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A common subject that has come up recently with all the coil discussions is X signal and what it portrays. This thread is to put some clarity on what X means to the GPZ 7000 end user and why you should use your Ferrite. When the 7000 was released its software was designed to automatically calibrate for a component in the ground called X signal, there is no need for me to go into the scientific aspects of what X is and nor am I qualified to do so however, in the case of the GPZ, it is NECESSARY that the Ferrite be used and operators, no matter what or where the ground is they are working, should make it part of their daily detecting regime even if they can’t discern or understand the need for it. The GPZ has the ability to ‘balance’ out X signals, to do this you need to activate the Quick-Trak button on the front of the handle. When you press the button you are also activating the regular ground balance that any high end gold specific metal detector uses, initially when the button is triggered tracking is forced or sped up briefly, this also means the GPZ 7000 is doing two things at once when the QT button is triggered. On the first release software the Auto Ground Balance mode was trying to actively cancel out X signals as well as G signals running in parallel with each other, to some extent the G balance will also try to balance out some X signal if the X signal is loud enough but overall the detector requires X balance to cancel out X signals effectively. The issue with the release software was the X balance was too lively and was being too easily dragged away from accuracy by Salt signals and Saturation signals of which WA and Victoria are well know for (most gold fields suffer from these signals). Minelab then released the Ferrite to help operators to let the detector ‘SEE’ what X signal really was in Salty and Saturable ground, during the release WA and Victoria had suffered a long and extended rain event so the ground was water logged, Salt is conductive so therefore is exacerbated by moisture. Because of the water logged ground during this time it caused lots of early complaints from GPZ users. Not long after this Minelab also developed a software update to slow the Ferrite balance down so it would not be so readily dragged away by those pesky signals, this helped a lot but I was still advocating using the GPZ in Fixed GB mode. At a later stage another software release was provided that allowed the user to use a SEMI AUTO mode where once the Ferrite Balance was completed the X balance would be FIXED whilst allowing the G balance to continue to actively track the regular ground balance, this is my preferred and advised mode. X signal in the ground is not like G signal, it is in varying subtle degrees but is not as VARIABLE as regular ground G signal, the reason a GPZ makes a signal on X is because since the last calibration the temperature of the electronics has shifted or if in Auto GB mode other signals in the ground have confused or altered the X balance calibration. The only real way to tell if your calibration is OUT or WRONG is to use the Ferrite to confirm if this is so, which is why it is so vital you make it part of your daily routine. NOISE: Noise is any sort of audio signal that should not be there, noise competes with targets plain and simple. The less noise you have the more obvious targets will sound and the deeper your detector will run or more accurately the deeper you’ll be able to discern a target (assuming you are also using the optimised Ground type and Gold modes for the ground you are searching and the size of nuggets targeted), all targets under the coil are being energised by the Tx evenly at all times relative to coil position, however user choice of settings, calibrations and coil control have a huge impact on the outcome. If the ferrite balance is out then a signal off any X in the ground is going to join the audio and potentially compete with you being able to discern a target signal. X SIGNALS and X COILS The GPZ 7000 is a very versatile metal detector, if can be used even if the Ferrite calibration is WAY OFF as is evidenced by users who refuse to update their detectors or who refuse to use the Ferrite (or both), or if users are using X coils that make a signal on the Ferrite regardless of doing a Ferrite balance. I am a purist so will always check my Ferrite balance because even 0.1% less noise in the audio is an advantage in my opinion. The X coils do actually balance out the Ferrite over the receive winding part of the coil (not as cleanly as a ML coil but acceptable), but they do manifest a LOUD signal in another location that any savvy X coil user will soon identify unless a mod is done during manufacture (I am unsure of coils made in the last month or so but it is easy to tell). The manufacturer was unwilling to do the mod due to feedback from customers not complaining, the resistance was based around the mod adding a lot of weight to the coil (gets the coils up into Minelab coil weight territory, isn’t that interesting?). I am unsure how he went about removing the Ferrite signal or the mod required to do so and am not at liberty to discuss why a ferrite signal happens in the first place. The reason I was pushing so hard for the mod was to try and get the X coils across the line for PERFORMANCE parity with ML coils in the hopes of accessing the dongle, the X coils showed potential but needed to be refined, in the end the current option was decided upon and I was no longer needed. As it currently stands any coil that makes a noise on the Ferrite (especially a LOUD noise) will by default make an unacceptable signal off X signal in the ground, operators will not really notice this signal as it will blend in with general ground noise responses, believe me it is there and it is COSTING you depth!! I do not use the X coils in Clermont because of these main reasons, our ground is saturable and the X coils saturate much more readily than the Minelab coils, most of my coils have the mod so X signal is not such a problem but a couple of them do not so they don’t get used either, with the larger coils I always use GENERAL/DIFFICULT and every X coil I have used makes touch and knock noises, some are acceptable (The Spiral wound ones seem best) but in most cases General/Difficult is out thereby negating the advantage of using a larger coil for larger deeper nuggets. To fully appreciate the differences in the coils I am going to include the settings I use so GPZ operators can benchmark what I am experiencing with their own settings. SETTINGS Audio Smoothing: OFF Ground Smoothing: OFF Sensitivity: 9 Threshold: 27 Gold Type: HIGH YIELD (To experience Knock and rub noise use GENERAL/DIFFICULT) Ground Type: DIFFICULT Volume: 6 to 8 for Headphones (either through a B&Z booster or GPZ direct), 12 for WM12 Ground Balance: SEMI-AUTO Conclusions and Suggestions: At no stage have I said the X coils are unusable just user beware. In quiet ground they should be OK and in variable ground, like I operate in here, they are usable but twitchy. I have found gold with them but choose not to use them full time in my areas due to the above issues and my being fussy about noise. I did during supervised testing (under duress I might add for the very reasons that have been borne out online) find gold in ground I frequent, I expressed that I was impressed that I was able to find gold with them in such a flogged area and that they showed potential which was borne out by my continued involvement till I was no longer needed. I have since been back to that area with customers on training and as always have found gold over the same ground as is typical of Clermont thanks to its high variablity ground. My favourite X coils are the flat wound ones because they seem to handle our ground better and have less touch sensitivity, however they are a LOT heavier. In essence they are what they are and did not meet required standards to be officially recognised, which is a shame because I too desperately want to see more coil options for the GPZ. JP X Coil 2021 News

