Which Larger Coil Should I Get for Etrac?

[IDXMonster]

I don’t think Randy was arguing the point to have threshold or not Elmy, he was just stating that it was an item of interest...like “HMMMMMM!” Let me think about that! The primary reasons I use it are to know how much the machine is actually nulling IF I’m running discrimination, and....the WAY the threshold recovers after a target is found can be telling as to a coin or not. I’m not going to try to explain it in words, but that’s what I do. If NO discrimination is used, threshold isn’t AS important, but I still like to have that built in “sillyness monitor” working for me.

 

[Elmy]

ok...I agree...just explaining why I have a threshold as I do run discrimination...way too noisy with an open screen and no head phones in a public place...draws way too much attention ...unless you want a bunch of kids digging up your plugs for coins.

 

[Elmy]

I was running a ring pattern in a park one day and had a few kids there watching me....I probably had a dozen or so pull tabs I had dug up in my trash bag when two boys came up and asked me if I wanted some pull tabs they had found for me.....I was running a QM pattern and it was a very noisy detector....I told them sure I would take them and that I was leaving soon and didn't really need anymore but thanks for helping me out.

 

[rluna]

I don’t think Randy was arguing the point to have threshold or not Elmy, he was just stating that it was an item of interest...like “HMMMMMM!” Let me think about that!

Exactly I've never understood the whole threshold thing and how to use it so I've always hunted silent since
I started in this hobby in 2006. Wonder how many coins Ive missed because of it. I also really, really dont
like that constant hum in my ear. It's definitely much more peaceful out in the park detecting without it(for me).

I discriminate using the Bill S pattern I think its called. I have deep on and fast on always. And then all my
other settings. I've never changed anything once I found what I liked. And now, I know the voice of my Etrac
so well that I can hear this distinct sound when I go over a copper or a silver. And this distinct sound on the
deep stuff. Like idxmonster says, "its hard to explain"

 

[ducktrapper]

I bought the NEL BIG coil and gave it a try for the first time last weekend at a secluded park near my house. No one else was there and I was in the middle of a large area where I could see if anyone was approaching me. That ensured the social distancing.

This coil is heavy, like others have said. Definitely felt like minor should surgery would be needed after a couple hours.

I worked an area I have worked for years. Last year I pulled one deep Merc from here using the 13" Detech soil. The soil here is soft and I know there are more deep coins here. This time, I flagged the corners of a 30 X 40 area and worked it slowly with the 13". I dropped a plastic poker chip on each signal I considered diggable (there were 3 of them). Then I switched to the BIG coil and worked the same pattern. Two of the poker-chipped spots were dug (deep can-slaw and a Jefferson that was too eaten away by the soil acid to pull a date), the other one was deemed iron with the bigger coil. I did find one target with the BIG coil that the 13" missed, and it was a quiet 12-45/46 that turned out to be a 1942 Merc at 8+ inches.

I spent the rest of the time working other areas with the big coil, finding 4 deep wheats (only one still had a date, the others were too pitted) and a worn 1917 Merc. I can't say the BIG coil was the reason I found the 1917, it was only about 5 inches down, it just happened to be along a road where I had not hunted thoroughly before. But I definitely feel the 1942 was due to the BIG coil.

At home, in my test garden, containing silver coins 7-10 inches deep buried 9 years ago, the BIG coil nailed them all and pinpointed tight. The 13" can usually find most of the, especially in the spring when the ground is wet. So I will need to keep checking and comparing the two coils here.

I have another deserted spot for this weekend, non-trashy with the remaining coins being very deep. I have hopes the BIG coil will produce.

In the test garden, I learned there was a sweet-spot to my coil swing speed. Swinging too slowly did not find the coin, speed needed to be in that 3 seconds for a full swing from left to right.