RickUK

In the last few month i have been gradually drifting back into using Concentric coils on some of my everyday machines,well on the machines that allow both coil usage except the T2 and the Deus as both dont allow Concentric coils too be used.

The specific sites/permissions that i hunt can/are be very trashy like roman and saxon sites,so i feel that Concentric coils are the best tools for the job in those situation,currently working a large permission that is right next door to the great north roman road which is often called the A1 from London up North,its certainly a very productive site but one does also encounter 2000 years of trash as well,so although that i do have machines like the Deus,T2 and some other modern machines,the best machine/s for the job are the Laser B1/B3 which Tesoro based machines tweaked for the UK and and also one that has totally blown me away is a 20 year old IDX Pro all these machines have got Concentric coils on,but not only have the finds improved i must admit by a massive margin but also the enjoyment factor has come back again.......just these 2 things are in my mind the most important part of detecting 'increased finds rate and the enjoyment factor' and its only since using these old classic analogue machines which also have Concentric coils on.

I still use very small DD coils on a few of my detectors in the 5-6'' coil size predominately the 5'' T2 coil and also the NEL Snake on a modern Trident 11 Extreme or basically its a Vaquero but on steroids and when used with these small DD coils on excel in target separation on Medieval village sites which can be a very daunting environment with a large coil on.

Although i do basically use both DD and Concentric coils,i am starting too enjoy Concentric coils more and more,the trick is using the knowledge that one can only basically gain from years of experience on deciding  which coil/detector combination too use on that site that you are working that day,alas the current stock coils that most detectors have these days are 'happy medium' coils,its always wise if possible to have a selection of coils for your machine/s this in theory should cover most of your detecting needs,but of course we all detect different targets around the world,the only common denominator is that they are all metal,some hunt gold nuggets in Aussie land or Arizona,in my case i hunt a wide spectrum of finds here in the UK,so we all use the best tools for the job for your region.

Some folks will be out this weekend hunting gold with say a GPZ with a 19'' coil on,but i will be using a 20 year old IDX Pro with a Concentric coil on,this just shows what at the time we consider the best tools for the job.Do i have some modern high tech machines,of course i do,but i only use them for site specific use.

DD and Concentric coils do have advantages and Disadvantages,the hardest part and the skill is choosing the  right one for the task that day

This new detector from Minelab may well be the best VLF machine for years,no question about it they do have a very slick team of folks who deal with the promotion and advertising of these products,but although we have all seen the recent videos on how quick this machine is,we still dont have the final specifications.

Will i be buying one of these machines when they finally are available ?? the answer is 'no' and the reason being i have always had one major buying criteria that i never shift from and that is giving a new product a minimum 12 months time duration from launch to see if any major design faults or reliability issues evolve,and this not only applies to detectors i use this for any major purchase,things can and do go wrong with new products (MX-Sport electronics and Nokta plastics).Of course this product may fly of the shelves as fast as they can make them and never have a technical glitch,and i do hope they do,but for me how ever tempting the adverts and videos are,i will still be sticking by my buying criteria which would mean that i would not get one till very early 2019.

11 minutes ago, Chris Woods said:

Where did you find this harness OP?

And, if you don't mind my asking, how much did it set you back?

Thanks in advance for the info,

Chris

Chris,this is the Ebay link for the same harness.

Ebay harness link

7 minutes ago, Chris Woods said:

Where did you find this harness OP?

And, if you don't mind my asking, how much did it set you back?

Thanks in advance for the info,

Chris

Chris,this is the one that we use its from Kevin at Staffs Detecting,below is the link for it,its also on Ebay as well.

Full Harness from Staffs Detecting

John,stunning machine and just proves that some of the older machines can keep up with modern day detectors and even exceed them,always wanted a 6000 but never really found a decent example,but if one did come along then a i could well be very tempted.

Welcome too the forum,my favourite coil for my TDI Pro is the Coiltek 14x9 Mono,really love using this combination mainly because the coil is so light being foam filled,but no good for beach detecting in the surf as it want to float like a cork.But amazing depth for sure.

I hear exactly what you are saying John and certainly taken the info on board,would never go out of my way specifically to get one,but if one did come along at a very advantageous price then i would consider it.

Just bought a 22khz 11.5'' Concentric coil for the Nexus MP and should be here by the weekend,out tecting with it sunday,could/should be deadly on trashy sites and also good on low conductive targets like silver hammered coins.Thats the theory anyway lol

Hi John,the plan would be to not use it as a everyday use machine but more for site specific use,once again like the TDI Pro thats not your everyday use detector but when the opportunity arises then it could pay for itself just with one decent find.One full stater all it takes as that will pay for a very decent example.Back onto the stater hoard site next month so we hope we will retrieve some more,as i am pretty certain some are deeper and still we have not located a container,of course that is if the coins had been in one,dont think its a purse drop as it seems more than what someone would want too carry with them.But while the coins still keep coming then we will still keep detecting the site.

Must admit i am seriously looking at getting a GMT for some of my permissions,although i am not a nugget hunter but the 'allure' back too a celtic gold stater site has wetted my appetite again,although i do/still use the TDI Pro i think the GMT could be used more and more also for micro jewellery as well.

If one came along almost new at the right price i could well be very tempted to buy one.

The machine/s that have found me the most gold are the T2 and the DFX,those have found me the most gold coinage over the years from celtic full and quarter staters,George111 full guinea,Vicky Sovereigns and more.

I dont own one of those coils that they have on sale,if i lived across the pond then i would have bought one,but the shippings costs and import duty would have not made it viable,i do own one of those large Jimmy Sierra coil ie bottom right,its a beast of a coil not only size wise but weight wise as well,but when Jimmy shut his online store they had been selling them brand new at stupidly low price and i mean crazy low.

