Sovereign and Excalibur Search Coils

[Ron from Michigan]

The Coinsearch 8 inch coil,the first coil for the Sovereign. This was a true 8 inch coil had excellent depth and separation.There are a lot of people who like this coil and still use these on their new GTs.The negative for this coil not a water proof coil or made for water hunting.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

The Seasearch 8 inch coil came on the Ecalibur Sword.This coil had great performance some still use this coil.On land or beach the Seasearch(horseshoe coil) is a little heavy and some users cut the fins off to make lighter.Another photo of the Seaseasrch coil with the fins cut off for land use.The Seasearch coil is not a true 8 inch coil and measures at 7 1/2 inches.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

The 11 inch Coinsearch coil was used on the early Sovereign models.Not a lot of these coils were used some say they had great performance.I have seen these for sale and usually sold for a good price.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

These coils were used on X-S2 Sovereign and the Excalibur 800. Possible the early 800 coils didn't perform well as some users stated,but I always had good results with this coil.My hypothesis was the early coils with the extra wire didn't perform as well as the four wire coils.These coils were still being used on new Excalibur 800s when the Tornado coils were being used on the Elites and GTs.Very thick and heavy made coil.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

The BBS 1000 coil made the Sovereign very unstable and noisy.Shortening the coil cord usually helped calmed the noise,but now a hip mount configuration couldn't be used for the heaviest coil in the lineup.Maybe the newer BBS 1000 coils performed better.The BBS 1000 coils were still being used on the Excalibur 1000s well after the Tornado 1000 coils were being used on the Elites and Sovereign GTs.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

The Tornado 800 coil is my favorite Minelab coil.Great performance with depth and separation.With this coil I can usually crank the sensitivity up in most areas.A faster sweep speed can be used with this coil and hits very hard on targets.The Tornado coils were first used on the Sovereign Elite and now include the Excalibur ll models.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

The Tornado 1000 coil has excellent depth and great separation for a larger coil.Unlike the BBS 1000 coil the Tornado is very stable and a much lighter coil.I have dug dimes with this coil at unbelievable depths.The Tornado 1000 coil was introduced as a stock coil with the Elite and was later used for the GT and Excalibur ll.This is one of the best all around coil for the Sovereign.

 

[deepdiger60]

I like the stock Tornado 10" best overall coil for the GT . As far as any after market coils the SR S-12" and the SEF10x12 for me is best . Jim

 

[Rick(ND)]

The 8 inch coinsearch is one of the favorites coils they made and still recommended to those that are new to the Sovereigns as they seem to give a nicer tone and bigger sounding so it helps learning the Sovereign. I haven't tried the 8 inch Tornado coil and some say they work great, myself I like my 8 inch coinsearch coil, the S-12 of Sun Rays and 10 inch Tornado coils myself.

Rick

 

[Critterhunter]

I haven't used any of the 8" coils except the 8" BBS coil on a friend's Excal here and there and it's a heavy coil as I've held it in my hand detached from the shaft to paint the bottom with spray on bed liner for protection.

I guess the 8" Coinsearch coil, which is still a favorite among many, is a true 8" coil and I've read of some really good deep coins with it at around 12" or so.

The 8" BBS and Tornado coils are actually 7 & 1/4" in diameter. I know I couldn't believe how small the BBS 8" coil was, so I can see why some say the 8" Tornado is their favorite for excellent separation while still getting outstanding depth because they are small coils at 7 & 1/4th". I've read of guys pulling coins around 12" deep or so with this coil. That's probably why many prefer it to even the 5.5" S-5 coil or 5 or 6" Excelerator coil because they still get excellent separation while getting outstanding depth.

I have the S-5 and haven't used it much yet but the separation is as good as it gets of course, and I've thus far dug a rosie at about 7" deep between two shallow pull tabs. The rosie hit so hard and ID'ed so easily that I think it probably could have easily been 9" deep (or maybe even more) and I would still have got a good signal on it. That's amazing in my soil, because of all other non-Minelab machines I've used in my soil only the best few of them could struggle to get about a max of 7.5" deep on a silver dime even using a 9 to 10" coil, yet the little S-5 is easily matching that! I of course give a large part of the credit to it being used on a Sovereign, but I also give credit to this excellent little coil and Sunray. Also, I've used small concentric coils on other machines and they don't seem to hold their depth as well when they get smaller than about 7" compared to a little DD coil. Many Minelab guys with FBS machines swear by this coil above all others in the worst of the worst in terms of super heavy trash.

