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Kickindirt

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Monte
If he bought a 540 Pro Pack, he would have the 5X8 and 9X12 which make the better two coils to complement each other, and the 440 could be sold with the standard, sort of blended-size coil. Perhaps he might stumble on a 540 with everything for a great price,but w/o the 5X8 DD and that could be good because he already has that coil. Even if he bought a complete Pro Pack, I'd hang onto the 5X8 DD just to have a back-up / spare because it is an awesome search coils for day-to-day hunting.
Monte

Not sure what your getting at Monte with this statement but seems like the hard way of doing things or the long road home. If he sells the 440 with one of the 5x8 coils that leaves him with all three coils for any situations that he might stumble on. Honestly if was me I would ditch the 440 with the 12" coil cause its just a EMI magnet and the chances of Gregg using it as a chew toy for the dogs are higher than anything just going by the type of sites he hunts. Monte this whole situation of you choosing a 12" coil over a 10" is just MIND NUMBING to me. Since when have you ever been a fan of larger coils? WH WH WHAAT?? I can do a quick search and find pages of you talking about a how larger coils are the DEVIL.[/b]

Yes, he could have 3 good coils, but it would be no different from the three good coils I have for my Apex. The 5X8 DD to keep mounted for regular day-to-day hunting. The 9X12 mounted for some improved detection depth and coverage to complement the 5X8. A sort of 'blended' V10 that isn't going to beat the V12 nor fit where the V8 will. Much the same as the standard 'Viper' coil on the Apex. I have one in the factory box and a used 'Viper' in my Accessory Coil Tote. Same reason, it is an 'OK' coil, but if you have the V8 and V12, for many of us, the V10 is just not necessary.

Now, what I usually say about search coil size. Here are some of the references I typically make:

• I have used smaller-than-stock coils most of the time since the summer of '68.

• I used to use a 'standard' coil on occasion for open areas, like a beach, big grassy park or plowed field, and that's because I spent most of my time hunting very brushy or trashy sites and mainly used smaller-than-standard coils.

• I also relate to many situations where we went from a 7" to 8½" 'standard' coil and gravitated to larger-size 'standard' coils in the 9" to 11" diameter stating in the late '80s ... but I still favor smaller-than-stock, or simply smaller-size, search coils. Again, that's because I hunted vacant lots, renovation sites, and many other urban trashy sites before, and in mid-'83 I made a shift to about 85% to perhaps 90% of my time hitting homesteads, stage stops, ghost towns, old dance hall or church sites, out-of-use resorts or picnic groves, and other comparable places that are remote and have a lot of debris, bottle caps, rusty tin, and all sorts of challenges to deal with.

• I have also stated that I kept one or two 'standard' coils on-hand for the few times I might grab it for wide-open sites.

• I've stated that, to me, a lot of the current 'standard' coils are a bigger-coil, whereas so many people consider a 'larger' or 'bigger-size' coil to be something like a 13" to 15" diameter. I don't have any coils that size, nor would I care to because I don't have a use for them.

• Finally, I have frequently referenced coils, for me and my needs, as being a 'smaller-size' coil in the 4½" to 6½" diameter for a roundish-shaped coil. A 'mid-size' coil, to me, would be a round 7" to an elliptical shape including sizes like a 5X8 to a 5X9½. Over that size we get into most modern 'standard' to 'bigger-size' coils.


On my Apex the 'Raider' at 8½X11 DD is in a commonly-considered 'standard' coil' size, like on their AT-MAX. Just like the Vanquish 540's 9X12 DD is also a 'standard-size' coil. I have had one or two coils around in my Accessory Coil Tote, usually, for the periodic times I would work the wide-open middle grassy areas of a park, take on a plowed field or range-land, or work a freshwater beach. Those times were seldom , but did come about now-and-then. For a little over a year now I have commented that my Simplex + kept the standard round 11" DD mounted. One reason was because there was no accessory coil until the last few months, and also because I used it in the wide-open grassy parks.

Now, with a 5X9½ DD on my primary-use Simplex +, my original device still has the 11" DD mounted for the places where I might want it, just as the other ** Plus ** detectors and coils are that I mentioned in a different post the last couple of days. Those would the devices at-the-ready with a bigger but 'standard' coil mounted for those grassy parks, fields and beaches. The Simplex + w/11", Apex w/'Raider' and V-540 w/9X12. Not 'over-size' or 'larger-than-standard' coils, just their 'standard' coils that are bigger than what I use most of the time.

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Kickindirt

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Monte
leave it on Apex #2, or I'll mount the 'Raider' 8½X11 DD. It's very close in physical size to the Vanquish 9X12, and I believe it might provide ample additional depth on coin-size targets like the Vanquish 9X12 over the 5X8.

The 'Viper' coil, the standard 6X11 DD, got the same treatment I would give that middle-size or blended-size 440 coil ..... get rid of it or tuck way somewhere to be out-of-the-way. Just my thoughts and I've hunted a fair amount with the 540's two coils, and am now doing the same with the two comparable coils from Garrett for the Apex.