You cannot go wrong on the prices on the Whites website on the sale items

Links all work well here,makes great reading and look forward too some new models in the future,still use my DFX,IDX Pro and TDI pro,all have served me well and never missed a beat.

Thats a very tidy conversion,i also use the exact same GM shaft for my backup Deus,works well with the original Deus coil better as the battery is in the actual coil,rather than in the lower shaft of the newer HF coils.

Will be following this thread regarding this coil,only Coiltek coil that i own and have ever used on my TDI is the 14x9 Mono,that for the most part stays on the TDI most of the time when i am on open pasture sites and require the extra depth.I do also use a Jimmy coil made for Jimmy Sierra,thats a 9x5 folded mono and red hot as a coin shooting coil,works very well when using low conductivity as it hits silver hammered coins and also roman coins as well,but discriminates iron nails including reasonably big ones very well.

Been looking for a 5.75'' that Razorback made a couple of years back,no longer sold but i think it was called the 'Piglet' coil but i stand too be corrected on the name,but it was a nice little coil that would work well on a couple of my permissions.The only other coil that comes close to this coil is the 6'' Coiltek mono one,but my preferred option is the Razorback coil as that was designed especially for the TDI rather than the Coiltek one which was designed for the GPX series.

Thats a terrific find for sure,i still reckon that we have only just scratched the surface on what is still in the the ground here in the UK but its just a little deeper than what a normal VLF/coil outfit can reach,possibly some larger hoards than say the Hoxne hoard,Staffordshire one etc are still waiting to be found.

The biggest problem i feel is the race between deeper ploughing damaging items and detectorists recovering them before they get damaged like the Ringlemere Gold Cup

Must admit it certainly has been a very enjoyable read,glad its looking like it could come good for you finally after all this time.

John,i take your point about the RNB battery pack,but in the case of the DFX have been using it for over 2 years and never had any problem thus far,my way of thinking that if anything was too go wrong it would have done all ready,over 2 years is alot longer than a small lanter of just 30 minutes use,the IDX Pro is of course alot older than the DFX and have also not noticed any problems again.

It would be 'sods law' that when i go out tomorrow for the day detecting something will fail,but this is why i always carry a backup or 2,just incase did happen while i am away on a dig.

@auminesweeper,John,i use the RNB battery pack in my DFX and IDX Pro,is a fair amount lighter than either the rechargeable pack or the alkaline battery case as well,i do carry a spare pod and batteries in a spare pack just incase anything was too happen,but as yet never needed to use it.

I thought i was bad with 23 detectors and 45 coils but that CM collection is outstanding and he has probably added a few more since that photo was taken.

My vote would also go for the 5.3 coil i use one on my DFX and it's deadly on really trashy saxon sites,why its called a 5.3 seem to baffle alot of folks but its not actually 5.3'' it is a 6'' coil,possibly one of the windings in side is that size but most folks call a coil by its coil case size but this is not the case with the 5.3.

Just had the combine on one of my permissions right at the bottom of my garden about 100 acres,so till christmas time will be hitting this field hard as it will be the last time till the new housing estate is built on it next year,the stubble is soft barley stubble so the best tool for the job will be either the DFX with the 5.3 coil or the T2 with the 5'' coil on,both will allow me too get right down to the ground in between the stubble rows.

Tomorrow is a lovely sunny day so guess what i plan on doing most of the day

The 2nd supplier is the one that i bought my GM shafts early last year,use mine all the time on my Deus,terrific shafts especially for the Deus coil,as i mainly just use the detector without the controller as i usually have mine in my pocket and just use it as a audio only machine.

But must admit i love the way that Steve has grafted the Gold Monster control box onto the shaft,work and looks very well.

Just now, auminesweeper said:

No mate, The truck is here and I won't bother taking it to OZ, the cost of shipping would be a bit OTT, I would go there and buy a Troopy or a Cruiser Ute.

J.

So basically it will be used just for going on the occasional detecting dig rather than being used in the bush it will be used for cruising in Shepherds Bush,the truck will look the part anyway

John,are you taking the 4x4 to Aussie land or what is the long term location of the truck ??

Must admit i thought my recovery kit cost me alot of 'wonga' all £48 for full 'Green Flag' recovery which includes bring you back home on the back of a low loader

1 minute ago, auminesweeper said:

Thanks Rick, In all the years I have been detecting here I have got by with just a standard 4x4, But this venture is a bit different in that it rains a lot and once I get off the sealed roads there is about 5miles of farm tracks and then it's more of a cross country Bash for a couple of miles or so to get to his camp,

As you know I have not been the best, so there is no way am I going to rough it, but it won't be 5 star living either and it will be an adventure if nothing else,

John. 

Sounds like you have all angles covered John with the new outfit,will be out tecting later on as the sun is out and the ground is good after a few days rain,and also a few freshly harvested fields.Pure bliss in my mind

Its a nice looking truck John,must admit i have never had the need to use a winch or farm jack in all the years that i have been detecting but i guess all it takes is one bad trip and all the gear pays for itself.

My BMW X5 does everything that i need basically,big enough boot so that i can carry all my gear in and travel to and from the detecting site in comfort,must admit i still reckon though that the Jap 4x4's are the most reliable going,my favourite one was my Isuzu Trooper that lasted me nearly 18 years before in went to the great car grave yard in the sky due to tin worm,the engine was still getting sweeter as it was gradually getting run in at 250k miles.

Look forward to seeing you adventures in your new chariot.