COMING SOON for the MX Sport and MX-7 .... a 6½ Inch Concentric coil! :thumbup:

[Monte]

Some quick facts:

White's has been using a 6½ Inch diameter Concentric search coil for years on all the other favorite model lines. I always refer to search coils by their physical size and have ignored incorrect labeling, or marketing ideas manufacturer's try that, to me, just weren't very good ideas in the first place. One example is the Tesoro 6" Concentric coil which they call a 5.[size=small]75[/size], but it isn't, it is a 6" diameter coil, but they got their odd-number marketing ideas from White's, I'm sure.

White's came out with their 6½" measured search coil for the 6.[size=small]59[/size] kHz series and labeled it the 600 Blue Max. It used a white-colored housing. Then they changed the name for that coil to the 5.[size=small]3[/size] Black Max using the same housing but in black. For reasons the decal showed the name change of that same coil to 5.[size=small]3[/size] Bullseye, still in the black housing for the latter series of 6.59 kHz models [size=small](Classic ID, IDX Pro, 5900 Di Pro SL, XLT, 6000 Pro XL, etc.)[/size] and also the labeled 5.[size=small]3[/size] Eclipse coil for the higher-frequency series [size=small](the DFX, MXT, M6, MXT Pro/All-Pro, VX3, V3i and MX-5)[/size].

All these Concentric search coils had two things in common:

One: They all measured 6½ Inches in diameter.
Two: They all worked exceptionally well for many applications.

No, the search coils do not measure 5.[size=small]3[/size]" and that caused a lot of average Hobbyists to never give them a try because, simply by the new name, many figured the coil was too small for their wants, suggesting it was just a little over 5" wide. For decades of Internet Forum and PM or e-mail activity, I have gladly described all of these search coils by their physical measured diameter of 6½ Inches .... and I will continue to. I just hope White's will be aware of how they label their new search coil that will be announced soon for the new MX Sport and MX-7 models.

Anyway, to fast forward this post to the good news we have to end 2017, White's will be bringing out a 6½ Inch Concentric search coil soon for these two models.

With new the MX-7 they would be bringing the MX Sport electronic package to a land-based model, and I was eager to want to buy one. When I saw the advance announcement Tom B. gave in a video, I was even more pleased because I've become a bit tired of way too many all-black detectors. Yes, I have enjoyed the XLT, Classic series, XL Pro, MXT series and M6, but just wore tired of their black housings, and black search rod set. Kind of blah for me after a while, and some of my other brand in my Regular-Use Detector Team also came in 'black' attire also.

For decades I have liked to be a little 'unique' or 'creative' in some way with my detectors so that they stood out a little 'different' from comparable models on the market. Swapped compatible search rods of a different color, or used a compatible search col from a different manufacturer, for example. I have a real passion for this great outdoor sport so I liked being a little 'unique' for the rest of the folks just to draw attention to what I was using and get into discussions about detectors and detecting, and the model that was in-my-hand.

You will see my 'custom' approach in my current detector group as with my two Nokta FORS CoRe models I had the black upper and middle rods stripped and powder-coated an 'Edge Red' color, and my two FORS Relic models have their two metal rods stripped and powder-coated an 'Edge Blue' color, making all of these models rather striking and they draw attention and questions. At first glance, the new orange color White's chose for the MX-7, which Tom B. told me is called 'Bengal Orange', is one that is quite appealing to me. I almost had some models powder-coated almost exactly this color and I'm glad I didn't because now the 'Bengal Orange' units in my personal arsenal will boldly let the White's MX-7 stand out.

Well, in this case White's unknowingly helped me out even more. Not only did I drive over to White's a couple of weeks ago to buy this new and versatile 'BO Seven' [size=small](Bengal Orange MX-7)[/size], and a pair of replacement Pro Star headphones for what was stolen in October, but I also bought the 7" Detech Double-D search coil. To be quite honest, I don't thin a detector manufacturer should be stocking and selling an after-market search coil maker's product, but the 7" DD does work on the MX Sport units I've tinkered with.

