15” Elliptical Coil Part 4 Final

[Jack Barlow]

After an additional 10 hours of use, the following summation on the EQX 15” Elliptical Coil might be found to be helpful.

1. The coil is HUGE in comparison to the stock round 11”, but actually light in weight for its size. But the feather weight, “float me along” Equinox is no more. It’s the price you pay (in size and weight gain) for the following...

a.) The ability to cover large areas of ground far more quickly. (Although coil speed must be observed to avoid going too fast and not separating out targets). Also the •Recovery Speed MUST be reduced• from the Equinox stock mode settings or quite noticeable signal degrading will occur. An RS of 4 or 5 tops works well. At an ideal RS of 4 (using mode Park1) a quite respectable scanning pace can be maintained. •That is a key factor to keep in mind, when ground coverage may be your principal reason to purchase the EQX 15” Coil.•

b.). You will gain 2-3” in depth on coin size targets in most cases. But that is a BEST CASE scenario...nothing earth shattering by any means. To buy this coil strictly to gain DEPTH would be a mistake IMHO. The stock 11” round coil can often handle a bit more sensitivity, (1 or 2 numbers) negating the depth gain due to the larger size the 15” offers.

Summation...

Although a large coil...the 15” still has respectable target separation due to its design as an elliptical. As you do your normal “left-right” target scan in front of you, the width is still modest compared to its length. However the length gives you a nice wide swatch as you progress across the field.

Target pinpointing seemed accurate as well. As was the target depth indicator. Be aware of possible “target melding” as nearby inline targets can on rare occasion form up into what seems like a long straight target (like a short length of pipe). Raising the coil as you make multiple multidirectional passes helps with this phenomenon. When in doubt...dig one end.

Am I happy to have all three Equinox coils? Absolutely. The stock round 11” for everyday super-duty use. The wee-little 6” round for flushing out the treasure from the trash. And the big 15” elliptical? The superb ground coverage alone with the resultant increase in targets per hour, makes this one a -definite winner- as well!

 

[dewcon4414]

You have summed it up well...... and i suspect it will react much like larger coils on the wet sand and in the salt water for beach hunters too. Just a few inches......that can quickly go away once you have to make those salt water adjustments. I noted that with machines like the Sov .... where i used say a 13" coil. The closer you go to the surf the move things became equal to the standard coil. But ..... i did like the coverage on the dry sand and that added couple of inches.

 

[goodmore]

Since it is now the cold windy season I will hold off until Spring about this coil. I need to work on a counter weight system for my Anderson shaft. i would also like to see another firmware update.

But thanks for your 4 part report. I appreciate the time you put into it. I was never a fan of the 17 inch CTX coil. I guess I need to get that comparison out of my head. I am currently on leave from my job for a shoulder issue. Weight is a very important factor. Depth is too. Coverage? Not as much.

 

[brissietex]

Thanks John. I have around 8 hours with the 15" coil on the salty beach and I can definitely echo your sentiment on the coil. Coverage and weight to size ratio are great. Sensitivity appears to be good even when having to drop to 19-20. Recovery needs to be dropped...I found 5 worked the best and 4 seemed to be a bit more falsy (could be EMI related)..
.
EMI still is a problem but that is almost always true with the bigger coils on any machine(the way of the road with what amounts to a big radio receiver on a beach full of EMI emitting devices). You probably won't get the additional depth to 1"-2" on the beach but you still can dig some really deep signals with good ears and persistence ...I dug some really deep targets in the wet sand but the signals weren't as crisp and I almost gave up the search a few times. Phantom or lost signals can be a problem...hard to put my finger on why this happens. Pinpointing can frustrate (as with big coils...my Explorer WOT coil was the same). Oh and the absence of the Overload signal on the Equinox is definitely missed when using the 15" coil.

In the end, I doubt the 15" coil will leave my machine when detecting on the beach especially with the time constraints that I live with.

Software updates may help so I hope Minelab is listening to field reports.