Pinpointer Garrett Pro-Pointer mod improved version

[Funfinder]

If you place the fine-adjustment screw on the right angle and location,
now just a little movement of 2-3mm (ca. 1/8 inch) is needed to get it to highest sensitivity!


The default position of the screw is close to the LED when switching on the pinpointer.
The Pro-Pointer now adjusts itself automatically and then simply move the head of the screw
with your thumb to the high-sensitivity position.


What is needed:
- one screw (size: 2 - 2,5 cm = 1 inch or a bit smaller) with fiting screw-mother
- 2 pliers (or a vice)
- soldering iron
- black hard plastic stuff
- ventilated working room (at least with open window) and tissue to clean the soldering-iron


Bend the screw as shown on the picture.

While the Pinpointers PCB is on its place melt ca. 5mm below and 3mm to the left of the LED a hole into the plastic.

Use some additional (melted) plastic-material to fill this hole a bit (because default there is no bottom) for better stability.

Insert the bended screw while the material is still hot and bendable and cover/close the region around the screw-mother with additional plastic.
(this whole procedure is for real good stability but for a bit less also an upside down and cutted off nail would work)

Test by switching on-off the pinpointer and screw-turning where exactly the screw-head has to be located for the sensitivity-mod
- afterwards melt and create 2 little plastic-hills left and right of the screw to fix it exclusive to those 2 needed positions.
(at the correct position the Pro-Pointer should be directly close to the edge of beginning to beep and/or vibrate)


Good Luck!

[bernte_one]

Thats a crazy mod,

why you dont use simply a telescop antenna which you glue on the grip, fine adjustment is done by pulling the antenna out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ozNtD-dKh8

[Funfinder]

This is not crazy but perhaps ... , this is professional work compared with improvisation telescop antenna.
Even simplier would be holding a coin near the ferrite-coil until the high-sensitivity is reached but
in the long run it pays off if the mod creates the wanted achievement directly as best as possible, durable.


Not to forget the Garrett Pro-Pointer's design is not the best from the beginning.

It should not have this flat tip by default - this is worse for ground penetration.
Mod: Solder a piece of melted plastic on the top to make it more like a dagger.


But much more worse is the beeping if it comes to border-sensitivity!
Best solution: Rip out with a flat-nosed pliers the beeper!
Hold this round thing with the pliers and rip it away - no problem!!!


To do this:

Remove the battery and the screw there.

Pull and drag the gum-cover of the on-off button out.

Press the on-off button to on.

Gently tear out the battery holder part with a flat-nosed pliers by watching that the on-off button slides intact below the pinpointer-plastic.

Tear away this on the nerves going beeper, it is just disturbing if you wanna have set your Pro-Pointer all the time to border-sensitivity !!!
(de-soldering would be also an option but the heat could destroy nearby parts, so be careful if you need this beeper intact)

Shove back the PCB into the pinpointers case, it has to lead inside the both platic tracks and be careful
that the cable that connects ferrite-antenna and circuit-board has enough good space at the on-off switch contrary pcb-side (= the lower side).

Push in back the rubber-gum-cap of the on-off switch as it was before.

Screw tight back the battery-case, insert battery, close it and you're ready to go.


This mod also has the advantage that you can work more discreet, and by default this beeper has not even a volume control at all.
All you can do to make it more quiet is to close those two little wholes, but its still too loud. Those 2 little holes should be
glued or taped anyway to make the Pro-Pointer really waterproofed !!!


The vibration is completly enough to recognize when the find comes near and you can feel it perfectly when the vibration is more
slow or gets faster. Even if you wear gloves you still can feel it good enough. This inbuilt beeper is just a waste of battery-power.


And finally:
If you are already melting plastic with the soldering-iron you should "solder" a little plastic-loop (tongue with hole) at the round
lock for the battery-compartment and attach a cord or something else there with belt-carabine-hook!
Because such a pinpointer can get lost pretty fast if the treasure-hunter is distracted by whatever.



Good Luck!

[Funfinder]

3 short Testmovies:
Garrett_Pro_Pointer_Mod_Testmovies.zip (9.63 MB)
http://www.multiupload.nl/LJS1YV5L4L

Without mod the end of a medium-small chain is detectable at 1,5cm
but with mod the sensitivity is around 3x better.

And a very small piece of soldering-tin is detectable from 2cm with mod.

At real digging conditions its around 1,5cm but at least that way there is
a chance to find such small stuff or gold-nuggets at all.

[chemelec]

If you change your Tuning Control pot to a 10 or 18 turn Pot, you will get the same sensitivity as that screw or antenna gets.

It just give that Extra bit of Fine Tuning.

