Tyler

4 hours ago, relicmeister said:

Thanks for the tips, Tyler which should apply also to the 900. I really enjoy using the 900 ( as I did the 800 and 600 I had) with the upgrades. I think the 11” and 6” coils are very good but I’m waiting for a Coiltek at old price because i can leave it on in most situations. 

Which Coiltek are you speaking of?

Do y’all think the 11 coiltek elite is similar to the detech 11 ultra sensing as far a small gold and depth?

@RickUK I won’t submerge mine either. Also I’m very careful with the machine. Even though I love the way it operates if the most part it does have a fragile feel. I broke the coil ears on the first 11in coil but It was from over tightening I believe. Right after I put a put a stiffener on it as well. I was also in a rough, rocky cutover over with my wood laps and ruts from logging equipment. I may have stumbled and leaned on it. But I epoxied it back and tie wrapped it crossways it’s been holding for 18 months. I have a new spare just in case but I’d figure I would get all the use out of it I can. I might get a sturdier arm cuff for it. But I have some creeks and rivers that I might use the legend in if there’s a chance I might submerge  the equinox. If it’s no more than a foot to 18 inches deep I’ll use the equinox. 

@RickUKHave you tried running the 15x12 commander mono onthe TDI? I also have the ultra sensing 11 detech but I was hoping to not get the tiny bits with the 11 (I’ll save that for chasing gold) and maybe hit some larger deeper items with the commander when I want to use a lighter machine. I’m sure it would get more depth the the stock dual field 12. 

On 2/27/2016 at 8:05 AM, RickUK said:

I also have just bought a TDI Pro that came with the stocK 12'' DF and 7.5'' DF coils,but i wont be using them as i am looking for extra depth in relationship to hoard hunting for any decent artifact but especially for one site that i have permission on it has produced 20 Celtic gold staters in a very tight radius,this indicates the chances of finding a hoard rather than say a purse drop.

Also have bought 3 new additional coils these being the Coiltek 14''x9'' Goldstalker Mono,15''x12'' Commander Mono,and a Detech 18'' Mono,i wont be looking for small gold nuggets as i am based in the UK and we dont have gold fields but we do have some stunning gold artifacts and coins going back possibly 1000s of years.

The Coiltek 14x9 coil will be replacing the DF coil as the stock coil as its not only lighter but i am finding it sharper on targets and a little deeper,infact its a very nice combination to swing for a all day detecting session,if i am then looking to go slightly deeper in my quest for artifacts or hoards,then the Commander coil will be the weapon of choice,it will be deeper and still be reasonably light,although i would think it would need a harness if used for greater time durations,but initial testing it is looking like a good detector/coil combination.

Then we get onto the BIG fella the Detech 18'' coil,must admit when i bought it from a closing down sale i took into account the cost/usage/reward ratio into account,the reason being these coils can sit idle in a corder gathering dust for a long period of time as its not your everyday use coil,but the cheap closing down price ticked my purchasing decision,was expecting it to be a real heavy bruiser of a coil,but when it arrived i was amazed how light it was,but as it is a Mono then i guess you dont require double the amount of heavy wire as in a DD coil.

Over time and as i get use to using the TDI Pro i will giv e some honest feedback on these 3 coil combinations,2 of the coils will be used alot especially the Coiltek one,must admit i am really pleased with that coil,its a pure pleasure to use,but its still early days and as the weather is turning for the better,then more detecting sessions will come along.

Happy Hunting 

Have you tried running the 15x12 commander mono on the TDI? I also have the ultra sensing 11 detech but I was hoping to not get the tiny bits with the 11 (I’ll save that for chasing gold) and maybe hit some larger deeper items with the commander when I want to use a lighter machine. I’m sure it would get more depth the the stock dual field 12. 

3 hours ago, phrunt said:

Makes no difference, they either live or die 🙂 I'd rather it had been submerged, as it means it survived so that's a good sign.

Exactly! If it was going to crap out it would have done it shortly after it was submerged. I can’t bring myself to dunk mine. 

2 hours ago, phrunt said:

Makes no difference, they either live or die 🙂 I'd rather it had been submerged, as it means it survived so that's a good sign.

Exactly! If it was going to crap out it would have done it shortly after it was submerged. I’ve heard the nokta legends are better in water than the original equinox. Is this true?

