DFX and the Bigfoot coil. Just tried my new bigfoot coil out and its GREAT!!!!

[old_goldchaser]

I have had my new bigfoot coil for almost 2 weeks now but had not tried it out. Several reasons including the weather...too cold, too much snow, wet, mud, etc, etc, etc...... Oh for the beginning of spring. And then, I had had to order a cover for it. Forgot to ask about it when I first was offered the purchase of the coild after being on the waiting list. I was so happy to be able to buy one finally, I forgot the cover...

Anyway, got it home and realized...no cover....so couldnt find one anyway....and Jimmy didnt have one listed on his site. Finally did a websearch and found an old page on Jimmy's site that had the covers listed and ordered it. Took a few days to get here, and got here yesterday...

So I immediately put the coil, with cover...on my DFX and headed out to my garden...despite snow, cold, whatever... I had to try it.

I have a clad dollar and in a line, a 50 cent piece, 25 cent clad , dime and so on..you get the point, all planted about 4 to 6 inches. This is the main planting. I have other rows with junk, etc...but it was too dang cold to spend much time. anyway, on this main row of coins...the coil worked great. It found each coin, even the pennies...and the pinpointing with the coil Its great. In pinpoint mode the coil does wonderful things.

First, you get a positive response from the front half of the coil, and a negative response from the back half...and the center is right at where the stem attaches. And there is no stepping around..like you have to do with a standard round coil. You simply scan from side to side...then up and down using the pos/neg function...to pinpoint. Thats it. Side to side on the front half works like you normally would expect on pinpointing...then using the pos/neg feature from the two halfs, you pointpoint up and down...you get a positive response...a tone, from the front half...and then once you hit the center, you lose the tone right at the center and go to the negative side of the other half...you hear nothing...no response..then move the coil down till you hit center and start getting a ton...and you are pinpointed.

Its great...so easy...and it worked perfectly on all the coins. They were all ID'd as expected on the meter, well, except for the 50 cent piece which kept coming up as a 1 buck coin...but that does happen anyway with other coils many times.

Didnt spend long outside...too cold, but I was impressed, very impressed by this coil. You can cover alot of ground...fast....with it..an 18 inch scan. And did I mention...this coil is LIGHT... I could hardly tell it was on the end of the stem. Its just that light. You almost have to look to see if it is still attached.

I think its going to be my primary coil. From now on. In fact...dont know if I will really need another coil...well..maybe thats an exageration..but heck...this coil seems to be that good.

So if you can get one for you machine...get it. Go to Jimmy Sierra's web site, and get on the waiting list. You arent going to get a discount when you do get that call...these things are so good, and rare enough...that they dont have to discount them.
But the money, at 249.00 is worth every penny. I think so anyway... And make sure you have the money set aside for when you get that call...that they have a number of the coils in....because they go go down the line on the waiting list.

So I am happyily waiting for a break in the weather. For one warm day, I dont care if its knee deep in mud. I have a spot in mind...and I will be out there on that warm day...with my new bigfoot coil and my DFX...

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A Handbook of Civil War Bullets and Cartridges - Grab it through Amazon!

[Sandman]

If you thought you were impressed before, wait till you try this method. When you get a signal, don't bother with the pinpoint button but instead while slowly moving the coil a bit side to side a might just to keep it in motion, Pull the coil back toward you till the signal stops. Now slowly push the coil ahead and when you first hear the signal again the coin is just off the front tip in the center.

Now go have fun..........

 

[old_goldchaser]

If you thought you were impressed before, wait till you try this method. When you get a signal, don't bother with the pinpoint button but instead while slowly moving the coil a bit side to side a might just to keep it in motion, Pull the coil back toward you till the signal stops. Now slowly push the coil ahead and when you first hear the signal again the coin is just off the front tip in the center.

Now go have fun..........

Whoooooaaaaaa.....you serious? That is fanadanatastic.......

Its warmed up nice today but its a swamp...all the dang snow we just got the other day is melting...and we still had swamp under that from the previous snow. So will have to wait a day or two..hopefully it will dry up enough that I can do a bit of what you suggest. Might tonight, just for the heck of it, once everything freezes enough so I dont sink 4 inches to my planted coins in my garden.

I dont walk on water... Though my wife tells me that she gets the impression from me, that I think I can.

