Critterhunter
New member
Warning: Long and mostly pointless ramble, but a good read if your out of sleeping pills. Skip towards the end if you want to know how this novel turns out.
Yesterday was about the first day in roughly two months that I was able to get out due to the snow cover and weather. We had a day in the low 40's and my friend and I figured we might find an area somewhere where no snow cover was present. After driving through a park for several miles we noticed a patch of green grass about 20 yards wide and 100 yards long at the edge of a sports field, but this area also serves as a picnic grove. This would be my first hunt with my custom lightweight GT using my own upper/lower shaft, grip, remote pinpoint, and meter mounted on top of the grip. It would also be my first hunt with the SEF 15x12. Combine all that with not being able to hunt for a long while and needless to say I was excited to get out and put this thing through it's paces.
Walking up to the green grass I instantly saw somebody else must have noticed this spot, because there were several unfilled plugs laying around on the ground. Not only that but this lazy bum didn't even pick up his trash. I re-filled his holes and picked up his trash. I think I saw the guy who probably did this when we were driving past a sled hill. That hill wasn't getting good sun so the ground there was frozen and it looked like this low life was using a pick to bust up the rock hard ground. If I see him again he's going to get a piece of my mind before he ends up getting us all banned from this park. You already have to carry a permit to hunt there so it wouldn't take much for them to ban us.
Anyway, despite that unpleasant experience I was still pumped about hunting. First off I'll say right away that this coil (at least on my lighter Sovereign with more weight yet to lose!) didn't feel as heavy as a stock GT with the 10" coil (which I knew it wasn't, but also feel it balances better than a stock GT). Keep in mind I haven't hunted in a few months or so and haven't been real active either, so I would have expected some arm fatigue. Yet, after about 3 hours of working this area I wasn't sore at all. If I was swinging the 10" on a stock GT I would have at least expected some arm discomfort having not been active for so long. The machine feels very natural and this coil does not feel big. In fact, after using it my 10" coil looks tiny to me and not "normal".
This area we were hunting has been well worked over the years by other detectorists. It's also heavy in clay so that I wouldn't expect coins to be rather deep over most of the field, at least in this area where there would be heavy foot traffic causing compact soil. It also is an area that has a lot of pull tabs and other trash. Combining all the above conditions (shallow coins, heavy trash) you wouldn't think this coil would be the best pick for such an area. In fact, had I known we were going to end up there I might have opted for my S-5 coil that would seperate targets best and still be able to reach what I expected to be less deep targets. Boy I'm glad I was "stuck" using this SEF coil yesterday!
On to my first impressions of this coil. Setting the unit up with zero discrimination and notch, threshold on, discrimination Iron Mask On, noise band 2, I was pleased to find I could set sensitivity at it's full highest level and the machine was still smooth as butter. No falsing or chatter at all. Very impressive, because although I can often do this with the 10" at areas that aren't near electrical lines or high in minerals, I would still have figured this larger coil would be picking up more noise and thus might never be able to run at full sensitivity.
Sweeping around the area I started hearing a lot of tabs, foil, and other junk. Since this was near the edge of a ball diamond I thought it might be a good place to find a ring as well as some old coins, so I opted to run my notch at 152.5 to 165 (killing about 84% of tabs...see "Splitting Hairs On Rings" thread) and my discrimination up to kill everything below 90 on the VDI. I like these settings ring hunt in high trash areas that I don't plan or have the time to dig every signal out of. I mostly never use any notch or discrimination when old coin hunting only because I like to hear the layout of targets and avoid masking.
Before going to the notch and discrimination I hunted for a while and found that the audio of this coil is like what others have said. It seems better than "normal" DD coil designs, bringing out richer tones and more solid locks. The VDI also seemed to be more stable, though I've never had any complaints about that, thinking the GT has one of the best solid VDI meters I've ever used on any machine. Regardless, junk targets that aren't uniform in shape or are tiny such as round tab tails will still jump around a bit tipping you off to the fact that they are junk. The audio for those also is very telling, making a warbly sound, breaking up, sounding bouncing or harsh, and so on. Overall I'd say this coil does seem to give better audio and ID to targets. Not that the 10" isn't awesome already, but it just seems even better.
