Super 12 or Eclipse 950?

[jgedde]

I already have a Super 12 that I bought used. Last night I hooked it up and it caused an overload at all sensitivities. Knowing there is no warranty, I proceeded to dissect the coil. To make a long story short, the coil is not repairable easily. That said, I'm in the market for another coil. My choices are the Eclipse 950 or another Super 12.

The $100 proice difference aside, I'm leaning towards the 950. Despite not being as deep, it seems a better all around coil due to less potential for masking effects. Also, other posters have given it rave reviews.

I'm curious, however, what you folks have to say on the subject.

1) In theory, how much depth would I lose going from a 12" to a 9.5" assuming non-mineralized ground and a non-masked target?
2) How good the 12" at detecting coins on edge vs the 950?
3) Is a concentric coil better with EMI than a DD? If so, why? My 5.3 is dead quiet in EMI. The 10 DD is rather sensitive to EMI. Is this due to size or coil topology? In other words, will the 950 perform better in EMI than the 10 DD despite being about the same diameter?

Thanks,
John

 

[Jason in TN]

The coil you have may work on a MXT or DFX may be one that just is not tuned for the Vision I had a 5.3 that would overload with the gain set at about 4.
Try lowering the gain instead of the sensitivity and may work at a lower gain until you can get one that is set up for the V3.

Jason

 

[labeachbum]

On The super 12, the serial number should start with a V, then it's optimized for the V3, so when buying one used / new make sure, as some Start with S.

 

[jgedde]

The coil isn't a V-nulled coil but it used to work with my V3 just fine. In fact, it made some nice finds. Day before yesterday, I hooked it up and it no longer works...

 

[Schrecky]

I would vote for the 9.5". I've used both my 9.5" and Super 12" from my DFX on my V3. Both work fine and work with transmit boost. I've used these coils for years on my DFX also. The Super 12 doesn't get much more depth than the 9.5" but is only 3 oz heavier than the 9.5" and does cover a lot of ground quickly, it is best in low trash areas. The 9.5" is a better "all around" coil, in my opinion.

 

[OregonMike]

Do you know if there are newer 9.50s that also have a "V" designation?

Mike

 

[Larry (IL)]

All of the 950's made now are V3 compatible.

 

[jgedde]

Thanks Schrecky. Exactly the kind of first hand experience I was looking for.

I would vote for the 9.5". I've used both my 9.5" and Super 12" from my DFX on my V3. Both work fine and work with transmit boost. I've used these coils for years on my DFX also. The Super 12 doesn't get much more depth than the 9.5" but is only 3 oz heavier than the 9.5" and does cover a lot of ground quickly, it is best in low trash areas. The 9.5" is a better "all around" coil, in my opinion.

 

[jgedde]

Schrecky,

One more question I forgot to ask: if you had to quantify the loss in depth with the 950 vs the Super 12 what would you guess (in inches or %)? Of course, this figure would be in your ground not mine. Here on Long Island, we have VERY low mineralized ground, but most sites either have a lot of iron or a lot of trash. That's the main reason I'm mainly considering the 950...

Thanks,
John