Minelab 12+15 or Coiltek 15 coil?

[Ed Osmar]

I am thinking of purchasing one or the other, I plan on looking for deep silver. For those who have used BOTH which is the better coil? Which coil is the better pinpointer? How much deeper than the standard coil will it id silver,
one ounce coins? I would like true answers not guesses.

 

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[Minelab Matt]

I owned 15" and can for sure say its zero deeper and a big wasye of money.

Matt

 

[bigscoop]

It's the strength of the return that determines if a VDI reading can be processed or not. Put your machine in one of the gold modes with the "true threshold" volume adjusted just so you can hear it. What you will discover is that the threshold is still detecting targets long after you have lost any actual target returns, this being because the strength of those returns are too weak to be processed and classified. So my point is that your 800 is already hunting much deeper then the actual limit on the depth of the returns you're getting with your target tones. All machines are like this, and a few, like the Minelab Excal, even provide a three pitch return on the threshold (high, medium, and low pitches) on these targets that are too weak to produce an actual target return to help in the "general classifying" of those deeper/weaker returns, but this can only provide measuring of the conductivity values of these weaker returns which still isn't enough information to be processed and classified on any VDI scale. So my point is this, you can put on a 24 - 36" coil and hunt monster deep but if those returns are too weak to be processed and classified then you're still not going to get any VDI reading. Make sense?

 

[Ed Osmar]

So you haven't actually tried the difference between the two 15 in coils and the 11 in. and what you are saying is that either a 6in. coil detects just as deep as the 11in. or that Minlab sold the 800 with the best size possible and that their larger coil and the coiltek don't detect any deeper. Is that correct?

 

[brianc053]

So you haven't actually tried the difference between the two 15 in coils and the 11 in. and what you are saying is that either a 6in. coil detects just as deep as the 11in. or that Minlab sold the 800 with the best size possible and that their larger coil and the coiltek don't detect any deeper. Is that correct?

Hey Ed, look back in some other threads at what vferrari has said about topics similar to this. I'm not taking anything away from bigscoop or Matt, I just seem to remember that vferrari has written at length about the larger coils and depth. (You can find his comments by looking up his profile and looking through "find latest posts" - there may be a faster way but I don't know it, maybe via search?).

I'm not the expert and I don't have either of the coils you're considering, so I'm sorry I can't help much. I do have the 6" for the Equinox and I'm slowly becoming disappointed with it. I don't recall digging anything deep with it recently, and while I originally got it for separation in high iron areas I now think the 11" is just about as good at separation (if I move the coil slowly) - and the 11" covers so much more ground. I'm even considering selling the 6"...(I have that much confidence in the 11"). I've thought about the 12x15" and the 15" from Coiltek but feel they'd add awkward weight to the nose of the Nox so I would probably not get one of those. I might consider the 9x5" Coiltek for the added coverage + ability to separate a bit better than the 11".

I know this isn't exactly what you asked for, but I hope my comments help a little... Good luck.

Brian

 

[bigscoop]

So you haven't actually tried the difference between the two 15 in coils and the 11 in. and what you are saying is that either a 6in. coil detects just as deep as the 11in. or that Minlab sold the 800 with the best size possible and that their larger coil and the coiltek don't detect any deeper. Is that correct?

Not exactly what I'm saying. Here's a video that touches on the subject. Also, as a general rule of thumb, as we increase maximum output depth with multi-frequency machines our target size/density needs to increase as well in order to keep those gradually deeper returns strong enough to generate returns and/or to be classified.

 

[midalake]

I am thinking of purchasing one or the other, I plan on looking for deep silver. For those who have used BOTH which is the better coil? Which coil is the better pinpointer? How much deeper than the standard coil will it id silver,
one ounce coins? I would like true answers not guesses.

I don't have either coil. However, Minelab has been out for quite a while and Coiltek,,,well....

I think your clue is nobody seems to be pounding their fist on the table either way. A larger coil will exaggerate ground noise and EMI. In my opinion if you would have to back off the larger coil by 2 sensitivity points your better off with the stock coil.

