Finally got my unicorn PI

[jadocs]

I primarily hunt with an Excal, but I have always wanted a decent PI in my arsenal. There are a lot of good ones out there, but there was something about the DetectorPro Headhunter Pulse that really appealed to me. It was the combination of being able to break everything down to fit in a small backpack, respectable performance and the fact that they are hard to find. People don't seem to want to get rid of them, but they do pop up once in a while.

Everything is built into the headphones, so all you have is a coil and shaft. Coils can be changed by connecting them to the phones. Although advertised as waterproof, I have read about issues with water getting in the headphones and damaging the electronics when submerged underwater. Battery life is around 6-8 hours depending on how hot you run it. Since I don't plan on diving and only plan on hunting in the surf it should suit my needs just fine...thanks to ROBOTCOP13 for the lead on the rechargeable batteries.

A huge thank you goes out to Keith at Fort Bedford Detectors for locating a new HH Pulse with 8" coil for me. The stars and moon aligned and he was able to secure it. I can't say enough about Fort Bedford, customer service has always been above the rest.

Prior to Keith contacting me I had stumbled on a HH Pulse for sale on eBay. I quickly bought it for two reasons. First, it was a great deal and second this might be my only chance at owning one.

The one on eBay came with a 11" coil, everything was in perfect condition down to the rubber grommets on the headphone. The coil however was sprayed with black bedliner.


I decided I was going to try and recondition the coil to how it was originally. I tested the plastic with some acetone and thankfully it had no adverse effect. I was able to remove most of the bedliner from the top then shot it with some white satin (keeping the bedliner on the bottom).



So I ended up with two, but now have the ability to switch coils from 8" to 11" and have a set of headphones as a backup.

8" coil - This coil is pretty hot, depth is comparable to the 11".

 

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Your ready Now!!

 

[CASPER-2]

 

[bklein]

I dont understand your comment on acetone. It should affect the plastic as it is likely abs, right?
what is godd vs bad result?

 

[jadocs]

I dont understand your comment on acetone. It should affect the plastic as it is likely abs, right?
what is godd vs bad result?

bklein, I know that acetone can soften or dissolve some plastics (not all though). I did not soak the coil (that would be bad), instead tested an area by putting some acetone on a rag and rubbing a small spot removing the bedliner and getting down to the original white plastic of the coil. When I was satisfied that there was no softening of the plastic (you can tell by the texture of the coil retaining its texture - i.e. not smoothing out)...I continued to do the rest (minus the bottom). Bedliner was left on the bottom for two reasons. First they don't make coil covers for this and second I wasn't going to mess around trying to remove it and have an adverse reaction to the epoxy.

If you enlarge the pic you will see the original texture of the coil was retained.

 

[sonnar28]

You will definitely enjoy using the HHPI!

The Achilles's heel is that it has a factory set slow SAT, it is about like an Aquasearch with SAT at 9 o'clock. Even using the small coil in rough water/ surge can require a lot of coil control. Using a loud threshold will help stabilize it, and you really want to run it at pulse delay at 15 msec (the max "frequency" dial) as the pulse width is optimized for gold at that setting - it hits HARD on gold and aluminum then. Depth on wet sand with the large coil is on par with a Dualfield.

I tuck a loop of wire beneath my find bag waist belt to provide strain relief, and I always use two hands to adjust the headphones since I did the "lift the left earcup with my left hand" to hear someone talk, and the whole battery compartment came apart on me in waist deep water (I was lucky and pinned everything to my chest until I could get to shore).

HH

Charles

 

[jadocs]

Charles thank you very much for that valuable information. I had no idea about the slow SAT as I am still learning this machine. Thank you also for the tuning tips it was very helpful.

 

[sonnar28]

Charles thank you very much for that valuable information. I had no idea about the slow SAT as I am still learning this machine. Thank you also for the tuning tips it was very helpful.

I am happy to share my experience with this machine.

I eventually stopped using the stock rod setup (coil washer was aggravating to shim, and the arm cup strap would come loose). You may want to try it on your favorite hip mount Excal wand (coil bolt is Excal size), I have mine on a Dualfield upper S rod and a long Anderson Excal lower rod.

I usually do a scout hunt with the Excal to find good areas with low iron, and then come back with the PI. I highly recommend reading Clive Clynick's "Pulsepower" Finding Gold at the Shore with a Pulse Induction Metal Detector; it is an excellent book well worth reading and rereading.

There is not a lot of ongoing posting about the HHPI, i would be interested in your thoughts as you use your machine.

I envy you the joy of first time digging a big gold ring well beyond Excal depth!

Charles
[h=1][/h]

 

[jadocs]

I am happy to share my experience with this machine.

I eventually stopped using the stock rod setup (coil washer was aggravating to shim, and the arm cup strap would come loose). You may want to try it on your favorite hip mount Excal wand (coil bolt is Excal size), I have mine on a Dualfield upper S rod and a long Anderson Excal lower rod.

I usually do a scout hunt with the Excal to find good areas with low iron, and then come back with the PI. I highly recommend reading Clive Clynick's "Pulsepower" Finding Gold at the Shore with a Pulse Induction Metal Detector; it is an excellent book well worth reading and rereading.

There is not a lot of ongoing posting about the HHPI, i would be interested in your thoughts as you use your machine.

I envy you the joy of first time digging a big gold ring well beyond Excal depth!

Charles
[h=1][/h]

Charles you must be reading my mind. I was just wondering about switching the lower rod and shaft. Thank you for the confirming it will fit on an Excal rod. This makes things much easier as I have some on hand. Great tip with scouting with the Excal and following up with the PI.

I'll definitely keep you posted! I'm very much looking forward to getting out this weekend. Oh and thanks for the book recommendation...I'll look for a copy this evening!

 

[jadocs]

Got the rechargeable batteries in yesterday based off ROBOTCOP13 posts. They are 600 MaH each and he has run them for a few years and had great success with them. Haven't had a chance to test them yet but it will definitely save some money down the road.



Here is the link for anyone who's interested:

https://horizonbattery.com/collecti...lithium-ion-2-bank-charger?variant=1248229479

 

[cobill]

I found a new headphone control unit at Detectorpro and was wondering if you guys/gals on this forum knew of any coils that may be sitting in someone's closet gathering dust...an 8" would be great! Also, does your headphone battery compartment have a rubber gasket to seal out dirt & water...mine doesn't and the manual says it should...just wondering if I'm missing a gasket to help seal the unit and ensure it stays shut with the repeated opening/closing. Seems like the battery compartment is really loose to me.

Bill