RickUK

I have used the 9'' HF round coil for a few months while a friend was abroad but never bought one,it was a decent coil and did give some extra depth,but the coil that i really wanted was the HF elliptical especially for it ability on target separation on trashy roman/saxon sites and i parted my 15'' Equinox coil which i found way too heavy and i exchanged it for a brand new Deus elliptical coil and the deal was in my favour price wise as i bought the Nox coil very cheaply and got the brand new Des coil in exchange.

When the HF coils came out i could never really figure out why they wanted such a high freq ie 80khz for the UK market as this is in theory gold nugget territory,but since i have owned this coil for maybe nearly 6 months its not come of the Deus since,and this is the other amazing thing i find that running at 80khz most of the time suits my sites and i find it really good for detecting silver hammered coins and of course it would also be well suited to gold hammered and milled coinage as well,occasionally drop it down to 50khz but never used it in 14khz yet.

The Deus and the HF elliptical coil is my main everyday detector and the Equinox with the 11'' and 6'' coil come along for the ride as my back machine.

Will be interesting to see what Steve's choice would be,but as he has mentioned that the 6'' coil on the Equinox is a favourite of his i would stick my next out and say the HF elliptical coil is his choice,probably totally wrong but thats my prediction pmsl.

David, a very big welcome to the forum,enjoy your stay and look forward to reading your posts.

12 minutes ago, mn90403 said:

Where is the thread about this probe?

Was not aware about a thread about this probe,here is the link to the Garrett website on the headphones/probe wireless setup that i have just bought https://www.garrett.com/accessories/z-lynk-wireless-accessories/garrett-z-lynk-ms-3-wireless-headphone-kit-z-lynk-pro

Its very similar i guess to the Deus MI-6 wireless probe setup which also works very well,only down side with the Deus one is that it can only be used with a Deus but the Garrett setup can be used on almost all detectors.

Richard,surprised about Gordon Heritages GOG phones as they are usually pretty good,but then although i own a Equinox i dont use wired headphones with them,currently using a set of Crawfords Predators which are decent,but just ordered the Garrett wireless headphones for the Nox the one that also allow you to use the Garrett probe wireless through the headphones as well and will see how those work its mainly more for hearing the probe through the headphones more than anything.

Do BJ make a set of special headphones for the Equinox ?? if not i think he can make them upto a special order i could be wrong on that one though.

You and your multiple headphones you are getting more like Martin Gardner with his multiple same brand detectors ? ? 

Its not just unique to just the UK you will find that it is possible in many many more countries that allow legal detecting as well as those countries that have a total blanket ban on detecting as well.In those countries that dont allow metal detecting and every country has some form of history some more that others but i can guarantee that illegal detecting or recovering historical items in other ways still happens and of course its totally wrong irrespective on how its done this could be night/day hawking or even just owning a metal detector in some countries is outlawed.

Stories like this ie in the Guardian with the juicy souped up headline to attract readers is possibly over exaggerated with once again juicy images of gold and silver treasure from prime sites,it makes the majority of legal abiding detectorist look as if they are all the same just out to rob sites of hoards etc.Alas this is not the case,the person who is mentioned in the article 'Paul Barford' has lived in Poland for many years and although he is a archaeologist on paper i doubt that he has been on a historic dig for a very very long time,he actually as i understand it is a taxi driver in Poland,also he is in every aspect 'anti metal detecting'  all you need to do is take a look at his online Blog and you will see why so many detectorist in the UK hate him with vengeance.

In all aspect be it a hobby/interest or what ever pastime you love and also including all aspects of life including politics you will always find folks who spoil it for thae majority of other and its also these bad apples that make that headlines much more than the good deeds that one rarely sees posted with a amazing headline,certainly not in the same limelight as the bad folks who do illegal things in metal detecting.

I cannot recall the last time i use my stock 12DF coil infact its only ever had about 2 hours of use since i have owned it,main larger coil that i use for pasture sites is the Coiltek 14x9 mono coil and for small finds the 7.5'' DF coil is the next most used coil.

Alas socially media sites like say FaceAche are gradually killing off the older detecting sites and in 5 years or so only a few forums will be still around.Detecting forums have either got to adapt or be more specialised and then they have a much better chance of surviving.

Detectorprospector i think will be one of those that will survive for sure,one of my favourite forums infact one of only a couple that i still post on.

Outstanding find,very well done,that is why i always dig 2 and above or even if its a iffy signal it still have too come out.

Steve,well done on acquiring the DFX,mine is sitting in the corner all setup with the 12'' Hotshot Concentric and may well take it out again for another days detecting.Just fired it up and its still almost on full power as i use the RDB battery pack in it which just goes on forever and cannot recall the last time i put it on charge maybe over 12 months ago.Those Bigfoot coils goes for stupid money these days that is even if you can find one that is.

