Any opinion on Bounty Hunter pinpointer

badger

Jr. Member
Mar 7, 2012
41
3
Divide, Colorado
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Vaquero, Garrett Pro Pointer
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
the cheap ones don't work at all. you have to spend over 100 bucks to get a good one. the garrett's are great at about 130 bucks new. read the reviews.
 

TCosbyJr

Jr. Member
Jun 3, 2012
95
24
Bedford, IN
Detector(s) used
Current: Tesoro Outlaw, BH Tracker IV, HF MD6008
Ex: White's Coinmaster Pro, BH Discovery 3300, Tesoro Cibola
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I bought two of the Harbor Freight Cen-Tech pinpointers and they work great for about 1" to 2" deep, which I find perfect for pinpointing - and they cost only $17 each. The only problem I have with mine are they refuse to work in 100 degree or hotter weather. Even when one was opened and the electronic pot adjusted it still would not quit beeping - but once it cooled off it was working fine again (same as always). The 100 degree of hotter problem is in the manual that comes with it as well.

If anyone has a solution to the heat it would make the pinpointer even better. I've heard of making vent holes for heat, painting it white (to reflect sunlight/heat), and other tricks, but it seems nothing helps. The only real trick to keep it cool is to wrap a ice pack or something around it. :D

Here is a list of pinpointers available, including the BH pointer, and honest reviews by buyers. I would shop around and get the best you can afford. GL & HH
 

deliveryboy

Greenie
Jul 6, 2012
15
3
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I think they work great, many times I dont even have to dig beyond 2 inches, I get a hit, zero in on it with my detector and probe the ground and 60% of the time will get a "buzz" signal before even digging. I do hate the control knob though I tend to leave mine on and it seems to get bumped quite frequently which in turn makes it buzz annoyingly until you free up your hands to finally turn it off or down, very frustrating IMO, also have tried the Harbor freight but personally don't like it (bulky and no vibration mode) otherwise it's ok. I have found with both of these models you should point the probe downward as you adjust the sensitivity each time. Turn it until it buzzes, then back it of barely until it doesn't buzz anymore then probe away.

watch craigslist for great deals on pinpointers, I see a garrett in my town for only $80 have seen the bounty hunter one for $40
 

Last edited:

norbyx

Hero Member
Jun 3, 2012
837
163
San Jose
Detector(s) used
Actual: Whites MXT All Pro, M6 and Tesoro Sand Shark

Ex: BH Platinum, Tesoro Lobo, ST & Tejon, Teknetics Delta, Whites MXT, V3i, Dual Field, MX5; DP Wader, Garrett At-PRO, Fisher Gold Bug 2, CZ-70Pro
Primary Interest:
Other
I have the bh the GPP and the hf. I prefer the HF over the BH because it has more depth. The GPP is the best of them all even if sometimes it gets crazy.

Sent from my iPhone using TreasureNet
 

deliveryboy

Greenie
Jul 6, 2012
15
3
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I'm thinking about trying to mod a HF one by adding a buzzer to it, it doesn't seem like it would be that difficult, maybe even trim down the case a bit or make another altogether, i'll let you know what becomes of it :)
 

TCosbyJr

Jr. Member
Jun 3, 2012
95
24
Bedford, IN
Detector(s) used
Current: Tesoro Outlaw, BH Tracker IV, HF MD6008
Ex: White's Coinmaster Pro, BH Discovery 3300, Tesoro Cibola
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I'm thinking about trying to mod a HF one by adding a buzzer to it, it doesn't seem like it would be that difficult, maybe even trim down the case a bit or make another altogether, i'll let you know what becomes of it :)

It is a easy thing to modify it to add vibration. I got some vibration motors from cell phones, but they are rather weak. I ended up using a vibrating motor from a old Playstation one controller. I've used it in my pinpointer since I took it out of the shipping box for the last few weeks on the same battery. One thing that is recommended by all is to replace the cheap HF button with one from Radio Shack for $2 (as the original will quit working right within a few hours of use).

In the PS controller simply take out the phillip screws and disconnect the smaller motor. In the image below it is on the right

playstation-sonycontrol2.jpg

Then simply wire it inside the pinpointer to the wires coming from the piezo speaker, hot glue it in place and your good to go. It took longer for my soldering iron to heat-up then do the entire mod. Here are some instructions on how to do the mod with pictures (I didn't find any on this forum).
 

deliveryboy

Greenie
Jul 6, 2012
15
3
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
It is a easy thing to modify it to add vibration. I got some vibration motors from cell phones, but they are rather weak. I ended up using a vibrating motor from a old Playstation one controller. I've used it in my pinpointer since I took it out of the shipping box for the last few weeks on the same battery. One thing that is recommended by all is to replace the cheap HF button with one from Radio Shack for $2 (as the original will quit working right within a few hours of use).

In the PS controller simply take out the phillip screws and disconnect the smaller motor. In the image below it is on the right

View attachment 651872

Then simply wire it inside the pinpointer to the wires coming from the piezo speaker, hot glue it in place and your good to go. It took longer for my soldering iron to heat-up then do the entire mod. Here are some instructions on how to do the mod with pictures (I didn't find any on this forum).

cool looks like someone beat me too it, I will definitely convert it now
 

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