Something I've been wanting to do for a while now..I got another x ray generator couple weeks ago and wanted to try it out on my DR System.. Heres most but not all of the coils I have. 1. CTX 6" 2. TDI Pro 12" double mono 3. CTX 17' 4. XP Deus 9" 5. Miner John 8x12" mono 6. x cal 8" 7. Gold Monster 6" 8. Fisher Gold Bug two 6" 9. Nox 6" 10. Nox 11" 11-14 GPZ 7000 stock coil

Here's a video i did of the X Steve Sorry its so long but tried to get in the attributes in under a hour LOL. 50 gain and threshold 40 all potentiometers go zero to 50..disc point is where it just drops out AIRTEST DEPTH Nickle 14.5" Indian Head 13" Z Penny 13" Copper Penny 12.5" Clad Dime 12.25" Silver Dime 12.25" Silver Quarter 14" Half Dollar 15.25" Silver Dollar 16.5" .58 Cal. 3 Ringer 13.5 C.S.A. Rectangle 23" U.S. Oval 25" Breast Plate 23"DISC POINTS WHERE JUST GONE Nickle 34 Indian Head 38.5 Z Penny 39 Copper Penny 43 Clad Dime 44.5 Silver Dime 45 Silver Quarter 46 Half Dollar 48 Silver Dollar 50 still solid Coke Can flat 45 Square tab 34 The X has very good Disc actually a sweet disc its gone when its gone on the dial just today I set my second disc on 38.5 to low/high tone a .58 caliber three ringer and hunted in a trashy area and picked some deep 3 ringers out by checking on second disc and if the tone was flip flopping I almost KNEW it was a bullet!! You can set the 2nd disc to break up (flip flop from low to high tone) on a target which I like for exactness or silence the target or accept etc.. If you dont want to hear a low tone for disc'ed items just turn the iron volume to zero.then its a single tone with full disc on either first or second disc. You can use both disc to create a notch window if you like to your exact requirements say nickles.Set first disc right below nickle and second disc right above or on edge of breaking then you have a user defined notch to check a target with . You push trigger forward to use second disc and pull for a all metal no tone accept all mode like a pinpoint.theres 2 triggers for either right or left hand operation. Machine is on 12 Volts with Drop in battery holder like say a Infinium with quarter turn door. The Gain control is the receive gain.A amplifier for the returned signal and can be tweaked for hot ground or more benign ground The Threshold is the depth/target size control and decides how weak a signal you can hear the lower you set it the more signal it takes to break though the higher you set it up to a point of say 45 the less signal it takes to over come it.even in deep woods EMI free areas you will overdrive it into instability as a sizzling chatter..Im running it right on edge of sizzle for best depth and even smallest of targets. The I've dug no big iron with the X since running it now about 25 hours.Even in my big iron sites.I hear it but know its iron by the way the tones sound even n just nail reject.of 20.And picked brass out of the sites of all shapes and sizes. Crown caps also sound ratty. The knobs are very tight and you can set them and wont bump them out of tuning..One thing to show the exactness of the disc is I can cancel a flattened beer can and still hit a Quarter Clean Keith