So I guess it would depend on your locations. I think the Coiltek 15 is too heavy. I don't see pinpointing coming into issue with any of the coils. All of the good user's I have read with reviews state maybe 2" better in good conditions.

 

[bigscoop]

Large coils are great coverage tools or when searching for larger items at increased depths. The larger the coil the larger the search field and so the greater the filtering process, the more filtering we apply the more loss of returns, even in good clean ground. So without an increase in output power it’s all relevant. Larger coils don’t produce more output power, they just create a larger search field. It’s for this same reason that the very small coils are typically more sensitive to those smaller targets because less filtering is required. And add to this, on a lot of today’s machines some of this filtering is automatic by default. I do agree with Midlake that you're probably better off with the stock for all of the same reasons. My suggestion, buy one, use it a lot, and see how it works for you. Just too many user factors that also come into play.

 

[rc2125]

I am thinking of purchasing one or the other, I plan on looking for deep silver. For those who have used BOTH which is the better coil? Which coil is the better pinpointer? How much deeper than the standard coil will it id silver,
one ounce coins? I would like true answers not guesses.

As far as the 11 vs 12x15, on say a large ounce silver coin. all settings identical, you could see an inch or maybe 2" further, depending on settings/mode/etc. The larger the target, the slightly more ratio of advantage to the 12x15, as say silver dimes they can be more similar in depth or even very slightly less sometimes. The 12x15 makes it harder to miss things and do obviously better in sparse target areas. In gold modes, you can gain some inches of detection, sometimes several, versus regular response modes, it's a little bit harder to sort out though between ground noises unless no other responses but you could hit some deepies that way for sure. Best to tinker with recovery speed and the different modes. I have several coins buried at fringe depths of the nox and have compared the two coils extensively. Everyone has opinions, I just know what works for me. You couldn't give me any of the coiltek coils, the two larger ones are heavyweights. Haven't seen any videos displaying any depth advantage, although in theory a 15" round should do slightly better than a 12x15, if it can be ran at same sensitivity etc. The 12x15 is my fav for most water hunts in Lake Michigan, 11" for normal lakes and land usually, unless a non home-site farm field, then the bigger again. Hundreds and hundreds of hours using nox' since the first batch shipped.

 

[MackDog]

Hey Ed, look back in some other threads at what vferrari has said about topics similar to this. I'm not taking anything away from bigscoop or Matt, I just seem to remember that vferrari has written at length about the larger coils and depth. (You can find his comments by looking up his profile and looking through "find latest posts" - there may be a faster way but I don't know it, maybe via search?).

I'm not the expert and I don't have either of the coils you're considering, so I'm sorry I can't help much. I do have the 6" for the Equinox and I'm slowly becoming disappointed with it. I don't recall digging anything deep with it recently, and while I originally got it for separation in high iron areas I now think the 11" is just about as good at separation (if I move the coil slowly) - and the 11" covers so much more ground. I'm even considering selling the 6"...(I have that much confidence in the 11"). I've thought about the 12x15" and the 15" from Coiltek but feel they'd add awkward weight to the nose of the Nox so I would probably not get one of those. I might consider the 9x5" Coiltek for the added coverage + ability to separate a bit better than the 11".

I know this isn't exactly what you asked for, but I hope my comments help a little... Good luck.

Brian

Apply that to the 15"x12" coil. Great separation. adds a little depth but boy does it cover more ground. I use it all the time. Remember the saying low and slow. Scan slow enough to here a clear tone on every item under the coil. then center the desired tone under the coil. Pinpoint it and then turn and repinpoint

 

[cudamark]

Except for the trashiest sites, or, tight areas where a small coil will fit better, the 12 X 15" coil never leaves my machine. I'm on the wait list for the 15" Coiltek and will know something after I get to hunt with it a while.