Still I favor a smaller coil and was informed they will have the 6½ Inch coil for the MX7 and MX Sport and was provided one to evaluate. Here's where White's un knowingly helped me out. The coil in the familiar black housing, was just made and the lower black plastic hadn't been attached to the upper portion, plus the top of the black coil housing was blank. No decal yet. What to call it? Naturally, I wanted to call it exactly what it is, a 6½ Inch Concentric designed coil, that would be working on my MX-7, and my oldest son added the 'personalized touch' to the decal he made so folks will know WHO's search coil it is.

Mont Jr. was busy working in his shop, Once Trees, making his custom woodcraft products and also doing his laser engraving and other things, and he had the tools and is always willing to help his Dad. I let him borrow the 6 ½ Inch coil for a day to get the two halves sealed in place, and he also worked up a custom decal for me. Well, actually it's for the coil, but you know what I mean.

I asked Tom B. when we could talk about the coil and he informed me that it is okay for those of us with the coil that 's out for evaluation to talk about it. He also said it is going to be in production soon, this coming year, for the MX Sport and MX-7 detectors models. I have posted this comment in some replies below, but a couple of pe3ople commented on-line or in e-mails that I should just make a fresh post about this soon-to-arrive search coil.

I have included three photos to show the search coil with one photo showing the coil mounted on my MX-7 so you can see the overall appearance. Let me say right here and now, I really like the MX-7. both the appearance and field performance, and that means I really like the 'Bengal Orange' coil [size=small](I've customized from stock)[/size] and I especially like having the 6½ Inch Concentric coil to complement my 7" DD and 950 Concentric coils for this versatile land unit.

I am sure Tom B. will make an appearance on this White's Forum in the near future and fill us all in on when they will be releasing a production run of this coil, so stay tuned and have a little post-Christmas shopping money left over for yourself.

Monte

[size=small]aka Mont to my friends and family.[/size]

 

[amcoins44]

Ready to purchase. Thanks for the pictures. Can I get mine persolized?

 

[OregonGregg]

Having the middle rod also done in the Bengal Orange sure does give the machine a much better "finished" look. Well I guess I'm going to have to come over and give yours a try.

 

[Monte]

thanks to Tom B., at White's, and my son, Monte Jr..

[size=small]►[/size] Tom B. identified the specific powder coating they are using for me in an e-mail request:[quote from Tom B.] [size=medium]The orange is Drylac "Bengal Orange...."[/size][/quote]

[size=small]►[/size] Monte Jr. works with a wide range of crafted product design in his shop to include making adhesive decals. The really nice, color-matching search coil decal started out a very solid white, but ended up being black to match the search coil body with the color enhancements and 'personalized' touches.

I don't mind going an extra mile and paying just a bit to customize my detectors. Oregon Gregg & I both use Art's Powder Coating in Ontario to strip and powder-coat the upper and middle rods of some of our personal detectors for us, and the cost is very reasonable. My search coil was naked and required sealant to secure the halves, and I wanted a little 'personal touch' to properly describe the search coil size and type so I paid him $20 to take care of all that for me. And it was surer worth it to me, also having me added to it to let folks know who's MX-7 and coil it is.

You can always get yours personalized to be unique for you.

Monte

 

[Frank in NH]

Monte You said you got your 5.3" in two pieces what size are the actual coil winding, 5.3"?

 

[Rick(ND)]

n/t

 

[Monte]

Monte You said you got your 5.3" in two pieces what size are the actual coil winding, 5.3"?

When those were first announced I was down at White's and had a chat with a couple if folks and asked where the terrible name change? As it was they had the Blue Max 600 which wasn't 6" across, but 6½ Inches just as it is today. This all happened when they were also introducing the new Quantum XT and Quantum II, and on the Quantum II they used the standard 8" coil, such as the Royal 800, Blue max 800 and other physically similar coils, but they decided to label the new Quantum II coil as a 7.[size=small]8[/size] for the same nutting marketing reason ad renaming the 6½" coil a 5.[size=small]3[/size] Black Max initially when changing from white plastic to black.