I run the 800 in field 1 most of the time with the 11in coil. If I’m in an iron patch like a colonial or pre civil war home or barn site I usually turn the sensitivity down to 18 sometimes less like 16. I haven’t been running to the updated iron 2 mode. Maybe I should. But I usually keep the iron bias at 2-3. 5 tones, recovery speed at 6-7. I leave the iron audio on so I can tell when I’m hitting heavy or lighter spots moving quieter ground. Or if I’m walk away from the main home site I can tell when I hit another structure or area of high activity. Typically I can pick through the iron pretty well. It takes some practice a learning the sounds but I can usually tell a False positive from a good signal most of the time. It takes a lot of digging and seeing what you have at first but I’ve noticed heavy flat iron pieces have a larger louder not so smooth tone with the ID jumping around. There’s a type of old tin can material that will fool you sometimes especially if it’s folded over. But it usually shows up at an ID at 16-15 or below and sound have a broader signal especially when shallow. With the sensitivity turned down the better signals that are in between and deeper have a more crisp sound and give a solid ID. I need to try some of the smaller coils soon. A lot of the times I’ll move to the outskirts and need the 11 because of its good all around abilities to get the deeper stuff. But you will start noticing tendencies like that. Different ways the machine reacts to a target. Deep square nails especially if bent when at the depth limit will give an iffy signal but so will a deep bullet. I used to run the Whites MXT and the flat iron, beer caps or larger iron would always have a rougher signal with a subtle iron grunt mixed in with the good signal. Those deep square nails at like a foot deep+  would give iffy signals but sometimes its a bullet. That machine faired better with the gain turned back in iron as well. Some people get in trouble running the gain to high in iron patches.  No machine is perfect but the more you dig and learn with it the better. Definitely take the time to learn the machines language. 

Has it been submerged? 

Are the carbon fiber shafts all the great for the equinox? What’s the greatest advantage?

On 4/6/2024 at 2:19 PM, Fredneck said:

Been swinging the GPX since it hit the market for CW relics and find that a 15" coil is perfect for the CW smalls and the CW bigs no matter if its made by Detech, Coiltek, or Minelab. Personally I've used all 3, including the Detech Spiral, but  prefer the 15" Commander DD, it continues to amaze me. I use the 18" Commander at times as well for specific hunts.

Thanks for the info. I currently have the 15x12 commander DD. I’ve only had the GPX for about a year and only used it a few times because life’s been busy with kids and work. I’ve got a mix of spots about half in good ground with a few hot spots and the other half is either red hot or moderate. I’ve been using the equinox in my spots in good ground and doing pretty well with it. I hit a spot not long ago that I had gone over many times with a VLF on a moderately hot ridge and got several pistol bullets and a couple eagle buttons I had missed. Is it worth taking the GPX in good ground camps I’ve hit hard already with VLFs or mainly hot ground places? 

13 hours ago, abenson said:

Coiltek 14" had a broken winding inside the coil when I tore it appart.

Had you had the 14 Coiltek for awhile? I was wondering about their durability?

1 hour ago, abenson said:

Disc depth on those big coils are 6 to 8" max. Yes he still has the coil. As seen in the last Pic the cable support is broken but it works fine.

Thanks for sending those. It seems to be in good shape other than the  cable support. I could fix that. Let me do some thinking overnight. I’ll get back to you tomorrow. What went bad on your coiltek 14?

On 3/26/2024 at 9:49 AM, abenson said:

I've had the 12.5 Detech DD as well and really liked it. Only reason I bought it was because my 14" Coiltek went belly up at a DIV event and the 12.5 DD was the closest thing Fort Bedford metal detectors had available. In all reality the bigger coils including the 15" spiral DD are within a few inches of each other on a bullet. People might say otherwise, but have they actually buried bullets side by side at different depths? I have and can tell you they're not that much different in depth. But you know what they say, miss it by an inch might as well be a mile. IMO the most important thing is to use a coil you can swing comfortably for hours at a time. It's no fun when your back and arm are killing you, at point your head is out of the game and you're missing stuff.

How’s the discrimination depth on the 14 coiltek? Similar to the 15x12 commander and the Ultimate spiral? And does your friend still have the ultimate spiral for sale?

1 hour ago, Luis said:

If you want depth and discrimination, buy the detech 15 double spiral, I have not used a plate that discriminates as well as that one and it goes as deep as one of 18 and you don't have to open a hole as wide as one of 18 but it has a problem that it weighs as one 18 or older

Yeah I’m very tempted to get one. I would use it for relic hunting and prospecting. I’m hoping I can find a used one after this DIV hunt in Virginia is over. 

3 minutes ago, RickUK said:

I have both the 15x12 DD and Mono but never used either,much prefer the Coiltek 14x9 or Coiltek 18'' Mono Elite,just something about the Commander coils that i dont like.But $100 is pretty cheap though and the price is low because i think they are not a popular coil for some reason.