Also before going to notch/discriminate I tested it's seperation abilities in heavier spots of trash. I couldn't believe what I was hearing/seeing. I had heard some say this coil seperated as good as the 10" or Pro Coil but wasn't ready to believe that. Not only does it seem to me that it does seperate as good as the 10", I think it seperates BETTER! My friend was using a 6000 Pro XL with the 9.5" concentric coil. We checked several coin signals each other found and I could hear every one he found mixed in with trash. More exciting information on it's ability to unmask or seperate targets is found further down in this review.
After turning on my "ring" mode settings I continued to search looking for any good coin signals or solid, smooth audio/vdi lock ons of everything else that fell outside of my notch or discrimination settings. Now I wasn't being distracted by all the tabs or foil bits and could concentrate on everything else. I popped a nickle that I knew was just that, and a few other tab tails that I knew would be those but wanted to be sure since I was a bit rusty and still don't have a ton of time on my GT since late last summer.
How's the pinpoint? Again, call me a liar but I think this is also BETTER than the 10". I used the reverse walking technique where you wiggle the coil back and fourth as you walk it back towards your feet until you just lose the signal. It should then be right at the base of the "V" where the two coils meet at the top of the coil. Every target I pinpointed with it was right on when I got down and checked the top of the ground with my ProPointer before popping it with a screwdriver. I was NEVER off, even though I have been with the 10" on occasion as I'm still getting used to it's pinpoint. Even in trash I had no problem isolating and pinpointing the target I was interested in. It's a dream, and I'd dare say even more precise than pinpoint on the concentric Whites coils I've used, which I always considered the most accurate on the market at that.
While on the subject, this remote pinpoint switch is like putting mag rims on your car. It really sets this machine off and makes it a pleasure to use. Not only that, but I found the meter being on top of the grip was fantastic as well. Even when I had it elevated on the stock shaft before so I could see it, that was still in the stock area further down the shaft so not as easy to see from that distance some times due to light conditions and such. So long as I'm talking about those custom modifications I might as well say that the light weight upper/lower shaft really is working fine as well. Everything is stiff and rigid and the machine already feels much lighter and easy to use.
As I said, this coil didn't "feel" that big. I'd also throw in that anybody considering an SEF but has the same concerns I had about the 15x12 being too big should drop those worries right away and buy the thing. It's not nearly as heavy nor as big as I had pictured in my mind. I know know I would have been let down if I opted for the 12x10 in relation to the 10" coil I already have. They would be just too similar in size for me. Even with all that said the 15x12 isn't very big if you compare them both sitting on top of each other like I did in the other thread (link below). After you use this coil you'll wonder how you suffered with any tiny thing smaller than it. It feels that natural to use.
The only problem I had was when I bumped the coil into by foot I noticed it wobbled for a split second or two on the shaft. At first I thought this was the Whites Tall Man rod but then realized it was the two Whites rubber washers. A Minelab coil has a wider mount so I had installed two plastic washers between the rubber Whites ones and the shaft, causing the rubber Whites washers to stick further out of the mounting holes on the shaft then they normaly would. This is what is causing the "wobble" when the coil is bumped as the rubber is flexing. I think if I switch the plastic washers to the other side, meaning between the Whites washers and the coil it's self, this would go away. Now the rubber washers will be sitting further down in the mounting holes on the shaft like they should and not be as prone to flexing. All that being said the coil and shaft was still solid.
Back to the impressions...So I'm swinging around when I get a good 180 coin signal. There was some trash nearby but the target gave a good reading regardless of what angle I swept at it. stuck my screwdriver into the ground and out pops a clad dime and a round tab from about two inches deep, both exactly in the same location from the tiny probe hole. Hmmm...looks like this coil is unmasking coins even with a round tab right with them and still giving a perfect coin signal. Not only that but I'm running my notch and discrimination. Very good first test of that, but it gets better!
Later on I hit a real heavy patch of junk near a large tree. I slowly sweep my way through it and suddenly hit another good 180 signal. This one is a bit smoother/sweeter sounding and also bouncing up to 181 for a split second here and there. Hmmmm....I'm betting this one is silver I think. I sweep around it from all directions and she's still reading true and perfect. I want to soak it all in here so I start sweeping around it to see just how much trash there was and how close it all was to the 180 signal. I'd say the target was completely surrounded by trash for the most part. At least almost a complete circle of trash ringed around it's perameter within 1 to 3" away from it at various points. Around the 7 o'clock position there was a larger "tab" signal that looked like it was a large piece of aluminum or maybe 2 or 3 tabs laying together. The other trash the surrounded the target was smaller but just as close or even closer to it. I then decided to get sloppy with my sweep from several angles and see just how quickly I lost the target. Nothing doing! Didn't have to be right over it to keep the signal a perfect 180. It wasn't one of those things where you have to perch right on top of it and wiggle right there. I could swing at that thing like a drunken sailor and still get that signal.
