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Ending 2020 by preparing for the year-to-come.

Monte

"In Memory of"
Joined
Oct 14, 2007
Messages
785
Location
Farr West, Utah
I've never been into 'over-size' coils for my searches because I am after smaller-size targets such as Coins, Jewelry and Trade Tokens. When you get over some 10" to 12" diameter coils you start losing any imagined depth-of-detection and responsiveness to smaller-size targets. Bigger coils are best suited for bigger-size objects.

'Smaller-size' coils provide the edge when trying to unmask smaller-size targets in trashier sites, especially those that are too close to ferrous debris. That leaves the 'mid-size' search coils to consider, and for me they can make a very good choice in my Detector Outfit, if I match a good-working coil to an also good-working detector for handling most of the day-to-day hunting tasks I'll encounter.

The important things here are that I am selecting the detectors and coils for the places I like to hunt, the ground mineral and trash encounters I am likely to face, and then making sure both detectors and coils are up-to-the-job. We each have to make those decisions for what we want to do and what we like, so don't fall prey to my choices, or to selections made by others with different opinions. We need to make our own, an then get comfortable with them. Learn our detectors well, and then put them to work where they can show off their abilities and use them efficiently.

There are a lot of detectors on the market today that can handle many different applications, so many folks who are limited on what, or how many, detectors they can own should be able to sort through the many offerings and find one or two detectors to complement each other and have a good, functional, versatile detector or two to see them through a year of enjoyment afield.

It's also good to consider the different hunting opportunities we are likely to take on in the course of a year and then maybe assign certain detectors and/or coils for specific applications. That way we will best be ready for different site challenges.

If you are a newer member of this terrific outdoor sport, be attentive to what the various challenges are as you get out hunting more and come across difference from one location to another and learn from them. As I am nearing the end of my 56th year of avid detecting, I'm not 'new' and have long-ago developed a liking for certain detectors or coils for specific applications.

Avid fishermen usually have several rods or reels they favor for different types of fishing and sites and challenges. When my health allowed me in my younger years, as an avid hunter I had several firearms I preferred for small game, varmints, medium-size game and big game. And ammunition selection was kind of comparable to search coil selection. If you only hunted squirrels and cottontail rabbits, you might have one firearm, but if you expand your ambitions to hunt a wider-variety of critters and take on different site challenges, you'd be better outfitted .... and the same is true when you get into a lot of different detecting applications.

I have finally settled on a good working detector outfit to carry me into the coming new year, and also conform to my transition back from 85% Relic Hunting old sites with challenging terrain, to 85% Coin & Jewelry Hunting because my physical impairments and mobility limitations demand it.

As i look at the year ahead I only plan to add one more detector to my outfit, and that will be an up-scale SMF model when one comes out that impresses me enough to complement my current assemblage of detecting devices. I have been using various SMF's from Fisher, Minelab, White's and Garrett now since the mid-'90s and while some of them can work okay for certain applications, they have never been the overall better picks for all my hunting. I have had greater overall success afield with decent SF detectors based upon the site conditions, ground mineral conditions, and detector operating frequency and the detector's circuity design. I pick-and-choose what works best for the particular place I am hunting, and that suggests I have both types of detectors in my outfit.

This post is simply an effort to share my thoughts on being prepared for the year to come, and how I have gone about selecting and assigning different detectors for different tasks. Some more Special-Use and others for Daily-Use. These are units that I keep loaded in my vehicle for daily travel to be ready for any detecting opportunity that I come across. I also have a ** Plus ** assignment of models i might also load up, one or two as desired, for their special purpose. Just thoughts to maybe help others who are newer to his sport to get a better grip on what they might want to own and use and just what purpose they would be for. Here is my end-of year detector and coil selection as I prepare for what's to come:

Special-Use Team:
• Nokta FORS CoRe w/ 4.7X5.2 'OOR' DD
• Nokta FORS Relic w/ 5" DD
• White's XLT w/6½" Concentric
• Tesoro Bandido II µMAX w/6" Concentric

Daily-Use Team:
• Fisher F5 w/7" Concentric
• Garrett Apex w/'Ripper' 5X8 DD
• Minelab Vanquish 540 w/5X8 DD
• Simplex + w/5X9½ DD

** Plus **:
• Tesoro Silver Sabre µMAX w/6" Concentric mainly for quick work in tot-lots
• Garrett Apex w/'Raider' 8½X11 DD for larger, open-areas
• Minelab Vanquish 540 w/9X12 DD for larger, open-areas.


And at 8:30 AM on the beautiful clear, sunny, blue-sky day it is 18° with a wind chill of 11° and the only thing I wish I could order would be a temperature increase of 50° to 60° to get out and enjoy my detectors! Oh well, I am ready and waiting for the next favorable opportunity. I hope everyone else is preparing their detector group for times ahead.

Monte
 
Beachhunter: said:
Good write up Monte on your goals and direction for 2021. Good luck!
Thank you for the kind words. It's warmed to almost 22° and I'm waiting for my last detector that's out for delivery. it's my 2nd V-540 that will wear the 9X12 DD coil. And with any luck we might get into the upper 30° this afternoon and I can get into the double lot that's been bladed. No silver yet but a lot of wheat-backs. The ground is frozen so I'm not sure how any recovery will go, but the wind died off and, if is stays that way, i might work in a little hunting today. Winter .... Blah! Spring can't arrive soon enough. I hope you have more favorable weather.

