FIRST OFF I want to qualify this test. As many of you know, I live in the Mojave Desert, and my soil conditions are highly mineralized, and very dry. Far from the ideal for best detector performance. My soil mineralization reading is 79, thus very "hot." THEREFORE: for those of you who detect in much milder ground, do not give undue credence to this test. How these coils will compare in your soil may be different. ALSO: for some of you, these depths may seem rather shallow. Remember, though, that we are talking about dry, highly mineralized ground, which can significantly reduce depth of detection. Test parameters: my MXT, Coin and Jewelry mode, preset (nail level) discrimination, autotracking on, and gain set as high as possible, as will be mentioned. Targets: dimes buried flat, in my test garden. White's 6x4 DD: maximum gain +3, with excellent stability. Maximum discernable signal: 6" dime. White's 10x6 DD: maximum gain +3, with excellent stability. Maximum depth on dime: 7". White's stock 950: I tried operating it at +3 gain, but was somewhat unstable. Maximum depth on dime: 8". BUT, as mentioned, it was really too unstable to be using that high a gain. At +1 gain, excellent stability, and dimes to 7" were no problem. White's 14" DD: maximum gain +3 (surprised me) with excellent stability. Could get 8" dimes with no problem. 14" Excellerator: higest stable operating gain was at preset; anything higher resulted in extreme instability. It really hated my soil. The best it could do, at preset gain, was the 6" deep dime. As can be seen, the 14" White's DD got the best depth. Perhaps more importantly, it got really great ground coverage, especially at depth. On the 6" deep dime I was able to "guesstimate" that the White's 14" DD got a 3 (maybe even 4) times the detectable "window" as did the concentric 950. Thus, the best combination of overall depth, and ground coverage, was found with the 14" DD. NOW.... since most of my treasure hunting is for the Most Happy Yellow Metal, I tested the 14" DD in the Prospecting mode on little nuggets. Guess what? It could find 1/4 GRAIN nuggets, with JUST the MXT's audio speaker! Yep, Steve, you read that right! I was floored! No real depth, of course, but if the 14" DD can find 1/4 grainers, bigger 'uns would be no problem. Hope this helps; HH Jim