To be honest, not in the past when I had the opportunity nor when I got this unsealed 6½ Inch coil, did I measure it. But yes, you are on the right thought of why the name they came up with as I was told at the time it was a marketing idea and some engineer decided 5.[size=small]3[/size] would be a good idea because that was supposed to be the outer Transmit coil winding. I told them back then, often since then, and continue to this very day to remind them that most search coils in the industry are described by the outside physical measurement.

The 8" Concentric was at or very close to an 8" diameter. The 950 is very close to 9½" diameter. I don't have a tape measure handy in my den, but the Detech 7" DD measured very close to a 7" diameter as well. The 6½" coil should not have been 'down-graded' to call it a 5.[size=small]3[/size] because it isn't.

Yes, the '5.[size=small]3[/size]' idea they had was referring to the diameter of the internal Transmit coil winding, but on trips to White's factory at the time I asked a few engineers about that measurement. Was it from the outside edge of the wire winding to the opposite outside edge, or was that 5.[size=small]3[/size] measurement from the inside edge of the winding across to the inside edge of the winding, or did they get the measurement from the center of the wire winding to the center of the wire winding?

They all had the same answer, and that was that they didn't know, so I pointed out that if engineers don't know exactly then it sure isn't a consideration for the unknowing consumers. We, the end users of the products, generally consider search coils based upon the physical dimensions and that it was misleading to name this particular search coil differently than they did all their others. That said, I still give White's credit for how they have named their elliptical coils, using the width and then the length, such as 4X6 or 6X10 rather than doing it backwards like we see most often.

Search coil size and description is one of the few things in the metal detector industry where we have seen a lot of inconsistency over the years. Another has been words to describe adjustment controls or display read-outs, and that can get confusing at times as well especially for a novice trying to learn different brands or models within a brand. But I like to keep things 'Simple' and when it comes to search coils, just "call them the way we see them" and there won't be any confusion.

Right now I am more interested in 2.[size=small]5[/size] anyway. We're stuck in an inversion with a low-to-high range of mid-20's to ±32° and the ground is frozen, plus we haven't seen a flake of snow yet, but have dealt with temperatures down into the mid teens the last couple of weeks. It's December 12th and that means it will be about 2.[size=small]5[/size] months until we start to break out of the grip of winter and get into the early warming stages of spring weather. Burrrr!

Monte

 

[ramairnut]

That looks sooooooo AWESOME! Thank you White's for making this coil work for the MX Sport and MX7. I will be looking for the upcoming release date announcement. Next year is gonna be good!

 

[Monte]

That looks sooooooo AWESOME!

This size Concentric coil has been around for other models for a long time now, and has served me extremely well. Usually it was the primary-use search coil that stayed on the detector full-time, only switching for a specific purpose. In it's blain black design is still looks good when mounted down there at the end of the rod, but I do think my specimen looks 'AWESOME!' as you describe thanks to Monte Jr.'s handy work at designing a custom decal for it and keeping the Bengal Orange color White's chose for the MX-7. I do say it is an attractive search coil.

Thank you White's for making this coil work for the MX Sport and MX7. I will be looking for the upcoming release date announcement.

I was kind of interested in the MX Sport from what little I handled it, and was definitely eager to see what they developed as a land model, and I liked what I saw. Then I was even more interested in spending a little pre-Christmas cash on myself ... early ... to get one in my hands with the Detech 7" DD, even though that's not really what I wanted as a regular-use coil. Then I heard the little bits here and there about a smaller Concentric coil in the futures, and am most grateful to Tom B. at White's for hooking me up with a pre-release 6½' Concentric coil to evaluate. He told me mine was about the 6th one out for testing, and Frank in NH has been working with one on his MX Sport for a while now.

