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coils
- Thread starter mxtemmons
- Start date
I dont live across the pond,but going by your ground conditions that you have mention and also the coils i would have said that its because your coils are to big,not sure if you have any smaller coils but i bet you would find a massive improvement in your finds especially the small items like coins,almost certain that is what the problem could be.You are all geared up with a very good detector but wrong size coil/s for the job in hand.
Just my personal opinion though.
Just my personal opinion though.
In highly mineralized ground normally a DD type coil such as the SEF 6X8 or the White's 6X10 DD elliptical coil will do a better job by design. Out off the two coils just mentioned I find the SEF 6X8 coil to do an excellent job and I like it just a little better than the White's 6X10 DD ( just a personal preference) The SEF 6X8 cuts through trash pretty well do to it's size and still gets ok ground coverage. In our highly mineralized ground here the SEF 6X8 and the White's 6X10 DD coils do a little better job over all than the White's Eclipse 5.3 coil (6.5) that everyone raves about. The White's 5.3 eclipse coil is hard to beat in good ground though but can suffer a little in the tougher mineralized ground ( Again all personal preference and has been my experience with my M6 & MXT detectors in my area)
Happy Hunting,
Bill G
Happy Hunting,
Bill G
I reached my decisions after using an assortment of search coils, and even after I had my initial selection, I still have an open mind and changed it up, if something better came along. The first thing to do is know what you currently have and what their strong and weak points are. To accomplish that you have to make sure you know what types of general hunting conditions you are going to face, both in ground mineral make-up and density of trash you'll encounter [size=small](plus the type of trash, be it ferrous or non-ferrous)[/size].
You might also want to factor in the search mode and audio tone choice you will usually be using, the types of targets you are mainly searching for, and decide just how much you personally like to hear a 'multi-tone' audio response and/or how much you want to make use of the visual TID and VDI display.
I have used just about every Detech made search coil on the MXT and MXT Pro, and the ONLY one of them that would have a place in my current search coil bag is the newer and thinner 5" round DD coil. I currently do not have one, but I will find one fort sale or trade down-the-road. When I bought my first original MXT I did so getting two search coil ... the stock 950 Concentric and the little 4X6 DD Shooter coils. [size=small](Yes, if you're a fairly regular reader and know my general preferences, you might be surprised that Monte actually bought a Double-D coil intentionally!
)[/size].
As an example of my coil selections, I considered the fact that I always own more than one detector so I have models that can complement each other, but select the one that I feel is best suited for a site, and performs like I want, and match the best coil for my needs. Since May of 1969 I started hunting ghost towns and homesteads, and although I still searched open grassy parks and schools a lot during the hey-day era through the '70s when there were a LOT of coins to be found, with an impressive percentage of silver coins, I started leaning more and more to urban renovation sites, building tear-down sites, and mostly heading out-of-town to old-use places more and more by 1980.
Homesteads, ghost towns, pioneer and military encampments, mining and logging camps, stage stops and railroads sidings and depots, ... just any old-use site that I could find. By the time the MXT was first released those were my main haunts, and since I deal with a lot of trash, quite often ferrous-based junk, I like to make sure I get the best in-the-field performance from a smaller-than-stock search coil and detector team. That little 4X6 Shooter DD coil worked ... it just didn't work as well for me with the MXT as did my 4½" coil on an IDX Pro, or a 6½" or 7" coil on a Classic ID, IDX Pro or Tesoro Bandido II or Bandido II µMAX. All of these search coils were Concentric types.
Like I said, I mainly select older sites where iron nails and other small ferrous trash is a challenge, and in '94 I encountered a coin amongst four nails in a Ghost Town in Southern Utah, so I duplicated that exact scenario using those nails and an Indian Head cent to compare detectors and search coils against. There are a lot of detectors and search coils, both Concentric and Double-D, that can work fairly well in some occasional or sparse iron trash, but not perform well enough to pass my Nail Board Performance Test.
So, based upon the success I had with the 6½" and 7" search coils [size=small](and have now added a 6" Concentric for my Tesoro's)[/size] I figured I ought to see how the original MXT would do with the 6½" Concentric coil, so I bought a 5.3 Eclipse. The results? Somebody became the proud owner of a 4X6 DD coil and the 6½" Concentric became the preferred smaller-size search coil on my MXT [size=small](and later the M6 and today the MX5)[/size]. I used the thin 6" Excelerator DD coil, and had one on three occasions, but it just never worked as well. The only smaller-size DD coil that I liked, for the really densest trash, is the 5" Exclerator.
The 6X8 SEF is an 'OK' DD coil and some folks like it a little better. Maybe because they are a fan of a DD coil design or the fact that it is an attractive looking search coil in that smaller SEF configurations, but I've had one, and now don't. The 6½" Concentric coil still gave me the better all-about performance. So, out of what you listed, I had the 950 for some general hunting in more open area with a lower trash content, and I keep a 12" Concentric in my search coil bag for specific uses, such as searching for known bigger-size targets, like discarded railroad locks, or for cache hunting. The other coils you listed would be coils I would get rid of ... but that's just me.