[Henrikras]

In mine PP (Garret PRO PP) there no potentiometer... . But I can see the DC at the tuning control slowly changes when a object come near, and same DC changes when the iron scrue fine tunes to more sens.
It looks like the reset it set to low, and this PP could work better. (More sens.)
I'm trying to figure out what happens..
henrik.

[Nupi]

my super tuning on the Garrett

[Henrikras]

Looking good. Nice job NUPI.
A little funny you posted this now. I've been playing with my Garret PP this evening. Reason was that my on/off was broken and I had interference at my 11" Deus coil at the 17.4 khz, so I open it up and did some measuring.
Did Anybody knew that there is a reset button inside the PP, which you can use to reset the PP and you can Offset reset the PP and get a little more sens??? I found out the way to do this and made a utube. Its just being uploaded and will ready in a hour.
If you look at the picture and read the text... Its easy and when its done, you properly would say "why not".
The PP got a respond delay value, Thats why you can get more sens. with a metal object outside at the coil. But soon you turn the PP on next time, you need to remove this metal, Otherwise the respond delay will be like standard.
If you hold a metal close to the coil and do the factory reset, you will make a shorter respond delay and a higher value, which makes more sens. Not so much you can get with the outside tuning, but some 10-20%... Not bad and much more easy to work with.
The measuring point at the picture is important...-4.40 (+\-) is factory setting or setting with a clean coil no metal close.
If you follow my adwise, you can get up to -5.6 to Maybee even -7.00 volt, and that will give you more sens...
I had no idea what I was doing and why, no schematic and no manuel, so it was a lucky punch this little finetune offset I found out.
Hopefully usefull - time will tell. Ps. I got no idea If this would hold forever..
Henrik

[Nupi]

I did not knew that there is a reset button inside the PP, I never opened it and I had never heard of.
Why did you open the PP not earlier? Would have saved me a lot of work!
I do not see a link from youtube.

Have you solve the interference?

You've done good work Henrik, very interesting and informative.
Thanks!

[Henrikras]

The interference is easy, just use a Very small capacity parallel to the coil or at the tuning capacity. My first try was with a 2.2 nf but yesterday evening I made it work with a 1 nf. It all depends what Detector and how much your interference is. If its a Deus you got, you can change the Freq. in the Expert menu option, but then you can't change the TX. That was my reason to work with the PP, because the TX option adjustment is nice to have. To Big capacity and you will lose sens.
This new reset idea would be a good idea after you soldered a capacity, to get best sens. as posible.
Henrik.
PS.. Important - there is no space to the on/off swich when you open the PP... Find a way to hold the swich down, not only turned on but allso this last 1-2 mm the swich can be pressed down. A thin thread could an idea to hold the swich buttom down, Otherwise it will break. The swich can be found at Ebay. Here is one Exsample
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Replacemen...item19ed98276c

[Skippy]

I've used a narrow strip of self-adhesive tape (Sellotape, Scotch tape etc) to hold the on/off switch FULLY in during re-assembly, it gives an extra 1/2 mm clearance. Apply the tape as you turn the switch ON, that way, if the tape fails, the switch pops out to the ON position. (don't turn it on, then press it in again to apply the tape..)

[Henrikras]

Good idea Skippy..
Last Night this video was made. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPIA1foAD2w&sns=em
Sorry - it was late and it could had been a better video. Hope that you get what I'm trying to say.
ps. I will try same test later to Night, just in case I was Cheated last Night.
Henrik.

[Henrikras]

Hi again....
Okay Ive just been testing this reset in a offset with the PP all over Once more. I even got another Garrett Propointer never open and did the "Henrik tuned PP" vs the standard PP never touch, and I can tell you now, that this idea is perfect..

The Stock PP got excactly this 3.5 cm distance to the silver coin Ive was using in the test at the utube.
I can allso tell you, that you need to find from -5.2 up to -6.4 volt at the measuring point, and If you go over -6.4 / -6.6 volt (like -7.2) it will go in reverse and you lose sens. . You need only to make some try after try with a metal object close to the coil in the PP and do the reset, until you get -5.2 to - 6.4 volt. (Ive found -6.37 volt and it gave me 2 mm more distance).
Remember to remove the metal object after you did the reset, Otherwise you wouldn't get any advantage.
Good luck... It should be Very easy.
Ps. I'm working at a tool to do this reset without taking the PP apart.. If that can be made, it will be like Christmas time.
Henrik.

[Skippy]

Some advice here:
The oscillator in the propointer varies with temperature quite a bit. I'm not sure which specific components are mainly to blame, ferrite rods are very likely to be temperature-sensitive, but the caps in the oscillator are ceramic types, not low tempco. Regardless, "tuning" a propointer to the "limit" is a bad idea, a cold day / or a warm day (I forget which way it drifts) could take it over the limit.

[Nupi]

My Garrett PP drift in cold weather after two minutes and starts the detection signal.
Until the circuit is warming up.