Really like these projects of yours Steve,sometimes i get more of a buzz from these types of conversions than actually detecting.Look forward to the indepth write up and pictures describing the conversion.

My DFX was in the very 1st batch that came into the UK,still own it and had 1000s of hours of use,its probably 17 years old but still works fine and dandy.But its getting very long in the tooth these days and even entry level machine are better in not only depth but also generally all round.After my T2 the DFX has found me more coin coinage than any other machine/s that i own,i also own a Equinox and that is in a totally different league performance wise.

DFX machines even mint condition ones can be bought for peanuts these days as folks just dont use them any more,although dual freq, they are still old technology in its day having the dual freq was a tremendous advantage especially on high mineral content sites and beaches.But even lower price detectors have multi freq and far lighter and less complex to setup.I have not used my DFX for a few years as they dont really offer any advantage over say a Vanquish or Equinox.

Good machines upto about say 10 years ago,but these days they dont have any special technology advantage of modern day entry to middle level machines.

I have been using GPX Mono coils on my TDI Pro for a long time with great success,main reason is that these can be bought brand new for a relative small outlay,coils made specifically for the TDI Pro or 'sl' models will not work on the GPX machines.

As i recall folks have used the Sadie coil which i am assuming is a DD coil,could be wrong though,but has anyone used larger DD coils on the TDI Pro and do they work well or just mediocre ??

Any help/advice or input would be most welcome,although in theory the DD GPX coils are more expensive occasionally i have seen some amazing bargain brand new but resisted in buying them just incase they dont work.

Many thanks

Welcome to the forum,Rick seems to be a rather common name ? i am based just north of London.Never used a Etrac although at one time it was the most popular detector on the planet.

Hope your new detector turns up really soon and may your finds pouch overflow with amazing finds.

A very good question,i personally use a selection of both 'fixed' single freq machines and multiple freq as well and also 'selectable' individual freq machines.

Multi frequency machines have some massive advantages like the ability to be used in salt water environments like beach detecting etc and also for high mineral ground conditions,so that is one area that i use such a machine as the Equinox,but i also use the selectable freq Deus and if i am honest that is my preferred option as that covers with the coil options all my main everyday needs.The main reason i use the Deus over say the Equinox is the slightly better coil choice,the HF elliptical i find works exceptionally well  on my roman/saxon sites.

Then i also use specific 'single' frequency' machine for site specific use,these are machines like the Nexus MP that i use,single freq at a time,and can be changed like the Xterra by changing the coils over to a more suitable freq for the job in hand,the main reason i use these specific single freq machines is that they have the ability to use higher power into the coils like the Nautilus detectors can but more so in the case of the Nexus MP i think i am right in saying the voltage is upto just over 100 volts,this is what makes it special and the main reason i use it as do others for its ability when coupled with a larger coil/s to go into the depth range of say a Pulse machine but with discrimination which a PI machine in theory does not have or certainly not in the same league.Of course this type of machine is not your every day use machine and more specific use,but it does show just how in some situations that a single freq VLF machine can excel as it has no competition in theory.

So yes i do use a selection of both single freq and also multiple freq as i take advantage of specific coil options that some machines offer over others,no single freq or multiple freq detector/coil combination does it all,this is why personally i have a wide selection of detectors and coils,so i can mix and match in what i consider the best combination for that days detecting scenario and the ground conditions.

Todays multi freq detectors with say a 11'' DD are designed as a happy all round medium combination and for most cases should be all you really need,but also in some specific cases a single freq machine can excel and increase the odds in your favour.

Joe,outstanding finds,alas i am so far inland that i rarely get to beach detect,i admire folks like yourself and how they can read the beaches so well.

Very well done and may your finds bag over flow with more yellow finds.

Its still early days yet and no one apart from field testers have access to them,being a stock coil its a happy medium performance wise i would think.As Garrett dont put any form of electronic security restriction in the coil/cable/connector then i think Garrett and third party coil makers will offer a various size array of coils for this detector.

So over time we will probably see both smaller and larger coils for this detector which will make it appeal to many new potential owners,i highly doubt that i will be buying one,one of my main buying criteria's is waiting a minimum of 12 months from launch to see if any design flaws or any other issues appear.Never veered away from this main buying criteria,and it was well over 12 months when i bought my Equinox.

I do have alot of detectors and i mean alot and twice as many coils,over the years the only detector that i have bought brand new and sold it after 18 months was my Troy X5,as luck would have it as they are pretty rare here in the UK i only lost if i recall correctly about £25 which compared to most other detectors is minimal amount.

1 minute ago, rled2005 said:

Rick, I lived in Ipswitch (Chantry Estates), and Bury St. Edmonds.