The X coils are DOD wound (SuperD is the name Minelab give for that configuration), you need that style of coil for ZVT to work properly. The Spiral wound X coils have a flat Tx and a traditional Rx, because of the spiral they seem to behave a bit like a monoloop with a signal kind of coming off the side edges of the coils as well as the traditional receive points where the windings cross each other. Electronically they are flawed with what Minelab would consider to be too much saturation signal (Tx is most likely too close to the ground relative to the Rx in an attempt to save weight and simplify design and expense), the windings also allow too much knock and rub energy through the windings causing noise especially in General Difficult. Because they are hand made there will also be discrepancies and inconsistencies between coils which I also noticed with my coils. If Minelab made such a coil they would be constantly having to replace them under warranty. I gave all this advice when I was testing them to both the manufacturer and the importer. JP

Hi Folks I have been busy making quite a few finds recently. After more than a year with the Equinox, it continues to impress me with it's capabilities. Some of my recent finds include some early 1630's Kettle Points and Turtle Effigy, Spanish Silver, KG's and more. I even have had it scuba diving. Unfortunately I wasn't impressed with the volume with the Grey Ghost headphones. I have a new pair of Tony Eisenhower headphones ready to try out with the hopes that the volume is better. We shall see. HH Everyone...

Hey Norvic, I am not sure if you have a 10" X coil in the mail, but that would definitely be one to test with the SDC 8" coil. I have been out with a buddy that probably gets the same size tiny gold as the ZED, but a couple inches deeper. Part of this is the fact that the 8" coil can really get in places. 14" is forced to ride the high ridges and therefore be spaced out farther from the gold. I would be curious if this smaller ZED X coil compares. Again, I STRONGLY believe this is why ML will not make a small coil. It has already been proven that the wire fits and there is customer demand.

Considering their obvious performance, it would appear these X Coils are; "From Russia with Love' Go figure.........

Random question for Davsgold or anyone, is there a robust gold detecting scene in Russia with people using these coils too? I'm curious how it ended up that they came out of Russia of all places, being a part of the world I don't normally hear much about when it comes to gold detecting. Can we know any more about the company or person making these coils? Is there some kind of forum that isn't English language with users reporting usage of these X Coils in parts of the net I wouldn't normally stumble across?

Seems test yourself is all we as individuals who have spent a few hours swinging for gold to prove/disprove theories. eg. About mild ground, I always thought that the ground in my area was mild, but after chasing the stuff all over OZ from 98 on, I realised some of my ground is as hot as others thus forming the opinion that it is a myth that one state here in OZ has the "hottest" ground.

