Coil size

[meb9054]

I just bought an AT Gold, it came with the 5x8 coil, wanting to order the 8 1/2 x 11 but I'm new to this great metal detecting family and would like any thoughts or comments on this, i know the obvious , it will go deeper, but are there any other advantages or disadvantages? Thanks for you help!

 

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[Chad1972]

It's not the size of your coil...it's how you use it.

 

[Kodiak43351]

The bigger coil is a killer in open farm fields

 

[RobRieman]

I just bought an AT Gold, it came with the 5x8 coil, wanting to order the 8 1/2 x 11 but I'm new to this great metal detecting family and would like any thoughts or comments on this, i know the obvious , it will go deeper, but are there any other advantages or disadvantages? Thanks for you help!

Some Advantages:
Larger coils go deeper.
You can cover more ground faster.

Some Disadvantages:
In a real trashy area you will see multiple targets at once.
It's heavier than a small coil.
It harder to swing and get into tight places if you hunt the woods.

 

[Kodiak43351]

I have pretty good luck hunting farm fields with the bigger at pro coil on my at gold. I even bought a NEL tornado for the gold and it did great in the farm fields. The stock 5x8 is awesome in trashy sites but I've done well with the bigger coil in trashy sites also. It is heavier but not unmanageable. The 5x8 is on my gold and pro most of the time but like the option of putting the bigger coil on with the threshold based all metal mode that the gold has in the farm fields to get those deeper finds.

 

[Mach1Pilot]

If you want to go larger than stock, as Kodiak mentioned the NEL series has some great offerings available for the AT Pro and Gold.

 

[cruiserkev]

I'm also looking to upgrade to a larger coil to cover more ground in fields. Currently using the stock 5x8 on my AT Gold which works great but slows detecting way down out in the open areas. Has anyone ever conducted a head to head comparison with the NEL Tornado, Garrett 8.5x11 DD and the Garrett 9x12 concentric? Just curious how they would compare before buying anything. Thanks!

 

[Opie]

You cover more ground with a longer coil, example 11"vs 8" but the amount of depth you gain is not what people make it sound like. You may get a couple more inches is really all. The coil length is the easiest to prove enhanced performance. 8" from 11 is 3 direct inches. However the distance between the inner and outer coil of all the different manufactures and the difference between DD, Mono and Concentric coils is too vast to give a complete answer. One example is the center hole of a concentric coil is usually bigger if the outer coil size is increased, so this can effect everything from target response speed to what interferes with the ground balance or frequency of the detector. Overly sized coils are a different fish all together. Too much juice at the top means shallow targets are never seen or get ghosted down below. Its best to pick your performance and then learn the machine. IE it came with the 5x8 learn it and all its quirks then move on to a possible new coil. Think in terms of targets location.
Good Luck!!

 

[bigfoot1]

as opie said...its not that simple.

I took the larger coil off my at pro and put the 5x8 on.never looked back.the same may well be true for you when you have both.I see the larger on ebay and such cause so many no longer use them.The at series can be swung fairly quickly,they are fast.I can hunt longer with the smaller coil,its that much better balanced.I can go into the trashy places with confidence and I really dont percieve any depth loss tho there is likely a nominal depth cost.
Ask around and check c-list etc.Try one if you can before buying,there are alot of unused ones out there.you can cover alot of ground with either.