Coils And Covers

[Jamie]

I’m interested to see if there are noticeable differences in performance for the available coils that are out. I see manufacturer specific coils and then some made by Coiltek and others (I don’t recall their names).

 My question is, do any of you suggest a particular coil manufacturer over another? I don’t mean 6” vs 9” vs 11” and so forth, just curious if a particular coil manufacturer appears to make better product.

I have a a 5x10 coiltek for my 900 and I don’t really feel it works any better than the standard coils.

[midalake]

I am not a fan of coils that are not OEM.   So no aftermarket coils for me. 

[Steve Herschbach]

1 hour ago, Jamie said:

I have a a 5x10 coiltek for my 900 and I don’t really feel it works any better than the standard coils.

It might not for given uses. How well coils work depend more on how you use them than who makes them. A 5x10 will not hit a coin as deep as the stock 11" coil for instance - its a smaller coil. It will however separate in trash better due to the smaller footprint. In general the normally supplied manufacturer coils are better than people give them credit for, as the detector is often directly designed around the stock coil.

Tech notes - 

Coil Basics by Carl Moreland

About Search Coils by Dave Johnson

Search Coil Field Shape by Dave Johnson

[Jamie]

Thanks Steve, I agree with the size of the coil. It must be true, size matters! Seriously though, I too feel the OEM coil does as good or better than after market coils. I’m no expert, like a lot of you are, it’s just my observation. 

[Jamie]

Steve, thanks again for this forum. There are a lot of very sharp individuals on here that contribute lots of shared knowledge (and some BS that we have to discriminate out)

You do a great job of moderating.

[Digalicious]

1 hour ago, Steve Herschbach said:

In general the normally supplied manufacturer coils are better than people give them credit for, as the detector is often directly designed around the stock coil.

 

That's a great point, but perhaps, there is another aspect to it when it comes to these newer detectors with a stock 11' round coil.

In Europe, with hunters often detecting pastures with little emi, and little trash, they typically want a coil around the 15-in size. In North America, most are hunting trashy, emi sites, like parks, in which they want a coil around the 10x5  size or smaller. In other words, in both scenarios, the manufacturer is pretty much guaranteed that those hunters will ditch the 11" stock coil, and purchase one or two more coils. 

[Steve Herschbach]

1 hour ago, Digalicious said:

That's a great point, but perhaps, there is another aspect to it when it comes to these newer detectors with a stock 11' round coil.

In Europe, with hunters often detecting pastures with little emi, and little trash, they typically want a coil around the 15-in size. In North America, most are hunting trashy, emi sites, like parks, in which they want a coil around the 10x5  size or smaller. In other words, in both scenarios, the manufacturer is pretty much guaranteed that those hunters will ditch the 11" stock coil, and purchase one or two more coils. 

That's why manufacturers make a smaller and larger coil option. I used nothing but the 12x15 on my equinox while I was in the UK. No reason to go aftermarket unless the manufacturer does not make a specific size or type you desire. The 5x10 Coiltek for Equinox was popular specifically because Minelab refused to make that option, despite it being an extremely popular size, especially with the nugget detecting crowd.