Both very steeped in Roman history,as the romans lived in the UK for 400 odd years those 2 areas that you have mentioned would be considered today prime hunting ground.Its a pity you could not turn the clock back and of hunted the area with a modern day detector.

But alas time stops for no man,but at least you did live in the area.Its nice to go back down good old 'memory lane' and think of some of the happy or possibly unhappy times.Thanks for sharing some of your interesting past must admit i always find those types of things very interesting.

1 hour ago, rled2005 said:

RickUK, What part of UK are you in? I was stationed at RAF Bentwaters/Woodbridge, Suffolk. 80 miles NE of London in 1977-1980. I left just before the Rhendlesham Forest incident with UFO's. I used to walk my dog through that forest.

Suffolk area is very steeped in history,and i best you had been into detecting back then,without giving specific town location i guess to give you some idea i am about 25 miles north of Roman Londinium or London as its commonly known as ?

From my house i can see the famous great North Road that was one of the main roman roads going from London up North,steeped in history from before Bronze Age right upto modern milled coinage.Must admit we are spoilt and if i am honest we take it for granted our history going back many thousands of years and very or almost no bottle tops ? I can walk just a very small distance from my house and we have all sorts of history ie roman,saxon,celtic,georgian and modern day Victorian.

On 5/14/2020 at 3:45 PM, rled2005 said:

This is an interesting site for references on various and out of production detectors...

https://www.treasurelinx.com/home1.html

That is Sven1 website and is a forum member infact he posted just 1 post above you,thats a superb source of information on not only older classic detectors going back decades but also new ones as well,and of course his detecting DIY protects which are also very interesting.

Thats a total 'beast' of a coil,i would have thought that it was not the best coil for coin hunting more akin to say deep relic/hoard hunting,but as i have never used one i am probably wrong in my assumption,but in theory humongous large coils either on a VLF or PI have never seen too be the best choice for smaller coin size finds......but going by the makers and user this coil goes against everything that detectorists have read.

Well to the makers on producing a extra array of coils for both the GPX and GPZ.

Well done,some amazing finds but 'wow' that 1853 half dime is outstanding,that sounds like a rather special site that you have to detect on.

Thanks everyone who has contributed to this thread especially to Steve H who really provided some amazing information as usual,i initially thought it was going to look like a stupid question,i was aware how Mono and DD coils work on a Pulse machine but just could not see what category the DF coils would fit in but i do have basically the answer.

For me i will probably carry on using the small 7.5'' DF coil for small targets like jewellery and for almost all my other need for a Pulse machine the Coiltek 14x9 will probably do the rest,wont part with my other larger coils as those could come in handy sometime for locating that holy grail deep hoard/s ?

I for one have certainly learn't something,this is why is why i still think its my favourite forum,cannot abide FaceAche and rarely post on any other forum these days,so thanks Steve for operating one of the best detecting forums around.

46 minutes ago, Jim in Idaho said:

The inner and outer coils are wired in series on both coils, Rick. Not a huge difference between that and a folded coil. Reg Sniff developed the folded coil to get around White's patent on the DF. Pretty similar in performance, but in my experience the DF's have the edge in sensitivity.....especially the 7.5 over the 5 x 9 FM. I don't know if the DF's are mono coils, or not.

Jim

Jim,many thanks for your reply,that all makes alot of sense,will probably keep the 7.5'' DF coil on the TDI and also carry the Coiltek 14x9 on a spare full stem for a quick change over when i require some additional depth and coverage.

I have a question regarding Whites DF coils on the TDI Pro or 'sl' and other variations,i am aware the difference between say a DD and Mono coils etc,but how would the experts describe the DF coils as in the stock and 7.5'' DF coils are these classes as 2 Mono coils within one another or have i got this completely wrong.

As far as i can tell both the inner and outer coils within the coil case operate complete independent from one another,anyone have knowledge on how one would describe these DF coils,of course i could be totally wrong and would like some help from the electronic whizzkids ?

Many thanks

Gerry,outstanding article,i can see that the small 6'' coil snagged the gold nuggets but what interested me more was the amazing ring haul was that also snagged with the 6'' coil as well or the 11'' coil.

The 6'' coil never comes off my Nox and although in theory the UK is not renown for gold nuggets but beach detecting is still a favourite pastime for many folks who live near the coast,as i live so far inland beach detecting is very infrequent for me,but as we are slowly being allowed back out again after strict lockdown regulations then i may take the Equinox and small coil back down to my fresh water ford crossing which has always been a haven for mums and kids during the summer months and yes you get it the young mums have grannies old high value lump of ice on her pinkies and they fall off into the cold water.The rings that i have found most have been handed back but some have been lost maybe decades ago and the owners or next of kin have moved away.

Once again great article.