Does a smaller coil allow for higher sensitivity?

[Ohio Digger]

I ordered the 8x6 SEF and was wondering if it will allow me to run at a higher sens than the larger stock coil. When I switched to the 8x6 on my DFX I was able to run a lot higher and still have it stable. It was a good trade-off. Smaller coil lost some depth but added sens made up for some of it. Around here the suggested sens on the Etrac is around 15-20. I've been running manual around 25-28.

 

[DiggerODirt]

You can probably run higher SENS, as the smaller coil is less prone to EMI, but you do not really need to...My 6" EQ2 can go almost as deep as the stock coil with the same settings on the e-Trac. More is not always better...Higher SENS does not always mean deeper targets (Thios is pure myth)...After a certain point with some coils, it just means an unstable machine that falses on anything...Turn up the SENS only as high as you can without becoming unstable...Most folks think the SENS is the Power the coil puts out...It is not...It is how SENSitive the coil is to the RETURNED signal from the target.


HH,

 

[Goes4ever]

Normally my small sef coil runs a higher sens when I am in auto +3

 

[Johnnyanglo]

If we define sensitivity as the smallest target resolved by the detector, then a smaller coil will naturally have better small target resolution at a cost of decreased depth. It also has less soil volume illuminated which improves target separation and help avoid ferrous down-averaging (better TID) though the smaller footprint takes longer to cover equal surface areas. The smaller antenna is also less prone to EMI, if that was a problem where you hunt. The net effect is you can raise the detector sensitivity higher before the gain in noise become problematic. The end result is a decrease in effective depth but an increase in sensitivity (can find smaller targets at deeper depths).