Now to put it to a real test. I call my friend over with his 6000 Pro XL and ask him to sweep over the target. He worked it for a while from different angles, commenting about all the trash there, and then finally said "I can get a high dime signal, but only from one direction". He also remarked that he probably wouldn't have ever seen that signal unless he knew to be looking for it. That sounded to me like this coil is unmasking this mystery target and seperating the surrounding trash better than his 9.5" concentric, though I sure want to do further comparisons in the field to firm this belief up.
Long story even longer, I'm pretty sure this is a silver. In fact it was, and not only that but this would be my first silver coin with the GT. I've dug indians, a v-nickle, and wheats since I bought it, but I've had limited time with the unit so far due to the oncoming winter. I've dug a gold ring on a beach and a thin/tinny silver woman's ring at about 9" in the sand as well which was loud and clear, but I still haven't put enough time in to pop out a silver coin with it. Combine that with the fact that I would often grab my QXT Pro for my hunts in the woods due to it's lighter weight when on scouting missions and it's easy to understand why.
But I just knew this was going to be my first silver with the GT, so my friend watched as I dug a plug (the only plug I dug that day because of thinking it was silver, everything else I popped with the screwdriver) and right at the bottom of the hole about 3" down was a 1926 mercury dime! OK, that's pretty outstanding. 3 hours into a hunt with a machine I'm still not totaly seasoned on, and a coil I've never used before, at a place that's been pounded by many machines over the years, and there she is laying in the dirt at the bottom of the hole. Can't get any better than beating all those odds along with the trash that was masking it, right? Yes, it can! The dime was also laying half way on edge! Wow, everything I've read about this coil is being proved true to me in the first initial hours of use. How about one more thing to stack those odds? The plug had a beaver tail in it for the most part right above this coin by about an inch to two.
As anti-climatic as this is going to be, I might also comment that I found this coil hit loud and deep on tiny beaver tails and other small bits of trash. Oh, I knew they were trash by the jumpy ID and bad sound but I wanted to see just how deep it was going on those. While I wasn't digging to the limits because this location didn't offer that with it's compact clay soil, I was able to notice that these tiny targets were louder and easier to hit than with my 10". That speaks well about this coil's ability to see small targets like others have said.
So what do I think? It's the most stable coil I've ever used on ANY machine. It doesn't seem to false as much on iron. It gives enhanced audio and more solid or easy VDI locks without the need to go into "wiggle" mode as much. It pinpoints like a laser, better than the 9.5" concentric I've used on Whites or (I think) my 10" Tornado. It seperates better (at least it feels that way) to me than the 10", which I didn't think was no slouch at that either. It does indeed seem to umask coins that other coils, even smaller coils, have problems with. I'd say that's due to it's unique design which is even different than oval or eclipse DD coils to some extent. The "hot area" seems much wider in the center, sort'a like a small concentric in the very middle, yet having the typical DD thin detection line running out to the tip and tail.
As the title of this thread says, she's a keeper in ALL respects. I can't think of one thing I don't like about this coil yet. I thought I'd never say it, but this thing might just turn out to be my "all purpose" coil I keep on every day. Tell me why the 10" would be better for that? I can't think of a reason myself. Seperation? No. Weight? No. Pinpointing? No. What's the advantage? It may be that I use this coil as my every day coil and go to the S-5 when I want to really laser through the trash. At least I think the S-5 is still going to do a better job at that, but I will have to think about it...
If you have been on the fence don't think. Just go out and buy one. If you only own an 8" coil then try the 12x10. If you already have a 10" then grow some chest hair and pick up the 15x12. Heck, now I'm even wondering just how well that 18x12 would do for more coverage in wide open areas. Naaa....I already feel like I'm covering way more ground quicker with this one.
