Garrett pro pointer fault

[Dryland]

My garrett pro pointer is only about 3 months old but it seems to have developed a fault.
After picking up a signal with my detector, I dug down about 4 inches and using the
pin pointer I located a couple of horse harness buckles, checked the hole again and nothing,
but as I withdrew the probe it started going off , I stood up and it was still rapidly beeping. I
had to switch it off and back on for it to stop. This has happened a few times now and I
can't seem to trust it as it will give a signal if something is in the hole and after I've removed the
object. I have to use my detector to double check if anything else is in the hole.
Anybody else come across falsing like this ?

[Mike]

yes me yesterday and on the last couple of trips , dont know why it does it , new battery in it , it is almost 18 months old though 

[Chef Geoff]

The pro pointer has a rudimentary ground balance built in which means it calibrates itself to where it is first switched on. Make sure you turn it on well above ground and see if that helps

[Christoph1945]

                                         I have had this problem some times and then not others; it can be very frustrating. On Sunday, whilst beach detecting, I noticed that my detector was giving me small signals at the same time the ProPointer was playing up and began to suspect that I was laying down the detector too close to the target area. Next Sunday, whilst on a club dig, I am going to make very close observations of how my ProPointer and my detector inter-react. I am also going to try out a set of radio headphones, so that I can lay down the detector a little more distant from the target area. I will also try out your suggestion of turning on the ProPointer  well above the ground. Maybe, together, we can crack this problem! 

                                        After all that has been said; the Garrett ProPointer is a great little bit of kit and I wouldn't be without mine. 

[Franny]

Had a fault similar to everyone else's , it seems the battery sometimes doesn't sit straight in the pointer and sometimes the battery doesn't connect properly hence the pointer switching on and off , I've put some cardboard in the cap in mine so it forces the battery down on to the contacts firmer , hope that helps . Fran .

[Dryland]

Thanks everyone for your comments, it seems mine isn't the only one then.
I'll try a few of your suggestions and see how it goes. saw a clip on you tube
last night about cleaning  the probe and removing the speaker cover, I didn't
realise this was possible, so I tried removing it today and guess what..............
I broke it. Although it is meant to come off, be careful. Now i'm trying to
find a replacement speaker cover.  I  NEED A RALLY 

[Christoph1945]

Oops! I hope that you can get hold of a speaker cover soon. Out of interest; let us know where you get one from.

[Dryland]

Hi Chris I contacted regtons,they said they'd phone me back, but didn't.
I'll try them again tomorrow

[Detectski]

After reading about various problems with Garrett pro pointers I decided to improve the IP rating of mine with heat shrink as described in this thread;

http://www.detectingwales.com/index.php?topic=16793.15

Never had any problems with it..

[Dryland]

that looks like a good idea, might give it a go myself

[woodbob123]

It seems to be a very common fault, I suggest you remove the switch cover (rubber) just prise it out carefully dry the probe out on a radiator or in front of a fan or similiar for a day or two that should help.
Problem seems to be damp in switch some switch cleaner may help but hopefully drying out will solve it, damp seems to enter past the switch cover when I refit mine I've used some gasket sealer to try and seal it.  Switches are available on e-bay but beware fitting a new one is difficult even with the right tools.  Hope that helps. If you decide to use heatshrink or a bit of inner tube make sure you dry it out first!!

[nobby]

If the ground is very heavily mineralised the pointer will sound off, we had this on one of the fields we where detecting no matter where we touched the ground with the pointer it would sound off

[Dryland]

Thanks Nobby I never thought of that, on the other hand I think I'll
just put the blame for everything on you