I will clarify that, as I stated earlier, I might upgrade my coil arsenal if I like something better, I did, and I switched to the 9" spider Concentric coil a little over a year ago to replace the 950. They are close to the same size and have very similar in-the-0field performance, but I like the appearance of the 9" spider coil, and the slightly smaller diameter combined with the rod-mount being slightly closer to the center of the coil. Not much, but enough that it does improve the balance and feel of the coil. So today, I have a 6½", 9" and 12" all in Concentric design for my MXT All-Pro use.
Most of the locations I search have a Ground Phase from 78/79 to 84/85 on my MXT All-Pro, and many of them are rock strewn, some have pea gravel, and many have some intense black sand mix in the loose dirt. Tell us about your hunting environments and that might help, but my likely suggestions would probably remain the same.: Use a 6½" Concentric for trashier and brushier conditions, and a 9" spider or 950 Concentric for more open, lower target count areas.
Monte
You might also want to factor in the search mode and audio tone choice you will usually be using, the types of targets you are mainly searching for, and decide just how much you personally like to hear a 'multi-tone' audio response and/or how much you want to make use of the visual TID and VDI display.
Well, your White's 8X14 and Excelerator Pro 2 are Double-D types and your Super 12" is a Concentric design, but you left a 'mystery comment.' You used a ',' to isolate the words 'White's Eclipse' so I don't know if you are referring to the 8X14 and 12" coils that are made for the Eclipse series models, or if you have another search coil with the 'Eclipse' label on it, such as a 6X10 DD or 5.3 [size=small](measures 6½")[/size] Concentric, or if you just mean the stock 950 Concentric coil?mxtemmons said:
I have used just about every Detech made search coil on the MXT and MXT Pro, and the ONLY one of them that would have a place in my current search coil bag is the newer and thinner 5" round DD coil. I currently do not have one, but I will find one fort sale or trade down-the-road. When I bought my first original MXT I did so getting two search coil ... the stock 950 Concentric and the little 4X6 DD Shooter coils. [size=small](Yes, if you're a fairly regular reader and know my general preferences, you might be surprised that Monte actually bought a Double-D coil intentionally!
)[/size].As an example of my coil selections, I considered the fact that I always own more than one detector so I have models that can complement each other, but select the one that I feel is best suited for a site, and performs like I want, and match the best coil for my needs. Since May of 1969 I started hunting ghost towns and homesteads, and although I still searched open grassy parks and schools a lot during the hey-day era through the '70s when there were a LOT of coins to be found, with an impressive percentage of silver coins, I started leaning more and more to urban renovation sites, building tear-down sites, and mostly heading out-of-town to old-use places more and more by 1980.
Homesteads, ghost towns, pioneer and military encampments, mining and logging camps, stage stops and railroads sidings and depots, ... just any old-use site that I could find. By the time the MXT was first released those were my main haunts, and since I deal with a lot of trash, quite often ferrous-based junk, I like to make sure I get the best in-the-field performance from a smaller-than-stock search coil and detector team. That little 4X6 Shooter DD coil worked ... it just didn't work as well for me with the MXT as did my 4½" coil on an IDX Pro, or a 6½" or 7" coil on a Classic ID, IDX Pro or Tesoro Bandido II or Bandido II µMAX. All of these search coils were Concentric types.
Like I said, I mainly select older sites where iron nails and other small ferrous trash is a challenge, and in '94 I encountered a coin amongst four nails in a Ghost Town in Southern Utah, so I duplicated that exact scenario using those nails and an Indian Head cent to compare detectors and search coils against. There are a lot of detectors and search coils, both Concentric and Double-D, that can work fairly well in some occasional or sparse iron trash, but not perform well enough to pass my Nail Board Performance Test.
So, based upon the success I had with the 6½" and 7" search coils [size=small](and have now added a 6" Concentric for my Tesoro's)[/size] I figured I ought to see how the original MXT would do with the 6½" Concentric coil, so I bought a 5.3 Eclipse. The results? Somebody became the proud owner of a 4X6 DD coil and the 6½" Concentric became the preferred smaller-size search coil on my MXT [size=small](and later the M6 and today the MX5)[/size]. I used the thin 6" Excelerator DD coil, and had one on three occasions, but it just never worked as well. The only smaller-size DD coil that I liked, for the really densest trash, is the 5" Exclerator.
The 6X8 SEF is an 'OK' DD coil and some folks like it a little better. Maybe because they are a fan of a DD coil design or the fact that it is an attractive looking search coil in that smaller SEF configurations, but I've had one, and now don't. The 6½" Concentric coil still gave me the better all-about performance. So, out of what you listed, I had the 950 for some general hunting in more open area with a lower trash content, and I keep a 12" Concentric in my search coil bag for specific uses, such as searching for known bigger-size targets, like discarded railroad locks, or for cache hunting. The other coils you listed would be coils I would get rid of ... but that's just me.
