Nugget Finder 8x6 or Joey 8x10

[McGator]

I’m going to pick up a small coil to add to my GPX 5K arsenal and it will probably either be a Nugget Finder 8x6 or a Joey 8x10 (DD or Mono). With sensitivity, mineralized soil, EMI, ground balancing, etc. considered, what would be a good choice? Any suggestions or comments will be appreciated.

Thanks!!! Mike

[nuggethunting]

Hey Mike,

Depending on the ground mineralization and if you choose to use discrimination down the road, would be some factor in choosing a DD over a Mono. That being said, the new GPX 5000 can run with a Mono in places older PI's couldn't and you had to use a DD to hunt without a bunch of ground noise.

As far as sensitivity, the small Mono's will have a better chance at smaller gold, slight depth advantage and also hot around the edges. The NF 8x6 Mono and Joey Mono are close in performance, but a DD Joey will give you discrimation ability and maybe some advantage on extreme mineralization.

Hope this helps a bit,

Rob Allison

[nvchris]

Both monos are very close in performance. With the Joey a tad more sensitive and the Sadie a bit more depth this is due to the shape of the coils.

The NF is water proof to 2 meters is full potted uses Litz wire has a longer warrantee and cost less.

There is another good choice in the ML Commander 5x10 (DD only)

[FlakMagnet]

I owned a DD Joey for two years. I loved it.

I got a Mono Joey that I used for another few years. I loved it.

I have a Sadie now, I think it is a touch"hotter" and goes deeper than either Joey. I love it.

The difficult part of the equation is that I used these coils with different detectors;

the DD Joey used with a 3500.

the Mono Joey with a 4000, a 4500 and a 5000.

the Sadie exclusively with a 5000.

Not sure how to factor in that part.

[beepinpete_WA]

G'day Mike

Given the fact that we always want to try to run Mono coils on the 5k for their depth and sensitivity advantage over

DD coils, the only real three factors that should determine choice are, Level of Mineralisation "ie" (Ironstone/Salt),

ground topography (Boulders & scrub) and your Budget.

The 5k does run all three coils very well (8" round commander, 8x6 NF, 10x5 CT Joey) however the 8" Commander

is the least touch sensitive and gives the best depth out of the three coil choices above while also giving very good

sensitivity to tiny gold.

Personally i would be steering away from falling into the old "DD trap" of relying on discrimination to determine whether

it's a trash target or not, and whether to dig or walk on.

The "DD trap" will lose you gold and also create a lazier type of approach to detecting mind set (Dig all targets).

My own personal finds using the 5k with these three coils are that

8x6 NF: Can be a tad hard to control in heavily iron saturated ground, and needs to be run on lower settings to stabilize it.

8" Commander: can be run on more extreme settings, and can be scrubbed on the ground for max sens and depth to small gold.

10x5 CT Joey: can be run on med/high settings, before touch sens starts creeping in on scrubbing the ground with the coil.

The ideal scenario would be to test drive all three coils on your own hunting ground before making your final choice,

and dont bother with burying test targets as that's no better than an Air test in reality..

Good luck with your choice Mike and keep us all up to speed on your final decision mate.

Good Scratchin & a Merry Xmas to all

Pete

[McGator]

Thanks guys for all the great input. I think I'm going to settle for the NF 8x6 in that I usually don't discriminate out in the field. Any thoughts or considerations on the settings. Here's what I'm using with the Coiltek 14 x 9 Blitz

Tracking: Fixed Gain: 13 Motion: Slow Audio: Deep Stabilizer: 8 Signal: 19 Tone:63 Coil/Rx: Mono GB Speed: Medium Search mode:General Soil Timings: Fine Gold

[FlakMagnet]

Settings like Gain and Stabilizer you have to figure out for yourself,

it depends on the area you are in.

Most people I know hunt in Fixed and use one of the slower Motion settings.

Soil Timings are, again, a function that is dependent on what the area will allow.

Normal is the setting you usually try to start with.

The other Soil Timing settings dumb down some aspect of the sensitivity.

[McGator]

Thanks FlakMagnet, I didn't think there were any major concerns regarding the small coils but I thought I'd throw it out there anyway.

[FlakMagnet]

Well in a rough sense maybe you are right

but I always spend some time getting those timings right

because a small coil can be fairly exacting to get that last little bit out of it tuning-wise.

The other thing which I am sure you know but it's always good to put out there

is to take the time to Ground Balance and to Ground Balance often.

That one trait, if learned well, will make a real difference in what you hear and what you find.

Best wishes and good luck

[McGator]

That little NF Sadie works great poking around in the tight spots on the bedrock. It will pay for itself in no time.

[McGator]

Annnd how about attaching the file this time.

[nuggethunting]

Hey Guys,

Yep, that coil is a very hot for small gold and working around tight areas. I have one in my collection of searchcoil.