Critterhunter
New member
As most of us know, Minelab said they will fill any orders for the 8 or 10" Tornados for the Sovereign/Excalibur BBS machines before they are discontinued in production so long as they place the order with a dealer by the deadline of December 31st. Same deal with the GT and SE Pro I guess. Maybe I heard wrong (?) but I thought I heard somebody say that means that Monday is a scratch as Minelab might not be open on New Years Eve and not over the weekend either? If I heard that wrong then somebody of course correct me here, but if that's the case (?) then we've got until tomorrow at the end of business hours to get an order in? Not saying I have that right, just saying I thought I heard that somewhere, but could very well be wrong.
Either way, figured I'd just play it safe so I put an order in for an 8" Tornado yesterday. A friend had just ordered one himself for his GT and recommended Chuck at Indian Nation Detectors, which is a Findmall sponsor, telling me that he's done business with him in the past and Chuck was great to do business with. He was right, because Chuck treated me well too and I feel safe now knowing I've got a 8" Tornado on the way. Thanks Chuck!
I can rest easy now not having to wonder if I'd ever find one used. As many know, the 10" and 8" Tornados are very hard to find used. The 8" even more so. And for good reason, because the 10" Tornado is one outstanding coil, and from what I hear and dug up/read in old threads the 8" Tornado is a fantastic heavy trash coil too. One reason being I'm sure that it's 7.25" in actual size. A good bit smaller than say an 8" coil on other detectors, yet with really good depth from what I've heard/read.
I've also read of some that prefer this coil as their every day coil and not just for heavy trash. Ron I think uses it as his daily coil, and if I remember right he said you can swing it somewhat faster, so he prefers it for his seeded hunts and does well with it. I've also read of many finding keepers at "dead" sites among the iron or trash with this coil. I'm very impressed with the left/right separation of my 12x10 and don't see how a DD line can get any sharper on a coil, big or small, but the 10" Tornado is no slouch at left/right separation either, and so I'd expect the 8" Tornado will be as well. And, in terms of length wise separation it's going to shine for that over any larger coil of course.
If any of you guys have never seen the 8" Tornado in person to realize how small it is, I've held the old heavy pre-Tornado version of this coil that they called the "BBS" coil in my hand and have also land hunted with it on an Excalibur. That older/heavier version is the same 7.25" in actual size of the Tornado version that came later (I think the 8 and 10" Tornados first showed up with the advent of the Elite), and having seen/used the old "BBS" version of this coil in person I can attest it's very small. 7.25" might not sound much smaller than 8" but when you see it in person you'll think "hockey puck".
It looks much smaller than 8" coils I've used on prior machines I've owned.
I think that might be one of the potent things about this coil- smaller than typical 8 or 9" stock coils on other machines to see between the trash better, yet still big enough to punch deep like a bigger coil. All I've read in old threads and have been told from others seem to support that concept about this coil, and it's the reason I just had to have one as my heavy trash coil. I've read of coins at depths beyond that of other machines I've owned in the past using a much larger coil, which ain't surprising when it comes to a Sovereign.
The 5" Excelerator? Don't hear much about that coil, and it seems the 6" Excelerator is the coil of choice on the FBS units for a small trash coil. Somebody confirmed for me- Kellyco did carry a BBS version of the 6" Excelerator up until a few years ago. I thought I remember seeing that but couldn't be sure. Detech might still make the BBS version of this coil, unless they were just making it for Kellyco? If the BBS version is anything like the FBS version's reputation then I'd jump on one if you can find it, but in terms of a trash coil for the BBS machines the 8" Tornado seems to be the premium coil of choice from what I've read in old threads and such. That seems supported by how hard these coils are to find used, so good enough for me...Had to have one to see for myself.
I'll be putting this coil through the usual test runs on video in both depth and also the elevated nail/other masking tests I've done with other coils, and also the mineralized bricks test I did in that video as well. Which reminds me, my Sun Ray S-5 (which is 5.5" in size) coil is up for sale. If anybody wants it shoot me a PM with an offer.
