Coils for Minelab GP and GPX Machines

[Tony Teixeira]

Hey Folks,

I have a few questions about coils, I see the importance on choosing the right size, shape and technology of the coil, (mono or DD) based on what you are trying to accomplish out in the field, theoretically it seem you could hit the same patch with 3 different coils, ex. 8", 12"x15"" and 18" and have different outcomes based on your settings, I believe I am correct on this but my question is about the coil itself.

Depending on who you speak with some swear the Coiltek Goldstalker is the way to go, others stand by Nugget Finder coils, I can't leave out Minelab Commander series.

You are going to have to forgive me on this next part for my ignorance about electronics, I have only taken the basic courses years ago, or shall I say decades ago. Once again I hope the following makes sense.

A coil does not have any intelligence, so the way your Minelab control box interpets the eddy? currents depends on many factors which I don't know or understand but I am sure on the coil side some of them are the type of wire used such as Litz, the shape, number of windings...etc..etc...

As of today I would expect all 3 of the manufactures above would be using the same technology to build their top of the line coils, here is a cut & paste from Minelabs site.

" All the Commander series coils are made using the very best quality components like gold plated plugs, low-noise shielded cable and multi-strand Litz wire. Litz wire, is made of numerous, very fine individually insulated strands. The insulation prevents the windings from creating eddy currents and thereby "seeing themselves" and transmitting a false signal. Litz wire has an advantage over other wire because its high surface area gives it a greater transmission ability. This translates into a more powerful, energy efficient coil for its size."

So what gives one coil manufacturer an advantage over the other? (Besides weight). Once again I may sound ignorant but I would think Minelab created their Commander coils for maximum optimization to match up with their timings in their control box .......?????

If a coil manufacturer deviates too much, could'nt you do more harm than good???? So if all manufactures use the same componets to build their top of the line coils, and the coils are the same size, would they not perform almost equal?????

Or am I playing baseball when others are playing football.

Thanks

[nuggethunting]

Hello Tony,

I think it comes down to preference more than what is better. All three manufactures make great searchcoils. There has been debate over the years about the Litz wire, but I've yet to see any difference in performance from a coil with Litz vs. a coil without Litz wire.

Coiltek was originally formed when one of Minelab's searchcoil engineers left and formed Coiltek with another partner. There was a huge business for aftermarket searchoils on Minelab metal detectors, so Coiltek was formed. Coiltek was the first aftermarket searchcoil manufacture, and since I was a Minelab dealer I became one of the first US dealers for Coiltek under Doc.

I've had chances to sell other coils, but stuck with Coiltek since day one. Coiltek & Doc have back all their products 110%, so it was a great choice on my part to stick with them.

All three manufactures give you a good selection of coils to choose from. I think it would be ones best interests to own one of each. I personally have a NF20-inch for very deep areas, the new Coiltek 18.5 & 14-inch for moderate depths and the Coiltek Platypus & Joey for smaller, shallow gold nuggets.

Coiltek also offers some completely waterproof searchcoils for people to snipe creeks, rivers or even use them on the beach to get more depth over conventional metal detectors.

Take care,

Rob Allison