Ever Notice This About Larger Coils...

[Big Fang Coin Biter]

I am a Stealth X8 (8") coil guy most of the time because of trashy sites and it's light weight. Since I got the Minelab Pro coil, I have noticed a few times now that it seems to pick out coins among the junk great. It seems to get stuff my X8 missed. My theory is that the Pro coil hits harder and louder on the "good" part of a partially masked signal.

When hunting the token house with Neal last time, I dug probably twelve partially masked tokens/coins out of an area that both he and I had covered before using our smaller coils and the standard coil. Using the Pro coil, many of the signals sounded like they were on top of the ground but ended up being 4 to 7 inches deep ( easily found with the X8 ). Actually, since my first hunt with the Pro coil I have noticed that the good "iffy" signals sound better with this coil. I have dug deep stuff, but the majority of keepers with the Pro coil have been ones partially masked. I have not compared the two coils on a single target. My guess is that the 8" coil is nulling at 90 deg. so I pass, whereas the Pro is giving a stronger better signal at 90 deg.

Has anyone else noticed this about the Pro coil or other larger coils?

HH - BF

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Minelab aside for the moment, I too have seen this phenomenom with other makes/brands, anyhow. For example: A fellow and I were hunting side by side, in a junky iron-ridden stage stop relicky type hunt site. He was using a CZ6, with 10" coil, and I was using a Whites Eagle, with 8" coil. You can easily see, that his cz6 with 10" would spank my setup on deph, right? But the Whites setup I was using, would arguably have better ability at TID, separation, etc... right? We noticed that sure enough, I did better in the junkier iron-ridden zones of this place (more little brass and copper doohickys rescued from the morass of signals), and he seemed to do better in the cleaner out-lying zones (where his power-house setup shined through). However, he would occasionally pull an awesome keeper from the iron-riddled zone, that perhaps I missed. Like one time, he pulled a deep seated half dollar, from an area I knew for a fact should have been a continuous reject iron signal for him. So it seems the bigger coils, while they start to falter for little flitty stuff, can still let those bigger coins (quarters and halves?) average through? Or perhaps, as you say, the deeper depth allowed them to get a "glimpse" of the signal that was peeking through, that the other machine simply didn't have the depth to reach, to begin with?

So sometimes you've got to try a combination of both tactics, at each site, as they each have their merits.

 

[wildherre]

The 6X8 SEF will hit a lot harder than the X8... wildherre

 

[Chris(SoCenWI)]

Guess have been saying this for awhile, contrary to popular belief that small coils do best in trashy areas, large coils can sometimes kick butt.

BF Try going through that site with a WOT or other even larger coil and you may get more.

My experience is that the larger coils tend to have more a a pronounced center "HOT" spot in the middle of the center web that has somewhat of an ability to see coins close in with junk. If you get a good signal you might move the coil and inch forward or back and swing and not get a hit at all, or just get iron. Basically you need to overlap your swings hugely. I'm also wondering if the fields radiated by larger coils allow somewhat to see under shallower iron. I had a 5" coil that I thought would kick butt in high iron, but it seems that any iron anywhere under the coil would mask deeper targets, much more like happens on a concentric coil.

I also think larger coils handle ground mineralization better, especially when swung at higher altitudes due to tall grass, stubble, etc.

If I find a productive site I will hit it with several sizes of coils and different angles. Each will see something the others have missed.

Chris

 

[onemore]

Yea, I believe the deep sweet spot on the large coil is bigger. Smaller coil needs more overlap.

 

[DirtFlipper]

Yep, same here - however, running the Pro coil compared to the 8x6 SEF I still find that the 8x6 SEF allows me to do overall better in a signal rich area. It's just that the Pro coil will really punch the signal through when it can lock on one. I like to cover an area with both, if possible. I do find that the lower conductive signals really come through stronger with the Pro coil too (like nickels).

 

[Ray-Mo.]

what some call the wrap around effect.I have noticed the big 12x15 and 15" WOT will sometimes amaze me on masked targets that are not in super heavy trash but masked never the less.I have also found the Pro coil to be deadly on the coins that are on edge compared to smaller coils or other coils of similar size.The only place I prefer a smaller coil is in those sights with a heavy blanket of rusty/cut nails and the like.
Now if Minelab would make a 6- 7" and 14-15" size Pro coil the after market companies would really suffer a loss of sales.