I received my Hot Head Coil from Kellyco for testing in the Pennsylvania soil, on My Minelab Sovereign XS-2. After using the 15" WOT for the last 3 years, I was hesitant to use a smaller coil, let alone one that small, as I knew it would feel like I was using a probe to search, just not enough ground coverage. Plus being used to the DD coils, I wasn't sure how I would like a Concentric coil.
About a week later, I decided I had to get on with the test, so I decided to go to my old stand-by park, which I've hunted since the 60's. Once arriving I drove to the trashiest part of this park, as I decided this was my hardest part to detect. After turning on my detector & adjusting my meter for a quarter, I headed into the field.
We'll the first signal I received was an iffy signal, which read in the pulltab range, and since I dig everything I started digging. At? 5" I pulled out a ball of tinfoil. My next target read coin & was so loud it sounded like it was just under the soil. I dug a scoop out and still it was in the hole, so I continued to dig. At a measured 8 1/2 " I hit a beer can. Getting frustrated I tryed and tryed this area digging trash at depths from just under the grass to 13" digging nothing but trash of all sizes.
Deciding I needed to find some coins, so I could tell how they sounded to a concentric coil, I then moved to the baseball field where my next few signals turned out to be can tabs and foil. Finally I dug a Memorial Cent at 3", after which I came away from the place with 39 cents to my name. A clad quarter, a roosevelt dime, and 4 pennies. NOT A GOOD SIGN.
Well at this point I put the hot head away and went back to my WOT. About a month went by, and I decided to search a local fair grounds that dates to the 1870's. Knowing the amount of trash here I put the Hot Head on again. As soon as I had it tuned to my meter, I walked over towards the fence that surrounds the horse race track, as this had been my most productive site in the park. Within 5 or 6 swings of the coil I got a nice sweet sound of a coin thru my headphones and at 7" pulled out a nice 1938 Wheat cent. Now this was better. On again with the hunt, I found a few pieces of trash, several more Wheats and finally a nice 1924 Mercury dime with full bands at a depth of 5". The signal was loud and clear I'm sure I could have gotten a signal at 8" easily and this from an 8" coil. Real impressive to me. My total take for the day, 11 Wheats dating from 1919 to 1958, 2 Mercury dimes 1924 & 1935 and 1 Roosevelt 1953. Along with 31 Memorial pennies, 7 Jefferson nickels, 16 clad dimes, 11 clad quarters, a key, a hubcap from a Nash Rambler, and a few other keepers.
My final thoughts: The 8" Hot Head Coil also known as the "FERRET" is definately a worthwhile addition to your arsenal. Especially when you have a trashy area to search. On pinpointing I give it a solid 10, absolutely perfect.? On weight I give it a solid 10, no weight problem at all. On depth I give it an 8, nice tone on targets, but no way to tell depth with it. All signals seemed to be the same size weather 3" 0r 13" ? On coil construction, the coil base seems to be very hard, however I see they don't have a cover, and am wondering weather it will hold up to years of scrubbing the ground with it. So far very little scratching has appeared, and I've used it about 10 times so far.
About a week later, I decided I had to get on with the test, so I decided to go to my old stand-by park, which I've hunted since the 60's. Once arriving I drove to the trashiest part of this park, as I decided this was my hardest part to detect. After turning on my detector & adjusting my meter for a quarter, I headed into the field.
We'll the first signal I received was an iffy signal, which read in the pulltab range, and since I dig everything I started digging. At? 5" I pulled out a ball of tinfoil. My next target read coin & was so loud it sounded like it was just under the soil. I dug a scoop out and still it was in the hole, so I continued to dig. At a measured 8 1/2 " I hit a beer can. Getting frustrated I tryed and tryed this area digging trash at depths from just under the grass to 13" digging nothing but trash of all sizes.
Deciding I needed to find some coins, so I could tell how they sounded to a concentric coil, I then moved to the baseball field where my next few signals turned out to be can tabs and foil. Finally I dug a Memorial Cent at 3", after which I came away from the place with 39 cents to my name. A clad quarter, a roosevelt dime, and 4 pennies. NOT A GOOD SIGN.
Well at this point I put the hot head away and went back to my WOT. About a month went by, and I decided to search a local fair grounds that dates to the 1870's. Knowing the amount of trash here I put the Hot Head on again. As soon as I had it tuned to my meter, I walked over towards the fence that surrounds the horse race track, as this had been my most productive site in the park. Within 5 or 6 swings of the coil I got a nice sweet sound of a coin thru my headphones and at 7" pulled out a nice 1938 Wheat cent. Now this was better. On again with the hunt, I found a few pieces of trash, several more Wheats and finally a nice 1924 Mercury dime with full bands at a depth of 5". The signal was loud and clear I'm sure I could have gotten a signal at 8" easily and this from an 8" coil. Real impressive to me. My total take for the day, 11 Wheats dating from 1919 to 1958, 2 Mercury dimes 1924 & 1935 and 1 Roosevelt 1953. Along with 31 Memorial pennies, 7 Jefferson nickels, 16 clad dimes, 11 clad quarters, a key, a hubcap from a Nash Rambler, and a few other keepers.
My final thoughts: The 8" Hot Head Coil also known as the "FERRET" is definately a worthwhile addition to your arsenal. Especially when you have a trashy area to search. On pinpointing I give it a solid 10, absolutely perfect.? On weight I give it a solid 10, no weight problem at all. On depth I give it an 8, nice tone on targets, but no way to tell depth with it. All signals seemed to be the same size weather 3" 0r 13" ? On coil construction, the coil base seems to be very hard, however I see they don't have a cover, and am wondering weather it will hold up to years of scrubbing the ground with it. So far very little scratching has appeared, and I've used it about 10 times so far.