Here's the exciting thing...All those old spots of yours.,,You know, the ones that you've hunted for the last twenty years and look fondly at like an old friend when you drive by but just don't see the point of trying anymore? Guess what? If you just picked up a Sovereign those spots are already new again to you. I gurantee you'll find coins deeper or more masked then you have with any other machine on the market. But now, here's the thing...One of these SEF coils makes that "new" feeling even more distinct. Not only are you getting deeper by all rights than anything on the planet, but you are probably going to unmask even shallow coins that some how your "average" DD and concentric designs just aren't hitting right. Oh sure, they'll unmask coins to and some are better than others, but I bet there are going to be a BUNCH of masked coins out there that those run of the mill DD designs don't like and can't reveal. Along with the deepest of the deep those are the coins that are waiting for me, and they'll be waiting for you when you strap one of these SEFs on.
It's going to take another twenty years for people to cover all those "old" spots again. Think about it...How many people buy aftermarket coils? Probably only 20% of the detecting public I think. Then ask yourself how many of those people are buying an SEF? Most of them will still think these coils are junk like the first aftermarket coils KellyCo sold years ago.
Then put some further thought into it. How many of those people are going to strap it on to a Minelab? After reading some of the Whites depth reports I don't see any thread there myself. Let's narrow it down even further...How many Minelab guys are putting one on a Sovereign? I've heard plenty say the GT seems deeper to them. I know it is for me than the Explorer was. Ever wonder why the GT comes with a 10" coil, the Explorer a 10.5" (? never measured mine), and the Etrac with an 11"? Maybe that's not by chance. Maybe they have to do that with the FBS machines to *try* to give them an edge?
Then there's the guys who say the Sovereign runs more stable allowing higher sensitivity and better ID and depth at many spots for them. We could also go into some posts I've read from guys who have owned all three including other machines over the years and think the Sovereign handles larger coils better with less falsing or interference.
But, I'm rambled on enough for one day and am now even further off topic than I normaly get. Before I put you to sleep, if it's not too late for that, pick up the phone and buy one of these coils! Everything old is new again, and I can't wait to "grow up" and cut my teeth on all my older spots all over again. Old friend here I come...
(This message is subject to alteration, change, or complete deletion within days when I've had more time to use this coil and find out all my first impressions were wrong. Not responsible for people buying junk based on my opinion.)
Yesterday was about the first day in roughly two months that I was able to get out due to the snow cover and weather. We had a day in the low 40's and my friend and I figured we might find an area somewhere where no snow cover was present. After driving through a park for several miles we noticed a patch of green grass about 20 yards wide and 100 yards long at the edge of a sports field, but this area also serves as a picnic grove. This would be my first hunt with my custom lightweight GT using my own upper/lower shaft, grip, remote pinpoint, and meter mounted on top of the grip. It would also be my first hunt with the SEF 15x12. Combine all that with not being able to hunt for a long while and needless to say I was excited to get out and put this thing through it's paces.
Walking up to the green grass I instantly saw somebody else must have noticed this spot, because there were several unfilled plugs laying around on the ground. Not only that but this lazy bum didn't even pick up his trash. I re-filled his holes and picked up his trash. I think I saw the guy who probably did this when we were driving past a sled hill. That hill wasn't getting good sun so the ground there was frozen and it looked like this low life was using a pick to bust up the rock hard ground. If I see him again he's going to get a piece of my mind before he ends up getting us all banned from this park. You already have to carry a permit to hunt there so it wouldn't take much for them to ban us.
Anyway, despite that unpleasant experience I was still pumped about hunting. First off I'll say right away that this coil (at least on my lighter Sovereign with more weight yet to lose!) didn't feel as heavy as a stock GT with the 10" coil (which I knew it wasn't, but also feel it balances better than a stock GT). Keep in mind I haven't hunted in a few months or so and haven't been real active either, so I would have expected some arm fatigue. Yet, after about 3 hours of working this area I wasn't sore at all. If I was swinging the 10" on a stock GT I would have at least expected some arm discomfort having not been active for so long. The machine feels very natural and this coil does not feel big. In fact, after using it my 10" coil looks tiny to me and not "normal".