Ha ha ha once again Monte I am just blown away by this statement of you choosing the 12" over a 10". Doesn't make any sense to me. Im just confused Monte. You've always said the big coils are the DEVIL. And you were right!! These minelab machines have got you all twisted Monte please come back. Minelab please release my buddy Montes soul back to him thank you.[/b]

I don't think I've ever specifically used 'the DEVIL' in a reference to search coils. As for the Minelab label of V10 and V12, I prefer the length-and-width of the V12 over the V10 if my only reason for opting for a larger coil is to get slightly better detection depth as well as slightly better coverage. The main-use coil for me is the V8 and it does fine on depth-of-detection for it's size and, should I want extra coverage and depth, the V12 is the more practical coil choice to complement the V8. Also, like I often state, those are my opinions and my choices for the coils that I feel work best for me and my wants and needs. We all have our own opinions and I am holding pretty true-to-form as I have almost always stated.

Again, I am also making some changes, generally, to the detectors I like to have in my Daily-Use Team, and that includes changes in search coils for a lot of the hunting I plan to be doing in the future. Main-use coils since '83 for the ghost towns and other trashy sites were 4½", 5", 6" and a few 7" coils. The occasional times I hunted a 'fringe area' or 'scouted' an open area for past human activity I might use something like an 8" 'standard' coil. Since about '88 we have seen the trend to larger-size 'standard' coils on many, many detectors, to include a lot of so-called 'entry-level' models.

But we have also seen a lot of changes in metal detector design, bringing us better depth, and also a lot of digital-design circuitry. Detectors work 'differently' and many of them can do quite well with a 'mid-size' coil. Since I am making a change to more urban Coin & Jewelry Hunting, I still have my dedicated CoRe and Relic with the 5"-ish coils for the nastiest of iron contaminated conditions. But hunting all of the 'common' or 'average' urban Coin and Jewelry sites with a mix of modern litter is more like hitting the 'fringe' areas of the really bad ghost towns and, that means, a good mid-size coil makes a really nice 'standard-use' coil for me. Thus, I have the 5X8 on two models, 5X9½ on another, and a 7" Concentric on a 4th model to complement the others.

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Kickindirt

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Monte
But, as I often state, our decisions for detectors and coils are just that, 'our' decisions, and as long as we are satisfied with them, that's a good thing. Then we just need to get out and use them to make sure we are comfortable with our decisions. I know I am of my current Outfit.

Welp Gregg guess that means it up to you to decide and be happy!!

Gregg this would have been way easier if ya just would have went with the ORX and quit swinging on the fringes man. Remind me to send Monte a bottle of XP juice sounds like he may be JONESING

Monte sipped that liquid-lure and had three ORX's, and even one Equinox 800 just to do some comparing. I've told people who have asked that, while different in some ways, I found the Vanquish 540 to offer me the in-the-field performance that satisfied my needs of what it can do and didn't need the Equinox. I've also told them that, in my opinion, the ORX is a very capable detector and that I liked it better than I would have a Deus, and that it offers impressive performance. Select the coil you prefer (and for me that was the 5X9½ HF DD) as well as settings and frequencies that work well, save them in the position 5 and 6 slots, and you are good-to-go.

No perfect detector so I simply had to thin out some excess, even though I liked them, because they were too much duplication or I just favored a different model or two. Some of what I didn't care for are things that I can also see not making Gregg happy if he went that way.

In the long run I see some positive things happening, and here we are talking about two things: Detector and coil choices, and the other is OregonGregg. As for detectors and coils, I have settled on my personal favorites for the types of sites I plan to hunt and the coils that I feel will work for me. That includes having 2 Vanquish 540's, and MY choices for coils to stay mounted are the 5X8 and 9X12. That works for me. Gregg can pick and choose what he likes best, but the other topic really is how all of this relates to Gregg.

I look at it as all being positive because Gregg went from his White's detectors he started with 7½ years ago, to Nokta / Makro devices a bit over 5½ years ago. He did well with his M6 and coil choices, and after making the change ... and putting in the time to learn just how well the different Nokta or Makro units worked ... he has done even better. Now it is the dawn of a new era for Gregg because he made a decision to step up and and invest in some different technology with a different brand, and it looks like he's going to be comfortable with how the Vanquish might perform for him in a number of different applications. I feel it will make a nice fit, and be a great complement to the other detectors he uses.

Once we have some good weather return and Gregg gets out and puts in some hunt-time with the Vanquish and different coils, it will be good to hear Gregg's thoughts as to what coil(s) he favors for the places he wants to use the Vanquish.

Monte

"Your EYES ... the only 100% accurate form of Discrimination!"
Stinkwater Wells Trading Post
Metal Detector Evaluations and Product ReviewsI'm now located in Clyde, Texas monte@ahrps.org ... or ... monte@stinkwaterwells.com 325-481-8147Detector Outfit: A selection of my favorite makes and models, with the best coils mounted, for the tasks I'll take on.Pinpointers: Pulse-Dive & ProPointer AT .. Headphones: 'Hornet' & 'Wasp' .. MS-3 Z-Lynk .. N/M Green edition*** All working well today to make memories for tomorrow. ***