to help somebody locate a target, without having to drag a machine a pin pointer is attached to over to the spot.

These days, being so spoiled by the Pro Pointer, if I had to make a choice between headphones and the Pro Pointer when detecting, I guess I wouldn't be wearing headphones anymore.

DeepDiger- Some people put bright tape around their Pro Pointer so it stands out on the ground should they lose it. Others put a springy cord on it attached to their belt like used for keys and such, so there is no way they can get up and leave it behind. I've been meaning to do one or the other, but these days I'm so careful not to lose mine on the ground when digging a target, that I don't much worry about it. It's like a religion to me now, to recover the target, lay the target on the ground, turn off the Pro Pointer and put it and my digger away, and then pick up the target as I get up.

Only problem is now sometimes I forget and leave the target on the ground. A few weeks back I dug a merc as I was gridding a spot. When I came back with my next row in that grid I get a sweet silver tone, and thought "Hey, there as another silver dropped years go right near where that other was I just dug!" Then I kneeled down and realized my stupidity, as I saw that merc laying in the blades of grass.

 

[deepdiger60]

Critter there is 2 versions of the pro pointer the old one which you properly have and the new one that does have a alarm in it , has nothing to do with the temp. or the battery which is a brand new Energizer dated 2016 as soon as i touched the pointer it stopped beeping . Jim

 

[Critterhunter]

Not saying it had anything to do with the battery, but just the same I wasn't aware they did put an "alarm" in a new version of the Pro Pointer? If they did, I wonder why they felt the need, since it will drift out of tune in minutes and begin to chirp. All my friends to the same thing, getting more and more sensitive as they are left on, to the point that they will false when stuck back into the hole even if they haven't started chirping yet on their own, which they will do after they've sat powered on for several minutes.

I remember vaguely a while back a guy had took his Pro Pointer apart, and if I remember right he mentioned it featured ceramic capacitors, which when energized long enough would heat up a bit and thus the Pro Pointer would drift out of it's tune and start to false. Not sure if that's the cause of things, but I do know mine will start to false in a shorter amount of time on a hot day than it does in the cold.

If I do leave it on, and it's taking longer than expected to recover the target, to where it begins to now false on me, I just turn it off and back on again to correct the problem for another span of "stability". Also, as a handy tip, rarely it's happened that even right after power up it may false due to the ground matrix. When that happens I just touch the tip to the ground *in a clean spot with no metal present* and power it up like that, and then it will calibrate it's sensitivity to the ground minerals and not falsely report a target being present.

If you picked it up and it stopped beeping, that could have been due to it being taken away from the ground load and so not being pushed over the threshold of falsing. Not saying there isn't a new version of it though that has an alarm, just never have heard that yet, so either way...

 

[deepdiger60]

Your right about it going out of tune when you put it back in the hole i found if i just tap it lightly on the shovel it corrects it self , down in those steep gully's in the woods you can hear a pin drop like i said i started to hear the chirping very low until i got right up to it then realized it was the pointer making that noise a steady loud chirp i picked it up and it shut off i turned it back on and it was fine , and it was cold yesterday not warm outside iam going to try it again this morning just turn it on and leave it in the yard and see what happens . Jim

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Jim,interesting observation,maybe one thing less I don't have to worry about loosing.About five year ago I lost a couple of cell phones in one season.Thanks Ron

 

[deepdiger60]

Your right about it going out of tune when you put it back in the hole i found if i just tap it lightly on the shovel it corrects it self , down in those steep gully's in the woods you can hear a pin drop like i said i started to hear the chirping very low until i got right up to it then realized it was the pointer making that noise a steady loud chirp i picked it up and it shut off i turned it back on and it was fine , and it was cold yesterday not warm outside iam going to try it again this morning just turn it on and leave it in the yard and see what happens . Jim

HHMM !!? 25 minutes the pointer was on in my yard laying on the ground and nothing happened i think i was lucky because yesterday i would not have found it in that thick leaf litter left over from last Fall , it for some reason sounded off like it did maybe my Pin Pointer Angel was with me , i just assumed that was a new feature i should of saved the booklet and read it cant be right all the time LOL but that would be a good feature to have !!. Jim

 

[fsa46]

Jim, Been there done that, not once but twice. The first time I was deep in the woods and left it at the last hole I dug. I had gone quite a distance before the next target and realized I left it behind. If it wasn't for me having my GPS on I never would have found it. I backtracked the breadcrumb trail on the GPS and found it.