The 1st thing I did that was right was buy an MX-7. The 2nd thing I did that was right was not argue with Tom on that offer [size=small](which was never going to happen!)[/size] and accept this wonderful opportunity. The 3rd thing I did that was right was properly identify my coil for size and type with a 'custom' decal. The 4th thing I did that was right was put this coil to use as much as I have been able to with winter's chill here in Eastern Oregon. And finally, the 5th thing I did that was right was not hesitate to share the great news that White's is solidly 'in-the-game' by bringing us a new and versatile and affordable detector, and quickly following g up with a splendid search coil for the MX-7 and MX Sport.

And all the real credit goes to the good folks at White's who are listening and answering the wants and needs from consumers who are active detectorists.

Monte

Next year is gonna be good!

Yes indeed, and I am not going to wait around here for spring. After Christmas I am taking my trailer and heading off to drier and warmer detecting weather for at least a week or so. The MX-7 and 'customized' 6½ Inch are going to get some serious detecting time as a break from our wintery cabin fever season. I hope you're in an area that doesn't suffer from winter-downtime weather and can get out and enjoy some search time.

Monte

 

[ramairnut]

Well those 5 times were as right as right can be. Please upload some pics of your finds and add a review of this awesome combo. I will be stuck inside for quite awhile from the looks of our weather forecast. I will end up with a bad case of cabin fever, I'm sure. The bright side is that I really enjoy the MX Sport and now that i know there will be a small coil available for it, I may just survive the winter.Thanks again for the heads-up, Monte. Good luck and Happy Hunting on your trip.

 

[John in Nawth Carolina]

6.5" is very close to the 7" I own now. We'll see......

 

[John in Nawth Carolina]

That size is very close to the DD 7" Detech I purchased a while ago. Haven't been able to use my MXS a lot but the 7" didn't find any additional good targets in areas I used the 10'DD at. As a matter of fact, the MXS with 10" DD found 7 CW bullets that the Nokta with the 5" oor coil missed in a small 20'X20' area.

 

[TC-NM]

I'll just have to use my Xmas money for after the holiday's purchase, HOOOO RAAAA!

 

[ramairnut]

That size is very close to the DD 7" Detech I purchased a while ago. Haven't been able to use my MXS a lot but the 7" didn't find any additional good targets in areas I used the 10'DD at. As a matter of fact, the MXS with 10" DD found 7 CW bullets that the Nokta with the 5" oor coil missed in a small 20'X20' area.

The MX Sport goes deeper than what people think.

 

[John in Nawth Carolina]

That size is very close to the DD 7" Detech I purchased a while ago. Haven't been able to use my MXS a lot but the 7" didn't find any additional good targets in areas I used the 10'DD at. As a matter of fact, the MXS with 10" DD found 7 CW bullets that the Nokta with the 5" oor coil missed in a small 20'X20' area.

The MX Sport goes deeper than what people think.

Yep, I know.

 

[Monte]

That size is very close to the DD 7" Detech I purchased a while ago.

Yes, it is very close in size, and it is also very different.

When I bought my MX-7 I also bought the Detech 7" DD coil because I have used it a few times earlier this year on an MX Sport .. and because it was the only small-coil offered for this new series of detectors. I hunt sites that are most often densely littered with ferrous debris and smaller-size search coils are a must-have, to be sure. The 7" DD worked better than the larger-size search coils, but I have been hoping since the first announcement of the MX Sport and its available coils [size=small](which didn't include a 7" Detech back then)[/size] that they would give us a smaller size Concentric coil like they have offered for other models for decades.

Why? Because Concentric coils and Double-D coils of similar/close physical size can provide us with different in-the-field performance and characteristics from the other. I was afforded the opportunity to evaluate the 6½ Inch Concentric, maybe the 6th of them out there for the MX Sport and MX-7, and then given the OK by Tom Boykin to talk about it and even mention that is will be a new coil offering very soon.

