Equinox 6 inch coil vs 11 inch coil....

[EQ8]

Nice test results Calabash. Thanks for saving me the money on a 6 " coil !

I'll second that. I have been thinking already of getting the 6" and I haven't even tried out the detector yet.
Would take a long time I would think to dig up 200 bucks more than I would with the 11".
I look at it as hoping the equipment would somehow pay for itself. It will take long enough to pay off the original investment a dime and LC at a time.
And for sure, smaller coil will get into smaller space. I don't mind leaving some things for others.

 

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[dsrtdwg1]

I like my 6 and I use it in certain situations. I live in the rocky, hilly desert south west. maneuverability is the strong suit for me.

 

[Blak bart]

So.....is it normal for minelab to send both coils with a new purchase ? This will be the third equinox that I've bought. Neither of the other 2 had the small coil included....but this third one came with both coils for the same price ?? I didnt ask for it but I was happy that it was in there. Not sure if I was supposed to get the 6 inch coil with the other 2 or if this was a new thing on minelabs part ? Any way this machine will be kept on the boat I work on and will be used when we travel around the bahamas.....I've got a great place to try it at....an old boat yard from the 1700s.

 

[HighPlainsHunter]

So.....is it normal for minelab to send both coils with a new purchase ? This will be the third equinox that I've bought. Neither of the other 2 had the small coil included....but this third one came with both coils for the same price ?? I didnt ask for it but I was happy that it was in there. Not sure if I was supposed to get the 6 inch coil with the other 2 or if this was a new thing on minelabs part ? Any way this machine will be kept on the boat I work on and will be used when we travel around the bahamas.....I've got a great place to try it at....an old boat yard from the 1700s.

The 6" coil was included with the 600 as a holiday special that ended January 31st...

 

[Ziggy-Grimm]

So.....is it normal for minelab to send both coils with a new purchase ?

When I bought my Equinox 600 back in November it all depended on what vendor you bought it from. There were way more vendors selling it without the 6" for the same price as the package deal with both coils. I'm just assuming here but guess the later manufactured ones from Minelab threw in the 6" as a freebie for a promotion or something.

Edit - HighPlainsHunter has your answer

 

[Blak bart]

Wooo hoooo.....good ole santa hooked me up !!

 

[EQ8]

The 6" coil was included with the 600 as a holiday special that ended January 31st...

Interesting..
That explains the "over abundance" of 6" coils on Ebay.

 

[HighPlainsHunter]

Interesting..
THAT'S why I was given a $70 discount (but no 6" coil) when I bought this detector on 1/27/20.
Also explains the over abundance of 6" coils on Ebay. AND why my "receipt" says nothing about buying the 800.
Thanks a lot *dealer I bought it from*.
I think I'll give Minelab a call and see what they have to say, or was this only if you bought it from the company?

There weren't any 6" coil offers with the 800, only the 600. This was a system wide offer for the holidays. You can't buy direct from Minelab..

 

[EQ8]

Well alrighty then.
Thanks for the speedy update!
Original post corrected.
Thanks again HighPlainsHunter.

 

[brianc053]

What about looking for gold nuggets in the Arizona desert?

I'm considering checking a bag for my flight (need a larger suitcase) in order to take it with me.

Is the 6" coil better?

Dan

Bill Southern (Nugget Shooter Journals on YouTube) used the 11” to nugget shoot one time, and then immediately switched to the 6” and hasn’t gone back.
If I were in AZ I would use the 6”.

But I’m in NJ looking for relics and coins, and I’ve been using the 6” in a nail infested site. I haven’t been super impressed (thought it could be the site) and after the OP’s video and this thread’s discussion I may switch back to the 11” and try that.

 

[McKinney_5900]

I feel that most people, veterans maybe even more so, see a physical sized coil the size of many other 6" coils on the market, and they automatically can't see coverage more than the "other" 6 inch coils they've used over the years.

This 6" coil on the Equinox is outstanding in coverage! I am only 10 years old in the hobby, but this little coil WORKS BIG. Minelab could easily make the housing wider with simply adding empty space around the internal electronics, makinf the same 6" coil appear to be an 8-incher, and folks would snap it up. Why? Because it looks bigger. That is maybe why an 8 inch coil hasn't come yet.

IMPO, the 6" coil today on the Equinox, gets coverage. You just have to change your pre-conceived mindset over its size..

 

[vferrari]

I feel that most people, veterans maybe even more so, see a physical sized coil the size of many other 6" coils on the market, and they automatically can't see coverage more than the "other" 6 inch coils they've used over the years.

This 6" coil on the Equinox is outstanding in coverage! I am only 10 years old in the hobby, but this little coil WORKS BIG. Minelab could easily make the housing wider with simply adding empty space around the internal electronics, makinf the same 6" coil appear to be an 8-incher, and folks would snap it up. Why? Because it looks bigger. That is maybe why an 8 inch coil hasn't come yet.

IMPO, the 6" coil today on the Equinox, gets coverage. You just have to change your pre-conceived mindset over its size..