 

[old_goldchaser]

Tried your method, Sandman, for pinpointing with the Bigfoot. It WORKS!!!!!

Thanks for that tip Sandman...it worked perfect. Takes some practice for sure, but after a few tries pretty much had it locked. Have to still kinda stop and think because of being so used to pinpointing like I normally would, but it does work. I am amazed.

It was so warm today, that I said the heck with the swamp and put the rubber boots on and went ahead outside and tried it out in the garden. Like I said, it took some practice pinpointing like you said, but it did work, and work very well. Went to a section that I have setup with junk and coins and I was surprised at how well it would pick out the coins from inbetween the junk. It acts a a big coil but you can scan straight up and down and it then acts like a smaller 3 or 4 inch sniper coil and gets inbetween the junk to find the good stuff. Its hard to believe how well this thing works.

This is one of the most versatile coils I have ever used. Used to be an electronics engineer years back...hmmm...more years than I like to think about. But would love to take this apart to see how it was done. I have taken apart older coils and damaged ones that were no longer usable and taken a look at the guts, so to speak, so I could get an understanding of coil theory and practice.
Wouldnt do it to my bigfoot...too expensive...<laugh> And I love it too much. But I am fascinated by it.

I have often thought about trying to design my own coil and maybe still will one of these days. Hey, anyone reading this, if you have any unusable coils, send me a pm and we can talk about me getting them from you.

Anyway, Sandman, you have any other tips or suggestions for the use of the bigfoot? Dont know how you are going to top that first one though.

 

[Sandman]

How about this tip........"Don't look directly at the Sun."

I do not have a Bigfoot coil for my DFX, but I did have a Clean Sweep Coil for my Tiger Shark. (same thing) It did great at the beaches where there was miles of sand to cover. You can do this trick off the back of the coil too, but it doesn't work as well because the front might hit a new target. Treasure_Hunter and I use this trick with the Excal and DD coils too. Forget the X'ing.

Take Care,
Sandman

 

[old_goldchaser]

Hmmmm.....good tip... Never woulda thought of that...


Ya know....hadnt thought about it...but you are right in that doing that little trick with the bigfoot would work just as well with a DD coil. Kinda the same thing..kinda sorta.... And would work just as well. Hmmmm....been doing this hobby a long time but never thought of that. And never heard of it from anyone....course....never have hung out much on the forums over the years either. Too many irons in the fire I guess.

Another question for ya. Might not be the appropriate place, but have considered over the years of getting a Tesoro but havent...never even tried one. Gotten so used to the displays and other stuff on the detectors I have owned...especially the digital displays. If I was to try one, what one would you recommend? Woudnt mind one because of their weight and would make a good grab and go for doing some quick coinshooting. I dont know...just have a hankering to try one.

How about this tip........"Don't look directly at the Sun."

I do not have a Bigfoot coil for my DFX, but I did have a Clean Sweep Coil for my Tiger Shark. (same thing) It did great at the beaches where there was miles of sand to cover. You can do this trick off the back of the coil too, but it doesn't work as well because the front might hit a new target. Treasure_Hunter and I use this trick with the Excal and DD coils too. Forget the X'ing.

Take Care,
Sandman

 

[whiskers]

Re: DFX and the Bigfoot coil.

I've had my Bigfoot with the DFX for a couple of weeks and have taken it out three times. I'm still a beginner with the Bigfoot, but from the little I've tried it, I find it very convenient to point the tip of the Bigfoot downward to pinpoint. That to me is easier than trying to move the whole coil back & forth. Besides, the ground is littered with metal scraps of all sorts to mess up the pinpointing. Pointing the front tip towards the ground at least minimizes the trash picked up.

However, with the trash out there I'm beginning to think I'd do better with a 5" or 6" coil. As it is I often can't move even a foot without another blast from the speaker. I could then leave the Bigfoot for the beach, where trash is less prevalent and I can make tracks with the 18" coil.

-Whiskers

 

[old_goldchaser]

Re: DFX and the Bigfoot coil.

