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Xterra 70 coil choice

casull454

Well-known member
  1. I've been away from this site and metal detecting for awhile and thinking of getting back into both. Please bear with me, but I need some advice. I have an Xterra 70 that I purchased about 11 or 12 years ago. Used it some, but the "flutey" Minelab tones were hard for me to decipher (I cut my teeth on Garrett machines and was used to the constant "buzz" tone). I was in Illinois when I got the Xterra and have since moved to central Virginia (yep, red clay soils). I've determined that I'm going to finally get comfortable with this machine. I have the concentric 9" 7.5kz coil and the 6" DD 18.75kz coil. Been reading a bit on here lately and it sounds like the DD 7.5kz would be a better choice for all around coin and relic hunting. I think I'm going to pick up another coil to test that theory. Here's where your advice comes in. Would you recommend the 10.5" DD 7.5kz or one of the larger DD coils in that frequency? Would a larger 15" All Terrain DD coil be better than the 10.5"? Also, I noted that Minelab, Coiltech and Magic offer larger "open" DD coils. The Minelab All Terrain is made in Malaysia, but says it's Minelab. I understand the Coiltech coils are made in Australia, but are top quality. The Magic coils are substantially less expensive, but made in Russia. Please take pity on someone trying to get back into the game and let me know what your collective experience says about these choices. Thanks.
 
I'll defer to someone else who has experience in your soil conditions as far as which size coil you might want to consider, but what I will tell you is that Minelab and Coiltek coils are the ONLY ones authorized by Minelab.
All of the Russian/Ukrainian coils are unlicensed and reverse engineered, and lack vital technical information necessary to produce top quality equipment. In other words, there's a reason that they're so much cheaper.
 
Thanks for the info. I only considered the others since the Minelab and Coiltek coils are so expensive. $200 for a coil to go with a detector that's now worth less than $300 is a little tough to justify.
 
Thanks for the info. I only considered the others since the Minelab and Coiltek coils are so expensive. $200 for a coil to go with a detector that's now worth less than $300 is a little tough to justify.
Shop the classifieds. There's nothing wrong with buying used coils, and a lot of folks are splitting up their gear to sell it.
 
Time to revisit this matter I suppose. Since I first started this thread, I had the opportunity to hunt with two members, Felix and Percy. Both real nice fellows btw. In any event, Felix was kind enough to allow me to borrow his 10.5" DD 7.5 kHz coil for the day. I found I did rather like it. Now, my question is how does it compare to the Minelab 15" All Terrain 7.5 kHz coil? Price isn't much different between the two and if the larger coil works just as well AND covers more ground then maybe that's the one to get. Any info is appreciated.
 
Time to revisit this matter I suppose. Since I first started this thread, I had the opportunity to hunt with two members, Felix and Percy. Both real nice fellows btw. In any event, Felix was kind enough to allow me to borrow his 10.5" DD 7.5 kHz coil for the day. I found I did rather like it. Now, my question is how does it compare to the Minelab 15" All Terrain 7.5 kHz coil? Price isn't much different between the two and if the larger coil works just as well AND covers more ground then maybe that's the one to get. Any info is appreciated.
Personally, my primary coils are 6" & 15" Coiltek loops. I have 9" & 10½" coils, but over the ground I work there is seldom a need for mid-sized coils.
Another consideration to keep in mind if it matters for the type of hunting you do, is that none of the 10½" coils are waterproof. With the exception of the 5x10" HF coil, all others are waterproof.
 
Thanks for the additional info. Like you, I also noted that the larger coil is waterproof while the midsize coil is not. How is the weight and balance with the larger coil?
 
Thanks for the additional info. Like you, I also noted that the larger coil is waterproof while the midsize coil is not. How is the weight and balance with the larger coil?
You'll want to run it on as short a shaft as you can and still clear your toes. :biggrin: On a unit as light as an X-Terra it's not bad weight-wise, but the balance isn't going to be great. I'm used to it, so I don't give it a second thought. YMMV
 
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