Pretty sure that isn't an x ray man... To me the location and solder points on that board look simply like a way to terminate or connect the ends of the wires from each lobe, keep them immobilized, and send it on up into the shielded cable. I don't see an IC on there. No idea though, photo is small. I agree they could just disable the firmware security check. Charge $200 for that update instead of a patch cable that might induce noise, and then Minelab could make money off the X Coils at least a little bit instead of no licensing fee at all as it stands now. I mentioned that a few days back in the large pile of posts related to this subject that get rapidly buried. I was hoping it might elicit a response from JP inferring it might be on the drawing board before I cut my cable for good, but no such luck. If ML ends up doing that after I cut my cord I better be getting a free coil for the idea.

I would like to start a thread of peoples opinions on what they found between these two machines with various coils. I love my SDC and have found my biggest and smallest gold with it (8”). My GPZ has definitely gone deeper for gold (14”). I am about even on the total count for each, weight a being different story. I understand that if you only have one detector then you want coil options, but if you got both I wonder what would be a better bang for your buck? A 10” Xcoil at $1000 or a 11”Coiltek at $310. Thats if they compare at depth and sensitivity. Norvic I would love for you to state your opinions here, you seem to have the most on thses just based on other posts.

We've had a ferrite inside our coil all along it looks like. It's not in the photo you posted of the coil being tested in the Minelab bench, wonder if it's just an FCC compliance thing as some mentioned in earlier threads. It seems to be covering a wire junction or solder point in the middle. Anyone know what that square thing in the GB2 coil is? Also, I hope my Deus coil goes bad at some point just so I can take it apart without worry about breaking it and figure out how they crammed a whole detector into that tiny amount of circuitry. There must be more shielded in that tube thing.

I agree - it's rare to see something really different on the forums and this is one of those posts for sure!

On ya Strick, spooky lookin mob of animals you mustered up there. I think I`ll stick to a juicy thick tee bone, lightly scorched grilled on a rarin fire. That`ll get Nurse Paul goin, Trent`ll get no sense out of him today.

That's one of the top ten coolest posts I've seen on gold forums! Thanks for sharing.

Well there it is Strick! The elusive flux generator in the 14” ZED coil Good to see all that tuition money for school wasn’t wasted ??

Hi Andyy, Above is link to my recent review of the 10"X + Z, suddenly we are spoilt with choices.

Well only early days but I cannot see any difference in performance between the SDC with the Coiltek 11" and the Z with the 10"X, both had no trouble on this variable ground patch. Both handled the variable ground and both got small scraps (10 to the gram), felt a wee strange at first swing the Z with a small coil, but I like the SDC with a centre mount coil as per norm. much better. Both showed no "knock resistance" to the being bumped up against the heavy grass or the numerous rocks. This ground had previously been run over with the SDC + 8" standard coil and whilst it got pieces not with the ease the SDC + 11"Coiltek. In regards to the Coiltek 11", the first one I received lasted 20 minutes, my dealer got me a replacement from Coiltek (no cost to me) as fast as. For me it is good to know as I can have the SDC fitted with the 11" and the Z with whatever X coil it has on (suspect be mainly the 15 for patch hunting) just lovely to have these coil choices for both the SDC and the Z. Like kids in a candy store...………...

Wow davsgold you were right there. I have had 4 people PM me with offers. I was still on the fence about this too.

Thanks Folks... An update on those Tony Eisenhower headphones.. I was able to hear the detector while scuba diving with them. Not sure how many others are trying the Equinox in this type of environment but if you are I would recommend these headhphones over the Grey Ghost.

Yes. Both happy and lucky. The lucky part is the local detector salesman said you'll probably detect a whole 5 gallon bucket of metal trash before you find your first nugget. It was more like 1 cup of trash in exchange for the first 5 nuggets. I'm sure that means I'll be working on filling that bucket for quite some time.

I use liquid tape quite a bit. It is excellent.

My connector just arrived. The male end looks like you could put some heat shrink around, but definitely not the female end. Either way, I would agree that the liquid electrical tape will be a good safe guard.

MN here is why I`m enjoying the X coils especially the 12 & 10, good grass for the cattle but not ideal for the detector, there are barer patches of grass, in fact from the years I`ve learnt there is a silver lining to heavy grassed years, as gold occurs in mineralisation often this can stunt the grass growth, leaving areas that can be detected thus when patch hunting you just go from barer patch to barer patch, giving you less country to do in the line your prospecting on, perhaps improving your chances. I say perhaps because on those years of less grass the gold patches prove this bare theory is sometimes flawed. That quartz rock you see in the photo is an indicator, country is chiefly slates & shales, with odd limestone outcrops and was back a few years all under the sea, lots of years. There are no alluvial (Placer) workings on field, mining was shafts following the reefs down.