The 10" Tornado is for sure the best stock DD coil I've used on any machine thus far. It has very good depth as I've dug a few coins at about 11" deep in wet conditions with it that banged hard and ID'ed well. This coil also is very stable and has really good left/right separation for a 10" coil. IMHO it's a much better coil than the 10" DD coils I've used on other machines. It is NOT just a Sov/Excal version but is a much better coil to me. Also easier to pinpoint with. Up until the SEF coils, the 10" Tornado was the best coil I've used on any machine over the years, concentric or DD. Also, up until the SEF coils the Tornado was the best coil I've used in terms of finding coins on edge, and in terms of depth and separation...It was better than any larger coil I've used, DD or concentric.

The 12x10 is by far the best DD coil I've ever used, even a bit better than the 10" Tornado in both depth and separation. It's even more stable than the excellent Tornado, runs smoother in bad ground or over iron, and allows higher sensitivity settings and often full blast sensitivity at many of my sites. It's separation is wicked and laser like and makes the GT feel like the processor has been sped up due to the faster reaction between targets. It also oddly seems to make the pitch of targets a bit higher and crisper. While I haven't dug coins 11" deep with it yet, when I did that with the Tornado the conditions were ideal with perfect moisture to the soil and the right site where coins could be that deep. However, I'm popping wheats and silvers with the 12x10 at 8 or 9" deep in dry conditions more often than I did with the Tornado. That might not sound too impressive but my soil tends to be mineralized at many of my sites and so only my Minelabs like the Explorer or GT have been able to break the 7.5" barrier and even muster 8 or 9" in my soil even when it's dry. I feel the 12x10 makes this feat of 8 or 9" in dry conditions on a more regular basis even easier than the stock coil. I also feel the 12x10 is deeper than the 10" coil because I tested them both on a silver dime at depth. At 3PM the stock coil could not even hear the coin but the 12x10 did and I did not touch the sensitivity at all. The increased coverage of the 12x10 is also nice, and I'm shocked at the separation of a coil of this size. The 12x10 without the coil cover and using spray on bed liner is lighter than the S-12, which is a legendary coil and praised for how light it is.

I owned a 15x12 for a while and the coverage is awesome for things like beach hunting. It did get better depth than the 10" Tornado in sand but for some reason did not get better depth than stock on land. I think it's just too big and taking in too much ground signal in my soil and degrading target ID at depth. I also believe this because I found it gave best ID at depth with the sensitivity much lower than what was max stable, at say around 3PM or usually with the dial pointing at the "C" in noise cancel on the GT's face plate. This coil could often run at almost or even full blast sensitivity but despite that it gave best ID much lower. I think the size of this coil in my soil and by running it too hot would just take in too much ground signal. Others report it gets better depth for them then stock in their soil, though, but it only did for me on the beach. Weired thing is my beaches are mineralized like some of my land sites are, so I don't know why it got better depth in the sand then stock but not on land. Very stable coil like the 12x10, and it's even lighter than the stock 10" Tornado if you take off the coil cover and use spray on bed liner.

Both the 12x10 and 15x12 seem to hit coins on edge harder than any coil I've ever owned, although the stock 10" coil was very good at that. They also both seem to have very good sensitivity to small items. I'm not sure but I think they are more sensitive to little things like earring backings than the stock 10" coil, but the stock coil was still pretty impressive at that to me for being a bigger coil and also because the Minelabs don't have a good reputation for hitting hard on small stuff. I'm amazed at some of the small things I've dug at depth with the stock coil, but I'm more impressed with the SEFs in this respect.

Somebody needs to chime in with the other 8" coil from Sunray and I think Detect made a concentric 8" coil for the Sovereign at one time. In fact, last time I looked on Kellyco they had what looks like a new 8" DD Excelerator coil for the Sovereign because I've never heard of an 8" one by them for it.

Also we need the WOT guys to chime in as many use them, as well as any of the Penetrater/Excelerator 12, 14, 16, and 18" round coils. They don't seem to be very popular but I know there are a few guys on here who use those coils. And don't forget besides the rare and solid 11" version of the Minelab coinsearch coil there was a solid 11 or 12" Sunray coil too I think that was replaced by the S-12. The S-12 is a very popular coil so somebody needs to cover that one well too. Then there is what I think are two (?) odd shaped coils by Coiltech, the platipus and something else. And, there's also a the 4.5x7 Detech coil that I don't think was ever sold in the US but it might still be in the UK.

