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Beware Of Fake Coils! (& Machines)...Video Of Coiltek Knockoff...

Critterhunter

New member
I screened this video and didn't see any ads, so I'd assume it's OK to post? Hope this is the proper forum for it too...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djBn8WlmDuw

That coil was for a gold unit but Is anybody aware of any fake coils being made for the FBS/BBS units, such as say clones of the Coil Tek WOT coil? I had somebody ask me that a few days back and I told him I never heard of such a thing, and since he didn't have anything to offer link wise I assumed he was just being cautious in his purchase of a WOT. He contacted Coiltek with the serial # of the one he was buying used and they confirmed it was real.

Only thing I wonder is can't they just copy the serial # off one and start knocking off a bunch with that? 4 or 5 real coils they gleam the serial # off of and then it would seem calling it in wouldn't tip anybody off until enough phone calls or emails show up asking about the same serial #?

While we are on the topic, has anybody seen any other fake coils for certain brand machines, or fake machines for that matter? I've caught whispers of that in the past but never saw any hard proof on it. Thought I heard the T2 was being cloned but never saw any info on that.

By the way, I think they targeted that above coil due to it's price, so I'm wondering if that might mean the more expensive the detector or coil the more prone it is to have clones being made of it. You might think a clone is a handy way to get a cheaper price but detectors are very delicate things. Using sub-standard parts with higher noise generation will ruin your ability to raise sensitivity for one thing and get good depth.

I have seen some clones of expensive rechargeable battery chargers (computerized) that people have testing and found were very good, but I wouldn't want to take a chance with a detector or even a coil (the proper alignment of the windings is critical for one thing to get best performance out of it). With the chargers, they would crack the software and then once done it's a simple matter of duplicating the hardware. Seems they are getting very good at that, because I've read threads in my other hobby of RC electric planes were they used lab test equipment to check the charging parameters of certain clone chargers and they were just as good as the original. Say a $20 charger clone of a $100+ one.

With brushless motors, read where they would get an order from the US to run off a name brand motor, and then once the order was filled they'd leave the equipment in place and start flooding the market with clones. A $60 motor for $12 to $20. Usually they wouldn't put any name on them, but you knew what they were by the unique look many brushless motors often have in their color and physical casing dimensions. Some of these were total junk as they would then go to using less expensive bearings or wire, weaker magnets, and etc to make them, and would smoke if you used the maximum prop size the real motor could handle, while others clone runs would stick with the real parts and build identical ones for a fraction of the price.

Not much to a brushless motor. A few magnets, some wire windings, and a few bearings.

But with detectors, far more things involved to get optimal performance out of them.

Same deal with coils- The alignment of the windings and proper nulling of the coil is critical for best performance. Then there's the shielding and such where if it ain't done right the coil is either very unstable or gets lousy depth. I wouldn't want to risk using a detector or a coil not knowing what it might be costing me in performance, not to mention at the risk to the detector. Any shabby solder work done at the plug or coil end of the cable where the wrong wires short together and you could fry the detector.
 
Saw a link somebody posted to what I guess they are saying is a 15x12 SEF clone for the T2 along with some other coils and detectors, which I guess means those are clones to on that site? Anybody else hear of SEFs being cloned? Don't want to re-post the link for obvious reasons.

Here's a letter from elsewhere referencing fake Coiltek coils...

BUYER BEWARE ALERT!

The market has now become overwhelmed with fake Coiltek 12 X 19 Gold Stalker coils.

Trevor the Managing Director / Owner of Coiltek Manufacturing actually got his hands on one of them.

He told me, "Doc, this isn't just a "good" knockoff, this thing is almost perfect cosmetically." He said unless you knew precisely what to look for, the average person, including a dealer, would never know he had a fake in his hands."

We will alert our dealers in a confidential email, how to identify fakes. Our dealers are going to have to be extra cautious about honoring warranties, for fear they may be replacing a fake coil with a real Coiltek coil.

Trevor said, that the cosmetic appearance, is where the similarities in the coil ends. When they opened it up they found loose windings and very shoddy workmanship. The coil works, but it doesn't work well and falses a lot, does not have the depth or sensitivity, and is basically substandard in it's electronic construction.

We already have a scheme that will thwart these knock offs and make it easier to identify legitimate Coiltek products.

This may include things like random generated branding of the plastic with a secondary serial numbers or a series of symbols along with the primary serial numbers. We would then keep a confidential registry of what serial numbers were branded with what randomly generated secondary serial number or lot number. If those numbers did not match, we would know we are dealing with a bogus coil.

The bottom line is, DO NOT purchase any COILTEK coils unless from an authorized COILTEK MANUFACTURING dealer. And make sure you get a dated receipt that has the serial number listed on it.

Because of this fake coil situation, we are now going to have to be even more cautious of warranty issues with coils, so make sure you know your serial number and the dealer you purchased your coil from. We keep track of every serial number and what dealer the coil was sent to. This is the check and balance we use now. If you say, the serial number is 5547 and I got it from Rob, we do a search and see what dealer that coil is registered to. If it comes back as not being from Rob, then we will not honor the warranty.

I would also recommend you scratch your serial number into the coil, in case the serial number sticker comes off, or wears off.

Save yourself the pain and aggravation of buying a pretty piece of crap from an unknown party, and buy from a dealer.
 
Just dug this up...

"I guess China is wanting to fake everything. 1st it was coins, now this...

As you may or may not know, the Chinese are now counterfeiting White's and possibly other makes of metal detectors. It has been confirmed a Chinese outfit has been counterfeiting White's V3i's and White's has received one for investigation.

Although their may or may not be any difference in function of the counterfeit's, as Whites' Said "The quality of the counterfeit detector is unreal", you are hurting an American Business that manufacturers machines in the USA.

So..know who you are buying from. Buy from established...well known dealers...don't buy a detector from a stranger on Craigslist offering a new V3i for $600. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

Slightly off topic...but they have been counterfeiting Garret Pro Pointers as well. I bought a new pp this year from a well known dealer. The quality seemed much better than my old one...makes me wonder if it was a fake."
 
Never saw the video but I have know about the fake coils for years. They also have faked detectors now!
BCNJ
 
http://www.findmall.com/read.php?66,1605362,1605543#msg-1605543
 
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