Thanks for the helpful information, all. Your comments have opened my mind to what should have been more obvious to me. I’m baffled why I didn’t think of digging out those mud spots. It may have been that I thought that digging deeper would have just gotten wetter and louder. But, it sounds like that is actually what would have happened if there was a target—not mineralized clay. How ironic. Thank goodness curiosity got me thinking about rechecking those holes.

MN your cheeky, LOL. Nah I have not used the SDC much at all, in fact it is the only gold detector I`ve bought that hasn`t paid for itself in gold. Until I modded it and put a centre pivoting coil on it, I considered it was just as strenuous swinging it as the Z. Now I`ve the X coils on the Z, Y would I use the SDC.

I'm not quite ready to swing for gold yet but I'm getting there! haha It will fade into good memories ... sooooooon. haha You've been there and done that so thanks for the memories Norvic. Your spirit shines brightly. Mitchel

Many thanks Steve, the way to go for sure as I`ve taken the step and gone with the Z X coils and have stated I put performance ahead of warranty concerns, or repair costs seeing as my Zs out of warranty. Plus of course cost is not a great concern to me, and because I assume everyone who reads my threads is over 12 years old, I assume they can make decisions themselves. I am not here to knock any product, but to express my opinion of products I find increases my enjoyment of our great hobby, the X coils do that well and truly. JP or anyone else having his own thread to inform users of their individual opinions is the go, now I`ll go back to answering Jasong with my opinion of X ground concerns, I know my opinion is just that my opinion. Jasong if you wish to have JPs opinion go to his thread please because we all know my opinion is just about as opposite as can be to JPs. My opinion is simply I went with the ferrite and carried it for weeks when it first came out, it achieved nothing for me thus I believe my ground is not affected by the X effect. It now resides on the input end of a SW antenna wired in as a balun. Naturally I have not tried it with the X coils as I took off with the original 15X coil without changing a setting on my Z initially, I changed from difficult to normal pretty quickly as it was very apparent the X coil could run in normal much more stable then the 14"ML. For the technical side of X ground, go to JPs thread, I have not pursued it and until I experience it I wont. If you have any questions of the use of the X coils from a happy X coil user, there I can help. Gets a bit confusing with all these Xs but you get my drift.

Simon, get yourself an SDC! They are affordable and you will get that deeper tiny gold too. I have had a 7k since day one and still love using the sdc because it finds small gold. Max the sensitivity on 5 and you will be pinging little bits and party on.

12 month Warranty, I just went back through Davgolds emails, I assume that would be return to him not Russia.

Mark G. reminded me I hadn't posted the video link, to the comparison video, on here. So, here it is: sweep speed comparison

Thread split at Norvics request. Various posts discussing individuals instead of detectors deleted. JPs thread on issues regarding the X coil posted here.

Been teaching it how to find gold, the shock of its, too much for it.

Well I`ve sort of done this, by that I mean using them on separate occasions on the same bit of ground not an actual side x side test. It is my opinion that the ML 8" is outclassed by both the 11" C (Coiltek) coil on the SDC and by the 10" X coil on the Z but between the 11"C + SDC and the 10"X + Z I haven`t seen a difference as yet. I doubt I will use ML 8 on my SDC, another point for the 11"C I prefer centre mount coils. The ML 8 did get gold on this site but not with the ease both the 11"C and 10"X do. Side by side tests, photos, vids and other such methods of displaying my opinion are not my thing, but if you or any other private user has any questions about my opinion on the X or C coils, I will give my opinion as an answer.

We need a comparison between the SDC 8” and the Z 10.” Cause if they are similar it would make more sense to buy a used SDC for about $800 more. Then you could turn around and sell it when or if Minelab releases a small coil, might be harder to resell an xcoil. I need to do these things cause i cant afford to buy new all the time. I need to resell and buy used to keep up. So resell matters to me. My two cents only. Does anybody have a SDC and 10” xcoil to do this?