This area we were hunting has been well worked over the years by other detectorists. It's also heavy in clay so that I wouldn't expect coins to be rather deep over most of the field, at least in this area where there would be heavy foot traffic causing compact soil. It also is an area that has a lot of pull tabs and other trash. Combining all the above conditions (shallow coins, heavy trash) you wouldn't think this coil would be the best pick for such an area. In fact, had I known we were going to end up there I might have opted for my S-5 coil that would seperate targets best and still be able to reach what I expected to be less deep targets. Boy I'm glad I was "stuck" using this SEF coil yesterday!
On to my first impressions of this coil. Setting the unit up with zero discrimination and notch, threshold on, discrimination Iron Mask On, noise band 2, I was pleased to find I could set sensitivity at it's full highest level and the machine was still smooth as butter. No falsing or chatter at all. Very impressive, because although I can often do this with the 10" at areas that aren't near electrical lines or high in minerals, I would still have figured this larger coil would be picking up more noise and thus might never be able to run at full sensitivity.
Sweeping around the area I started hearing a lot of tabs, foil, and other junk. Since this was near the edge of a ball diamond I thought it might be a good place to find a ring as well as some old coins, so I opted to run my notch at 152.5 to 165 (killing about 84% of tabs...see "Splitting Hairs On Rings" thread) and my discrimination up to kill everything below 90 on the VDI. I like these settings ring hunt in high trash areas that I don't plan or have the time to dig every signal out of. I mostly never use any notch or discrimination when old coin hunting only because I like to hear the layout of targets and avoid masking.
Before going to the notch and discrimination I hunted for a while and found that the audio of this coil is like what others have said. It seems better than "normal" DD coil designs, bringing out richer tones and more solid locks. The VDI also seemed to be more stable, though I've never had any complaints about that, thinking the GT has one of the best solid VDI meters I've ever used on any machine. Regardless, junk targets that aren't uniform in shape or are tiny such as round tab tails will still jump around a bit tipping you off to the fact that they are junk. The audio for those also is very telling, making a warbly sound, breaking up, sounding bouncing or harsh, and so on. Overall I'd say this coil does seem to give better audio and ID to targets. Not that the 10" isn't awesome already, but it just seems even better.
Also before going to notch/discriminate I tested it's seperation abilities in heavier spots of trash. I couldn't believe what I was hearing/seeing. I had heard some say this coil seperated as good as the 10" or Pro Coil but wasn't ready to believe that. Not only does it seem to me that it does seperate as good as the 10", I think it seperates BETTER! My friend was using a 6000 Pro XL with the 9.5" concentric coil. We checked several coin signals each other found and I could hear every one he found mixed in with trash. More exciting information on it's ability to unmask or seperate targets is found further down in this review.
After turning on my "ring" mode settings I continued to search looking for any good coin signals or solid, smooth audio/vdi lock ons of everything else that fell outside of my notch or discrimination settings. Now I wasn't being distracted by all the tabs or foil bits and could concentrate on everything else. I popped a nickle that I knew was just that, and a few other tab tails that I knew would be those but wanted to be sure since I was a bit rusty and still don't have a ton of time on my GT since late last summer.
How's the pinpoint? Again, call me a liar but I think this is also BETTER than the 10". I used the reverse walking technique where you wiggle the coil back and fourth as you walk it back towards your feet until you just lose the signal. It should then be right at the base of the "V" where the two coils meet at the top of the coil. Every target I pinpointed with it was right on when I got down and checked the top of the ground with my ProPointer before popping it with a screwdriver. I was NEVER off, even though I have been with the 10" on occasion as I'm still getting used to it's pinpoint. Even in trash I had no problem isolating and pinpointing the target I was interested in. It's a dream, and I'd dare say even more precise than pinpoint on the concentric Whites coils I've used, which I always considered the most accurate on the market at that.
While on the subject, this remote pinpoint switch is like putting mag rims on your car. It really sets this machine off and makes it a pleasure to use. Not only that, but I found the meter being on top of the grip was fantastic as well. Even when I had it elevated on the stock shaft before so I could see it, that was still in the stock area further down the shaft so not as easy to see from that distance some times due to light conditions and such. So long as I'm talking about those custom modifications I might as well say that the light weight upper/lower shaft really is working fine as well. Everything is stiff and rigid and the machine already feels much lighter and easy to use.