Well, in your case, in a heavy trash area, you likely would work better with the 5 inch. Just covering the less area. But, there is a trick for causing the back half of the bigfoot to go negative and ignore anything under it so you are ony working with the size of the front half which in area would be the same as a standard round coil. I cant remember offhand what that techniqe is, but I remember reading about it....I think on Jimmy's website. I wil check and post back here when I find it.
But I think you will find that even with a 5 inch if the ground is so heavily scraped as you say, you will have the same problem.
Have you tried notching those pieces out on your discrimination? You dont say if they are all the same type of metal or not, but it would seem likely that they are. I have the same situation around my home. When the folks who installed the aluminum siding worked on it, they left bits and pieces of scraps all over the yard...small bits and chunks. These made it so junky that even with a small coil the junk was there all the time. But notching that scrap out, since it was all pretty much the same except for size, made all the difference in the world. You might try that. Or if its different metals, notch out the representative pieces and then try on that spot.

I've had my Bigfoot with the DFX for a couple of weeks and have taken it out three times. I'm still a beginner with the Bigfoot, but from the little I've tried it, I find it very convenient to point the tip of the Bigfoot downward to pinpoint. That to me is easier than trying to move the whole coil back & forth. Besides, the ground is littered with metal scraps of all sorts to mess up the pinpointing. Pointing the front tip towards the ground at least minimizes the trash picked up.

However, with the trash out there I'm beginning to think I'd do better with a 5" or 6" coil. As it is I often can't move even a foot without another blast from the speaker. I could then leave the Bigfoot for the beach, where trash is less prevalent and I can make tracks with the 18" coil.

-Whiskers

 

[whiskers]

Re: DFX and the Bigfoot coil.

I haven't tried notching anything out, but maybe I should. At least for the aluminum cans, bottle caps & pull tabs. I get a lot of other stuff but that probably amounts to half of it. Thanks for the tip.

I read once where someone honestly believed they had dug up enough trash to armor a battleship. In my years THing I haven't done that, but I feel pretty sure I could armor a couple of Smart Cars.

-Whiskers

 

[old_goldchaser]

Re: DFX and the Bigfoot coil.

Sometimes the simplist solutions are the ones you dont think of immediately. I tend to sometimes forget about being able to notch out junk, especially when getting alot of it in an area. You get tired and disgusted at all the junk then say the heck with it and find a better area. BUT thats usually the worst thing you can do. No telling how many good signals you are walking away from.

Well, over the years...maybe a boxcar or two for me. Or one of those tanker trucks. The ones that really get to me are those deep signals that you dig, and dig...deeper and deeper..and its a good strong signal...and you get down a foot, maybe two...and find....a nice big soda can or tin can, or like I found the other day...an old disk off a plow. About 12 to 14 inches across, maybe 1/4 inch thick steel..was on edge about 2 feet down. But it actually has come in handy. Laid it down in front of my shed door where it gets muddy and it makes a nice step and now keeps the spot from getting churned into mud.

I haven't tried notching anything out, but maybe I should. At least for the aluminum cans, bottle caps & pull tabs. I get a lot of other stuff but that probably amounts to half of it. Thanks for the tip.

I read once where someone honestly believed they had dug up enough trash to armor a battleship. In my years THing I haven't done that, but I feel pretty sure I could armor a couple of Smart Cars.

-Whiskers

 

[richm]

If you thought you were impressed before, wait till you try this method. When you get a signal, don't bother with the pinpoint button but instead while slowly moving the coil a bit side to side a might just to keep it in motion, Pull the coil back toward you till the signal stops. Now slowly push the coil ahead and when you first hear the signal again the coin is just off the front tip in the center.

Now go have fun..........

Sandman, will that also work with the deepscan DD?? Rich.

 

[stringfrenzy]

Old goldchaser...Glad to hear you got your Bigfoot coil. How is it doing for you as far as depth goes with your targets in your test garden or even in the field?

 

[old_goldchaser]

In my garden it was finding the stuff at 4 to 5 inches fine. The stuff at 7 to 10 inches..well, some it did good on, others were faint or problematic. Down to 12 inches. Well, it found the iron pieces easy, in all metal. I had planted some junk jewlery at 12 and it found 2 larger ones easy and I did get several faint signals on a couple of others. I have a pretty good size test garden and I tested it on stuff that I hadnt run it over before because of standing water. It was still pretty muddy even today though, how much a difference that made, I dont know.