Monte
 
I never thought of a smaller coil equals deeper dept, If I have what you correct.
I mainly hunt sand. I got a 15 inch coil to speed up the miles I hunt. I noticed deeper then my six inch coil at the same settings. But what you said does make sense so I'm all confused.

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DbblTap: said:
I never thought of a smaller coil equals deeper dept, If I have what you correct.
I didn't see where I said smaller coils get better depth. However, I could have, if I was relating to a number of examples where smaller coils might provide improved separation or response-and-recovery, or ferrous trash handling in a densely littered site where coins and other desired keepers might me masked.

What I did refer to, and it gets to the assignment of search coils size and internal type or design with regard to their ability to function well, or not, to various sizes of unseen metal objects. And that is also dependent upon the circuitry design of the detector they are attached to, various things like operating Frequency, Discrimination, Ground Balance, the ground mineral environment being searched, etc., etc.

Many manufacturers used to often over-state the performance abilities of their over-size search coils. Meaning those that were over-the-size of or larger-than their 'standard' search coils. As I stated early in my post, when searching for smaller-size targets, likes thin coins or jewelry or trade tokens and such (and remember, I am comparing performance to the former 'standard' coils of 7" to 8" diameter) you might get a little improved depth-of-detection and good responsiveness from a slightly-larger coil of about 10" to 12" in diameter.

However, big-coils, such as larger-sizes of about 13", 14", 15" or more, are usually going to have the edge or improved responsiveness to bigger-size objects and to a somewhat greater depth. It is after that 10" to 12" diameter size that you start to see a reduction in responsiveness or depth potential to smaller-size targets


DbblTap: said:
I mainly hunt sand. I got a 15 inch coil to speed up the miles I hunt. I noticed deeper then my six inch coil at the same settings. But what you said does make sense so I'm all confused.
Don't be too confused, just learn the differences in performance between search coils sizes, search coil type (Concentric Vs Double-D) and the detector used, settings used, ground mineral make-up, etc.

I have a couple of friends who stuck their 'standard' 11" DD coils in a closet and went with an aftermarket, over-size 15" DD coil. Their thinking was to get greater coverage per sweep, as well as improved depth-of-detection when mainly searching for early-era coins in older parks and such.

I can assure you they both found a good number of older silver and early-date coins. However, the main reason they were successful was because they selected older sites that had a lot of activity early-on, so 'location' was one important key to success. The other noteworthy 'key-to-success' was they they put in a lot of time. A lot .... and worked and r-worked the areas going over the same general areas more than once, and that provided more opportunity for them to get the coil over a detectable target.

Additionally, and they improved their skills over time as they learned, they searched at a slower sweep speed than many others with a similar detector and coil set-up. Also, they learned, over time, that they didn't get the front-to-rear coverage on a side-to-side sweep as they over hear stated or proclaimed in posted comments of some sketched image of an imagined EMF.

Also, after a few years, the more avid user learned than his 'standard' 11" diameter search coil (in that 10" to 12" size I mentioned earlier) really provided about the same depth as the bigger and heavier coil, was sometimes even better at responding to the smaller-size coins at their depth limits, and made it easier to overlap and fit the coil into some areas where the over-size coil didn't fit or work well. The big coil was sold and he stuck with the 11" DD 'standard' coil.

This all related to hunting wide-open areas like a beach or grassy park where they were hunting away from heavily-littered areas. So opting for 15" diameter search coil to help with your coverage over a wide-open beach can sometimes be OK, just as long as you know the functional portion of the EMF, especially at the mid-depth to deepest-depth it can provide, and work the coil at the best sweep speed and remember to overlap sufficiently so as not to miss any desired targets.

Monte
 
Thank you for the kind words. It's warmed to almost 22° and I'm waiting for my last detector that's out for delivery. it's my 2nd V-540 that will wear the 9X12 DD coil. And with any luck we might get into the upper 30° this afternoon and I can get into the double lot that's been bladed. No silver yet but a lot of wheat-backs. The ground is frozen so I'm not sure how any recovery will go, but the wind died off and, if is stays that way, i might work in a little hunting today. Winter .... Blah! Spring can't arrive soon enough. I hope you have more favorable weather.

Monte

Hey we've had some 45 degree weather down here in Houston. That is burrr cold for us but a lot of fun to hunt in. When it's 100 degrees in the summer time, 45 can get here fast enough.
 
Monte my buddy and I went to the beach Friday and we both had good success with gold jewelry finds. Both using Nox's, he was using the 15" and I was using the stock coil. He was getting much better depth with the 15" and for the beach it works well. However when we dirt hunt, it's almost null and void to use a 15" on the sites we hunt. You're correct about using smaller coils.

We've been looking at the Tarsacci detectors for the beach. I wonder if anyone has compared the stock coil on the Tarsacci and the Nox with a 15" coil and what the difference would be on depth ?

Monte you always put forth some great subjects. Keep it up, sir.
 
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