OK, here we go. In order to reevaluate the GTI-1 there are several basic bits of information I feel I must cover. The GTI-1 will operate on any and all of the Garrett GTI series of detectors, not just the 2500. Some call it a probe and some call it a pinpointer while it is actually neither. Basically, what it is is a mini-coil that can be used as a pinpointer or a probe depending on the users requirement. It is however not an imaging coil. Being a miniature coil, it can perform any of the operations of the regular 9 1/2" coil except the imaging feature. That being said, you have to change your mindset when using it. You cannot looking at it as a pinpointer or a probe, rather as another coil, miniaturized and capable of getting into small spaces such as the hole where the plug has been cut when recovering a target. You have to remember that it can be utilized and operated on any one of the many functions just as a normal coil. Clear as mud? OK, then here is where I was erring in trying to use it with my GTI 2500.
Assume the GTI-1 is installed and you are searching an area in any one of the discrimination modes on your GTI series detector. You find a target that is indicated as a coin at 4" and you pinpoint it with your normal 9 1/2" coil. Be sure and make a mental note of the size and depth of the target. Now you want to precisely pinpoint the target with the GTI-1. First of course you switch the GTI-1 to the on position with the toggle switch. Then you place the tip of the GTI-1 coil near the spot you have pinpointed with your detector. In order to precisely locate the target, you need to press and hold the pinpoint button on your detector while running the mini-coil over the spot pinpointed by your detector. (This is what I was not doing correctly). If you do not press and hold the pinpoint button on your detector you will be operating the mini-coil in the discriminate mode. It is not designed to operate in the discriminate mode and you will not be able to attain the depth needed to pinpoint the target! This is why I was getting only 2 or 3" in depth as reported in my original evaluation. This was the big flaw that was causing me to get such poor results and I want to reiterate, it was a matter of operator error, not the Sunray product!
Keeping in mind the information I just divulged, I took my GTI 2500 with the GTI-1 and my standard 9 1/2" coil out for a new test spin. I went to a grassy center median dividing a boulevard in one of the older parts of town. My first target was an indicated size B coin at 4" as indicated by the imaging feature on my GTI 2500. The icon scale was indicating a penny at approximately 5". After pinpointing with my detector, I switched on the GTI-1, pressed and held the pinpoint button on my detector, and slowly ran the mini-coil over the target area. Just as with my larger coil on pinpoint mode, I got a tone that became louder and peaked right over the target, precisely identifying where to dig. Using my Gator tool I dug a very small plug in the small area indicated and soon found a zinc penny at precisely 4". This indicated to me that the mini-coil used properly was dead on accurate at a depth of 4". Covering an area of about 20 feet long and approximately 8' wide I continued to recover coins at various depths from as little as one inch to a maximum depth of seven inches. Each time the GTI-1 was dead on accurate! I know it was able to identify a target to at least seven inches, but I did not locate any targets deeper than that so I don't know precisely how deep the signal from the GTI-1 would penetrate.
I tested the GTI-1 in another manner this trip just out of curiosity. I found an area about 2' square that had several coins right at the surface just barely covered by grass or leaves, not into the ground at all. I used the mini-coil in the discriminate mode rather than pinpoint to locate several of these coins. In each instance it found the barely covered coin and rang out loud and clear with the Garrett unique bell tone signal. I was able to hold the mini-coil up out of the grass about an inch rather than having to scrub it in the grass and leaves as would be necessary with my Automax II probe. This should prevent wear and tear on the GTI-1 and you don't have to nearly touch the coin or target to locate it when on the surface.
On the way home I went by a playground in a small park and decided to stop and test the GTI-1 "in the chips". I found several dimes beneath a playground toy using the GTI-1 to finely pinpoint the location. As most of you know it is easy to dig up your target in the chips and not realize it. I did this on a couple of pennies and lost the target in the hole that indicated to me I had already dug it up and it was somewhere shallow outside the hole. From my previous experience at locating coins on the surface, I used the GTI-1 in the discriminate mode and easily found them at or near the surface. This may not be the proper way to do it but it worked well for me, a tip you might make a note of.
The only problems I ran into was not necessarily the fault of the GTI-1. Since I am partially disabled with a back injury, it is hard for me to hold the pinpoint button in with one hand and use the other hand to operate the mini-coil. I use a back strap with a bungee attached to take some of the weight off the detector and the bungee kept pulling the detector back toward me where it was difficult to operate the pinpoint button. I will experiment on where to attach my weight assist strap so it doesn't interfere with the operation of my detector and GTI-1. Also, twice I got an indication of a target identified as an "A" size, or smaller than a coin. One was a bobby pin and the other was a very tiny piece of copper that looked like part of a bullet jacket. My detector coil picked it up easily but I could not locate it with the GTI-1 mini-coil. I found both targets with my Automax II probe, but it must be noted that the tip of the probe had to touch the objects before it would vibrate. This is noteworthy only in that in the past I have recovered a couple of very small silver rings that fell into the "A" category. Perhaps I could have found the two tiny junk targets with the GTI-1 if I had tried putting my detector in the all metal mode? I will talk to Sunray about that and see what they can tell me.
Well, that about sums up the first phase of my new evaluation. One trip out does not make a definitive conclusion, but it must be said that by following Sunray's directions in the proper use, the results were much better! So much so that I think you can discount my first evaluation. At this point I would have to rate the GTI-1 very satisfactory! Testing to continue...............Monty
![:-\](https://www.treasurenet.com/smilies/undecided.gif "Undecided :-\")