Keep in mind that there is no such thing as a 'perfect' metal detector, nor is there a 'perfect' search coil that handles all types of hunting or site environments. It's always best to own and use a detector and coil 'team' that provides us with the best all-purpose performance we can get for the tasks at hand. In recent years, especially the past 15 to 20, there has been a growing 'trend' for manufacturers to offer and promote Double-D search coils as if they offer some sort of 'magic' ... which they don't. Different 'characteristics' in EMF shape and Tx/Rx winding placement, yes, and different performance when it comes to handling ferrous junk or in numeric VDI read-out accuracy or consistency, yes, .... but no 'magic.'

I've been using Double-D coils since they were first introduced to the hobby detector design back in 1971 by Compass with the Yukon series TR's, and I still have such a 6" DD on my Compass Coin Hustler. I've used a wide assortment of search coil designs through the years, and even today many detectors in my Regular-Use Detector Team use DD search coils, and they work quite well. If they [size=small](the detectors and their search coils)[/size] didn't, then they would not be in my personal arsenal. But not all of my detectors use DD coils because some work much better, for me and the dense iron littered sites I mainly hunt, with a Concentric coil. I keep a 7" Concentric on a Nokta Impact and Tesoro Mojave, and 6" Concentric coils on my Vaquero and Silver Sabre [size=small]micro[/size]MAX for example.

The White's MX-7 I bought a couple of weeks ago keeps the new 6½ Inch Concentric coil mounted full-time, and I have the standard 950 and Detech 7" DD each mounted on their own lower rods for quick changes afield, and they are in my accessory coil tote. My 2nd MX-7 should arrive today and I just need to decide if I'll keep a 950 Concentric or 7" DD mounted on it for different applications.

Haven't been able to use my MXS a lot but the 7" didn't find any additional good targets in areas I used the 10'DD at. As a matter of fact, the MXS with 10" DD found 7 CW bullets that the Nokta with the 5" oor coil missed in a small 20'X20' area.

ALL detectors are capable of missing targets, or of finding targets. We have to put the coil over them to find them.

As I said earlier, there is no such thing as a 'perfect' detector and it is best to maintain a detector battery of models that complement each other in some way. When I was at White's I told Tom and Jim, the Distributor, that I know the MX-7 will be a very good 'fit' in my arsenal, and it will be a main unit to grab at many sites, but I assured them it wasn't going to bump my Nokta Impact, Relic or CoRe out of my arsenal because they are all very proven. Especially the FORS CoRe and most notably when the small 'OOR' coil is mounted. The MX-7 still brings a different performance level to the table and I know it/they will join my 'team' for a lot of hunt-time in the coming year. Most of that field time will be with the 6½ Inch Concentric coil, too.

Using what I can afford since 1976.

There have been times I have had to struggle to 'afford' a new detector, especially in the earlier years, and I have been doing so since early 1965. Looking back, so many of them were a lower-cost purchase but income was also more limited back then, and having six children seemed to impact some of my budget. Then they got way too expensive starting in '83 and it's really nice to see some of the major detector makers change things up in very recent years to bring us better products with more performance at a much more affordable MSRP. The MX-7 is a prime example.

The MX Sport goes deeper than what people think.

I'm eager to welcome springtime so I can get out more with the MX-7. The dip in temperatures, with frozen and white-covered ground, sure cut into my 'fun time' since I got this device. I plan to hook up my trailer after Christmas and make a drive south to enjoy some warmer and drier weather for a week or two of hunting, and while most of my hunt sites are well littered and most coins, trade tokens and 'keepers' are 4" or less in depth, I did note that the MX-7 can provide ample depth-of-detection for those open-area searches.

I think White's has answered the need to provide a very functional detector at an affordable and competitive price, and one-upped this detector release by bringing us a very useful smaller coil in Concentric configuration. Adds to the value and versatility of the MX-7 and MX Sport.