Overlapping swing coverage of the ground (how much ground is covered by the DD coil per swing per unit tme) is purely a function of the dimensions of the coil. You can only cover a 6-inch swath of ground per swing with a 6 inch coil and that determines the pace of your forward motion. It does not cover the same amount of ground per swing as an 8 inch or larger coil no matter how hard you think about it. So I must be missing something or we have different definitions of the the term "coverage".

The housing has nothing to do with it. Coverage is determined by the length of the active center spine region of the coil (not the coil edges), front to back, where the backs of the two "D" coils overlap. This is the same for a round or elliptical DD coil of the same diameter/length.

To get overlapping swing coverage with the 6-inch coil I practically have to walk heel to toe, which is maddening. If I need coverage on the beach or in a farm field, I am going with the 11 or 15" coils.

The 6 inch is a great situational coil for tight spots or in high target density areas or when trying to detect tiny targets and has decent depth for its size, but good coverage is not what comes to mind when considering any 5 or 6 inch hockey puck coil.

 

[earthfoot]

OP's sample size is tiny. It could be representative of the coil: or not. I will find out for myself among the skeets and yuccas, the plum thickets, and the sage.

 

[HighVDI]

I feel that most people, veterans maybe even more so, see a physical sized coil the size of many other 6" coils on the market, and they automatically can't see coverage more than the "other" 6 inch coils they've used over the years.

This 6" coil on the Equinox is outstanding in coverage! I am only 10 years old in the hobby, but this little coil WORKS BIG. Minelab could easily make the housing wider with simply adding empty space around the internal electronics, makinf the same 6" coil appear to be an 8-incher, and folks would snap it up. Why? Because it looks bigger. That is maybe why an 8 inch coil hasn't come yet.

IMPO, the 6" coil today on the Equinox, gets coverage. You just have to change your pre-conceived mindset over its size..

Coverage and small coil is like oil and water.

 

[McKinney_5900]

I stand by my post, this 6" coil covers a larger zone that just 6 inches. I've never seen another 6" coil like it. It contradicts physics. Just how many other 6" coils can hit TID and VDI on a dime at 9 inches in Texas clay? It is just phenomenal IMHO. It acts like the Detech 8x6 coils.

 

[HighVDI]

I stand by my post, this 6" coil covers a larger zone that just 6 inches. I've never seen another 6" coil like it. It contradicts physics. Just how many other 6" coils can hit TID and VDI on a dime at 9 inches in Texas clay? It is just phenomenal IMHO. It acts like the Detech 8x6 coils.

I agree about the depth. It did well in that department but in my experience the 11" pulled more keepers out in the trashy sites and the 6" was an iron falsing mess. Totally what I wasn't expecting but it was that way...for me anyways. I say use what works for you.

 

[vferrari]

I stand by my post, this 6" coil covers a larger zone that just 6 inches. I've never seen another 6" coil like it. It contradicts physics. Just how many other 6" coils can hit TID and VDI on a dime at 9 inches in Texas clay? It is just phenomenal IMHO. It acts like the Detech 8x6 coils.

Are you talking about depth then? That is a whole different thing. Depth is not coverage. Coverage is how much of the surface ground is covered per swing determined by coil length on DD coils, depth is determined by coil width and while the benchmark is that depth is usually about the same as the diameter or width of the coil, it is possible for it to be deeper than that. The confusion, I think, lies in you mixing up depth and coverage terminology which mean two completely different things. I don't disagree that the 6 inch coil is deep for its size, if that is what you meant.

 

[McKinney_5900]

Both depth and coverage. It's simply a six inch diameter coil which I can trust to detect with my basic, general sweep speed and walking gait. I trust mine, and don't feel the need to overlap unless I am in deep trash. It simply acts bigger in coverage than any other 6" DD coil I have ever used. IMO, it seems to simply breaks the law of physics in its physical size. I would logically be saying the same thing as you, because that's the law of physics. This coil happily puzzles me. Had ML put the electronic elements inside an 8" housing, I'd never doubt it wasn't anything other than a real 8 inch coil.

 

[cudamark]

So, you're saying that you're getting hits on targets beyond the edge of your 6" coil? You must be holding it at an angle then, because I've never seen that happen on any coil I've used while holding it flat to the ground. That's usually the way I do a quick pin point (the Minelab wiggle) where I back off a signal until it disappears. The target will be just off the edge of the coil at that point. How far off the edge of the coil do you still get a signal?

 

[McKinney_5900]

So, you're saying that you're getting hits on targets beyond the edge of your 6" coil? You must be holding it at an angle then, because I've never seen that happen on any coil I've used while holding it flat to the ground. That's usually the way I do a quick pin point (the Minelab wiggle) where I back off a signal until it disappears. The target will be just off the edge of the coil at that point. How far off the edge of the coil do you still get a signal?

I tested the ML waggle method, and you are correct...the signal didn't exceed the coil width unless near the surface. At an inch or less deep, I get 1-2 inches added perimeter detection tone. Then the difference became moot with depth. I could easily be tea cupping this small coil a little as well in an open field.

I also hunted a 20'x100' sidewalk strip area in front of an older local school today. All modern coinage but I did take it slower with the 6" coil, and even so, I found I'd missed targets on my return path, missed targets close-by to previously found coins.

I apparently don't have a magical performing 6" coil for coverage after all. Confidence does seem to make some difference though. Thanks for the advice.