Question about coils for the Explorer II :

Hey gang, I'm a long-time user of the Explorer II. I use it for most all my hunting, since it's pretty versatile (beach, land, relicky, etc...)

And from what I've gathered over the years, the general consensus has been that the stock 11" coil is the "point of diminishing returns". Ie.: that when you go to various larger coils, you no longer get more depth on coin-sized targets. You only get more coverage/swath . With, of course, the related drawbacks of a larger coil.

So for example: Whereas the Sovereign and 3030 get a tad more depth when going to their larger coils (on coin-sized items), yet the Explorers seem to have hit their point of diminishing returns @ the 11" coil.

But recently, I had a conversation with a long-time explorer fan. He agreed with this consensus on various larger coils for it. Like the WOT, and the 12" S.E.F. etc... But he said there was a single exception to this rule-of-thumb : He said that he'd experienced a noticeable depth increase , for coin-sized targets, when switching to the Detech U13 (a 13" coil). Granted , it might be with the inherent drawbacks of going to a larger coil (more masking, harder pinpointing, fishy, etc...), yet ... more depth none-the-less on coins.

Can I please get inputs on this subject, and that particular coil, in-so-far as it applies to the Explorer II ?

thanx !

This gent shares some thoughts.
[www.findmall.com]

thanx TN-sharp-shooter. N/T

Tom.... wasn’t the stock coil a 10”? I know they were selling like hot cakes when the SE came out with the crappy slimline....everyone was paying more for um. Then came the SEF...then the Pro. Thu13 has great depth...but the closer you got to the salt the more the standard became equal IMO

dewcon4414 Wrote:
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> Tom.... wasn’t the stock coil a 10”? I know they
> were selling like hot cakes when the SE came out w
> ith the crappy slimline....everyone was paying mor
> e for um. Then came the SEF...then the Pro. Thu1
> 3 has great depth...but the closer you got to the
> salt the more the standard became equal IMO

Dew: I have the pro. coil on mine. Which I just measured. It's 10.5". So I stand corrected. Perhaps a tad closer to 11", if a person included the over-bite of the coil-cover

The crappy slimline was an issue with the first-run SE's, of the Explorer incarnation/evolution. Was never an issue with the XS or the II or the Etrac.

Thanx for letting me know that you think the U13 provided a tad more depth. I had tried the WOT, for instance, and found that it did not give any more depth on coin sized targets. Only added more coverage.

Only larger coil that gave me more depth on an etrac was the 10x14 Excellerator and that includes the Ultimate , 12 x 15 and WOT,,,,in my SW dirt of course.
I think you have to order them direct from the factory

I like the 10x12 SEF over the 13 Ultimate.

Its as deep almost but seem's to separate better at depth in terms of gives that little nuance flute sound that the 13 at times doesn't seem to lock onto in deeper co-locate scenarios.

The Pro coil is also a very good coil but cant say its deeper than the 10.5 Explorer XS/2 stock coil.But its tighter a bit and may be more towards the 10x12 performance at depth on co-locates but not quite!

Keith

“I don't care that they stole my idea . . I care that they don't have any of their own”
-Nikola Tesla

Heck always felt the stock 10.5 went as deep as I wanted to go....always felt the weight clumsy garbage can lids were not worth the extra inch or so..but to each his own...

I like the 13” Tom,but I haven’t used it as much as the X-12 simply because I didn’t get it til late in my regular use of the EX2,then the CTX came along....I can say the signals seem “tight” with the Ultimate but just don’t have the hours on it to steer you in that direction and have it be a really good fit. Dan(Capt SE) was using one at one point and was doing really well with it from the video I was watching,good deep targets in horrible hard dry ground.

Keith Southern Wrote:
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....
>
> The Pro coil is also a very good coil but cant say
> its deeper than the 10.5 Explorer XS/2 stock coil
> .

Yes, that was the consensus. Depth = same. But the pro coil was lighter, and ... just seemed more "tight" (if that's the proper word) than the original stock coil.

IDXMonster Wrote:
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>.... Dan(Capt SE) was using one at one point
> and was doing really well with it from the video I
> was watching,good deep targets in horrible hard dr
> y ground.


Yes, the famous Dan Capt'n SE made it popular among other So. CA turf hunters (and perhaps to others via videos). Yes, he was and is a legend at sniffing out deep silver from sad-sorry parks. And he insisted that he was getting more from the u-13, that no other larger coils could get . Ie.: other larger coils only increased swath, not coverage, from his many tests.

But the variables (soil, exact coil made on a Monday vs a Friday, etc....) are sure to play into the question.

Thanx everyone for your inputs !

I think the Ultimate 13 is the best coil they make for the E-trac.. I have even found stuff pretty close together with the Ultimate.....

I stand corrected as well ..... i always thought it was10". It was one hot coil thou. I also used a U13 on the Sov. As far as weight...... it didnt seem that heavy to me or have that garbage can feel. PPing was pretty good too.

Keith .... i had to make a choice Pro or SEF.... both seemed about the same on coin targets. The Pro was a bit sensitive......but the SEF separated well and was cheaper.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/13/2018 11:10AM by dewcon4414.

Tom,

I bought the U13 for my SE Pro, and once I did, it became the coil that never came off my machine. I feel it gave me maybe 1/2" extra depth, but what it DID do, is make the sounds of the deeper coins more clear, so you dug more of the "fringe-depth" coins with it, than with the stock coil, in my experience.

One thing though; the Pro coil absolutely, 100%, was better on deep nickels. A deep nickel was ALWAYS an 05 or 06 conductive, on the 11" Pro coil; the only thing that started to deteriorate was the FE number. But it maintained the 05 or 06 on a deep nickel VERY well. The U13? NOT AT ALL. A deep nickel was ALL OVER THE PLACE on the U13. I mean, not even CLOSE to the same as the 11" Pro.

Otherwise, though, I loved the U13, and I feel it is the best coil I ever used, on the Explorer...the stock Pro coil is excellent, but there was a little more "umph" in the U13...

Steve

I too favored the Ultimate 13 over the SEFs. I have had the opportunity to own and or test nearly every coil available on the FBS machines, from the Explorer XS up thru the eTrac and all the inbetween units. My favorite aftermarket coils were the 4x7 Excelerator and the 13 Ultimate. The 11" coil like what is on the eTrac is my 3rd favorite coil for the series. I could get by with a lot of sites with just those 3 coils.

A lot of guys favored the 8 inch Sunray but I never was a fan of it. The 4x7 was better for me personally. Another deep one was a 10x14 coil...seems like it may have been an Excelerator coil as well. It coupled with an Explorer XS was probably one of the deepest FBS machines I've used. At the time I had the XS, the Ultimate 13 was not available.