GOOD GRIEF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:surrender::rage::rant:

[sunraysux]

....seriously minelab!!!
could you make it MORE DIFFICULT to swap out coils?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
surely there is some secret to this nonsense!!!!
bought the 6 inch COILTEK sniper coil
sure would be nice if i could use the damn thing
it is impossible to get the stinking curled up wire up through the detectors shaft!!!!
HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!
please!!!!!

 

[BigTony]

Exp II manual says to drop a string down the shaft , tie it on coil wire pull it up. Crazy I know but it works when the coil wire is new and stiff

 

[sunraysux]

wowwww....really, they say that in the manual!?!?
omg thats embarrassing
i am a regional director for a design/build engineering and manufacturing company
and if i designed a product that had such a junior high school thing in the owners manual,
i would be out of business quickly....yikes!!
good thing this darn machine is strong.....albeit quirky and unstable
thanks for the feedback Big Tony
BTW, tried feeding a firm wire down the shaft to pull through the new cable....and it was too tight!!
there was no room for the wire to get around the electronic fitting once i tied it off to pull it up
WTF!!!!
ugh

 

[amberjack]

yep string and then coiltek have an extra washer in there because the coil doesn't fit the shaft

makes you wonder right....

AJ

 

[sunraysux]

...no doubt Amber J
its almost like the design team never gave a thought that one might want to take that big ass stock coil off in a heavily trash laden area
...toooooooo much time on the Hookah pipe apparently(they must have one in the employees lounge at Minelab)

 

[sprchng]

...no doubt Amber J
its almost like the design team never gave a thought that one might want to take that big ass stock coil off in a heavily trash laden area
...toooooooo much time on the Hookah pipe apparently(they must have one in the employees lounge at Minelab)

Seems to me you're directing all the drama in the wrong direction.
I have always been able to get Minelab and Detech coils through the shaft with little fanfare,,,,the Coiltek and NEL are another story.
I found if you start the cable and twist the shaft in the direction that tightens the coiling while feeding it into the shaft enough to get past the coils , then a quick swing of the shaft and coil away from you will usually slide the cable the rest of the way , no problem , no drama.
The string methods work and may be necessary with NEL and Coiltek products as those cables are thicker and less tightly coiled,,,good coils but problematic cables which is surprising since Coiltek used to make all the coils for Minelab.

Wait until you've taken that coil off and put it on a few times to see how hard it is to collapse or shorten the shaft,,,then you'll have something worthy of complaining about!!

 

[amberjack]

I only put my coils through once as I have a shaft for each one so no stress and quick change outs, downside costs another 70$ per coil but that's life at the top hey

pretty sure coiltek just used the PI mould for the FBS coils yep they been putting to much herbs in the pasta at lunch.

up side is its a nice coil despite the drama.

AJ

 

[IDXMonster]

Extra lower rods are common to have. Throw a little body or baby powder down the shafts and powder the cable. Use a shoelace from a high top sneaker. Big bootlaces don't work well,too thick. Here's where that Sunday probe is nice to have....

 

[amberjack]

extra lower rods that cost 70$ each are not that common to have and that's not including washers and bolt.

AJ

 

[mascard1]

Come on....Sunray X1 probe and your set!!!

 

[mapper65]

This is one of the reasons I sprung for the Sunray X-1 Probe. You can change the coil out in one minute and you don't have to worry about stressing out your coil cables quite as much. Definitely not worth buying the X-1 only for this reason but a definite plus after shelling out the money for the probe.

 

[Mcdetect]

I use the string technique. Works good. Kind of like fishing an electric cable through a wall.

 

[Explorer.se]

I use the string technique. Works good. Kind of like fishing an electric cable through a wall.

Same here I have not had any problems.

 

[IDXMonster]

extra lower rods that cost 70$ each are not that common to have and that's not including washers and bolt.

AJ

Ok,lower rods are not common for AJ to have....better?

 

[nalc472]

I love the x-1 for the ability to switch out coils fast. Pulling it up through that shaft is hard.

 

[IDXMonster]

I will say I got my 2 extra rods USED for my Explorer,this may be a route to investigate if you can find them floating around the forums classifieds. If you plan on changing coils often,it might make sense to have at least ONE spare rod. The probes have gotten WAY expensive,unless you can find a deal somewhere...but to ME less wear and tear on the coil cables being pulled and yanked everywhere is worth at least a look around. Admittedly,the factory coil changing setup with anything less than a pristine cable really blows,I feel your frustration.

 

[amberjack]

my point is I can buy 7 Tesoro lower poles to one etrac pole and my comments were not aimed at anyone's being..

I have 8 etrac coils and they all have their own pole as out in the field spending the time pulling them through is not possible for me..

just do the math its a lot of money..

I am not blaming anyone for anything and I think that maybe reading words on a page is at best 1/4 of my conveyance that's why people read books and why not 2 people see the same picture in their mind after reading the words, and that's why I try and stick to facts but they can come across as cold and bland but the truth is the truth


AJ

 

[IDXMonster]

You couldn't be more right about the "words on a page" AJ. In this world of texting and instant messages,the nuances of speech we've all come to learn so well are sometimes lost.
From all the serious hunters I've seen post their coil collections most had lowers on...as yours do for the reason you stated,it's practical. And it IS a lot of money! I've got 3 lowers for my CTX,that's the price of a good used a Explorer! Is it for everyone's budget? Hell no. I didn't mean my "common" statement to mean they're super cheap or even reasonable. The bolts and nuts? I can get a bolt/nut combo for my IDXPro for like 2 bucks! From Whites! What I did mean was that over time many people have come to realize that at least a FEW coils in their arsenal for any one detector is usually a good idea,and with that comes the next step of "how can I do this quicker"?
No harm intended to anyone,I value your insight and humor. "POS-001"...THATS a keeper!

 

[amberjack]

thanks and yes the price of time or rather lowering frustration can we put a $ figure on it ? I guess so and minelab know that and the spare parts is where a lot of their income would be generated.. cause they have surely tried to shove one of those coiled vipers up their own shafts on that POS-001 and so they know they will sell those after the detector has been sold.

anyway yes I have a slightly dark side in my humour and I see it can annoy some people but I cant stop being me

but I am ok really well most of the time

wait till I need a GPZ in a few years or the next modal make the etrac look like a babies toy a coil costs as much as a new etrac

minelab are top dog in tech and they know it and charge like it and that's how it is I guess....

having said that the detector sales across the board are dropping as we get no new tech just repackaged rebranded same stuff and people are getting tired of it as in my signature I want a dedicated park gold hunter, cant even get that as it seems most company's are stuck in some strange loop they cant get out of.

anyway I talk to much but I do know what I need and right now I don't need another detector unless it meets my needs I tested a lot of detectors and kept a few of the best for my needs so I await for some company to hear my call

in the mean time I will enjoy what I have

thanks for sharing your experience with us all.

AJ

 

[sunraysux]

......talk away AJ, my eloquent friend...
i for one very much enjoy your ranker, dry wit and vitriol
being a Jersey boy, thats what i have for breakfast
i might have to write you off this site though(if you are down for that).....
i am still extremely confused/bewildered/frustrated with this darn Etrac...
yes, it is a strong a$$ machine but good night already, it is the weirdest/quirkiest piece of technology i have run across
granted we are asking it to "see" into the ground...and yes, there appears to be MEGA amounts of mineralization and iron in the ground i have been surfing thus far from the perpetual nulling this machine gives me, but WTF!?!?!?
so with your permission Sir, i would like to pick through your experience rolodex by writing you on the outside if thats cool?!!?
thank you in advance Aj for your consideration!!