 

[cudamark]

I received the Coiltek coil and took it for a hunt yesterday. Overall, it works just fine! My personal observations from this one beach hunt is that it's heavier (duh, nothing new about that), and it doesn't pin point quite as well as the stock 12 X 15, but, not bad either. Very similar to the other 15" round coils by Coiltek (WOT) and the NEL (Attack). It seems just as sensitive to tiny targets as the 12 X 15 also. I found a tiny jeans rivet and some other tiny shards of copper/brass and aluminum with it. Too early to tell for sure if I'm getting more depth, but, my "feeling" is that it does. I dug a few targets that I felt were at the limit of the 12 X 15 and they hit strongly. The TID was a bit sketchy, but, the signals were solid. A few of the deep targets rang up with a mixed TID. On a quarter 14" down, it would give a solid 29-30 mixed with an iron grunt. I'll be interested to see what deep rusty iron does with this coil. With the 12 X 15 coil, deep rusty iron will many times read mixed also, but, usually even higher on the conductive side (36-40) along with the low iron grunt.
This was about a 4 hour hunt and my right arm was feeling it a bit. With all the targets I was digging, my arm had plenty of short rests between swinging. On a site with few targets, my arm might not have lasted as long unless I took some breaks. Looking into one of Steve's balance rods, or, maybe I'll use my sling to see how that works out. Here's a couple of photos of my finds. No shortage of targets, that's for sure! $14.22 in change, one junk ring made of aluminum, a crusty key, a restroom token, a metal snap/button, a couple of toy quads, 3 wheat cents (oldest is a 1918) and 3 silver Roosevelt dimes. You can also see the junk I dug. I decided to dig everything but iron so I could get a good idea of how accurate and similar the new coil would be in comparison to my other coils. Some of those junk targets I probably wouldn't have dug as I found the sounds and TID's were very similar to my other coils, and my guesses as to junk or good, also matched the success I make with my other coils. I did find that bottle caps tended to sound a bit better (unfortunately) than my other coils. I kept it at F2 @ 6. More testing to do on those. Maybe bumping up the Iron Bias might be in order. Aluminum screw tops seemed unchanged. As for my settings this hunt: Since I was mostly in wet sand at the water's edge, I was using Beach 2, sensitivity at 20, horseshoe on to hear any iron targets, 50 tone, and recovery speed at 4.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

For what it is worth, Coiltek use to make all of Minelab's coils for them before ML started making them in house.

 

[cudamark]

I hunted dry sand for a couple of hours yesterday and found that with the iron bias still set on F2 @6 bottle cap rejection worked great. Maybe it was the wet sand that made the difference in my first hunt. I used all the same settings, except I detected in Park1, which is my preferred mode in the dry sand. That could have been a factor too I suppose. Anyway, found $3.20 in change, a stainless dinner knife, and a junk ring. There were 2-3 coins where I'm not sure the !2 X 15 would have picked them up. One junk target in particular I doubt seriously I would have found with it. It was a pull tab I dug at a good 16" Very weak signal, but, still rang up repeatedly 12-13. I also dug a clad dime at 14+ inches which is very impressive in my book. At this site, the soft sand is about a foot deep. Then you hit some hard packed crusty sand from there on down, so, I know these targets didn't just slide down into the hole while scooping soft sand. They were definitely in the hard pack. I mentioned that I found 3 silver Roosie's yesterday that are shown in my photo on the middle right. Here's what they look like now that they've been cleaned a bit. They came out pretty good. At least I can read the dates and mint marks now!

 

[Iron Buzz]

Coiltek is actually delivering? Every site I look at still says out of stock.

 

[cudamark]

I just happened to get lucky when I did a search on Ebay and found that Serious Detecting had one up for sale.

 

[PowerDubs]

Thanks for the thorough write up.

Any chance you can do a park or school yard hunt?

 

[cudamark]

It's getting a bit hot and dry to be doing much turf hunting right now. I will eventually, but, only selective areas where a big coil is beneficial. Most of our parks are so junky, that a big coil just doesn't get the job done.