Geez look at the shit fight mentioning a problem caused ?. You blokes need to spend more time swinging, less typing. Great to see that Dave came and sorted it out for Steve. You may need to recommend that not just anyone makes these patch leads if a little too much heat on the soldering iron can wreck the chip or you won’t get much detecting done, running around the country trying to problem solve would be time consuming.

Regardless of the static, I am having a ball digging up gold, that is my agenda, I recommend to whoever wants a coil choice for the Z have a look at the X coils. IMO the talk of touch sensitivity is not so for the 3 coils I have, I have found the ferrite serves no purpose for me plus this talk of the coil you cut the lead to make the patch lead up for is sacrificial is just not true. As to "proper" testing of X coils, I made a decision to buy the 15" knowing full well there is always an element of risk, I was prepared to push the pram, well I`ve 3 prams now and they are golden lined. Go with the negative stuff or go with the positive stuff that is up to the individual. Money is the source of all evil, nah Phrunt huuuuuumans are, but we are seeing another old saying brought to life "Gold brings out the best in mans ingenuity, the worst in his nature"

I mentioned this last year and will re address the subject. Has anyone compiled information of real signature so as one can listen ti clipping and signatures that a re funky in the different tone modes. Although I have been a detectorist for years, many of the new detectors sounds tell more of a story than some are used to. I am wondering if anyone has such a compilation. It seems many love to post their finds on you tube but forget that the sound is just as important. But they keep the headsets on which does not help the cause.. We are used in most cases to what some coins and jewelty sound like, but a clipped ring id different. Perhaps some one might know of such a tool. As always thanks for helping. PROP

Based on my conversations with Dave, he has no technical knowledge about how or why the Russian coils are performing better than the standard coil, hence his lack of interest in internet debate on their merits. He tested them and is confident they are an improvement and he's satisfied to leave it at that. He's not promoting them, they're promoting themselves. Dave was already making a damn fine prospecting pick and by happenstance ended up testing these coils and now as the sole distributor. The Patch Lead will remain a concern, but so far I'm the only one who has f'kd one up. Whether my soldering skills or my $29.95 Walmart soldering iron turned to max heat, others have succeeded where I did not. I'm sorry Jasong isn't in a position to do the methodical testing he's known for. There's quite a few of these coils out there, but many users are not internet hounds interested in this discussion. We've all seen the "detector wars" of the past, and JP was very often at the center of controversy. Our moderator won't let that happen on this forum and I very much doubt you'll find Dave in the middle of any controversy on these coils.

Back in 2015, we asked Minelab for smaller coil options for the GPZ and they said you can't wind enough wire (1 mile in the 14" coil) for the GPZ to operate properly in a smaller coil profile. Well, they have been proven wrong and some creative person has provided a solution for the customers. Maybe now they will listen to us...we've waited too long! Bill

You aren't the only one JP, look at my posting history and you'll see I've asked every tough question about the X Coils I could think of asking even if it ruffles feathers, for a month ongoing now. And I'm buying my own coils in order to answer the questions people are not interested in answering for me. I also mentioned the business model in a post a few days ago. And I've pointed out a number of times that the only real conclusion here with the silence from ML and other companies is what I think you are also hinting at yet contractually unable to say: ML themselves or another 3rd party ARE working on a range of legit licensed coils and this Russian company put their coils out quickly before proper testing in order to make money before the legit coils were released. Feel free to correct me here if I've read between the lines too deeply and come to a wrong conclusion. I think I'm probably on the right track though and I don't like that I'm probably going to cut my coil just to find this out for certain down the line when I wouldn't have had to do it if I waited, but c'est la vie. I'll be more than happy to test some of these concerns and put them on video. The saturable soil thing is going to be an issue though as most the ground I work is probably as mild as it is in NZ. But i do have a yellow ferrite to test on. But if there is anything in specific you think needs to be tested, tell me how you think it should be tested here and I have no problems putting it on video. If you think it's not getting enough exposure, this is a good chance to change that. I have some 4 millions views using Minelab products and if just include the keywords "GPZ 7000" in a video it will usually find it's way to the front page of Youtube search on the GPZ for a while, sometimes Google too. I'll post here too which also get a lot of exposure.

