coil size for excal II

goCARDSjim

Greenie
May 23, 2013
12
4
Edinburg, TX
Detector(s) used
Fisher F75
Garrett AT Pro
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Upvote 0
I would purchase the Excalibur ll 800 if available!
However, I suspect that a new one would be very difficult to find, as I spent more than one year
and one price increase searching for a used one without luck.
If I remember correctly, one of our sponsor vendors here said they still had a couple of brand new 8" Excals still.
.
The small field eight inch coil is more sensitive too smaller targets as it covers one half the surface that the large field ten inch search coil. The trade off is you may lose a little depth: 8 to 10 Inch for the small field 8 inch DD search coil, verses 10 to 12 inch for the large field ten inch DD search coil. Even though the surface area under the 8 inch DD search coil is one half of that a ten inch DD search coil, You can still cover a large search area as the smaller search coil can be swept faster since there is less to process. Also, you can run hotter (more sensitive).
That sounds good, but, in reality it's just not true in my experience. I can run my 15" coil wide open, just like my 10". Processor speed is the deciding factor on recovery and sweep speed, not the coil size. To me, the small coil is only an advantage in junky areas or looking for tiny targets. Even that is overrated as I still find jean rivets at 8" with my 15" coil. You can always do as Frogmaster suggests and install an inline connector and try they all.
 

I would purchase the Excalibur ll 800 if available!
However, I suspect that a new one would be very difficult to find, as I spent more than one year
and one price increase searching for a used one without luck.
If I remember correctly, one of our sponsor vendors here said they still had a couple of brand new 8" Excals still.
.
The small field eight inch coil is more sensitive too smaller targets as it covers one half the surface that the large field ten inch search coil. The trade off is you may lose a little depth: 8 to 10 Inch for the small field 8 inch DD search coil, verses 10 to 12 inch for the large field ten inch DD search coil. Even though the surface area under the 8 inch DD search coil is one half of that a ten inch DD search coil, You can still cover a large search area as the smaller search coil can be swept faster since there is less to process. Also, you can run hotter (more sensitive).
That sounds good, but, in reality it's just not true in my experience. I can run my 15" coil wide open, just like my 10". Processor speed is the deciding factor on recovery and sweep speed, not the coil size. To me, the small coil is only an advantage in junky areas or looking for tiny targets. Even that is overrated as I still find jean rivets at 8" with my 15" coil. You can always do as Frogmaster suggests and install an inline connector and try they all.

I have found less than a gram gold targets with my excals and 15 inch coils and the targets were buried, not on the surface... Smallest target to date was .04 of a gram also found gold stud earrings with no problems with the 15 inch coils too...
 

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same on my Sovereign & W.O.T. coil
 

I have found less than a gram gold targets with my excals and 15 inch coils and the targets were buried, not on the surface... Smallest target to date was .04 of a gram also found gold stud earrings with no problems with the 15 inch coils too...


same on my Sovereign & W.O.T. coil


Ok Boys Pictures or it did not Happen..:laughing7:
 

Ok Boys Pictures or it did not Happen..:laughing7:

Your lucky you said that to Me :laughing7: though usually said in Jest,
seeing someone Saying "Pictures or it did not Happen" to members is a Pet-Peeve of Mine"
it's like saying "Liar". :unhappysmiley: any-who ...

Sorry ! this was in the Early 21st Century (pre 2010) when I was still using my Sovereign.
I don't keep gold Finds that long.
But you can be assured I am not Lying.

The W.O.T. will pick up tiny objects. some it is hard for eyes to see.
I gave up on a few targets at an Airplane crash site.
just grabbed a handfull of dirt & put it in my pouch, Because some of the pieces were the size
of a grain of dirt, the same color & the Probe wouldn't pinpoint them.
I think the reason is the DD coil.
I'm not sure a concentric coil would do the same.

DD vs Concentric

https://www.bigboyshobbies.net/double-d-coil-vs-concentric-coils/
 

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Your lucky you said that to Me :laughing7: though usually aid in Jest,
seeing someone Saying "Pictures or it did not Happen" to members is a Pet-Peeve of Mine"
it's like saying "Liar". :unhappysmiley: any-who ...

