NEL "BIG" coil. First use.

[grumpysrb]

I used the BIG for the first time Saturday for a few hours. Almost the entire day Sunday.

It was heavy, but I was able to manage it by changing hands when needed. A slower swing speed helps as well. The coverage eliminates the need for a fast swing anyway. I actually had to retrain myself to take larger steps as to not overlap too much.

It is a noisy coil. I was able to reduce the noise by lowering the sensitivity. Two bars three at the most. I believe much, if not most of this is the high mineralization her. Normally low to mid 80's here on average, the big GB'd in the mid-20's to low 30's. I tried to manually GB with little effect. It was necessary to reduce the sensitivity to two or three bars in order to Ground Balance, being difficult to find a clean spot.

My biggest concern at the moment is the depth it will reach. As of today I haven't found anything deeper than 10 inches. The size if the item, a pin the size of a dime, was somewhat impressive though. It came in clear and loud along a sidewalk.



Another slight concern is the VDI numbers. The didn't settle on two numbers as with the stock or 5x8 coils. They did stay within the normal range, but often jumped around to three or four numbers. It wasn't difficult to tell what I found on most occasions.

All the sights visited were trashy, some very trashy, but the BIG still sounded off loud over coins and other good targets.

I hunted it Pro Zero both days.

 

[Ytcoinshooter]

Thanks for the detail. It's good to see write ups like yours.
HH - Bruce

 

[mudpuppy]

Sounds like you got a real powerhouse there dude! This is a good informative post, and I thank you for that! Nice find and write-up!
Mud

 

[grumpysrb]

Well, I used the BIG most of Saturday, about 4 hour and for an hour on Sunday. I am still skeptical as to whether it is worth the money. All I can say for sure is that it covers a huge area with each swing. And, it is a workout. I did find a few coins most were within range for the standard coil. One was on the fringe, 8 inches. It did easily and clearly sound off for slightly larger targets, mostly iron, at depths as deep as 10 inches, maybe more. Got tired of digging those. One was an old iron stove top piece.

Decided to test the coil. Dropped a clad dime and copper Penney on the ground. Ran the coil over them and got the usual tones and vdi numbers, but in soil the numbers are a little jumpy. They do stay within the coins range, plus and minus one or two numbers from the standard coil.

The BIG is a little harder to pin point than the Standard coil and I have gotten in the habit of PP from two directions, making the +. I use a shovel with a 4 inch wide blade and dig a 4x4 plug around where I PP the target and have often found the target a little outside the edge of the hole, usually within range of the Pro Pointer. It may be that I need practice as the BIG pin points directly under the rod where it connects to the coil.

Still it is a noisy coil to use. A little more so than the Stock coil, but adjusting the Ground Balance helps slightly.

So far, and still, my biggest concern is the lack of deep finds. I don't have a test garden, so I can't say if its a lack of targets or a performance issue. The max depth SEEMS to be 10 inches, but I will still be testing it to see if I find anything deeper during actual hunts.

 

[tcornel]

I just tried out my new NEL 15" Attack coil. Was pulling pull tabs at 8 to 10" or the depth of the blade on my Lesche. Makes me wonder how they got that deep.

I got a lead seal of some sort where the entire Lesche was in the ground.

It takes some experimenting with the "Buddy" to be able to handle it without killing the arm and shoulder.

The coil does what it is supposed to but I don't know if I can handle the weight for longer periods.

 

[upnorth]

Very interesting. Thanks for the write up.

 

[William-NM]

Yes, thanks for the unvarnished reviews, guys! It'll be interesting to see what turns up when you get a chance to swing them in an area with some deep, old goodness...