Large VLF coils

[IMAUDIGGER]

Got in a couple hours practice on the GR40 Makro Gold Racer coil. DD coil 15x13.5 inches.


Never tried a large VLF gold detector coil before.
First impression, appears to be well made and actually ground balances better than I would have expected it too.

First test...threw down a flat 4 grain picker and could easily detect it on the surface with the sensitivity set at 80. The sweet spot is centered where the stem attaches to the coil and is about 4” in diameter on surface targets.

Tested a 1/4 ounce of small pickers in a jar and didn’t get but 4” depth in an air test which concerned me. Buried a 1/2 ounce nugget 4” and was able to hear it fine.
6” down and could still hear it fine in all metal mode. So it appears to pick up small shallow targets and large deep targets. In between not so sure.
Here is what I walked off with after detecting an area that has been hit fairly well with GB2’s
All about 3”-4” deep.


I’ll have to try out some small shallow float gold and see what it does.

I should mention that I threw down that 4 grain nugget in a different spot and could not find it no matter how much I messed with the settings. It’s still laying out there waiting for a smaller coil.

If you were looking for deep larger iron...it does that very well.
I’ll post an update after more swing time. So much for paying it off in a couple hours.

 

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[Lanny in AB]

Thanks for the post!

Informative and interesting too.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

So far I have a total of about 3 hours on this coil.
I’m not sure there is any other VLF gold detectors out there with an accessory coil this large.
I seem to be able to quickly find the small shallow signals. Although the sweet spot is fairly small, it seems to give me enough hint on the edges of the coil that I quickly stop and center the signal.

Finding the typical targets that I find with the small 5” coil, minus the birdshot.

Because it’s a DD coil, the edges of the coil are not sensitive like a typical large dia. PI mono coil.
As a result, investigating possible faint deep signals is kind of a PIA due to the fact that the center of the coil needs to get closer to the signal which requires a large hole. You can’t just dip the leading edge of the coil in there to sniff it out like you would with a Minelab PI.

I have noticed that it does like old rotten stobs of brush buried in the ground.
They come off as narrow faint signals rather than broad faint signals.
It’s taking some practice to figure out which borderline signals to investigate.
It gets easier if you turn the sensitivity down, most of that goes away. I have been running it on 75-85 which is what I usually use when detecting with the smaller coils.

It does require more frequent ground balancing and is a little finicky in that respect. Experienced detectorists will probably not mind and understand it’s a trade off.

However the discrimination and target ID abilities of the VLF really are a time saver.
It very consistently identifies shallow nails and bits of iron which you can pass on. Deeper signals require investigation, which leads to a big hole.
I have found that you need to run the sensitivity a little lower in DISC mode, otherwise it will give false signals.

The only deep target I have dug so far was a blasting cap container lid buried about a foot deep and under a large rock. It was reading 69-80 the entire time, which had me going for a bit.

Really excited to give this coil a try scanning the hillsides for float gold. Did I mention it’s really light? Problem is, I’ve found I have to switch from a rock hammer to a mattock style digging tool. A pin pointer wouldn’t hurt either.

 

[63bkpkr]

Try this as it is much easier to locate a nice picker while practicing with new equipment or even old equipment. I used a clear "Shoe Goo" glue to hold a section of a gold ring to a poker chip. I carry a couple different sized pieces of gold with me on poker chips to keep me tuned in to the local conditions and what different sized pieces of the same gold sound like.

Thank you for sharing your experiences with this new coil, I look forward to more of your interesting comments about it................63bkpkr

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

Try this View attachment 1550659 as it is much easier to locate a nice picker while practicing with new equipment or even old equipment. I used a clear "Shoe Goo" glue to hold a section of a gold ring to a poker chip. I carry a couple different sized pieces of gold with me on poker chips to keep me tuned in to the local conditions and what different sized pieces of the same gold sound like.

Thank you for sharing your experiences with this new coil, I look forward to more of your interesting comments about it................63bkpkr

Thanks for the tip.
I generally don't carry the test gold with me any more.
My pockets are full of bits of lead which for all I can tell nearly perfectly simulate gold.
I will go back today and find that lost little bit of gold.

Once I have a week or so of swinging under my belt, I will post up some pictures or maybe a video with a better thought out narrative.
So far I was only able to find one video which focused on the GR40 coil, which didn't encourage me much to purchase.