After the second time I lost it, ( a similar situation ), I decided to put a lanyard on it. This is also used when water hunting, so I also made it waterproof....haven't had a problem since.

 

[jyt2017]

Last summer. I lost a new pair of booties. 90 bucks down the drain. Same day I found an underwater camera too. Was a good day. I was very angry with my self though, as it was the booties, an a week before that my gloves.

Jim,interesting observation,maybe one thing less I don't have to worry about loosing.About five year ago I lost a couple of cell phones in one season.Thanks Ron

 

[deepdiger60]

Good job Frank on that pro pointer i really will be doing that i got some old hiking boots with long leather laces , what did you use to cover the speaker hole ? i used a thin piece of electrical tape and i found that cut the speaker volume in half i have to take off my Skullies to hear it . Jim

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Joe,I always loose the left hand glove,got a box full of right handed gloves without a match.LOL not sure how I lost all of those gloves.HH Ron

 

[fsa46]

Good job Frank on that pro pointer i really will be doing that i got some old hiking boots with long leather laces , what did you use to cover the speaker hole ? i used a thin piece of electrical tape and i found that cut the speaker volume in half i have to take off my Skullies to hear it . Jim

Thanks Jim. With my hearing ( or lack there of ) I can't the hear the speaker anyway and only count on the vibration. I covered the speaker with electrical tape also. On the switch I first put a piece of paper over the switch and then put "GOOP" over the switch, speaker and where the light is. I originally put tape over the switch but had an issue with in not wanting to come on and off because of the adhesive on the tape. I removed it and went with the paper and the problem was solved.

I also, bought a thin O-Ring that I put where the battery goes and taped it with electrical tape. I really don't think it required the tape but put it there for added safety.

I have had this pointer in the water for over a year and never had any issues with it. I also used para cord for the lanyard and used GOOP to keep it from slipping.

 

[Critterhunter]

I might have my memory backwards on the ceramic capacitors. After thinking about what I vaguely remember from that post, I think the guy said he was going to put ceramic capacitors in it to replace the ones it had, as ceramic is meant to be an excellent heat insulator. I suspect he was intending to put ceramic capacitors in to keep them from heating up and drifting it out of tune.

I never found it much of an issue. Usually I can lay the Pro Pointer down and find my target before it drifts out of tune, but if say a minute or two has passed by and I still haven't found the target, then I'll turn it off and back on again to insure it isn't going to false on me.

When I super tune my Pro Pointer for more depth via a telescoping antenna attached to the side of it, I'll put the tip to the ground as I super tune, so I can get it just right. If you super tune in the air and then touch it to the ground, often the ground matrix will cause it to false. Once I think I've found the target via super tuning, I'll then slide the antenna back a bit away from the target, and then move it back to it to insure it wasn't a false being caused by the super tuning.

This is a pictorial I did on the easiest way I found to super or detune a Pro Pointer, having tried many methods, and also some tips on using the Pro Pointer...

http://youtu.be/3ozNtD-dKh8

And, if anybody has the switch "fail", I've got a potential easy fix for that...

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?22,1833805,1833805#msg-1833805

My hearing isn't the greatest, so I've avoided putting tape over the speaker, but I'm sick to death of cleaning crud out of it so I can hear it again. The other day a friend had his speaker taped with a thin layer of clear tape, and I found I could easily hear it versus the usual crud caking my speaker slits, so I need to clean them well first, with a toothpick and also some non-residue contact cleaner, and then will preserve them via the tape.

Those speaker slits you have to be cautious about cleaning, as they do have screen in there that I managed to catch and pull up fibers from by accident. Not sure if that speaker is a speaker prone to water or crud, or if it's a sealed plastic piezo buzzer. I would suspect a buzzer, since it doesn't need to relate fine qualities in audio and just needs to announce the proximity of the target.