Seeing how I’m the only one on the net that seems to actually be criticising the X coils I presume the distributor has no interest in publicly debating me on the subject for fear it might affect sales. Also it might cause too many awkward questions to start floating about on what I felt was the premature lead up to the coils becoming available for sale. So to put clarity on this subject and why I’ve been advising caution, this current thread is a good example of the whole reason why I got involved in the first place. Initially my involvement was based around curiosity, no strings attached just ‘Hey I’d love to take a look at one and give it a whirl’. This then lead to further conversations about the logistics of distribution and sales (after all I am in a retail business), the obvious issue was and always will be the coil connector. In my opinion to make this as problem free as possible there needed to be two things to happen, the coils needed to be as good or better than the standard coils (I’m talking electronically here, something that is extremely important when your dealing with complex technology like the GPZ) and secondly for me to be involved I needed to get Minelab on board to legally and consentually access their security tech. As people are aware I was able to procur a dongle so I could use the coils but as has already been shown this is easily circumvented by anyone willing to sacrifice a coil to do so. A meeting was then set up to try the coils although I would have preferred to just use them on my own using my own testing regimes in the privacy of my own surroundings. I found gold immediately so the coils did work, but there were inconsistencies between coils and modes, there was a Saturation problem, there was a coil lead shielding problem, there was an touch sensitivity problem and of course the major ‘sore thumb’ issue the continual ‘Loud’ noise on the Ferrite. What I found most amazing was none of these issues had been noticed (even privately) before I started testing the coils in spite of all the YouTube videos and forum promotion. My aim and involvement was initially two fold, as a business man I saw the potential of good market demand for this product as has been shown in recent months and secondly I am always curious and interested in anything pertaining to what I am most passionate about as is eveidenced by my metal detector and accessories collection. To this end I became involved in trying to have the coils improved to a level they might be acceptable so the most necessary part could be sourced to avoid the drama of customers having to hack into a functioning coil to circumvent a security chip. I worked long and hard on this subject and had many meetings, telephone conversations and swapping of emails. It is a logistical nightmare expecting customers to hack a good coil so they can use another coil, how do you do the right thing by your customers if they have the issue of what this thread is about or worse blow their expensive $9500 metal detector? Maybe this is why the two major aftermarket coil manufacturers have kept well away from this area? Having a business model that throws the legality issue of the circumvention of a security chip onto the customer is a major negative in my book also. The coils did improve and changes were made during the period I was testing them, but not enough. Unfortunately some coils were sold prematurely and accessing the VITAL parts died along with it and the rest is history as is evidenced by people being forced to breach the security chip if they want to play. This is a business model I was never comfortable with especially on a larger scale but at the end of the day it wouldn’t have mattered because I was shut out anyway. I could be selling these coils if I had so chosen, I could have just gone about this quietly with the MANY people I know in this industry who were seeking more options, if I had done so I would NOT have left them holding the problem of procuring or modifying the chip and if it was deemed a no go by Minelab I would have ceased and desisted. My relationship with the Russian manufacturer is still very amicable BTW. As the coils currently stand they still have the three major issues, Saturation noise, Touch sensitivity and the big BIGGY Ferrite noise (there could still be a coil lead shielding problem as I have not tested that recently). To not tell your customers of these problems even if it has NOT been shown by people reporting on the forums and social media is in my opinion dishonest. Remember I was incredulious the ‘Stick out like a sore thumb’ issues had not already been identified when I first tried the coils, but now they DO know. I understand the need, the BIG need, for GPZ users to have more choice with their detectors, this was the main driving forced behind my getting involved in the first place. I desperately wanted the GPZ to more option friendly when it came to weight and coil choices. I always expected flack if I dared to criticise the X coils for the many reasons that are obvious through my position in this industry and also my serious attempt at looking into an ethical working business model, at the end of the day I would like to think my actions have been cautionary and ethical. JP

Brian, the way I understand it is the 14 will still be usable since it'll have a new connector (sans security chip), it'll just require me to shut the machine off and switch coils. That said, it would be nice to have a second machine with the coil already connected nearby. I'm going to see how much of a hassle it is to keep switching coils when I do some initial testing at home, I will get in contact with you if it would be expeditious to have a 2nd person, thank you for offering. And thanks for the compliment on my vids! I will definitely try to film some stuff with these X Coils and I finally got some decent camera gear, so it will all be high definition and more watchable, my old camera was pretty bad.