Took it out at one of my regular haunts and I was getting signals down to the 6 and 7 inch range but most were hitting as far as deeper signals at about 6 inches and that was mostl it and there werent many of those. Of course, there isnt going to be much deeper than that, not at this place and usually between 2 to 4 inch as that place has been hit pretty hard and this is a spot that I have to use moderate discrimination. It wasnt a big day for the finds but did bring up some clads and several silver and one ring...kids type. Oh well. I had hoped that it would do better on the depth...and it still might... Not sure that I have given it enough of a runthrough yet to say. Of course, normally, 5 and 6 inches isnt bad for coins with some down to 8, so maybe I am being over expectant, I dont know.

Old goldchaser...Glad to hear you got your Bigfoot coil. How is it doing for you as far as depth goes with your targets in your test garden or even in the field?

 

[stringfrenzy]

Sounds like the depth seems to be decent at least. Then again even if it isn't your deepest seeking coil it can more than make up for any loss of depth by allowing you to cover more area quicker.

I'm certainly interested in hearing how it does for you. Keep us posted on how it is doing for you. I've often thought of adding either a bigfoot or hotfoot to my set of coils.

Thanks for the info and glad to hear it's doing well for you.

 

[old_goldchaser]

I might need to tune the settings on the DFX for it also. I was using just the standard coin/jewlery mode. I do have a designed mode more for the area that I will try the next time I go out. I have a feeling I will have to play with the settings to get more depth. It is a different coil compared to the normal. I guess next time I just play with the settings some and see what happens.

Sounds like the depth seems to be decent at least. Then again even if it isn't your deepest seeking coil it can more than make up for any loss of depth by allowing you to cover more area quicker.

I'm certainly interested in hearing how it does for you. Keep us posted on how it is doing for you. I've often thought of adding either a bigfoot or hotfoot to my set of coils.

Thanks for the info and glad to hear it's doing well for you.

 

[stringfrenzy]

I look forward to hearing how it goes for you then. Hope you are able to get out again soon and give those settings a try.

 

[old_goldchaser]

Likely wont be for at least a week. We seem to have hit our usual late winter/early spring cycle for weather. Started raining yesterday and hasnt stopped yet. Looks like a lake outside. Duck and goose weather. Both of which we have on the place and they are loving it.
However, it makes for poor hunting. Coils are waterproof....I aint...<laugh> Supposed to turn to snow tonight. And this cycle is supposed to last about a week. Oh well....back to air testing...one thing I can say...I am learning the sounds this thing makes with that bigfoot.

Going to have to hit one of the books on the DFX. I think I read somewhere where someone hunted with a bigfoot. And the settings that they had to change to maximize things. Not sure if I read it in the books or on one of the forums.
SANDMAN, you got any suggestions? If you are still reading this thread?

I look forward to hearing how it goes for you then. Hope you are able to get out again soon and give those settings a try.

 

[wormhole]

"So if you can get one for you machine...get it. Go to Jimmy Sierra's web site, and get on the waiting list. You arent going to get a discount when you do get that call...these things are so good, and rare enough...that they dont have to discount them.
But the money, at 249.00 is worth every penny. I think so anyway... And make sure you have the money set aside for when you get that call...that they have a number of the coils in....because they go go down the line on the waiting list."


This coil sounds awesome. Could you please post a link to the "waiting list" because I can't seem to find it.

Thanks

 

[old_goldchaser]

And it looks like he may have closed off the waiting list. He doesnt have the coil even listed on his site at the moment. Too many people wanting it looks like. You might also check over at the Whites site and do a search on there and see if you can find any info.

Here is the link to Jimmy Sierra's ask a question. http://jimmysierra.com/ask_jimmy_form.htm

You might find out something direct.

"So if you can get one for you machine...get it. Go to Jimmy Sierra's web site, and get on the waiting list. You arent going to get a discount when you do get that call...these things are so good, and rare enough...that they dont have to discount them.
But the money, at 249.00 is worth every penny. I think so anyway... And make sure you have the money set aside for when you get that call...that they have a number of the coils in....because they go go down the line on the waiting list."


This coil sounds awesome. Could you please post a link to the "waiting list" because I can't seem to find it.

Thanks

 

[mgtmadness]

Re: DFX and the Bigfoot coil. Just tried my new bigfoot coil out and its GREAT!

I want a biigfoot coil, but not willing to pay the almost 500 dollar price for the one listed on ebay.