Just the same, I'm sick of cleaning those slits out in muddy ground, and often can't hear it at all until I clean it out of them. Only seems to happen to me in muddy ground, but even then the vibration scaling of it is so good that I can get by with the audio being gone. I hear the Minelab Pro Find doesn't have as good of audio or vibration scaling to indicate distance from target, and that at least the vibration isn't as robust as the Pro Pointer.

DeepDiger, so I'm confused now...Is there a new version of the Pro Pointer with an audio alarm, or not? Just asking, as I hadn't heard that...

 

[deepdiger60]

Frank i did it almost as good as yours lol i took the black power button out and put goop inside just around where the black rubber button seats pushed down carefully until it oozed outside let it dry and cut off the excess it is totally waterproof , the speaker i used a piece of elec. tape and poked 4 small pin holes in it that really help increase the volume now i can hear it with phones on i seriously don't think water will get in those pin holes i don't go under water , the battery cover same tight elec. tape , i made my lanyard from a 40 inch nylon lace plenty of length from the holster to a target . we do a lot of mods LOl GH Jim

 

[fsa46]

Frank i did it almost as good as yours lol i took the black power button out and put goop inside just around where the black rubber button seats pushed down carefully until it oozed outside let it dry and cut off the excess it is totally waterproof , the speaker i used a piece of elec. tape and poked 4 small pin holes in it that really help increase the volume now i can hear it with phones on i seriously don't think water will get in those pin holes i don't go under water , the battery cover same tight elec. tape , i made my lanyard from a 40 inch nylon lace plenty of length from the holster to a target . we do a lot of mods LOl GH Jim

Yes, I like it. Just hope you didn't put to much GOOP under the power button to hinder it going on and off. Let me know how it works, if you don't have any issues down the road, I may do the same with my other Pro Pointer. The only ting I couldn't do is put the holes in the speaker tape, mine is under about +50% of the time when water hunting.

You'll never have to worry about losing it again.

 

[Critterhunter]

To protect my friend's switch from further dirt intrusion, after fixing it I put the switch cover back on and then covered the entire outside switch area with a very thick layer of clear silicone. I also spread that about a half inch past the switch cover about a half inch past all sides of it, to insure any edge that might peal up a bit in the future still wouldn't allow dirt to find it's way back into the switch cover and past it.

Even though the silicone was a very thick layer, his PP is actually easier to turn on and off now. The switch under it is a tiny little thing with a sharp point that makes contact with the rubber switch cover. Inside that cover is a small piece of plastic. Well, his had blown apart and was working it's way out the sides of the rubber cover, further ripping it in places. I fished those sharp bits out of it to prevent future cutting/tearing, and the extra thickness of the cover now with the silicone over it makes the on/off action even easier to do without as much thumb force.

Should that sharp switch's tip make it's way through the cover/silicone over time, I plan to re-do the whole thing and glue a tiny "dot" of plastic over the bottom of the switch cover where the switch makes contact with it.

When that friend's Pro Pointer orignally stopped working and would no longer turn on and off, and even though the switch cover looked fine, when I pulled it off I saw it had small tears at the edge between the dual sided walling that creates the seal. I yoked the battery out, kept the battery end cap off, and stood it upside down while I sprayed non-residue contact cleaner into the switch to clean any grime out of it so all that gunk could flow out the bottom of the Pro Pointer. I sprayed around in inside it too and not just the switch, to keep all that junk out of there that might find it's way back to the switch one day. Works fine now.

One word of caution to anybody using non-residue contact cleaner to clean a jammed switch. This stuff, as it should and is a good thing, evaporates very fast and is dry in seconds, but the problem is the fumes are highly combustible. Should that switch have been stuck in the OFF position, even with the battery pulled out of the PP, when the switch unjams it will energize the PP for a split second with energy still stored in the circuit, and that might be enough to ignite the fumes, so I'd keep the thing away from your face and wear gloves and face protection while mucking with it. If the switch was stuck in the on position, when the battery is pulled the left over energy should drain completely.