 

[Critterhunter]

This probably should be at the end of the thread after all the coils are gone over by everybody, but here's a link to a FBS and BBS coil weight and price chart I put together with the help of others weighing coils for me that I didn't have and such. It's useful for those who want to see an overview of all the coils made, what they cost, their actual size (some are bigger or smaller than what they are called), and of course their weight for those who don't want to use heavier coils then they have now. Bigger size does NOT automatically mean a heavier coil. The S-12 is lighter than the stock 10" Tornado, and the 15x12 and 12x10 are lighter than it too with their coil cover off. In fact, the 12x10 without a coil cover is lighter than the ultra light S-12. Many people, including me, use 4 or 5 coats of spray on bed liner on the bottom of a coil and ditch the coil cover. Not only does it drop weight, but it also means you don't have to remove and clean under coil covers all the time, which I always hated doing. A lot of water hunters use spray on bed liner or epoxy to protect the coils and not have to bother with falsing that can be caused by dirt and water under a coil cover, or risk losing the cover in the water. The spray on bed liner gives a factory like brand new textured finish to a coil that looks so good you'd think it came that way. Down the road when it wears through it's as easy as scuffing up the coil again with sand paper, cleaning it with rubbing alchohol, and spraying a few more coats of bed liner on it.

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?21,1303616

 

[Critterhunter]

Sorry, meant to say we need the WOT guys to chime in as many use them, especially on the beach or in water. The S-12 is also very popular among water hunts. I found the 15x12 was too much drag for my tastes in the water but I'm sure the WOT and S-12 are less drag because of their shape compared to the 15x12. I haven't used the 12x10 in the water yet so I don't know if it's much more drag than the stock 10" Tornado I usually use in the water which is fine for me in terms of drag.

Also, forgot to add, if you tell Kellyco you want the Findmall special the shippng on the SEF coils is free.

 

[Rick(ND)]

There is 2 different versions of these coils as there was the early ones and the latter ones. The early ones were white in color and solid coils and the S-12 was a bit heavy too, these were called the Ultra series and believe the S12 Ultra was not waterproof either and not sure on the S-5. Now we have the newer ones that are black with the S 12 Intruders a open coil so it is lighter weight and from using both the S12 Ultra and the S-12 Intruders I found both to be excellent coils with some great depth and separation and find the newer S-12 seem to separate a bit better and depth a little more too for me anyway. I have seen some great prices on the S-12 Ultra with some as low as $50 on the forums.


Rick

 

[Finderskeeper]

I run exclusively the WOT coil on my Excal. I find that the coverage on the beach and in the water is what I need. May not be the answer for everyone.

I also land hunt with it but notice that the WOT is sensitive to EMI. Any time I get near a power line, I get a lot of warble in the pin point mode and the discriminate mode too.

I've heard that the WOT is deeper than some coils but I have found that it is, at least for me, the same as the factory 10 inch. But as I stated, the coverage is greater with each swing so that is what I am looking for.

In the salt water, the WOT is a bit more sensitive to the water than I like. But again, I get larger coverage so I adapt. The drag on the WOT is about the same as the factory 10 inch coil. I am in pretty good shape for being so darned old (56) so I can handle it. It does not seem to be a problem for me but then again, it might be for someone else.

I try to avoid the trashy areas with the WOT as it is just too big for the trash. But I prefer the WOT in almost all other situations.

I run pin point and use discriminate to ID the target. My Excalibur II 1000 has the WOT coil, the Mel Parker/Oldbeachnut remote pin point switch, aftermarket battery and a home brewed straight shaft. I also have a set of noise reducing muffs wired with waterproof ear buds for real quiet hunting.

 

[Critterhunter]

Found a review of the Detech 8

 

[xwyokid]

Rookie question but...Are the 12x10 and the 10x12 the same SEF coil??

 

[Critterhunter]

Yep, properly listed it should be called a 12x10 just like the 15x12 is listed, but some people call them 10x12 or a 12x15. I think it's a matter of the way an engineer would list specs of an object. Length first perhaps?

 

[larry_nj]

are the coils made for the gt and other sov models interchangeable with the sov xs ?

 

[Critterhunter]

All Sovereign coils will work with all Sovereign models, or with Excals as well for that matter so long as you wire the coil up to one of those.

 

[Critterhunter]

Here's one I forget about. Only heard it mentioned once in this thread below...A Ferret Hot Head 5" search coil for the Sovereign. I suspect this was just the early name for the Detech 5 or 6" Detech Excelerator coils (I think they made a 5 and then/now a 6" Excelerator coil for the Sovereign as I've read I think both of a 5 and 6" Excelerator for it at one time or another...I think they just make a 6" for it now, if they ever did make a 5"?).