Jasong, depending on which part of Nevada you decide to visit, and since you will no longer have a functional 14” coil, if need be, I can meet you in the field so comparable tests can be completed on undug targets. I can bring my 7000 and 5000. Also, thank you for the youtube videos, especially the USGS import to Google Earth, its fantastic and very helpful! Brian.

After less than one year and maybe 20 cycles the battery charger for my SDC2300 quit working. I tried several different things like different batteries, using both 12 volt and 110ac and the unit would not charge. I called MineLab explained my problem and received an RA number. Shipped old charger out on a Tuesday priority mail, they received it on Thursday and I got a confirmation email that they had received it. On Monday I got another email saying the unit had been repaired and was being shipped out. On Friday I received a brand new charger with new batteries (10 days from my original shipment including one weekend). Outstanding customer service and shipping times have made me a happy camper and the SDC is ready to go - Thanks to MineLab

Let's just say that the XCoils are modifying Minelab's business model already. They work from all reports here. Until now there has been no alternative.

There is lots of gold on the salt lakes in WA. The only combination I have found to work well without driving you insane is a GPX with a coiltek AI coil, I use the 14” round AI. It can run beautifully smooth even in normal timings, doesn’t like hot rocks but I don’t usually get them on lakes anyhow.

Salt This post and the one following it may clarify the salt issue for people. It’s an issue for any very sensitive metal detector: https://www.detectorprospector.com/forums/topic/8257-my-tarsacci-mdt-8000-commentary-pics-and-videos-unit-received-12-15-2018/?do=findComment&comment=96925 Clay from the Minelab Eureka Gold manual, page 34: ”11.2 Clay Domes A common occurrence in nugget-bearing country is soil mineralisation commonly known as ‘clay domes’. These are regions of rather broad sound which could be confused with the sound which would come from a large deep nugget. The following procedure will quickly establish whether or not the sound comes from clay or a metal target: a) Pinpoint the target as best you can. b) Remove about 4 cm (1.5”) depth of soil from over the target response. Dish the hole so that there are no sharp edges around the hole. c) Sweep the coil across the target from a few directions, keeping the coil as low as possible. Listen to the signal and note if it is: — Any louder or more defined than before. By bringing the coil closer to a metal target the signal should become louder. — Note if the signal seems to come from one direction only (a mineral signal will often come from one direction only, or at least be less defined from the return sweep). d) If you are still not sure, continue to dig deeper and again, note the points above. e) Be sure to dish the hole when digging to ensure there are no sharp edges. Sweeping the coil across the sharp edge of a hole can cause false spurious signals due to the change in distance between the ground and the coil.” Thread on mineralization issues: https://www.detectorprospector.com/forums/topic/1599-gb-numbers-mineralization/

The water is on the way for all you "gold seekers". Plus the lower Sierra foothills have been receiving an occasional flash flood the last couple of years. Removing old mine tailings and exposing new stream bedrock. The 2018/19 Sierra winter snow pack was from 150 to 200 percent of normal. Since June 5, 2019 the warmer weather has been sending lots of water down slope. Snowfall started on the night of November 21, 2018 and continues into late May 2019. Since we can no longer use motorized mining equipment within 100 yards of any California stream I pick up a Gold Hog stream sluice. I have been successfully using GH mats in my high banker for awhile. Here are a couple of reference photos of the snowfall at 7040 feet above sea level on the Sierra west slope. The shack roof eves are 10 feet and the roof ridge is 17 feet above ground level. There are some old mountain pack trails to the east side mines within hiking distance on that shack. Stay Dry Good Prospecting

I don`t wear my glasses when I detect and yesterday I got this little one, and at first glance I thought it was a piece of steel. Good thing I turned it over and looked at the other side. ? Not real big, maybe a 0.3 if I`m lucky ?