Frank in NH
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n/t
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VX3 users which coil do you like better 9.5" or 10" D2 ?
- Thread starter Frank in NH
- Start date
Larry (IL)
Well-known member
You will get a variety of answers on that question, each coil has it's advantages and disadvantages depending on your ground. The 950 is a concentric coil which works best in mild to medium ground while the D2 is a DD style coil that seems to work best in very mineralized ground. Generally speaking, the 950 will get better depth and bottlecap rejection and the D2 will have better target separation and ground rejection.
Funny when I used my DFX I hated the 950. Used the 5.3 or the super 12. With the V3I I'm finding my favorite to be the 950. Was at a park yesterday did well with the D2 realized I was missing a good tide at the beach jumped in the car never changed the coil. I got lucky yesterday with the D2 on the beach but was wishing I had my 950. I had to take down the RX to 6 and she was still noisy.
Larry (IL)
Well-known member
The 950 seems to be the favorite for beach hunting........I think the 12" would also be a good choice for more coverage.
SteveP(NH)
New member
Hey Frank for our beaches up here I think you will do better with the DD coil as it handles the black sand much better than the 9.5 does. Also most of the folks around here seem to prefer the 10x6 DD over the D2. I picked up a 10x6 DD for my VX3 and use it almost exclusively. I have used the D2 some on it though as Bernie K has a V3i and it came with the D2 on it for the stock but Bernie perfers the 10x6 too and so almost never uses his D2 and I have borrowed it a few times to run on my VX3. I haven't noticed much if any difference in depth but the 10x6 is lighter and I think it has a tighter field pattern which prefer both on the trashy beaches like Hampton or in an old farm field with lots of nails, bolts, etc. The tighter field on the 10x6 makes it easier to size a target. Finally since it is a solid coil and not a spider type it doesn't get hung up on ground clutter and corn stalks like the D2 can.
SteveP(NH)
New member
Well I am not going by theory just by my experience mostly with my DFX and a little with my VX3 (only have about 20 hours on it). I routinely was digging pulltabs at 10 or 11 inches with my DFX at Hampton Beach, NH at at Salisbury State Beach in Mass when it had the 6x10 DD on it. I switched to the 9.5 concentric and didn't find anything that deep though I didn't leave the concentric on very long as it really felt like I was missing targets that ought to have been there and my hunting buddy Bernie was finding a normal number of targets with his V3i with the 6x10 on it.
The beaches around here have a lot of black sand in them, for instance Jenness Beach in Rye NH has sand that is dark grey-brown. Also there is some mineral in the sand that is heavier than the rest of the grains of sand and on places exposed to the wind the rest of the sand is blown away just leaving a skin of this mineral and it is a dark purple, or plum color. In fact there is a coastal island just down the coast a few miles at the mouth of the Merrimack River that is called Plum Island because it gets a constant or near constant wind and the dunes there turn plum color.
Maybe the DD handles these minerals better but from hundreds of hours searching on the beaches here I can be sure that the DD coils do better no matter which model or brand of detector you use, whatever the theory says. Just about everyone that hunts there uses DD coils, it is very unusual to see an experienced detectorist (at least those with pro level machines) using concentric coils at any of these beaches. Of course most use multifrequency machines from either Minelab or Whites, since the single frequency machines have a hard time ground balancing against salt and minerals at the same time and there are too many nails and pieces of lobster trap wire for a PI.
The beaches around here have a lot of black sand in them, for instance Jenness Beach in Rye NH has sand that is dark grey-brown. Also there is some mineral in the sand that is heavier than the rest of the grains of sand and on places exposed to the wind the rest of the sand is blown away just leaving a skin of this mineral and it is a dark purple, or plum color. In fact there is a coastal island just down the coast a few miles at the mouth of the Merrimack River that is called Plum Island because it gets a constant or near constant wind and the dunes there turn plum color.
Maybe the DD handles these minerals better but from hundreds of hours searching on the beaches here I can be sure that the DD coils do better no matter which model or brand of detector you use, whatever the theory says. Just about everyone that hunts there uses DD coils, it is very unusual to see an experienced detectorist (at least those with pro level machines) using concentric coils at any of these beaches. Of course most use multifrequency machines from either Minelab or Whites, since the single frequency machines have a hard time ground balancing against salt and minerals at the same time and there are too many nails and pieces of lobster trap wire for a PI.
Larry (IL)
Well-known member
That makes sense, as stated earlier, a DD style coil seems to work best in mineralized ground.
Neil in West Jersey
New member
Because the pattern, or signature of the signal transmitted and received by a concentric coil is conical, you have a greater chance of missing a coin sized target that is not directly under the coil.
The blade-like signal pattern on the D2 makes it "hot" from tip to tip, front to back so you have better coverage area with each swing.
The blade-like signal pattern on the D2 makes it "hot" from tip to tip, front to back so you have better coverage area with each swing.
Count Pierre
Member
I have a DFX with the 950 coil, & this is my No.1 detector at the moment & is a "goodun". I also use a 13" x 11" DD coil, but the 950 out performs the DD in every way for me.
In order to upgrade, I've ordered a V3i which will come with a 10" DD coil.
Am I correct in assuming that I can just stick the 950 on the V3i, & really enjoy my hunting?
To me, that would be the ultimate detector!
In order to upgrade, I've ordered a V3i which will come with a 10" DD coil.
Am I correct in assuming that I can just stick the 950 on the V3i, & really enjoy my hunting?
To me, that would be the ultimate detector!
Larry (IL)
Well-known member
You can do that but for best operation you should use a 950 that have been tuned to the 22.5 frequency. It is called a V rated coil and it will have a V at the beginning of the serial number which is on the mounting ear.