Whats the Best Coil for an Explorer 2 ?

[T Hunter]

What is the best coil for an explorer 2 ? Does the Etrac coil work on it or is there a better coil than stock .I hunt mostly salt water beaches and field sites .Thanks for your time .Mark

 

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[dewcon4414]

The Explorer II came with a great basic coil.... but, the new Pro coil or SEF are even better. Have you looked at the WOT... its a larger lighter coil that really covers the ground.

Dew

 

[Iron Patch]

XS white one or black Ex II, both are the same and I have zero doubt they are the best. They are heavier but that isn't an issue for me so well worth it. Recently my last Ex II one went bad and couldn't believe my luck, found a guy selling two brand new white XS ones, never used. People can brag the pro one all they want (I had one - briefly) but after about 9 years of ONLY using the old type 10.5" coil I have a pretty good feel for what's better (and what's not) I took about a $60 hit and got rid of the pro coil and am very content now. By the way, I'm the type that plays around and will spend what it takes for getting what works best... and it's the old coils. God I dread the day when my last one craps out. Can you say hoarder.

 

[T Hunter]

I have noticed lately my Exp 2 has really been falsing alot . I don't have a coil cover on it and my Lithium battery's show full charge . I can run the Sens up or down really doesn't help and i Ground Balance every time i go so that why i was leaning to a new coil ?? Thanks for your help .Mark

 

[T Hunter]

How do you know if your coil is bad ??

 

[Iron Patch]

I have noticed lately my Exp 2 has really been falsing alot . I don't have a coil cover on it and my Lithium battery's show full charge . I can run the Sens up or down really doesn't help and i Ground Balance every time i go so that why i was leaning to a new coil ?? Thanks for your help .Mark

Ground balance is automatic so you must be hitting the noise cancel. That will help on interference but not falsing, if the false signals happen at different sites.

Sounds like the coil but I would definitely.....

1) Try another coil if you have it.

2) Do a factory reset

3) Try Alk batteries.


Make sure you do a factory reset after each thing you try because the detector can stay glitched and not sound right even if you fixed the problem. The early coils going bad unfortunately isn't a rare thing. One thing you can try to determine if it's bad is to turn on the detector and and tap the cable several times at the few inches just before it enters the coil. If you get a low tone false every time it's bad. It still might be bad even if you get no noise, and moisture seems to increase the chances of this. Meaning... a bad coil will get wacky a lot quicker in wet conditions.

 

[Bart@Big Boys Hobbies]

Ive had a EX II with stock coil. SE with stock coil and sunray 8". Now the etrac with the pro coil and an Exceleator 6" coil. The new pro coil is hands down the best coil for any explorer out there in my opinion. The hot strip down the center separates TONS better and seems to run smoother. Minelab really did a great job on them. The sunray 8" wasn't a bad coil either.

 

[Iron Patch]

Ive had a EX II with stock coil. SE with stock coil and sunray 8". Now the etrac with the pro coil and an Exceleator 6" coil. The new pro coil is hands down the best coil for any explorer out there in my opinion. The hot strip down the center separates TONS better and seems to run smoother. Minelab really did a great job on them. The sunray 8" wasn't a bad coil either.

So you gave up an Ex II with stock coil for an SE with the slimline, then went to the E-trac?

 

[Bart@Big Boys Hobbies]

Yes. Every time mineab gets a new machine I just have to try it out to see how it does. So far every machine they come out with impresses me even more than the last. I am very impressed with the Etrac. It is the best coin detector that I have ever used. I think allot of it has to do with the pro coil.

 

[Iron Patch]

Yes. Every time mineab gets a new machine I just have to try it out to see how it does. So far every machine they come out with impresses me even more than the last. I am very impressed with the Etrac. It is the best coin detector that I have ever used. I think allot of it has to do with the pro coil.

That seems odd that you would prefer the SE & slimline over the Explorer II. You would definitely be in the minority on that one. It explains why the pro coil seems better, because it is, better than the slimline that is. I'm guessing you didn't have the Explorer II for too long before the SE? Also, you're basing your thoughts on coils using different detectors, you can't really do that and have accurate answers. Again, I used the same type of coil for 9 years until I tried the pro, and on the same detector.

