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Coilteks New SDC Coil


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33 minutes ago, phrunt said:

If Minelab don't want to produce coils for their products that's their problem, a market will form

Yeah, for me I`d want ML to concentrate their R & D on the detector advances first and foremost and let the after market fellows concentrate on coil advances, and why not, this has worked brilliantly to now.

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Nah, specialisation is what`s it is about ML and the coil aftermarket fellows have proved that conclusively over the years well and truly. 

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This is always going to be a complex subject but at the end of the day demand will drive supply. ML have every right to be concerned about an add on that is taking the product away from its original function (in this case getting away from being compact, foldable and water proof). Aftermarket coils have been available for many years, funnily enough I was on the ground floor for ML PI machines after seeking permission in 1995 to have coils hand built under licence which then highlighted the demand and need (amazing how things haven’t change much in 24 years).

Over the years I’ve seen a lot of aftermarket coils that were far from ideal, a lot of detectors they were attached too often went back to ML under warranty at ML’s expense, quite often it was more than once due to nothing being found wrong with the actual unit. Obviously things have improved over the years but from Minelab’s perspective there is a very good reason why there is a chip in the GPZ 7000 coils.

I have not tried the new Coiltek coils so currently have no opinion on the subject but as a dealer I’ve ordered a few which I will trial first on out of warranty units and make my own conclusions on stocking/promoting them or not. I will say I’m not a huge fan of flat wound coils (I doubt if the new SDC coils are flat wound) but they have put a lot of life into the GPX product line as a VERY viable solution to improving sensitivity and depth, using them in variable saturable ground however I can easily HEAR the “Cheat” of the forced early demodulation and the way it causes the detector to behave, if there was no GPZ then of course I would use them but it would be under duress.

The key point in the case of the SDC is MPF (and I’d say Minelabs chief concern), FAST means very tight electronic parameters which means the coils are critical to the equation, get them wrong and the detector is not going to play nice. Coiltek seem to have done their homework and are confident enough to go to market in spite of the need for removal of components and special tools required to revert back to original. I’d say early adopters will be the people who have SDC’s that are out of warranty, their feedback and successes will be what drives demand.

JP

 

 

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I doubt Minelab cares as much as you all seem to think. This is just a standard “cover your posterior” statement. Frankly, Minelab would be negligent to its stockholders and customers not to let people know that if you screw something up doing this, you are on your own. People might think this would be obvious, but I personally have a lot of knowledge about warranty administration. I will never forget the guy that felled a tree on his Husqvarna chainsaw and wanted me to warranty it. His rationale? “If it was designed properly it would not have broken”.

Minelab does not produce enough coils fast enough, period. Why there is not a 6 x 10 coil yet for Equinox or small coil for GPZ is beyond me. Take a look at Nokta/Makro for a lesson in how to do coils. They launch new detectors with a half dozen coils out the starting gate, and a dozen aftermarket coils follow in a few months. It is just one of the strategies NokMak is employing to win customers and it is working. People are still vastly underestimating that company.

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2 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

Take a look at Nokta/Makro for a lesson in how to do coils. They launch new detectors with a half dozen coils out the starting gate, and a dozen aftermarket coils follow in a few months. It is just one of the strategies NokMak is employing to win customers and it is working. People are still vastly underestimating that company.

Steve, there is a huge difference in the tech these guys are selling compared to the tech ML are selling. There are very valid reasons why Minelab seem slow on the coil variety front. 

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Yeah and I know a few things also JP. The same was said about Minelab when they first came out. It will be a few years before NokMak goes toe to toe with Minelab. They are going to eat First Texas, Garrett, and White’s first on their way there. :smile:

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Competition is a great motivator Steve, as a detector user that bodes well for my passion. ML have been alone in the desert doing their thing for a long time now yet they still continue to innovate and provide real improvements in their new products on a regular basis. BBS, MPS, FBS, DVT, FBSII, MPF, ZVT and Multi IQ with multiple model releases associated with a few of them.

Maybe competition would be a good motivator to see more coil varieties?

JP

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Yeah tis all good for the user, competition certainly has shown the way. Just is good to see detectors becoming popular enough for this to be happening and I believe we owe ML for a lot of this without doubt.

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From the perspective of just a guy just swinging his detector the effect of obsolescence and general market depreciation is a far greater threat to me than risking the warranty on a well engineered adaptation that increases my use and enjoyment. Warranties expire and nothing short of some miracle will get all your money back selling a used machine and if anything we may have missed the boat picking up a good deal on a used 2300 if these coils prove out as it looks, certainly got to be good for the folks that own one now.

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