Which Larger Coil Should I Get for Etrac?

[Xdigger]

What coil do you use to get 9 and 10 inch coins? I can get that with my 11 inch. But a bigger coil will make them sound better if in clean ground.

 

[rluna]

What coil do you use to get 9 and 10 inch coins? I can get that with my 11 inch. But a bigger coil will make them sound better if in clean ground.

I've hunted pretty much exclusively using the Ultimate 13" for years. The deepest coin I've got with the
Ultimate, a couple years ago was a barber dime just over 11inches. I recently bought the 15" Nel Attack
Coil and recovered a mercury dime at a full 12inches and the sound was good, not weak at all.

I know I could get a 9 or 10 inch coin with the stock 11 inch coil but since I have the Ultimate there's no
reason for me to use the 11 inch coil unless I'm in a trashier area.

For example, about 3 weeks ago I was hunting in an old park here in Milwaukee with my Nell attack in
a big open area in the park that has been well hunted so it is pretty clean hoping for some deeper coins.
I went to a different area of the park that was too trashy for the big coil. To many targets under that big coil.

I switched to the 11" coil and recovered 10 wheaties and 2 silvers.

 

[Jeff in Pa]

I couldn't agree more on the 10 x 12 and I tried alot of them over the years.

The bigger the coil, the more masking you will get. It is a trade-off in maximum sizing for depth and unmasking. I consider 13 inches the max depth in detection and separation. I also read that from a forum sometime in the past. I still contend that the Detech 10x12 is superior. jmho

 

[Elmy]

WELL...
cross a very deep target with a small coil....it doesn't respond enough to be not a what we will call a target we would dig....but with a larger coil...loud and clear....

now add iron....the bigger coil misses....and also so does the small coil..... Too deep....I would rather dig a deeper coin with a large coil than miss a coin with a small coil just because it may be a very deep target.

(QUOTE)... life is like a box of chocolates...you never know what your going to get......

ESPECIALLY on very deep targets that small coils miss

And I know a lot of people will disagree with this post !

 

[rluna]

WELL...
cross a very deep target with a small coil....it doesn't respond enough to be not a what we will call a target we would dig....but with a larger coil...loud and clear....

now add iron....the bigger coil misses.

I have dug plenty of deep silver that has had nails, bottle caps and other junk right next to it and/or all around it and I was still able
to get the silver signal/number jumping in there amongst the other numbers. If the target is 9 inches or more and I have 40 - 47
conductive numbers jumping in there once and a while, then I'm digging it. Especially if the pinpointing is tight...then I get excited..lol

 

[Elmy]

yes....I have dug them also very deep....the etrac will respond to a coin, I have heard, even if it nulls....or growls iron in my case.

 

[ducktrapper]

Great topic, right up my alley.

I also am planning a bigger coil for my Etrac next year. I have used the Detech 13" for years. But I have several sites where I know for a fact there are many coins about an inch beyond what I can detect going ultra-slow with the Detech. So appreciated the thoughts on the coils mentioned in your posts.

The one I did not see mentioned was the 18 X 15 SEF coil. Any thoughts on that one? I am working in clean ground and am physically able to swing the big coil for several hours.

Thanks.

 

[mascard1]

Had that.. Can’t swing without stepping on it....

 

[rluna]

The problem I find with the Huge coils is the ground your hunting needs to be pretty
clean for that big coil to be effective. Even the 15" attack that I use is too big for
90 plus percent of the places I hunt.

I thought I might want to try one of those big coils some day but after digging a 12"
mercury with the Attack coil that sounded loud and clear I knew that coin could
have been 13" and I still would have heard it.

So I figure even if a 18" coil gets me a 14", 15" or 16" coin do I really want to be digging those.
I'll just stick with the 13" or less coins, plus even swinging that 15" attack gets tiresome even
with my harness.

.
.

 

[Elmy]

yep...been doing the digging like that for quite awhile....but I figured that maybe lowering the sensitivity and using bigger coils I could target hot coin areas in a larger hunting space...
Then power it up for the deep stuff. May even try below auto settings to see how deep it would go....and just cover more ground in the same amount of time. I made a longer handle digger 3 years ago
only the deep and hard to hit coins are left to detect around here.

 

[sd51]

Everything that has been stated in this post makes perfect sense! I use a 6x8 Detech due to the high trash areas I prefer to hunt and pulled an 1857 quarter down 10" with a nail at about the 6" level. I haven't purchased a coil bigger than the stock 11" yet but would like to try a larger coil. What I find is if I expect to find those deep targets, I have to be of the mindset that day to just plain dig all the deep, iffy targets and concentrate on a very small area. If I'm trying to cover a very large area, I fail to dig as many targets and probably leave the goodies in the ground.

 

[Elmy]

it has been said and most times proven...you can't get them all...a place never seems to be cleaned out....but I think I have come very close to my areas...until I try something different and wham...up comes a coin from a completely work out area ! smaller coils...larger coils....they all have a place to use them...so try something different. You may be surprised !

 

[sd51]

Agree that areas are never really cleaned out. I have an area that's about 50' by 50' that's loaded with square nails so I know it was used in the 1800s. One day I'm going to grid it and dig everything just to see what the nails are hiding.

 

[Elmy]

sd51
lower sensitivity and volume gain to where you get a stable threshold....maybe even go less than you think you need ...just get it to a steady threshold...and give it a good sweeping over....
too much sensitivity and iron is a big mistake all of us have made.

 

[sd51]

Thanks Elmy for the good advice! Think I'll wait for a day after a good rain to make the digging easier too. Will have to be in the Spring since the ground is snow covered now.

 

[Elmy]

no problem....everyone here tries to help everyone.....if something works for one , it may help us all get the good stuff.
Keep us posted as sometimes winter can seem as nice as spring and you can get out once or twice after the snow is gone....HH

 

[IDXMonster]

Great advice Elmy. Acquiring a stable operating threshold and setting Sensitivity correctly....especially with a big coil.... is incredibly important. If it’s constantly falsing slightly off of iron there isn’t any difference between those sounds and a possible extremely deep target. Takes some awhile to buy into that, myself included. Hunting areas that actually have targets helps...

 

[rluna]

The whole threshhold thing is interesting because I hunt silent.
No threshhold at all.

 

[Elmy]

So how do you know how well your detector is responding running silent....is it nulling....some chirps and squeaks may be coming off good targets on the sides of your coil....they should all be given a sweep over or investigated.... not every coin is directly under your coil....sometimes a near miss will chatter at ya....swing low and slow ...even a rise in your threshold hum could be a deep target not exactly under your coil... and why wait for wet weather...sometimes it may throw off your id if you use target id... I have heard many times of coins being harvested in bone , dry weather, over a foot deep and have dug some in dry weather around that depth or so.

Sorry folks...I'm ranting a little too much....you have to listen once in a while or you will never learn a thing.....us old folks say around here...so I am listening.

 

[Elmy]

I always drop sensitivity and maybe volume gain a little on a larger coil...a 15 inch coil seems like it would get more stuff under the coil and need a lower sensitivity and maybe a ground cancel run to get the best channel....you can always add more sensitivity if it runs with a steady hum.

etrac manual
Page 58
If the Threshold Level is too low, the slight
variation caused by a small or deep target
may not be sufficient to hear. Adjusting the
level to below an audible level will ensure
silent operation but could mask the audio
response from small targets.


Elmy out !