Yet you didn't describe the sites you search, the targets you're usually after, the challenges at the sites you hunt and just what it is you are searching for. If you are primarily searching for coins, rings and other smaller size targets, and if you are mainly hunting urban locations like most hobbyists, I'd suggest going with my original decisions of a 6½" and 950 Concentric coils.mxtemmons said:
I will clarify that, as I stated earlier, I might upgrade my coil arsenal if I like something better, I did, and I switched to the 9" spider Concentric coil a little over a year ago to replace the 950. They are close to the same size and have very similar in-the-0field performance, but I like the appearance of the 9" spider coil, and the slightly smaller diameter combined with the rod-mount being slightly closer to the center of the coil. Not much, but enough that it does improve the balance and feel of the coil. So today, I have a 6½", 9" and 12" all in Concentric design for my MXT All-Pro use.
Since you have an MXT, why not give us a Ground Phase read-out in the Prospecting mode for several sites you hunt. That would give others a little more of an idea of the ground mineral challenges you face, and you could also describe the ground 'texture' and conditions searched. Is it well maintained park, school and yard lawns, rough uneven dirt, plowed fields, pea gravel or places with a lot of obvious smaller rocks in the mix?mxtemmons said:
Most of the locations I search have a Ground Phase from 78/79 to 84/85 on my MXT All-Pro, and many of them are rock strewn, some have pea gravel, and many have some intense black sand mix in the loose dirt. Tell us about your hunting environments and that might help, but my likely suggestions would probably remain the same.: Use a 6½" Concentric for trashier and brushier conditions, and a 9" spider or 950 Concentric for more open, lower target count areas.
Monte
TerrificPacific
New member
Great Post. Thanks, Monte.
Q: How many Forum members does it take to change a coil ??
* 1 to change the coil and to post that the coil has been changed.
* 14 to share similar experiences of changing coils and how the coil could have been changed differently.
* 7 to caution about the dangers of changing coils.
* 1 to move it to the detector related section.
* 2 to argue then move it to the chit chat section.
* 7 to point out spelling/grammar errors in posts about coils.
* 5 to flame the spell checkers.
* 3 to correct spelling/grammar flames.
* 6 to argue over whether it's "coil" or "search head" ... another 6 to condemn those 6 as stupid.
* 2 industry professionals to inform the group that the proper term is "search loop".
* 15 know-it-alls who claim they were in the industry, and that "coil" is perfectly correct.
* 19 to post that this forum is not about coils and to please take this discussion to a search loop forum.
* 11 to defend the posting to this forum saying that we all use coils and therefore the posts are relevant to this forum.
* 36 to debate which method of changing coils is superior, where to buy the best coils, what brand of coils work best for this technique and what brands are faulty.
* 7 to post URL's where one can see examples of different coils.
* 4 to post that the URL's were posted incorrectly and then post the corrected URL's.
* 3 to post about links they found from the URL's that are relevant to this group which makes coils relevant to this group.
* 13 to link all posts to date, quote them in their entirety including all headers and signatures, and add "Me too"
* 5 to post to the group that they will no longer post because they cannot handle the coil controversy.
* 4 to say "didn't we go through this already a short time ago?"
* 13 to say "do a Google search on coils before posting questions about coils".
* 1 forum lurker to respond to the original post 6 months from now and start it all over again.
* 1 forum member who actually went and bought one after reading all this advice - and found that it wouldn't fit . . . which started off a new thread about detector retailers and how good/bad they are . . .
This always reminds me of coil threads....LOL
Bill G
* 1 to change the coil and to post that the coil has been changed.
* 14 to share similar experiences of changing coils and how the coil could have been changed differently.
* 7 to caution about the dangers of changing coils.
* 1 to move it to the detector related section.
* 2 to argue then move it to the chit chat section.
* 7 to point out spelling/grammar errors in posts about coils.
* 5 to flame the spell checkers.
* 3 to correct spelling/grammar flames.
* 6 to argue over whether it's "coil" or "search head" ... another 6 to condemn those 6 as stupid.
* 2 industry professionals to inform the group that the proper term is "search loop".
* 15 know-it-alls who claim they were in the industry, and that "coil" is perfectly correct.
* 19 to post that this forum is not about coils and to please take this discussion to a search loop forum.
* 11 to defend the posting to this forum saying that we all use coils and therefore the posts are relevant to this forum.
* 36 to debate which method of changing coils is superior, where to buy the best coils, what brand of coils work best for this technique and what brands are faulty.
* 7 to post URL's where one can see examples of different coils.
* 4 to post that the URL's were posted incorrectly and then post the corrected URL's.
* 3 to post about links they found from the URL's that are relevant to this group which makes coils relevant to this group.
* 13 to link all posts to date, quote them in their entirety including all headers and signatures, and add "Me too"
* 5 to post to the group that they will no longer post because they cannot handle the coil controversy.
* 4 to say "didn't we go through this already a short time ago?"
* 13 to say "do a Google search on coils before posting questions about coils".
* 1 forum lurker to respond to the original post 6 months from now and start it all over again.
* 1 forum member who actually went and bought one after reading all this advice - and found that it wouldn't fit . . . which started off a new thread about detector retailers and how good/bad they are . . .
This always reminds me of coil threads....LOL
Bill G