CTX 17 inch

[Bejamble]

So I have decided to get the 17 inch smart coil for beach hunting. After reading a lot, it seems that the best situation is clean regions free of trash and basically only after it has been hit with the standard coil first. Everyone says that depth is minimal and that the coil is great for covering ground. It's really a give and take when using this coil it seems. Any comments?


Cory

 

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[Treasure_Hunter]

I disagree on the less senstive at least for jewelry. I recover tiny targets that are deep all the time.

I found a gold ring that is .04 of a gram that was every bit on 12+ inches deep with solud signal and a tiny silver skull from a bracelet that is 1/4 size of my pinkie fingernail that was deep as well... I recover tiny targets all the time with the 15 inch and 18 inch coils.






American by birth, Patriot by choice.

I would rather die standing on my two feet defending our Constitution than live a lifetime on my knees......

 

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[bigscoop]

In my experience, the sensitivity issue is relevant to the conditions be hunted, just as it is with the smaller coils. True, the volume of matrix under and a larger coil is increased, but it's also the same matrix that's around the smaller coils. If we could freeze the state of this matrix and saltwater/sand then this environment becomes stable and constant and both large and small coils can perform very well. On the other hand, "motion" and "density" become the ultimate deciding factors once this environment begins to move, the ability for any coil to function at peak performance continually reduced as the environment around the coil becomes increasingly unstable. Smaller coils obviously perform better in these conditions because they are dealing with far less instability then the larger coils. This instability is likewise compounded with the larger coils simply because they are harder to control, the stability in their motion also becoming more erratic as the conditions around them begin to provide more turbulence and resistance. So in my experience, the blank statement that larger coils don't perform as well is situational, rather then a standard.

The other factor is density. My area beaches are very fine sand, when compared to other areas of the country one might say that the mineralization density in my hunting environment is very low VS say, Hawaii, which contains a higher volume of mineralization and larger/denser particles. Given the difference in these two environments it is quite possible that a larger coil could easily detect small objects on my area beaches at decent depths and yet completely miss those same small objects on the beaches of Hawaii, this then being compounded further depending on the stability of the surrounding environment.

In the end, big coils can perform very well, but not everywhere and not all the time. Like anything else they are tools to meet certain circumstances and conditions. Sometimes they can do the job well, other times they can't. Just my two cents.

 

[Sir Gala Clad]

TH: Under the same conditions, a small field search coil of the same design with a diameter of 7 l/2 inch or less should be more sensitive than a large field search coil of the same design with a diameter of 10 inch or more. However, if the soil under the coil is not mineralized, and the detector is able to automatically handle the conductivity of the soil and there are no other targets including iron under or near the coil and your coil control is excellent I suspect that there would not be a noticeable difference in sensitivity. I use the word suspect, as the largest diameter size search coil that I have experimented with to date is a 10” DD search coil an 11” DD smart search coil. With the 10” DD coil, I routinely recover tiny targets (but they are iffy). The 11” DD smart coil on another detector is much more sensitive and locks hard on tiny targets, which often I am not able to retrieve as the wet sand caves in before I can retrieve them. I don't expect a larger coil to be an effective tool where I hunt, as our beaches are small and narrow. Further, there are lots of hot rocks, and trash to deal with.

In summary of Coil Basics by Carl Moreland: " Keep in mind that one size does not fit all.
Large coils get better depth on large targets with less sensitivity to small objects,
while small coils have better sensitivity to small coils albeit with less depth.
Also. a small coil is good for working trashy areas because it gives better separation of close targets.
So even if all you do is coinshoot, having 2 or 3 coils sizes, or having specialty coil types like a DD or coaxial , will expand
the areas you can hunt".

QUOTE=Treasure_Hunter;3971561]I disagree on the less senstive at least for jewelry. I recover tiny targets that are deep all the time.

I found a gold ring that is .04 of a gram that was every bit on 12+ inches deep with solud signal and a tiny silver skull from a bracelet that is 1/4 size of my pinkie fingernail that was deep as well... I recover tiny targets all the time with the 15 inch and 18 inch coils.






American by birth, Patriot by choice.

I would rather die standing on my two feet defending our Constitution than live a lifetime on my knees......[/QUOTE]

 

[Sir Gala Clad]

Bejamble:
As I am biased to using small field coils – easier to pin point with, higher sensitivity, I was surprised to actually enjoying using the 17” coil. As I have only used it twice, with each use on a different beach, my results were a little different each time.

What really, really surprised me was that this coil was easy to control – I suspect that using a bungee harness for the first time had a lot to do with this. But it was much easier to see the angle or this long elliptical coil when sweeping that it was with the either the 11” standard coil or the smaller 6” coil which tends to stick rather than glide on touching ground.

The second surprise was that this large coil was not as difficult to swing in the water as I had expected,
Having earlier been exhausted shallow water hunting against the current with the tiny 6” coil.
I believe that most of the drag is from the CTX 3030’s lower shaft which is not only wider in diameter than the Excalibur’s shaft, it is not even smooth, being etched in a diamond pattern for increased friction so it does not slip while carrying. So even without a coil attached the lower shaft acts a giant swizzle stick which should be used to gently stir with never shaken.

Pin pointing off the tip, takes a little getting used to.
As you may have to back up as much as twenty one inches for a bottle cap to break lock,
You may consider wiring your vest with back up lights and a beep beep beep chirper, if you are in an area where beach goers get to close.

Further, with the narrow tip and heal, this coil is surprising selective, with practice you can zero in on the tone you want when hunting in all metal, even in trashy areas.

I suspect that the chattiness of a coil has to do with the gain you have set to boost weak signals.
My large coil was surprisingly quiet with a setting on 16 or lower.