I am a metal detecting dig-a-holic. I am also a selfish SOB.
What I mean by that is that I hate leaving anything behind to be found by others. If my coil is over top of a target I want to know if it is diggable or if it should be ignored.
One month ago I received the 14 X 9 Coiltek coil for the CTX and boy what a game changer this coil is. My initial impression of the 14 X 9 was that it is about two ounces heavier that the Minelab 17 inch coil.
That extra weight can easily be balanced out nicely by simply shortening the shaft on the CTX by half an inch. By the way that extra weight is a bonus to those of you who hunt hay fields. The extra weight allows the coil to comfortably ride over the long stubble without bouncing around and it is not susceptible to falsing by the occasional bump into any thicker stalks. The second observation I made is that it is less susceptible to EMI noise. And it runs hotter than any stock coil. To explain that you need to know that I run wide open in auto +3. In areas where the 17 inch Minelab coil will max out at 21 or 22 the 14 X 9 Coiltek coil allows the CTX to easily run automatically at 23 or 24 with no chatter at all. The size of the 14 X9 is perfect. It is larger than the stock 11 inch coil therefore covering more ground easily and yet shorter than the 17 inch coil so less likely to cover multiple targets at the same time which inevitably leads to keepers being masked out.
The biggest improvement in my mind is separation and tonal response. If you think of sound like taste you might start to get a sense of what a difference it makes to the CTX. My programs are set to combined audio, which is basically a five tone audio setting. The CTX has always given me much more tonal information than simply five tones though.
And now that I am running the 14 X 9 coil on the CTX all of the time there are even more subtle changes within those tones. There are different textures/flavors within those five tones that can sometimes be attributed to the age of the target and sometimes to the solidity of the target. Two examples of common targets come to mind, old brass cartridge casings and aluminum pull tabs. Both of these targets will give off a hollow feeling tone which is quite different from other items in the same TID range. Sorry for digressing there, this is a post about the Coiltek 14 X 9 and the finds that we all want to make. Cash in the bank and keepers in the collection.
As stated earlier if it is under my coil I want it. I don’t care if it is a stinking Lincoln, a rotting zincoid blob or a true copper penny. If the bank takes it I want it.
635 pennies.
For all of my friends in the States, you guys have it easy when it comes to coin shooting. Up here in Canada our coins changed to materials that the CTX commonly ignores as viable targets. From 1968 to 1999 our nickels, dimes and quarters were 99% Nickel. And then in 2000 all of our small change became steel disks that rot in the ground.
Previous to using the Coiltek coils my detecting was usually separated into two types. Surface clad hunting and deeper relic hunting. What was missing was the deeper clad. The Coiltek coil has changed that in a way that I did not expect. The older nickel based coins now sing out with a very peculiar warble. The only way to describe it is that the sound rapidly transitions back and forth between a low tone and a high tone. Once I became familiar with that sound the older clad coin count went up tremendously while still looking for deep keepers.
66 nickels
122 dimes
77 quarters
37 loonies
And 18 toonies for a one month total of $114.10 going into the bank.
Getting back to that age thing that I mentioned earlier. There are subtle changes to the tones that would normally fall into what I call the penny zone. The stock Minelab coils see things within a certain TID range and assign the tones accordingly. Whereas the Coiltek coil seems to allow for the separation of different things. These two examples are from yesterday’s hunt. These older green pennies gave off a very mellow, almost as though aged high tone.
What I mean by that is that I hate leaving anything behind to be found by others. If my coil is over top of a target I want to know if it is diggable or if it should be ignored.
One month ago I received the 14 X 9 Coiltek coil for the CTX and boy what a game changer this coil is. My initial impression of the 14 X 9 was that it is about two ounces heavier that the Minelab 17 inch coil.
That extra weight can easily be balanced out nicely by simply shortening the shaft on the CTX by half an inch. By the way that extra weight is a bonus to those of you who hunt hay fields. The extra weight allows the coil to comfortably ride over the long stubble without bouncing around and it is not susceptible to falsing by the occasional bump into any thicker stalks. The second observation I made is that it is less susceptible to EMI noise. And it runs hotter than any stock coil. To explain that you need to know that I run wide open in auto +3. In areas where the 17 inch Minelab coil will max out at 21 or 22 the 14 X 9 Coiltek coil allows the CTX to easily run automatically at 23 or 24 with no chatter at all. The size of the 14 X9 is perfect. It is larger than the stock 11 inch coil therefore covering more ground easily and yet shorter than the 17 inch coil so less likely to cover multiple targets at the same time which inevitably leads to keepers being masked out.
The biggest improvement in my mind is separation and tonal response. If you think of sound like taste you might start to get a sense of what a difference it makes to the CTX. My programs are set to combined audio, which is basically a five tone audio setting. The CTX has always given me much more tonal information than simply five tones though.
And now that I am running the 14 X 9 coil on the CTX all of the time there are even more subtle changes within those tones. There are different textures/flavors within those five tones that can sometimes be attributed to the age of the target and sometimes to the solidity of the target. Two examples of common targets come to mind, old brass cartridge casings and aluminum pull tabs. Both of these targets will give off a hollow feeling tone which is quite different from other items in the same TID range. Sorry for digressing there, this is a post about the Coiltek 14 X 9 and the finds that we all want to make. Cash in the bank and keepers in the collection.
As stated earlier if it is under my coil I want it. I don’t care if it is a stinking Lincoln, a rotting zincoid blob or a true copper penny. If the bank takes it I want it.
635 pennies.
For all of my friends in the States, you guys have it easy when it comes to coin shooting. Up here in Canada our coins changed to materials that the CTX commonly ignores as viable targets. From 1968 to 1999 our nickels, dimes and quarters were 99% Nickel. And then in 2000 all of our small change became steel disks that rot in the ground.
Previous to using the Coiltek coils my detecting was usually separated into two types. Surface clad hunting and deeper relic hunting. What was missing was the deeper clad. The Coiltek coil has changed that in a way that I did not expect. The older nickel based coins now sing out with a very peculiar warble. The only way to describe it is that the sound rapidly transitions back and forth between a low tone and a high tone. Once I became familiar with that sound the older clad coin count went up tremendously while still looking for deep keepers.
66 nickels
122 dimes
77 quarters
37 loonies
And 18 toonies for a one month total of $114.10 going into the bank.
Getting back to that age thing that I mentioned earlier. There are subtle changes to the tones that would normally fall into what I call the penny zone. The stock Minelab coils see things within a certain TID range and assign the tones accordingly. Whereas the Coiltek coil seems to allow for the separation of different things. These two examples are from yesterday’s hunt. These older green pennies gave off a very mellow, almost as though aged high tone.
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