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Testing A New EXcelerator 4x7 Elliptical DD Coil on Minelab's Explorer II .
Quarter 11 inches - Dime 8.5+ inches, plus outstanding separation of coins from large trash

I know that multi-freq machines are not known for "air testing", but I couldn't help but raise the coil above the target after the tone locked on, just to see how high I could raise it before losing the signal. On a quarter buried at 6-inches, the coil easily picked up the target. Once centered, I was able to raise the coil more than 5 additional inches before the tone wavered. On a dime buried at 4 1/2 inches, the coil was raised an additional 4+ inches before the tone wavered. I have one dime that is tilted (on edge), 4-inches deep, laying next to a rusty old square nail. Some of my detectors discriminate out the dime while others give me mixed signals, not being able to separate for a positive ID. As expected, larger diameter coils have the most problem.

The 4 X 7 Elliptical DD read it strong and SEPARATION WAS NOT A PROBLEM! I was curious about the consistency of the digital readings with an aftermarket coil. But as you will see in the pics, the numbers are representative of readings found with the stock coils. I am anxious for the weekend to get here so I can put this coil through it's paces at one of the local "trash infested" parks. I Found many coins, a nice gold ring with one large stone and two small ones. Looks like I may have to take this one to a jeweler to see if the diamonds are real. I have been field testing the “not yet released” 4 X 7 Elliptical DD coil to be used with Minelab FBS detectors. I have spent the past two days detecting a site that served as a country school for over 100 years. This school was located on what has become private property and was utilized from the late 1800’s until it was demolished in the early 1980’s. According to the current land owner, there have been a couple of detectorists here in the past and neither of them reported any finds. A better indication that they didn't’t find much might be that neither of them returned for a second visit! A portion of the ground that it was located on has remained in it’s natural state, while the area behind the school has been farmed the past few years. The 100 year life span of the school provided a good mix of both trash and treasure and the mix of undisturbed / disturbed ground provided for, lets say an “interesting” test of both my Explorer II and this new Elliptical coil.

The owner escorted me to the site, where he told me that an old playground, complete with ball field, had been located behind the school, and that a picnic area was located out in “center field”. With no existing landmarks to go by, it was going to be hit and miss until I could find those remnants of days gone by. Looking for bricks, nails, and broken glass, and listening for the Explorer to tell me I was in the right place, I chose to “X” the entire site from corner to corner. I figured that, if and when I found broken glass or a coin, I would concentrate on that area, working in a less random pattern. Wanting to keep this field test as standardized as possible, I chose the Quick start settings with digital display. The coil ran very stable. I did tweak the threshold down and the volume and gain up from default, just for personal comfort. As I started across the field, I couldn’t help but notice the Explorer was nulling out quite often. Apparently there was more trash in the ground than I had planned on. Within five minutes, I got a mixed signal that bounced from high tone to low tone and back again. All within a matter of a few inches. Slowing my scan speed, I worked the coil around the target area until I was able to separate what sounded like two or more distinct targets. Both high and low tones. Although I have been detecting for over 30 years, I will admit that I have not as experienced on the Explorer as many of you probably are. Always on a learning curve, I was unsure of what these mixed tones would turn out to be. But they struck me with enough curiosity that could only be satisfied with digging. I pulled out a plug of dirt about 4-inches deep and about 6-inches in diameter. Pressing the pinpoint button and scanning over the hole, I determined that the target(s) were still in the ground. And, just as I had expected, there were multiple tones representing multiple targets. Removing another trowel of dirt, I saw the smooth edge of a small coin laying in the bottom of the hole. Gently wiping it off, I recognized the face of a very nice Indian cent. Placing it in my keeper’s pouch, I once again put the Explorer in pinpoint mode and waved the coil back over the hole. Again, I heard two distinct targets. Removing yet another trowel of dirt, I exposed an old rusty lag bolt, about 4-inches in length. It had been resting within a couple inches of that Indian cent. That explained the multiple tones that I got in the beginning. After removing the lag bolt from the hole, I once again scanned the area to make sure I had gotten everything. A lesson learned many many years ago. I was glad that I checked it again because about three inches beyond where the bolt had been buried, I got yet another strong signal. I enlarged the hole and pulled out another Indian cent at the same depth of 5 inches. Although the coins were not real deep, it was obvious that the lag bolt had been laying between the two coins for many years. The obvious rust on the bolt and the masking effect created by their close proximity makes me wonder if I would have missed these two Indians if I had I been using a single frequency machine with the discriminator set to reject iron. Fortunately the Explorer, with the 4 X 7 coil had not only separated the tones, but had provided sufficient information to help me find them.

For the next 7 hours, I walked over the site, constantly reminding myself to slow down, listening carefully for the tones and, when hearing one, cross-checking the readings of the digital meter. Like I said, there are undoubtedly many Explorer users that I could learn from. Settings, sounds and speed. (I have a tendency to swing much too fast). However, the quantity and quality of finds that I uncovered made me much more confident in this new coil, but also in my ability to use the Explorer. Sure, I dug my share of trash. Probably more than my share. Can slaw, some pull tabs and even a nail or two. But I can’t blame that on the detector or the coil. In fact, the digital readings provided by the combination of the two was consistent with the readings I get from the other coils I use on the Explorer. Many of the trash targets I uncovered were intentionally dug in order to help me recognize what they would be the next time I got those readings. Another part of that learning curve. Although I got fooled a few times with some old tin foil which read 03 / 26 and that piece of aluminum from the bottom of a grease cartridge that read 00 / 28, I generally knew when it was trash and when it would be treasure.

7 hours after arriving on site, along with the pouch full of trash, I had also found 34 coins and several pieces of jewelry. The coins ranged from Indian cents, V nickels and a Barber dime to Mercury dimes, a Buffalo nickel, Jefferson nickel, Wheat cents, memorial cents and two clad dimes. I found a nice gold ring with, what I hope will turn out to be, a large diamond and two small chips. I guess a trip to the local jeweler is in order! I also found a couple brooches, a gold pin (that I initially thought was going to be a $1 gold coin), some costume jewelry and a couple “whatzits”.

After the performance I witnessed with it’s ability to separate Indians from the lag bolt, this 4 X 7 Elliptical coil has definitely earned a place in my coil arsenal. It is lightweight and very well balanced. Although most of the targets I dug were 6-inches or less, deeper coins in my test garden proved that this coil will locate single coins at a greater depth. The elliptical shape allowed me to work it into areas that a larger round coil would not have been able to hunt effectively. In conjunction with the Explorer, this coil provided extremely accurate target ID. - Randy

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