The 15x12 DD commander is a popular coil around here at civil war camps in highly mineralized ground. There’s some mean ground around here. Most of those sites are littered in iron too and the discrimination is needed. The only thing I would use the mono version would be prospecting away from much iron. But I think the detech 11 mono ultra sensing I just got would probably be just as effective. 

8 minutes ago, phrunt said:

Unless you want the bit of extra ground coverage I don't see it as a necessary purchase.

That’s what I figured. I know it’s a good deal but the ultra sensing 11 would probably punches down just as deep. 

Using the GPX 4000. I see someone has a 15x12 mono hardly used for 100 dollars. I have the DD version and a detech 11 ultra sensing mono. Would this coil be any more effective than either one of those on deeper larger nuggets? 

On 3/31/2024 at 1:49 PM, Skookum said:

This is an interesting idea I’d like to try!

It seems to work well. I tried just the silicone tape one time in a hay field that hadn’t long been cut and there was just enough stubble and sharp edges from different grasses and weeds that it popped of in less than 30 mins. Even since I’ve started putting that wrap of electrical tape over the silicone I haven’t had any problems. I think it’s a good combination. If hunting in highly mineralized soils just keep an eye on how much dirt you have building up around the edge. Give it a cleaning or change the tape out of it gets to bad. 

If started to use the silicone self sealing tape a couple wraps and then go over top of it with electrical tape. That way if you need to take it off the electrical won’t leave any residue on the coil. And the silicone just pops right off. I’ve found it you wrap the silicone tightly stretching it that just the silicone alone will pop off the coil sometimes just from hitting sharp objects. The electrical tape holds it in place nicely. 

8 hours ago, Knomad said:

Either coil is better in heavy trash than the 11 inch.  I think the 6 inch is a little better at separation than the 10 x 5, that said only because of what makes the 10 x 5 really good, What really stands out on the 10 x 5 is its End Sensitivity, both ends are Exceptionally sensitive compared to most coils, This is Great for getting into tight spots with it's shape and right up to things like rocks with the ends still able to detect at least shallow targets, the center of the coil is about as deep as the 6 inch.

Now the only real downside to the 10 x 5 is Because of that end sensitivity if there are multiple shallow targets it can pick up separate targets at both ends at the same time, or a deeper target in the coil center and another shallow one with a coil end.

The trick is to be aware of that end sensitivity to shallow targets and don't let it confuse you, and raise the coil to pinpoint better with the center of the coil, You can also turn the coil 90 degs and use the tip to pinpoint shallow targets pretty well.

Reality is unless I am after deeper targets I rarely now use anything but the 10 x 5 coil.

Thanks for the tips! Looking forward to trying it. I’m thinking it will do well in spots I’ve gone over with the stock coil.

10 hours ago, Doc Bach said:

In my experience the stock 11 coil is really tough to use in heavy trash and especially heavy iron and nail infested sites.It reminds me a lot of my ex Itallian girlfriend after three bottles of vino very irritable and never shuts up.The 6"round works very well with far less falsing and superior separation.I also feel that the Coiltek 10x5 is a very good option in the so called machine gun iron with a little more depth than the 6" round and better coverage.personally I recomend having both. 

 

Yeah I just got the 10x5. I usually keep the 11 on because sometimes I like to move out of the iron and hunt the outskirts of the house sites where civil war camps often were. The 10x5 might be a good compromise between separation and depth. I know the stock 11 punches down deep on bullets and buttons. When I hit and iron patch I’ll turn back the sensitivity a bit and run the swing speed higher. 

What are most of y’all using these days? Which one is deeper? Better on small gold?

Has anyone used the 10x5 around iron infested home sites. Does it fair any better than the stock 11? I’ve had some success with the stock 11 in colonial and civil war era houses. Would the 10x5 do any better than the 6? 

On 3/26/2024 at 9:49 AM, abenson said:

I've had the 12.5 Detech DD as well and really liked it. Only reason I bought it was because my 14" Coiltek went belly up at a DIV event and the 12.5 DD was the closest thing Fort Bedford metal detectors had available. In all reality the bigger coils including the 15" spiral DD are within a few inches of each other on a bullet. People might say otherwise, but have they actually buried bullets side by side at different depths? I have and can tell you they're not that much different in depth. But you know what they say, miss it by an inch might as well be a mile. IMO the most important thing is to use a coil you can swing comfortably for hours at a time. It's no fun when your back and arm are killing you, at point your head is out of the game and you're missing stuff.

Would you say the ratio of the depth on the commander on a bullet for example would be in between the 15x12. Say like I’m the middle 13.5 inches Or would it just be the width of the coil roughly 12 inches.