Also, curious to see if the 8" Tornado might punch deeper at some of my worst mineralized sites, because the old rule of thumb with detectors is that sometimes a smaller coil will see deeper due to sucking up less ground matrix and not washing away the target at depth. I haven't seen this happen yet with various coils on my GT, but I have seen this kind of thing happen with prior machines I've owned, where a larger coil got less depth or at least less good ID at depth, than a smaller coil for me in really bad ground. And I'm not talking about masking here, just pure ground effect due to the mineralization. But I'm thinking perhaps due to the unique way the BBS units ignore the ground signal it might not be an issue, or at least as common of a circumstance. But if I remember right, I think a while back I remember Crazyman saying the 8" Tornado got him more depth than the 10" Tornado in his bad minerals. That's just a vague memory of reading that though so I might have it wrong.
So either way, just throwing it out there for people- If you want to get a 8 or 10" Tornado for your Sovereign or Excalibur, or if you want to get a brand new GT or SE Pro, the deadline is fast approaching. Even if I heard wrong about tomorrow being the time to get your order in, then at the very least you've got until Monday at the end of business hours. The 8" Tornado is probably the most elusive coil to find used in terms of a "still being made" coil for the Sovereign I would venture to say, and that's even compared to coils Detech makes. Well, the 12x10 is pretty hard to find used too, but just the same just saying the 8" Tornado is pretty elusive to find used.
If you can't swing the cash all at once put one in lay away with a dealer if he'll go ahead and order it just so Minelab will fill that order. I also wouldn't doubt that a few dealers might be stocking up on GTs, SEs, or 8 or 10" Tornados just so they've got them laying around when they become worth their weight in gold as the used market dries up, when these machines and coils find their way into the hands of people who know what they got. The SE Pro being coil compatible with the Etrac insures that Minelab still will make it's coils, but in terms of the Sovereign, even though Minelab continues to sell the Excalibur with the 8 or 10" Tornado on it, I wouldn't bet money on being able to get one of those coils for your Sovereign from them down the road. They might not want to sell it to you even if you say you'll wire your own coil plug on one from the factory that is meant to be hardwired to the Excalibur for production.
Either way, figured I'd just play it safe so I put an order in for an 8" Tornado yesterday. A friend had just ordered one himself for his GT and recommended Chuck at Indian Nation Detectors, which is a Findmall sponsor, telling me that he's done business with him in the past and Chuck was great to do business with. He was right, because Chuck treated me well too and I feel safe now knowing I've got a 8" Tornado on the way. Thanks Chuck!
I can rest easy now not having to wonder if I'd ever find one used. As many know, the 10" and 8" Tornados are very hard to find used. The 8" even more so. And for good reason, because the 10" Tornado is one outstanding coil, and from what I hear and dug up/read in old threads the 8" Tornado is a fantastic heavy trash coil too. One reason being I'm sure that it's 7.25" in actual size. A good bit smaller than say an 8" coil on other detectors, yet with really good depth from what I've heard/read.
I've also read of some that prefer this coil as their every day coil and not just for heavy trash. Ron I think uses it as his daily coil, and if I remember right he said you can swing it somewhat faster, so he prefers it for his seeded hunts and does well with it. I've also read of many finding keepers at "dead" sites among the iron or trash with this coil. I'm very impressed with the left/right separation of my 12x10 and don't see how a DD line can get any sharper on a coil, big or small, but the 10" Tornado is no slouch at left/right separation either, and so I'd expect the 8" Tornado will be as well. And, in terms of length wise separation it's going to shine for that over any larger coil of course.
If any of you guys have never seen the 8" Tornado in person to realize how small it is, I've held the old heavy pre-Tornado version of this coil that they called the "BBS" coil in my hand and have also land hunted with it on an Excalibur. That older/heavier version is the same 7.25" in actual size of the Tornado version that came later (I think the 8 and 10" Tornados first showed up with the advent of the Elite), and having seen/used the old "BBS" version of this coil in person I can attest it's very small. 7.25" might not sound much smaller than 8" but when you see it in person you'll think "hockey puck".