Sorry ! this was in the Early 21st Century (pre 2010) when I was still using my Sovereign.
I don't keep gold Finds that long.
But you can be assured I am not Lying.

The W.O.T. will pick up tiny objects. some it is hard for eyes to see.
I gave up on a few targets at an Airplane crash site.
just grabbed a handfull of dirt & put it in my pouch, Because some of the pieces were the size
of a grain of dirt, the same color & the Probe wouldn't pinpoint them.
I think the reason is the DD coil.
I'm not sure a concentric coil would do the same.

DD vs Concentric

https://www.bigboyshobbies.net/double-d-coil-vs-concentric-coils/

Great article thanks for sharing.
 

A concentric coil may have a different foot print..... but they are as sensitive if not more so than the DD. Most have been changed due more to that footprint. My Xcal has found .3 grams of gold with a 10" coils and i highly doubt it will find anything smaller. But thats acceptable for my hunting. As far as processor vs coil..... either can make be a big factor in what you are finding. To many near targets, trash or bad mineral and the small coils can be a better choice. PP..... IMO in the water is much easier with a DD coil....... just wiggle the coil toward you and when it disappears its at the end of the coil. Concentric...... well they drive me nuts PPing in the water.
 

I only buy used detectors, which are in good condition, with sufficient transferrable warranty.
It takes a lot of effort, but it is worth the trouble, since I can later resell this used detector for what I t I purchased it for, or more, if it does not work out. As I live in a remote location, it costs me $70 just to insure and ship a failed detector back to the authorized service center for repair. Plus there is down time waiting for that detectors return. Repairs done under warranty are far from being free, when you consider the above costs and down time each time a detector needs to be returned for repair.

As you increase the coil size, the processor has to work harder, as there is a greater volume of soil (trash, targets, mineralization, conductivity) under the search coil which must be processed. As a result you will have to slow down your sweep speed, if the processor speed is not fast enough when hunting in the all metal mode/Pin Point.

This is also true when hunting in the discrimination mode, but the recovery speed becomes more important, as you cannot detect anything while the detector is nulled after detecting iron.

For me the greatest advantage of using a smaller coil size, especially in the water with a wide basket stand up scoop, is that it is easier to retrieve a shallow target with one scoop.



I would purchase the Excalibur ll 800 if available!
However, I suspect that a new one would be very difficult to find, as I spent more than one year
and one price increase searching for a used one without luck.
If I remember correctly, one of our sponsor vendors here said they still had a couple of brand new 8" Excals still.

The small field eight inch coil is more sensitive too smaller targets as it covers one half the surface that the large field ten inch search coil. The trade off is you may lose a little depth: 8 to 10 Inch for the small field 8 inch DD search coil, verses 10 to 12 inch for the large field ten inch DD search coil. Even though the surface area under the 8 inch DD search coil is one half of that a ten inch DD search coil, You can still cover a large search area as the smaller search coil can be swept faster since there is less to process. Also, you can run hotter (more sensitive).
That sounds good, but, in reality it's just not true in my experience. I can run my 15" coil wide open, just like my 10". Processor speed is the deciding factor on recovery and sweep speed, not the coil size. To me, the small coil is only an advantage in junky areas or looking for tiny targets. Even that is overrated as I still find jean rivets at 8" with my 15" coil. You can always do as Frogmaster suggests and install an inline connector and try they all.
 

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after just spending the last 8 hrs in the water today with my 10" I can say go for the 10"
as far are small targets are concerned a fricken no8 lead shot from a 12 gauge at 1' is plenty small enough....
that said I have an 8" 10" and 15" just grab the machine I'm in the mood for.....lol
 

I purchased my Excalibur with an 8" coil, mostly for the weight considerations, its a heavy machine. I quickly went to a hip mount to take away the fatigue but then wished I had the bigger coil, I always felt I was missing something so I purchased the coilteck 15" and love it! It was a little scary cutting the wire to install the plug and play coil adapter but so glad I did. I don't feel I am missing a single thing now and my finds have increased. So go big !!!!
Go with an Anderson straight shaft you will love it and the weight is really balanced out.
 

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