So now it makes sense why you feel the way you do, but I have to disagree with you what is the best coil Minelab has made for the Explorer. This will actually be my last post on the topic because I don't want competition for the used ones. I hope everyone is as happy with the pro as you, if will keep me and my ploder a little happier over the years.

 

[T Hunter]

Thanks for all your help .I will try all the different things you pointed out. Got a sunray X1 pin pointer for Xmas just got done mounting it . Cant wait to try it but there is about a foot of snow on the ground . My buddy has an explorer and he put the WOT coil on it so i think i will try his old coil to see if that spots the falsing and new Alk batteries .I have always had a little bit of falsing with this machine . I did go to manual on the ground balance and that seemed to help alot . When i was out last about 3 weeks ago the machine was so unstable i couldnt use it .I had sandman also tell me about the Litium batteries and he said dont use them at all. Thanks Again Mark

 

[Iron Patch]

Thanks for all your help .I will try all the different things you pointed out. Got a sunray X1 pin pointer for Xmas just got done mounting it . Cant wait to try it but there is about a foot of snow on the ground . My buddy has an explorer and he put the WOT coil on it so i think i will try his old coil to see if that spots the falsing and new Alk batteries .I have always had a little bit of falsing with this machine . I did go to manual on the ground balance and that seemed to help alot . When i was out last about 3 weeks ago the machine was so unstable i couldnt use it .I had sandman also tell me about the Litium batteries and he said dont use them at all. Thanks Again Mark

Many different times over the years my detector made extra noise for one reason or another. You can question if there's a problem, and actually get used to it, but once your detector is good again it's crazy how nice and quiet it will run. Sometimes I go an hour with extra noise, then do a factory reset and shake my head why I waited an entire hour to do it.

 

[T Hunter]

Iron is that reset when you hold the power button down for 5 seconds and it say factory preset if so that is the mode i use always to try to get away from the falsing. Im going to check to see if it has the slimline coil on it . Did you say they werent very good ? Thanks Mark

 

[Iron Patch]

Iron is that reset when you hold the power button down for 5 seconds and it say factory preset if so that is the mode i use always to try to get away from the falsing. Im going to check to see if it has the slimline coil on it . Did you say they werent very good ? Thanks Mark

Yes, holding the power in is what puts the detector back to factory presets. One other simple problem could be the cable losing contact into the control box. Shut the detector off, undo and reconnect, then hold the power in and do the reset the first time you turn it on. If you don't do the reset the detector will probably still operate as if it has a bad connection.

The slimline was known to false bad and is the reason the pro coil became available early without a detector being released. (They just started calling the SE the SE Pro) I would bet the pro coil was only suppose to be on the E-trac, but with the Slimline failing they had start selling it on the SE as well. By the way everything happend I'm almost sure that is the case. (but they take the 5th on everything so we'll never know)

 

[T Hunter]

My coil has Explorer 1000 on it is that a slimline coil and if so do you reccomend a pro coil . ? Or an older XS coil Thanks MArk

 

[Iron Patch]

My coil has Explorer 1000 on it is that a slimline coil and if so do you reccomend a pro coil . ? Or an older XS coil Thanks MArk

This is the Slimline. The Pro works well, I just think the old coils are a bit better. The problem with buying the old ones is your chances of getting a bad one are much greater. So tough call, most probably would get the pro, but not me, but keep in mind I've used the older type for quite a long time. I don't like changes.

 

[Iron Patch]

Explorer II coil.

 

[T Hunter]

Here is my coil i guess it is a slimline ??

 

[T Hunter]

Guess its not a slimline was kinda hopping it was. Thanks for all your help you are the man Mark

 

[Iron Patch]

Nope, you got the Explorer II coil. But that doesn't mean it can't be bad, my luck hasn't been great with them holding up. You should try the tap test I said in an above post, can be done in the house no problem.

Turn it on and tap the cable with your finger. The part of the wire you see in your 2nd picture. If it low tone falses it's bad, if not, then more to figure out.