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Changing coils on a Cortes??

Hey all, I just got a mint Cortes from my brother..literally only used about 5 hours total. I also just got a Golden uMax with 5 coils that should work on the Cortes. I keep reading posts where people get a new coil and have to send it in to have it tuned for that particular coil. So basically what I want to know is if one day I want to hunt a filed and use the cleansweep coil and the next day I want to hunt a trashy park...would I have to send it in every single time I wanted to use a new coil? I've never heard of this before and hope it isn't true otherwise I'm going to have to go a different route as far as detectors go. Thanks.
 
I had a Cortes for about 8 years, was always swapping back and forth between the stock coil and the cleansweep. Never had a problem
 
I got the golden umax and it also has fixed ground balance,and i put all kinds of coils on that thing,including a 15x12 sef coil,and the golden does great with all coils.I live on neutral soil.Maybe if you have highly mineralized soil a preset ground balance detector may not be good,But those are two good detectors you got there.Try all the 5pin coils you got on both detectors.I would like to try a cortes myself. :O
 
Alright cool, Now I have a Cortes with 6 different coils then. Makes me happy. Now I just have to wait for all this god awful snow to melt...Probably be around the middle of March before we can detect here like usual.
 
You only really need to have a coil/detector retuned either when your ground is way off for that coil or to get the most possible performance out of one particular coil/detector combo - which then may not be the best setting for your other coils. On manual ground balance detectors it isn't an issue at all so if you should happen to have a combination that chatters a bit or doesn't perform well you could gb in all metal and run in all metal and still be just fine with the Cortes. IMHO it would seem to me that running in all metal most of the time and switching to disc. when really needed or to double check against the target ID on the Cortes would be a good way to run much of the time, anyway. I've detected with a variety of coils on several preset ground Tesoros with no problems. The performance was quite acceptable in each case although I have no way of knowing that retuned it might have been a bit better.
BB
 
The Cortes has a factory preset ground rejection on the Discrimination side. This means that we ground balanced it with a specific coil in the disc mode. If you change coils, it is no longer ground balanced properly. Especially if you put a larger coil on it.
When you change coils, you change the field. So the ground balance has changed as well.
 
So that basically means I can really only use one coil on it then. Just out of curiosity, why do you make a big selection of coils for it then? I mean if one day I hunt a field with the stock coil and the next day I want to put the 4 inch on and do a trashy park I can't. That info really should be mentioned in ad's for coils. Why sell coils and not tell people that they won't work properly? I'm not trying to be rude but that's taking advantage of folks.
 
Allcav is stating the ideal/best solution. If you want the ultimate in performance possible from a coil/preset detector combination it's just as he says. However, as I've mentioned above, you can often do just fine (practically speaking) switching coils without sending it in. I do it all the time. He is right in that you're more likely to have a problem with larger coils and this whole issue and changing ground conditions is another reason why IMHO if a person is going to have just one detector, it should have manual or true auto ground tracking. Personally, I'd try the different combinations available to you before I'd send anything in. If you happen to really like a particular coil and would use it all or nearly all of the time, then it makes a lot of sense to have it and the detector matched to get the most possible out of that combo. All in all, unless you determine you have a serious depth problem or serious ground chatter with a coil you prefer to use, you may decide that you have little or no concern. Unless the Golden you mention has been modified, it appears to have been using all the coils right along.
BB
 
The coils fit 90% of the machines we make and ever made.
And BarberBill is absolutely correct. You may not notice the difference. Then again, you might.
 
It's kind of a moot point anyway if you think about it. Ground balance also has to apply to - the ground. And since it's different most everywhere, that's just impossible to do for optimal depth, that way.

So maybe it is even more off with a different coil, but since it's fixed in the first place it will likely never be truly optimal in any case.
 
I just don't understand it. For instance, you can get an Ace 250 which has a fixed preset ground balance and have no issues switching coils...many other detectors too.
 
Well I wasn't meaning to steer you that way at all. Even with a fixed ground balance the Cortes gets excellent depth in mild to moderate ground. In highly mineralized soils it should lose some depth in discriminate but in all metal it should be reasonable in terms of depth. I really like mine.

If you need or want a Tesoro with adjustable ground balance in Disc mode the Tejon, Vaquero or Outlaw all have that. So you don't have to give up on Tesoro.
 
Well I made a trade for a Golden uMax and 5 coils. Then my brother who bought a Cortes last year offered it to me for $400...it's literally been used about 5 hours. So I thought I would be set using the Cortes with the 5 other coils from the Golden. I take detecting very seriously and I hate having it in the back of my mind that the coils may not be working well. I could get a Tesoro with manual gb but I thought a "new" Cortes for $400 was too good a deal to pass up since my initial plan was to get a Deleon and they are $509 new.
 
I think you've done well for the price. One thing that's been left out of this thread is the fact that preset detectors can and do work very well in many locations. Even though I've mentioned above that if a person is only going to have one detector, then it's probably best to have a manual or true auto ground balance model, nontheless, I've done a lot of detecting in my area with 5 or 6 different preset ground models with very good results. In fact, I had detected for several years before I learned there was a difference and what it means. My current arsenal has more preset detectors than ground balance models and in most parks, fair grounds etc. around here I nearly always go with the presets as they've done me well. It's really not an issue of preset implies bad other than the options become limited in certain ground conditions. BTW the preset in your Ace doesn't have any advantage over the Tesoros although the fact that you haven't noticed any problem with different coils seems to indicate you probably won't with the other machines, either. One of my detectors is the DeLeon which is preset and I've retrieved numerous coins in the 6 to 8" range with plenty of signal let over. Most of my coin shooting is in areas with reasonable ground and presets work just fine. Take those detectors out, learn them, and have fun.
BB
 
If I can get 6-7 inches on coins I'd be more than happy. Hell the majority of old coins I've found have been more shallow than that. I do a lot of woods hunting where most of the 1800's coins I found have been about an inch deep. Actuall now that I think about it, the area is right next to old railroad tracks and filled with old iron junk so maybe more important than depth would be a good iron disc. I know there are still old coins in there masked by railroad spikes, nails, and rusty cans. I've heard that Tesoro's are great for picking non ferrous items from the iron.
 
Over all the Cortes will work pretty darn good in your soil in most conditions changing any of the coils....But when your talking heavy iron(railroad spikes) the Cortes or any VLF will struggle ...Having a second umax like Outlaw or Eldorado with ground balance an being able to swap coils might be what you need....You must have confidence in any machine your running and learn it or you will never find the real treasure............
 
Like I stated somewhere else. Hunt with the Cortez in AM and watch the screen for the ID. That way the coil will be working 100% and you will still be able to know if the item is iron or not.

HH
Gary
 
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