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Gold Bug Pro Coil Question


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This was mentioned on another forum, was wondering if anyone has knowledge this aftermarket coil for the GB Pro. 12" x 14" Excelerator SEF Pro coil.

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Hi Steve,

Can you post the link to the mention on the other forum? I do not care if other forums get linked, mentioned, or talked about here. I am not able to find such a coil being made for the Gold Bug Pro or Teknetics G2 (same detector). I fact I can't even find a 14" x 12" Excelerator coil for anything. There is a 15" x 12" but not for the GPB.

Kellyco is the Excelerator dealer at http://www.kellycodetectors.com/excelerator/EXcelleratorMain.htm Love the depth diagrams there - what a joke! As a general rule do not expect depths on coin size targets with a VLF to much exceed the narrowest diameter of the coil. On coils over 12" the depth gains are minimal and wil actually go backwards in bad ground.

I do know when I put a heavy coil on a very light detector I end up not liking it. Weight is a big factor. I got the 15" DD Fisher coil for my F75 and hated it. Used it exactly once and sold it. Totally ruined the balance and feel of the detector. I do have a white 13" Detech Ultimate DD that I got for my F75 that is exceptionally light. I found out my F75 coils seem to work on my Gold Bug Pro although they are not an exact match for it. That coil seemed to give me a magic extra 1/2" on larger nuggets on my F75 but it may have been psychological. Anyway, I mention this as the 15" x 12" Excelerator coil for the F75 may work on the Gold Bug Pro. I have heard a lot of good things about the 12" x 10" Excelerator of other detectors, 15" not so much.

The biggest "big" coil that I have and trust 100% for my Gold Bug Pro is the black 11" elliptical DD.

Be aware a VLF is not a PI and going bigger coils does not always give you more depth. In bad ground a big coil sees more ground and so the gain may have to be backed off to compensate, pretty much leaving you where you started. In extreme ground you will get less depth with a big coil on a VLF! If you want more ground coverage with a big VLF coil they will do that but do not expect much in the extra depth department. If you want that, break out your Minelab.

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Here's what may be the same coil.

From http://bul-trade.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=9_11&products_id=134

Search coil S.E.F. DD for Fisher Gold Bug & Gold Bug Pro & Gold Bug DP - 38cm. x 30cm. (15" х 12")

$234 $156

Model: S.E.F. 38x30 DD Fisher Gold Bug

Shipping Weight: 2lbs

Manufactured by: DETECH

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  • 1 month later...

The above Detech coil from their Bulgarian website states this after being translated:

Search coil S.E.F. is specially designed and manufactured by Detech, for Fisher metal detector brand model: Gold Bug, Gold Bug DP and Gold Bug Pro. Size 38cm x 30cm (15"x12") With this probe depth raised demand for the metal detectors Fisher Gold Bug, Fisher Gold Bug DP, and Fisher Gold Bug Pro around 30% according to the nature and character of the soil.

From what I have read the S.E.F 15" x 12" Coil for Fisher F75 is what you buy and it works on the Gold Bug Pro

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Hello guys, I put this on another forum a month ago. TRINITYAU/RAYMILLS

Posted 20 January 2014 - 11:40 AM

''Hello guys, Kellyco has the coil. It is not listed as a coil for the GB Pro. It is listed as a coil for the F75 and it will fit. I tried one quite a while back and it made the GB Pro too unbalanced for me to carry around. I really did not see any difference in performance when compared to the ten inch coil. If you have your ears turned on you will hear the same signals with the ten inch eliptical coil. I use my bug in very shallow ground. If the ground gets too deep I bring the 3000/Sadie out and will hear most targets. You need a combination of machines to effectively cover all ground. No one unit is going to get it all. No one coil is going to get it all. My feelings are that the Gold Bug Pro/ten inch coil combo is great. Spend some time with it and I think most will agree.

 

While we are talking about the GB Pro, my name came up as someone who modifies or knows about modification of the GB Pro. I do not and I see no reason for it. Mine works fantastic as it is. One tip for the ten inch coil, learn to use the main coil for more depth and the tip for extreme sensitivity. Thanks all, TRINITYAU/RAYMILLS''

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Hi Ray,

I agree the 5" x 10" DD is the best overall coil for the Gold Bug Pro. If hunting tailing piles I would use the 7" x 11" DD for that tiny extra on a big nugget since I own one but can't say the difference is enough that people should run out and get one.

There seems to be a lot of vague posting going on about aftermarket coils and modifications on other forums. I would be extremely skeptical of any claims that anyone can modify the guts of a Gold Bug Pro for better performance.

There are a bunch of aftermarket coils that basically work on the Gold Bug Pro. The problem is getting anyone with actual real world use to post about them. Most reports are second hand. Ray has some time on one. I have the Ultimate 13" which I think is a good coil but no magic bullet.

You hit the nail on the head though Ray - trying to turn VLF detectors into PI detectors with larger coils rarely works in anything other than low mineral soil. Money spent on a VLF detector that has a large coil by getting a smaller coil for it is money well spent. Spending money on oversize coils rarely pays off in anything but better ground coverage.

I do know this. Fisher makes coils that are specific to the F75 and they make coils that are specific to the Gold Bug series. They do not advertise one as being good for the other. This tells me getting optimum performance for either detector takes a coil specifically tuned for its frequency, 13 kHz on the F75 and 19 kHz on the Gold Bugs. An F75 coil will work on a Gold Bug Pro but the results have been specifically noted by Fisher as being unreliable and you do so at your own risk.

I think aftermarket manufacturers that advertise their F75 coils as working on the Gold Bugs are fudging. Yes, they will work. But how well will they work? I think the evidence as presented by Fisher says it all and if you buy an aftermarket F75 and slap it on a Gold Bug or Gold Bug Pro you are rolling the dice. It will work, but you may be spending money to get a larger, heavier coil that basically does no better than what you have.

If anyone has FIRST HAND use of a specific coil model and can vouch otherwise I am all ears.

This is the official statement from Lead Engineer Dave Johnson at First Texas:

"The new Bug (and also Tek G2) are designed to work with the Tek "Greek series" (also known as "Frat Bros.") series DD searchcoils, which at this time (Nov 2010) consists of a 5 inch round and an 11 inch elliptical.

Some people have gotten creative and plugged in other searchcoils from the FratBros and F75 series just to find out what happens. Results have been mixed. Because of manufacturing variation in searchcoils some individual ones of a particular type may "work" and others may not work. The ones that "work" may in fact exhibit subtle performance deficiencies, or may seem to work fine today but not tomorrow.

FTP-Fisher explicitly un-recommends that people purchase anything other than searchcoils specified for use with these units. But if you have one of our other searchcoils anyway, there's nothing to stop you from plugging it in just to see what happens. It won't damage the machine. Note however that Tek T2 searchcoils flat out won't work, they're wired different."

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