Monte

 

[GroundScanner]

I like the looks of the MX-7 with the 6 1/2 " coil. GS

 

[John in Nawth Carolina]

Monte, what do you think will be the advantage using White's 6.5" coil over the 7" coil?

 

[Monte]

of the individual who is using the coil, and is based on the particular detector model and settings used. I have my own opinions to share, of course.

Monte, what do you think will be the advantage using White's 6.5" coil over the 7" coil?

As has been observed through the years of search coil performance comparisons, a similar-size Concentric coil is most generally going to:

a.. Produce a more consistent visual Target ID and audio Tone ID on opposing let-to-right and right-to-left sweeps over a target.

b.. Due to 'a' above, TID's will be 'tighter' and lack the spread often seen with a comparable-size Double-D coil.

c.. Concentric coils usually handle iron/ferrous-based targets better than a DD.

d.. Because of 'c' above the Concentric coil often provides better all-around Discrimination capabilities.

e.. Another point is that, as a rule, a Concentric can provide slightly better depth-of-detection than a comparably-sized DD in an open, sparse-target environment.


Keep in mind that I am not saying all Concentric coils work great and all Double-D coils don't. I know better than that, and I concede the fact that, by design, some metal detectors seem to perform better with a DD coil. Then, too, some detectors don't have a Concentric coil made for them so I can't compare in-the-field performance. That said, I will also stand by the results I have enjoyed after comparing similar-sized coils of each type and found that the all-around performance, in a wide variety of site environment and trash challenges, has favored what I get from a decent Concentric coil.

I have benefited from the performance I've had from the different 6½ Inch Concentric coils I owned from White's for over a quarter-century now, on numerous different models and operating frequencies, and with the short time spent with this coil on my new MX-7, I am very confident it isn't going to let me down now. This coil will stay mounted full-time to this MX-7 and it will be my primary-use White's detector. The holiday shipping seems to have caused a deal as my #2 MX-7 was supposed to be delivered Tuesday but is lost in the shuffle. I hope to have it here today, Thursday, and I'll use the same settings but mount my 7" DD Detech coil on it. Then over the next couple of months I am going to be doing a lot of side-by-side work to evaluate both coils of different types but very close physical size on located targets. It will be interesting, but I'm confident I know what the outcome will be.

Monte

 

[Rick(ND)]

I am planing on getting one of the 6.5 inch concentric coil when Whites makes them for my wife MX7 as what I seen myself when I did the field test on one for the Minelab Sovereign. The Sovereigns use a double D coil and I really like the coils and the detector and thought that was the fact that they work the best, but I was surprise at what the concentric can do and made a believer out of me.
I did the 8 inch, 10 inch and a 12 inch test for non water hunting like in parks and school ball fields so it seen some trash and some iron areas. The 8 inch shock me for the finds from this place as I thought I had it cleaned out, the 10 inch didnt turn me on as I think there was something wrong with it and took the 12 inch to the front yard of where I had been over with my Sovereign and the SE Pro just to see what would happen and found more in the hour I was there than I did with the other detectors for the hours I had been there before. It was mostly wheaties and some IH pennies and one hole had a 1917,1918,1919 and a 1920 penny in one hole with that 12 inch coil in a area with a lot of nail and such in it. What really sold me was the nice 1907 Barber dime in another spot that everyone I know had worked this small area with their detectors.
I know I wanted to add these coils to my battery of detector and accessories , but these were the test coils and had to send them back for others to test for water use and said I would order the 8 and 12 if made, but that is when it was decided that the Sovereigns would be discontinued so the coils were never made. Tried the 8 inch concentric sold by Kellyco, but it didnt work that good and thought it was a bad coil, so got the second one and it too was not like the ones I tried of another company and sold it.
For my wife MX7 I ordered in the 8 inch DD coil so we will see what it will do compared to the 6.5 concentric Whites will be making and feel my wife will want to keep this coil on her MX7 and will have to sell the 8 inch DD coil.

Rick