How Well Does The Equinox 15" Coil Perform?

[mn90403]

Look at Gerry's finds when he goes to Mexico and you will see what neck deep detecting is all about.

[Bill (S. CA)]

As others have said, in my view the 15"  is all about coverage.  I do not personally think it goes any deeper than the stock coil.

However, keep in mind that it is a larger and heavier coil.  I hunted for 4 hours straight with mine on Saturday and about 1/2 way through i was wishing I had the stock coil on instead.

[fishersari]

Yeah... for me its coverage too, no depth differences. The first thing I sold to top up manticore purchase.. 

[CoinShooter]

Hello Brad,

I'm up here in the panhandle of Florida and more specifically, Pensacola.

In my opinion, the 15-inch coil does go deeper than the stock 11-inch for sure. I think the sensitivity of the larger coil is just as good as the stock coil but have found it a little harder for pinpointing.

Also, I tried swinging that thing in the ocean and at the end of the day, my right shoulder hurt like the dickens for a couple of days. A lot of drag comes with swinging that thing in the water. With that being said though, hunting on the dry sand makes having this coil worth it. For example, the competition is high here and ground coverage become important when you are detecting among others. I love how I can cover a lot more ground as compared to others using their stock coils. The more ground you cover, the more potential finds you'll have in your pouch. Ground coverage in high detecting areas is very important to me.

There are advantages hunting in big open fields too. I have taken the 15-inch coil back over places I have detected with the stock coil and pulled out silver dimes and quarters that were unreachable. Anything that gives me an edge is always in my detecting arsenal.

Lastly, even though off topic, this is why I always have a six-inch coil too. Usually a small coil in a heavily infested trashy lot plucks things where others can't run their coil. Including picknick pavilions near the beach that always have tons of pull tabs and bottle caps. It still doesn't pick up chicken bones though 🙂

 Hope this helps,

John

[Sinclair]

I've sold my 15" .. didn't use it all that much. I found it only to be practical on totally flat beaches.. after a storm or on the wet sand f.e. - nothing for the dry sand with all it's valleys and humps. In the water: too much drag.

Depth: Not so much more, but noticeably.
Sensitivity on small stuff: about the same as the 11", because of multifrequency.

The increased weight to increased gain in coverage ratio killed it for me. I had to extend the stem a good bit, otherwise it would pick up my shoes, very sensitive on the edge. That leads to more leverage.. You also have to walk a bit slower. Recovery speed 4-5 worked best for me - >=6 felt unstable.

All in all: Smaller coil -> higher swing + walking speed -> less weight -> longer detecting time -> outperforms the coverage advantage of the 15" - at least for me and my style of hunting.

If you want to slowly work an smaller area for deep targets, the 15" may be a  good choice imho.

[Steve Herschbach]

Typical depth responses. Everyone leaves out what should be a mandatory disclaimer “In my ground.”

Depth increases depend on the target size. On very small targets you should not expect a depth increase going to a larger coil. The larger the target, the better the increase. On quarters and men’s rings or larger I’d expect a depth increase depending on the ground.

The ground being the key. In mild or low mineral ground I’d expect a 10-15% depth gain on larger targets over the 11” round coil. As ground mineral (magnetite and salt) increase, there will be a point where the depth on the 11” and 15” are about the same, so all you get is better ground coverage.

In EXTREME ground the 15” coil will see too much ground compared to the target (target to ground ratio) and blowback from the ground will tend to overload the larger coil, calling for a decrease in the gain. In the worst ground, there may therefor be a depth loss going to a larger coil.

In summary it’s the target size / orientation and ground that determines whether you will see a depth gain going to the larger coil. In general I consider that a bonus, with increased ground coverage being the primary reason to use the larger coil.

Long story short I think the Nox 15 is one of the best large VLF coils I have ever used, and would not hesitate to use it in most situations where huge areas need to be covered. It has a superb combination of depth on larger targets combined with surprising sensitivity to smaller targets. Remember, it’s really a stretched 12” coil, not a 15” coil. The coil nose is an excellent pinpointing tool, so good I got to where I hardly need to use a pinpointer when running the 12” x 15” coil.

The exception would be anywhere magnetite or salt or both combine to create extreme mineral conditions, in which case smaller coils will likely be the better choice.

[Chase Goldman]

I personally felt the 15x12 coil for Nox was a fine coil for what it was.  Great coverage, obviously, and excellent small target sensitivity for its size but because it was really just a 12-inch stretched coil, minimal depth gain over the 11" stock round.  As a result, I would only primarily only use it for coverage on low mineralized sites (non-submerged beach detecting or non-mineralized farm fields) and even under those circumstnces, was hesitant to make the effort to bolt it on to my Nox because of the weight (despite being tied with the Nox 10x5 in swing coverage to weight ratio).  Now I primarily just keep the 10x5 permanently bolted to the Nox as it is a more universally compatible coil for a variety of detecting situations and makes for a super light setup with decent swing coverage despite a moderate depth penalty.  If I want to go deep, I'm using the D2 and it's 13x11 behemoth.

Also remember, everyone here is extrapolating their 15x12" coil experience from the Equinox (600/800 primarily) to the Manticore (while the OP is considering the forthcoming Manticore variant).   So all the speculation should be taken with  grain of salt because we know the Manticore reacts to beach targets differently than the Nox 800 and even the 900; we have zero data on how Manticore behaves with any other coil than the stock; and we have no idea whether ML will tweak the 15x12 coil design for Manticore in some respect to trade off one performance attribute (e.g., depth) at the expense of another attribute (e.g., small target sensitivity) making the Manticore 15x12 variant behave a lot different than the Nox 15x12.  So while they SHOULD behave similarly, there are a number known unknown variables that may impact the final outcome.  Just a reminder...

[cudamark]

I agree with those who love the 12 X 15  Nox coil. In my hunting experience, it's the best coil I've ever used and I rarely take it off. When looking for tiny gold in polluted sites, sure, I go with a smaller coil, but, even in the ocean, I use the big one. I also have the 15" round Coiltek coil. It's deeper by a couple of inches, is heavier, and doesn't pin point as well, but, if you need max depth, it's the one to go to.

[CoinShooter]

I'm also waiting for the EQX 15 coil (the 6X8 too) to come out for the Manticore. I have one for my Nox 800 and find it very useful in certain situations. Here in Pensacola, a lot of vacationers bring their detectors. It is not uncommon to see six detectors on the beach at one time. For this reason, I like the larger coil because competition is high. Since the larger coil is nearly 50% bigger, I cover more ground at a faster rate than the general purpose coil. To me, that comes down to finding more targets.

I also like the larger coil in non-trashy open fields. I cover these fields faster and I know it goes deeper. I did an experiment once where I used the 11-inch coil and hit a field in all directions using the grid system. A couple of weeks later, I used the 15-inch coil at the same field and found the deeper targets that the 11-inch coil couldn't reach.

Just my two cents for ya.

Happy hunting!

John

[OCBeepDigger]

I reiterate what most others have said. I'm primarily a beach hunter in a competitive area and the 15" is my standard beach set-up on my Nox 800 (while I'm still waiting for my Manticore!). I'm probably 80% on the dry/wet sand and about 20% in the shallow surf. The additional coverage is the primary advantage to me but I do think it's a little deeper than the 11", and it's definitely plenty sensitive to small targets. No doubt it is a heavier coil if you're sensitive to that, or hunt for extended amounts of time. I mitigated the additional weight by getting Steve's detector rod with a counterweight which balances the 15" so much better...I don't have any issues swinging it for 6-7+ hours. I love my 15" and definitely recommend it but your milage may vary depending on where, how and what you hunt.