As I said, this coil didn't "feel" that big. I'd also throw in that anybody considering an SEF but has the same concerns I had about the 15x12 being too big should drop those worries right away and buy the thing. It's not nearly as heavy nor as big as I had pictured in my mind. I know know I would have been let down if I opted for the 12x10 in relation to the 10" coil I already have. They would be just too similar in size for me. Even with all that said the 15x12 isn't very big if you compare them both sitting on top of each other like I did in the other thread (link below). After you use this coil you'll wonder how you suffered with any tiny thing smaller than it. It feels that natural to use.
The only problem I had was when I bumped the coil into by foot I noticed it wobbled for a split second or two on the shaft. At first I thought this was the Whites Tall Man rod but then realized it was the two Whites rubber washers. A Minelab coil has a wider mount so I had installed two plastic washers between the rubber Whites ones and the shaft, causing the rubber Whites washers to stick further out of the mounting holes on the shaft then they normaly would. This is what is causing the "wobble" when the coil is bumped as the rubber is flexing. I think if I switch the plastic washers to the other side, meaning between the Whites washers and the coil it's self, this would go away. Now the rubber washers will be sitting further down in the mounting holes on the shaft like they should and not be as prone to flexing. All that being said the coil and shaft was still solid.
Back to the impressions...So I'm swinging around when I get a good 180 coin signal. There was some trash nearby but the target gave a good reading regardless of what angle I swept at it. stuck my screwdriver into the ground and out pops a clad dime and a round tab from about two inches deep, both exactly in the same location from the tiny probe hole. Hmmm...looks like this coil is unmasking coins even with a round tab right with them and still giving a perfect coin signal. Not only that but I'm running my notch and discrimination. Very good first test of that, but it gets better!
Later on I hit a real heavy patch of junk near a large tree. I slowly sweep my way through it and suddenly hit another good 180 signal. This one is a bit smoother/sweeter sounding and also bouncing up to 181 for a split second here and there. Hmmmm....I'm betting this one is silver I think. I sweep around it from all directions and she's still reading true and perfect. I want to soak it all in here so I start sweeping around it to see just how much trash there was and how close it all was to the 180 signal. I'd say the target was completely surrounded by trash for the most part. At least almost a complete circle of trash ringed around it's perameter within 1 to 3" away from it at various points. Around the 7 o'clock position there was a larger "tab" signal that looked like it was a large piece of aluminum or maybe 2 or 3 tabs laying together. The other trash the surrounded the target was smaller but just as close or even closer to it. I then decided to get sloppy with my sweep from several angles and see just how quickly I lost the target. Nothing doing! Didn't have to be right over it to keep the signal a perfect 180. It wasn't one of those things where you have to perch right on top of it and wiggle right there. I could swing at that thing like a drunken sailor and still get that signal.
Now to put it to a real test. I call my friend over with his 6000 Pro XL and ask him to sweep over the target. He worked it for a while from different angles, commenting about all the trash there, and then finally said "I can get a high dime signal, but only from one direction". He also remarked that he probably wouldn't have ever seen that signal unless he knew to be looking for it. That sounded to me like this coil is unmasking this mystery target and seperating the surrounding trash better than his 9.5" concentric, though I sure want to do further comparisons in the field to firm this belief up.
Long story even longer, I'm pretty sure this is a silver. In fact it was, and not only that but this would be my first silver coin with the GT. I've dug indians, a v-nickle, and wheats since I bought it, but I've had limited time with the unit so far due to the oncoming winter. I've dug a gold ring on a beach and a thin/tinny silver woman's ring at about 9" in the sand as well which was loud and clear, but I still haven't put enough time in to pop out a silver coin with it. Combine that with the fact that I would often grab my QXT Pro for my hunts in the woods due to it's lighter weight when on scouting missions and it's easy to understand why.
But I just knew this was going to be my first silver with the GT, so my friend watched as I dug a plug (the only plug I dug that day because of thinking it was silver, everything else I popped with the screwdriver) and right at the bottom of the hole about 3" down was a 1926 mercury dime! OK, that's pretty outstanding. 3 hours into a hunt with a machine I'm still not totaly seasoned on, and a coil I've never used before, at a place that's been pounded by many machines over the years, and there she is laying in the dirt at the bottom of the hole. Can't get any better than beating all those odds along with the trash that was masking it, right? Yes, it can! The dime was also laying half way on edge! Wow, everything I've read about this coil is being proved true to me in the first initial hours of use. How about one more thing to stack those odds? The plug had a beaver tail in it for the most part right above this coin by about an inch to two.
