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For those that have made their own patch lead did you use the hot glue gun to place hot glue in amongst the wires after they are soldered into position to keep them stable and help with shielding? I never bothered to read the instructions properly before buying supplies so ended up buying a tube of liquid electrical tape for the job. I can return it but will have to buy a glue gun as i don't have one. Do you think the liquid tape would do the job or stick (no pun) to the hot glue? X Coil 2021 News

Dave took 5 hrs out of his prospecting day to meet me and check my coil and Patch Lead. It turns out the Patch Lead was faulty, Minelab Chip probably fried. After talking with Dave, I probably used too much heat on the soldering iron and damaged the chip. My philosophy of more power, faster results may have been misguided. Fortunately, I didn't sacrifice a $900.00 coil since I had already sacrificed the coil when I inadvertently drug it behind the Rokon for several miles. So, I sent my working coil off to have it professionally done for a new Patch Lead. More delays, but a cautionary note to all considering this route. Some interesting insight from Dave that might be helpful for those waiting for more testing. Dave has a years worth of Anecdotal Evidence on the effectiveness of these X-Coils. He shared some of his observations and it's quite impressive. He's more than satisfied with the results but has no interest in engaging in internet claims, debate or justification. The demand exceeds supply already. The coils are now available in the US, drop shipped from Russia and he's set up to accept PayPal. They're produced in small batches, so a wait list is already starting. I believe Jasong is due to receive his coils soon, if he has not already. I look forward to hearing what Jasong has to say after his own testing and observations. X Coil 2021 News

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

Several people have them. What is your favorite X Coil and why? X Coil 2021 News

Have now got many hours of swinging, but I still am getting surprised at their performance, they`ve both put some weight in the pocket. Stability does not suffer at all from swinging against rocks or grass and importantly they are an advancement on the 2 ML coils in their depth and sensitivity capabilities. They have nice flat areas on top for pushing soil around with finger to isolate nugget. Also surprisingly they act a wee like mono coils (they aren`t) in that you can push any side, front or back vertically into hole or dug out soil to centre and retrieve the nugget which helps a lot in time it takes to retrieve signal. I`ve found I am using them both in normal much like I found one could with the ML19 but not so with the ML 14" which I found I had to use in difficult most the time on the ground conditions in my area. I run general/normal/10-15 sensitivity/semi-auto/ 7 volume/24-25 threshold which both X coils maintain nice and steady except for the odd wet tree root, hot rock, charcoal or ant hill as per norm. All pros no cons at all so far, have become so confident and pleased in their ability have a 10" in the mail, should be here next week. They have lifted my Z game, I place results way ahead of warranty concerns, had no trouble making the patch leads for my & my sons Z. I have no affiliation with our dealer or the Russian manufacturer, just am a very happy user of these quality coils.

Out early this morn. to a shallow patch that produced nuggets up to 3 grams, the very first patch I found with the Z when it was less then a month old. 4 hours of detecting with the new 10" X coil, like both the 15 & 12 I found I could run the Z in normal on some fairly hot ground. Gold...…………. WOW it gets them small and that`s all it got small scraps, 10 to the gram stuff. Now the 10 " runs a little noisier then the 12 & 15, thus I dropped the sensitivity to 8, no knock sensitivity at all, I was amongst rocks and tall grass. The patch I run this on, was the initial patch I run my modded SDC with the 11" Coiltek Extreme, by doing so I thought I`d be able to perhaps see some difference in the ability of the Zs 10" X coil vs SDCs 11" Extreme coil, not so, both are top small gold coils. Whilst retrieving a nugget, the Zs threshold disappeared, I found the machine had turned itself off. I took the battery off and put it back, restarted the Z and no further troubles. Whether this was caused by a bad battery conx, or is related to the X coil I don`t know. I have never experienced an unexplained turn off before, thus will be keeping a eye on this should it occur again, I was using my sons Z as mine has the 12"X on it, back in the ute. Am I impressed with the 10" X coil, I sure am, it is a top addition to my coil armoury, will see much use amongst rock and narrow gullies where the larger coils will not go, although I do prefer the 15" X which has replaced the ML14 as my go to coil on the Z, I love nothing better then new patch hunting, just haven`t the patience for the clean up of patches, although they are there for the days my legs can`t do the yards.

We have had one here for a month now and have been unable to use it ?‍♂️. Tried the patch cable made by Steve first, zed says coil not connected ?, checked points with a multimeter all seemed correct. Decided there had to be something wrong with our patch lead so sent it off to the mob in kalgoorlie to make a ‘proper’ one, finally got it back and tried again, same problem ?‍♂️ I’m a bit disappointed as we wanted to run it over some ground on the ugly nugget patch where we have got several multi oz pieces, but the mines department here only let you keep a certain amount of ground open so we are forced to rehabilitate it without getting to test as we need to move areas. Hopefully Yank 2 can get a replacement before his trip is over so I can try it on some other ground we have. X Coil 2021 News

So just spoke to the guy I get my minelab threw and aparently the new russian could that people are getting great results with on the gpz ane bow in process of testing some for the gpx so will be interesting to see how they go. X Coil 2021 News

Maybe something to think about. Bearing in mind I am probably going to get these new coils for the 23 and 7 myself, people should at least consider, a lot of people are saying something along the lines of "my detector is out of warranty anyway, so I`m not risking anything fitting these new coils", but, it is Minelabs policy to not repair any modified Minelab detector. I daresay that if you were to send a out of warrenty 2300 or 7000 back to Minelab for repair and Minelab saw you were running a unsanctioned coil, they wont repair the detector. You could end up with a 4K or 10K detector that all it`s good for is to fill it with concrete and use it as a anchor. Like I said, I am probably going to get the coils myself, but I will be doing it with the idea that if either detector fails I will probably have to throw it away, and that`s on me and no one else. I have no reason to suspect the coils are going to cause any damage and I wish Coiltek and davsgold nothing but success with these new coils. X Coil 2021 News

Hubby evens the Score! ?Enjoy! Ig X Coil 2021 News

Came across a post on Facebook, about this gentleman testing a few aftermarket coils. This really opened my eyes this morning. I was under the impression that the Minelab coils were chipped and no aftermarket coils could be used. If this was the case? Why did they wait so long? The smaller coil would suit my needs just perfectly. X Coil 2021 News

Interesting. This new Youtube channel popped up recently for somebody calling themselves X Coils It appears to be Russian? and they appear to be working on coils for the GPZ. Here is a peek at the 12" x 10". Personally, that's a bit too similar to the stock coil to interest me - I would rather see a 10" x 8". Still, it's interesting that somebody has managed to make some coils that might work on the GPZ without blowing it up. This is one detector that I will have to let others gamble with first on this sort of thing but I knew you would all find it interesting. Edit - the videos disappeared so I deleted the link. Here is the latest X Coil 2021 News