Only Took Four Years To Get My 5x10 Coil For Nox

[strick]

Must have coil...think I use it the most now of all them. My Nox is finally getting tired now..some times the ID does not come up on the screen..I’ve had it from the beginning and it owes me nothing....I’d start using the one I got for my wife but I know she would not approve of that lol...time to get another soon

strick

[GB_Amateur]

3 hours ago, strick said:

My Nox is finally getting tired now..some times the ID does not come up on the screen...

Hmmm.  I don't like to hear that.  I assume you don't mean the screen is getting weak but rather the software (??!!) isn't coming through and you get the '--' instead?

8 hours ago, phrunt said:

It's a shame to hear of ears breaking,...

Another related thread from mid-June was just resurrected by a fresh post and I almost quoted you from that saying something about the only Eqx coil(s) suffering the tab breakage problem....  If it's a plastic resin issue (leading to plastic fatigue with time), I'm surprised that Coiltek got infected with that bug, too.  I still think the most likley culprit is the (in)tolerance between ear separation and shaft attach point width, particularly as the rubber washers wear.

Coiltek sends a new screw+nut (which is quite long) with their coils so it's not because they want to conform to ML's fastener that led them to duplicate the thin coil ears.  Like you, Simon, I don't know why they would skimp there, especially after all the reports of the ML Eqx coil ear problems.

OK, how about some quantities to mull over?  I measured the ear thicknesses using a caliper, keeping the caliper 'arms' vertical when the coil was flat on the table and measuring when the tips of the caliper arms were coincident with the coil ear hole center.  (Note:  plastic isn't uniformly thick from top edge to hole center so I'm getting the max value of that thickness over this edge-->center distance.)  I estimate the measurement uncertainty as +/- 0.1 mm.

Coitek 5"x10":  2.6 mm;

Minelab 6":  2.7 mm;

Minelab 11":  3.0 mm;

Minelab 12"x15":  3.7 mm.

(A couple things worth noting:  my ML 11" coil ears may be thinner than factory condition due to wear; the Coiltek isn't simply a flat tab but has a 'bend' at front edge and back edge.)

Maybe a bit more on topic ?:  Like Steve, I just got mine a couple weeks ago from Rob.  I've used it twice on a site I've hunted previously, basically as test runs of this new coil.  I haven't noticed a difference (better/worse) using it compared to the 11".  But that is based upon only 5-6 hours of use.  In theory there should be several differences (and others have reported those from their experiences), but for the site I was hunting I didn't notice anything obvious.  I'm leaving it on for now -- certainly a good coil.

 

[phrunt]

I find most coil performance differences on VLF's are related to coil shape and size more than anything else, so you know what to expect before even buying the coil.  The 10x5" didn't disappoint as I knew what I was getting based upon my Gold Monster which has the 10x6" and a 5" and I use it for a similar purpose so I had a rough idea of what to expect from the Coiltek.  It didn't disappoint.

It's interesting the ears are thinner, perhaps the kink at the front and rear of the tab was there to add strength.  I think it's far too early to call Coiltek as having ear problems, that's the first case I've heard of and sometimes things can just break, it doesn't necessarily mean there is a plague, I guess we are just so used to seeing it with the Minelab coils that we are a bit trigger happy on Coiltek ?

Now these are genuine issues, CTX coils, just as bad as the genuine Nox coils.

I would say you're far less likely to have this happen with the Coiltek than you are the genuine coil.

[GB_Amateur]

4 minutes ago, phrunt said:

it's far too early to call Coiltek as having ear problems, that's the first case I've heard of and sometimes things can just break, it doesn't necessarily mean there is a plague, I guess we are just so used to seeing it with the Minelab coils that we are a bit trigger happy on Coiltek

Excellent points.

[Steve Herschbach]

I believe the majority of coil ear breakages and all coils are from either over-tightening, or leaning on coils, or both. Yet you never see a single person ever admit to either. 

[phrunt]

2 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

I believe the majority of coil ear breakages and all coils are from either over-tightening, or leaning on coils, or both. Yet you never see a single person ever admit to either. 

I was paranoid about over tightening my CTX 17" coil for this very reason, I'd read people say that a lot so I was so cautious but being such a big coil it had to have a reasonable amount of tightness to stop it flopping around.  It cracked during use, it's the only coil I've broken ?  While I have no doubt's you're correct it seems to be over represented in one brand of coil over all others by a significant margin.

It could be that the number of detectors is dominated by them though, I think a lot of coil ears are broken from worn washers making the gap bigger then tightening the bolt further to compensate for the worn washers bending the ears inwards and then they're at risk of snapping being so thin and people standing up from digging a plug using the detector to help lift their body weight. 

Thicker ears would certainly help the situation though, I've broken a bolt on my GPX with Nugget Finder coil by over tightening it, the ears didn't care at all.

[Steve Herschbach]

I knew I'd get a rise. I speak generalities, people think I'm talking about them personally. 

One brand gets used more than most other brands, and gets used in the surf far more than other brands. Yeah, not a lot of talk about Fisher coil ears breaking. If it because they are better made.... or just not getting used near as much by as many people? Anecdotal evidence is all fine and dandy, but almost nobody has genuine facts at their disposal.

[phrunt]

Thinking about the little kinks on the Coiltek coil ears, is it possible they're there by design to stop the ears flexing inwards as much with warn washers?  They curve inwards towards where the bolt goes.  The smaller bolt head also doesn't push on as big of an area of the ear, not sure if that was intentional or would help.  If you push on something this shape for example ] it's not going to bend in as easy as something this shape I

It's a very nice looking coil, very solid design.

[strick]

That little 10x5 is a great coil....as 350 has been sayin it does appear to work deeper then one would expect. I tested it against the stock 11" coil and it heard everything the 11 did but with better it seemed....I pretty much use it exclusively on my trashy delta beaches...

Coil ears--> I've never had one break yet...now that I've said it it will happen! I use my detector as a crutch on almost every dig but I try to be careful not to put too much pressure on it...I've always been very careful as to not over tighten the coil...Simon is on to something with the washers..the Detec washers you can buy are garbage or used to be... they are not a proper fit...I've bought genuine minelab washers ever since...I'll take a good look at my coil ears and look for cracks but I doubt I'll find any.

strick