As anti-climatic as this is going to be, I might also comment that I found this coil hit loud and deep on tiny beaver tails and other small bits of trash. Oh, I knew they were trash by the jumpy ID and bad sound but I wanted to see just how deep it was going on those. While I wasn't digging to the limits because this location didn't offer that with it's compact clay soil, I was able to notice that these tiny targets were louder and easier to hit than with my 10". That speaks well about this coil's ability to see small targets like others have said.
So what do I think? It's the most stable coil I've ever used on ANY machine. It doesn't seem to false as much on iron. It gives enhanced audio and more solid or easy VDI locks without the need to go into "wiggle" mode as much. It pinpoints like a laser, better than the 9.5" concentric I've used on Whites or (I think) my 10" Tornado. It seperates better (at least it feels that way) to me than the 10", which I didn't think was no slouch at that either. It does indeed seem to umask coins that other coils, even smaller coils, have problems with. I'd say that's due to it's unique design which is even different than oval or eclipse DD coils to some extent. The "hot area" seems much wider in the center, sort'a like a small concentric in the very middle, yet having the typical DD thin detection line running out to the tip and tail.
As the title of this thread says, she's a keeper in ALL respects. I can't think of one thing I don't like about this coil yet. I thought I'd never say it, but this thing might just turn out to be my "all purpose" coil I keep on every day. Tell me why the 10" would be better for that? I can't think of a reason myself. Seperation? No. Weight? No. Pinpointing? No. What's the advantage? It may be that I use this coil as my every day coil and go to the S-5 when I want to really laser through the trash. At least I think the S-5 is still going to do a better job at that, but I will have to think about it...
If you have been on the fence don't think. Just go out and buy one. If you only own an 8" coil then try the 12x10. If you already have a 10" then grow some chest hair and pick up the 15x12. Heck, now I'm even wondering just how well that 18x12 would do for more coverage in wide open areas. Naaa....I already feel like I'm covering way more ground quicker with this one.
Here's the exciting thing...All those old spots of yours.,,You know, the ones that you've hunted for the last twenty years and look fondly at like an old friend when you drive by but just don't see the point of trying anymore? Guess what? If you just picked up a Sovereign those spots are already new again to you. I gurantee you'll find coins deeper or more masked then you have with any other machine on the market. But now, here's the thing...One of these SEF coils makes that "new" feeling even more distinct. Not only are you getting deeper by all rights than anything on the planet, but you are probably going to unmask even shallow coins that some how your "average" DD and concentric designs just aren't hitting right. Oh sure, they'll unmask coins to and some are better than others, but I bet there are going to be a BUNCH of masked coins out there that those run of the mill DD designs don't like and can't reveal. Along with the deepest of the deep those are the coins that are waiting for me, and they'll be waiting for you when you strap one of these SEFs on.
It's going to take another twenty years for people to cover all those "old" spots again. Think about it...How many people buy aftermarket coils? Probably only 20% of the detecting public I think. Then ask yourself how many of those people are buying an SEF? Most of them will still think these coils are junk like the first aftermarket coils KellyCo sold years ago.
Then put some further thought into it. How many of those people are going to strap it on to a Minelab? After reading some of the Whites depth reports I don't see any thread there myself. Let's narrow it down even further...How many Minelab guys are putting one on a Sovereign? I've heard plenty say the GT seems deeper to them. I know it is for me than the Explorer was. Ever wonder why the GT comes with a 10" coil, the Explorer a 10.5" (? never measured mine), and the Etrac with an 11"? Maybe that's not by chance. Maybe they have to do that with the FBS machines to *try* to give them an edge?
Then there's the guys who say the Sovereign runs more stable allowing higher sensitivity and better ID and depth at many spots for them. We could also go into some posts I've read from guys who have owned all three including other machines over the years and think the Sovereign handles larger coils better with less falsing or interference.
But, I'm rambled on enough for one day and am now even further off topic than I normaly get. Before I put you to sleep, if it's not too late for that, pick up the phone and buy one of these coils! Everything old is new again, and I can't wait to "grow up" and cut my teeth on all my older spots all over again. Old friend here I come...
(This message is subject to alteration, change, or complete deletion within days when I've had more time to use this coil and find out all my first impressions were wrong. Not responsible for people buying junk based on my opinion.)