It looks much smaller than 8" coils I've used on prior machines I've owned.I think that might be one of the potent things about this coil- smaller than typical 8 or 9" stock coils on other machines to see between the trash better, yet still big enough to punch deep like a bigger coil. All I've read in old threads and have been told from others seem to support that concept about this coil, and it's the reason I just had to have one as my heavy trash coil. I've read of coins at depths beyond that of other machines I've owned in the past using a much larger coil, which ain't surprising when it comes to a Sovereign.
The 5" Excelerator? Don't hear much about that coil, and it seems the 6" Excelerator is the coil of choice on the FBS units for a small trash coil. Somebody confirmed for me- Kellyco did carry a BBS version of the 6" Excelerator up until a few years ago. I thought I remember seeing that but couldn't be sure. Detech might still make the BBS version of this coil, unless they were just making it for Kellyco? If the BBS version is anything like the FBS version's reputation then I'd jump on one if you can find it, but in terms of a trash coil for the BBS machines the 8" Tornado seems to be the premium coil of choice from what I've read in old threads and such. That seems supported by how hard these coils are to find used, so good enough for me...Had to have one to see for myself.
I'll be putting this coil through the usual test runs on video in both depth and also the elevated nail/other masking tests I've done with other coils, and also the mineralized bricks test I did in that video as well. Which reminds me, my Sun Ray S-5 (which is 5.5" in size) coil is up for sale. If anybody wants it shoot me a PM with an offer.
Also, curious to see if the 8" Tornado might punch deeper at some of my worst mineralized sites, because the old rule of thumb with detectors is that sometimes a smaller coil will see deeper due to sucking up less ground matrix and not washing away the target at depth. I haven't seen this happen yet with various coils on my GT, but I have seen this kind of thing happen with prior machines I've owned, where a larger coil got less depth or at least less good ID at depth, than a smaller coil for me in really bad ground. And I'm not talking about masking here, just pure ground effect due to the mineralization. But I'm thinking perhaps due to the unique way the BBS units ignore the ground signal it might not be an issue, or at least as common of a circumstance. But if I remember right, I think a while back I remember Crazyman saying the 8" Tornado got him more depth than the 10" Tornado in his bad minerals. That's just a vague memory of reading that though so I might have it wrong.
So either way, just throwing it out there for people- If you want to get a 8 or 10" Tornado for your Sovereign or Excalibur, or if you want to get a brand new GT or SE Pro, the deadline is fast approaching. Even if I heard wrong about tomorrow being the time to get your order in, then at the very least you've got until Monday at the end of business hours. The 8" Tornado is probably the most elusive coil to find used in terms of a "still being made" coil for the Sovereign I would venture to say, and that's even compared to coils Detech makes. Well, the 12x10 is pretty hard to find used too, but just the same just saying the 8" Tornado is pretty elusive to find used.
If you can't swing the cash all at once put one in lay away with a dealer if he'll go ahead and order it just so Minelab will fill that order. I also wouldn't doubt that a few dealers might be stocking up on GTs, SEs, or 8 or 10" Tornados just so they've got them laying around when they become worth their weight in gold as the used market dries up, when these machines and coils find their way into the hands of people who know what they got. The SE Pro being coil compatible with the Etrac insures that Minelab still will make it's coils, but in terms of the Sovereign, even though Minelab continues to sell the Excalibur with the 8 or 10" Tornado on it, I wouldn't bet money on being able to get one of those coils for your Sovereign from them down the road. They might not want to sell it to you even if you say you'll wire your own coil plug on one from the factory that is meant to be hardwired to the Excalibur for production.
sifting through this kind of stuff when I want to research a coil or detector is what I like to do. 