Looking for the best relic hunting coil for my SE

[sneaky6]

Hello T-net,

I have had my SE for about three years, and although I have found plenty of good relics, I have never been happy with any of the coils I have used. Besides the stock coil, I have used kellyco's 10x14 elliptical which gets great depth but awful pinpointing. It just takes me too long to dig and I am afraid of shovel dinging a relic. I have also used the Kellyco SEF 10 x 12 Butterfly coil which pinpoints great, but I am getting very little depth. I can walk side by side with a fellow minelab owner listening to each other's signals, but half the time I can't even hear his if the signal is much below 2 or 3 inches.

I was thinking about trying the SE Pro coil, but wanted to hear what you all have to say. I want some depth and solid pinpointing. I hunt about 10 hours every week if not more so I am not wet behind the ears. I have had a very experienced Minelab owner (EXP II) with 15 years in the dirt try my machine with the same result. I know it is not me. Is it the machine (a bad SE) or the coil? I just don't know?!? Thought about a new E-Trac but I am afraid if I make that investment I might get the same result as with my SE.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Thanks in Advance,
Sneaky6

 

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[neilo]

If you are getting plenty of depth from the 10X14 coil but having trouble pinpointing it why not save your money and by a decent pinpointer probe eg Detectorpro pin pointers have excellent depth ideal for locating relics and avoiding doing damage during recovery. Have a look at the reviews on utube. Plus the probe would also be handy for locating coins etc in parks or beaches. I own both the Etrac and Explorer2 I should have just stuck with the Explorer 2. I was sucked in by all the advertising hype. One problem I have found when using the Etrac with a big coil on deep targets is you get a signal. Then go into pin point mode to locate it and it doesnt register, in pin point it doesnt have the same depth. Also found the target number ID fluctuates too much. On the explorer the target ID was more stable. eg coin 7 -27 and 6 -27. on etrac same coin can be 12 -34,12-35,12-36, 12-37, to 12-41 0r 13- same numbers, or 14-same numbers, down to 16-etc. which is hopeless in a rubbishy area. Stick with your Explorer seeya Neilo

 

[sneaky6]

Nelio,

Thanks for your thoughts. I was thinking about grabbing a pinpointer, hoping that it would cut down on my dig time. I'll check the DetectorPro on UTube. Might have a chance to buy an Explorer II sometime soon. Think I might have to jump on that.

Weird that you could pickup a solid signal with the E-Trac then lose it while pinpointing. I have had my SE do the reverse when using my Butterfly coil which, as I had mentioned before, gets very little depth. I would swing my coil one way and get a solid "3 ringer" CW bullet signal, then lose it completely. I then would hit my pinpoint, get a strong signal, dig on it, and a 3 ringer pops out. Strange.

Oh, well....we keep coming back for more. It is not a hobby, but an addiction!! =)

Thank you for your help!
Sneaky6

 

[John S]

I have a e-trac and SE , the SE has the 6x8 butterfly coil and the e-trac has the big coil that comes with it. On the e-trac I only get about 9" on a dime and on the SE I get about 7" on a dime. Hope that helps.

 

[sneaky6]

Thanks, John that does help.

Since I last posted, I threw my stock coil back on which I have not used since I was a newbie. I have only hunted with it about an hour or so, but I am finding that the pinpointing is good and the depth is acceptable. I am going relic hunting this week so I will make sure I update this post accordingly.

I think my plan for now will be to stick the the SE with the stock coil, and save some money up for an E-Trac in the future.

Thanks for the wisdom!!
Sneaky

 

[Iron Patch]

For starters your friend doesn't have quite 15 years on an Explorer because it has not been out that long. I know, because it was only out for maybe a year or two when I got mine.

I have never used an SE for me than a few minutes to help a friend figure out a problem, but it's a fairly well known fact the slimline coil is a dud ....so it's a bit scary when you consider it being the best of all you tried. The pro would likely be an improvement but I still believe the old heavier white and black stock coils for the XS and Explorer II are the best. I bought a new pro coil in the Spring and sold it, and was lucky enough to find someone who had two brand new white XS coils that were never used. They haven't even made those in about 6 years. (same guts as the black coil) The pro coil was ok but in my limited use I found it would tend grab the iron a little better. I also didn't like how the lower shaft is atteched to the middle of the coil. I have been doing the same thing for many years now, so when I make a change I have a pretty good sense of whether it helps or not. So far there's never been anything better for me than Explorer II with stock coil for coin and relic hunting. Above there was some question about not being able to pinpoint some targets.... it's true, the detectors can sometimes see deeper than they will pp. I hunt fields and rarely use the pp.

I currently have two Ex IIs both with older stock coils and hope they last me a very long time. I just reached 10 years digging, about 9 using an Explorer. They've definitely paid for themselves many times over!

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,277133.0.html (and that wasn't all of it)