Gold Monster Coil Comparison Test

[Steve Herschbach]

Posted by Metal Detecting For Arizona Gold July 4, 2020

In this video I go out to the Double J claim to gather up some mineralize soil for the Minelab Gold Monster 1000 depth test. I use 7 different Gold Nuggets and conduct the test using Auto 1 and Auto 2.

 

[AllenJ]

The only time I hooked up my large coil was to test it in an area where we were finding very small gold.  My findings were the same as above, it would not detect it nearly as well as the small coil.  I know, everyone said that would be case but I had to see for myself lol.  Someday I hope to find an area where the big coil would be the better choice but so far I've only found small stuff.

[IDMineralSurveys]

I spent a couple of last winter's days doing tests like this on my GM1000 (and also my GB2) to get an idea of which coil might fit best for success in the field. My results were the same as his video documentation on both the large and small coil. Interesting enough, I couldn't find in my testing that the large coil was soooo sensitive to "bumps" - the small coil by contrast is very stable and quiet - found these traits prolific in field use.  Logic would lead to use of the small coil since it is easier to hear the 'real' targets... but I found very little yellow with the small coil. I switched back to the large coil and have found lots of gold, including the micro specks smaller than with the small coil and at noticeably greater depths. Now with approx 200 hours on the large coil making noise all the time in my headphones, I've learned the tone differences and ignore it - kind of like hearing a threshold, just not steady. The dynamics of the large coil and larger coverage have made it my choice. 

Regarding modes, I can't stand it's discrimination and won't use it. I have worked a lot with Auto 1 & 2... Today I exclusively run Manual 9 or 10 and never disc. I found in noisy ground to switch to Auto 2, move VERY slowly (not what i would consider a sweep - slight movements) as close to the ground as I can get it listening for a "fuzz" sound. I have found the smallest specks this way ...several inches down. Amazing, my GB2 missed them.  The gold vs. iron indicator is another story in itself how I've found to make it useful in success.  Small stuff found in a draw in one hour:

 

[Skookum]

I thought this testing method was an interesting choice. It’s a good idea of what to do when it’s too darn hot to go outside here in AZ. One question I had was how does a moving target in motionless dirt affect the results? Wouldn’t the dirt need to be moving in order to create a signal that the detector would sense and also trigger auto ground balance?  Maybe that’s what you’re getting at with a manual sensitivity setting, Phrunt.  Because of that, I took it as a relative depth test between coils, not as an accurate depth test even though it’s using a fixed soil barrier. Thoughts?

[Gerry in Idaho]

Now that is one of the better tests that I have seen.  The string swinging across the coil while the nugget is at the exact same location is much better than us trying to swing a detector over the same level on a target.  

Thanks for sharing Steve, as this video will certainly show some folks the majority of smaller gold is found best with a small coil, as many of us old timers know.  Problem is so many never hunters feel bigger is better.

[DolanDave]

Throw an audio amp on there, squeeze out a little more depth 😁