To confuse things even more I found a reference to an 8" Ferret Hot Head coil for the Sovereign too somewhere that was said to be a concentric perhaps, but I don't know if they were talking about an actual Ferrett or the actual newer 8" concentric coil Detech made up until a couple of years ago? And, does that then mean that the 5" Ferret was a double DD or was it a concentric too (if there was an 8" concentric Ferret coil)?

Anyway, then again the Hot Head line of coils were notoriously bad coils from way back in the day. The only machines I ever heard they were any good on *maybe* was like an 8, 10, or 12 (can't remember) inch version for Garretts that I think I remember some said did show them a depth improvement. On the other hand, even if this 5" Hot Head is NOT just the early name for the much better (than Hot Heads) 5 or 6" Excelerator trash coil(s) and indeed is not the same coil as that (or those if there was both a 5 and 6" Excelerator), I guess it wouldn't matter much...As a little coil like that only needs good seperation and depth isn't too much of a concern I guess to many people in a trash coil.

By the way, don't confuse the Hot Heads with the 12" Hot Shot by Jimmy Seria, although I owned two of those for my Whites and they were junk. They became unstable after about ten minutes at each new site. Now I know why they made them white, because they were trying to prevent them from warming up in the sun and shifting the coil windings because the coil wasn't filled with epoxy.

Also, while many have good things to say about the 5/6 inch Excelerator coil(s), there is hardly any talk on the net about the bigger Excelerator coils. They came/come in 12", 14", 16", and I think an 18" size. There might have also been a 10" one for a while. For sure the early versions of these were mostly reported to be junk and I *think* they were called Penetrators. Later, I heard they came out with an improved version that *might* have been called just Excelerators or Excelerator EQ2 coils or something like that. Don't think they were still called Penetrators with the new versions but they might have been? Anyway, those new versions were said to be better, but once again there was/is almost zero message traffic on the net about them. That makes me suspicious, as they've been around much longer than the SEF coils and look at all the buzz about them for the Sovereign on the net (not just here from me). Regardless, not sure if Kellyco still carries these sizes these days or just the smaller 5/6" coil(s). It might be that even if they don't Detech still makes them for sale over seas at various places. Also, I see Kellyco has/had a 8" Excelerator for the Sovereign listed on their site a few months back. Not sure if it's still up there, but It's a solid coil like the 5/6" coil(s), so I wonder if it's in fact just that one(s) and was mislabled as an 8"? Curiously, Kellyco stopped carrying the 8" Detech concentric a couple years back or so, so if there is indeed a 8" Sovereign coil at Kellyco the question is is it a new 8" DD coil or the concentric one once again?

By the way, the 5/6" coil(s) and the 8" one(s) are solid, while the bigger detech Penetrator/Excelerator/Whatever they were and are now called coils are open framed loops like the Tornado or the WOT.

Yes, I know tons of useless details... But I like to get all that kind of stuff on record in this sticky in case somebody ever comes across an odd Sovereign/Excal coil for sale and wonders "What the heck is that thing?!" Now you know....Or then again maybe not... Because I'm not sure I got all the details right myself. If anybody has any corrections or additions please correct me, and if you know of an odd and rare Sovereign/Excal coil please post some details and a pic if you have it. For instance, vaguely I think from memory there were also Sovereign solid white coils sold by Kellyco years ago. Big ones like 12 or 14". I'm not talking about the 11 or 12" solid Minelab or Sunray coils (wasn't there a solid white version of the 8" Coinsearch coil made by Minelab that was an 11" coil and also a solid white version of the Sun Ray S-12 before it became the open framed black one they sell now?). Anyway, if other solid white large coils existed that Kellyco sold made by another company I *think* those old Kellyco catalogs called them Penetrators and were made by Detech. If that's true and my memory is right, that was before the open framed black Penetrators which I think later became the Excelerator or Excelerator EQ2 coils I guess? Somebody correct me here if I'm wrong about any of this stuff.

Anyway, if anybody has a pic of this supposed "Hot Head" 5" Sovereign coil I'd like to see it and if it looks like it is in fact a 5" Excelerator and just had a name change early one. I'd also like to see pics and any details about any other rare Sovereign/Excal coils. Here's a link to a thread on the 5" Hot Head Ferret...

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?21,1498182,1499822#msg-1499822