I don't usually get asked to try out a prototype coil, but when Andy offered to let me try out his 11" proto I eagerly jumped at the opportunity. Waiting for the package to arrive felt similar to a child waiting for santa to come 
Upon opening the box I mounted it to the lower rod, and took a side-by-side comparison pic next to the 9" stock coil, which was mounted on the water rod. Then it was off to the test garden. Once the coil was programmed in, it was simple to bounce from coil to coil. I was liking what I was seeing and hearing in the test area with the 11". It was quite obvious that depth on coin-sized targets was improved over the 9", but the real test was to come.
(As you can see below Ive opted to go the route of photobucket in order to attempt to maintain better pic quality)
http://s1357.photobucket.com/user/tman332003/media/IMG_0374_zpsc1e1ca75.jpg.html?sort=3&o=11
I was amazed at how light this coil felt compared to its larger 11x 13 brother, and yet it was still almost as light as the stock 9. I pulled off the coil cover to inspect the bottom side, and that's when I noticed an air gap on each end of the "cross-members" At first I was skeptical about this being a hardy design, but it couldnt be bent or tweaked, and ended up taking quite a beating for close to 50 hrs of hunting/trial time without a single hiccup. It seems to be an ingenious way to keep weight off, yet it is very sturdy.
http://s1357.photobucket.com/user/tman332003/media/IMG_0381_zps698fc496.jpg.html?sort=3&o=8
The coil happened to show up the day before a couple of us were leaving early in the A.M. to make a several hr roadtrip to look for a grove/encampment site that had been well researched in some woods, that appeared to be still intact. We didn't know if this site had been hunted or not but figured we'd better head over there and check it before someone else did. Less than 5 minutes into the woods I went south while my partner, who was swinging an explorer, went west. He starts finding older wheats and a couple Indians.I didn't realize it at the moment, but I was getting ready to learn (or relearn) a very valuable Deus lesson. When he hollered for me to head his way he already had 5-6 older coins. Swinging the 11" over his latest signal left me hearing a decent yet kind of scratchy/washed signal. I was fairly new to running V3.2 so I took a minute to drop the freq form 12 kHz to 8 kHz and retried sweeping the target....it lit up. Then I bumped the sens up to 96, reactivity and silencer each down to 1, redone the manual GB, retested the signal and it was banging loud and clear. (Andys book mentions a change of 1 or 2 numbers can make a big difference) After watching him dig his newest indian I moved off to dig a few of my own, and then came the sweet sound of a deep coin. the numbers bounced around 92-94 and it was evident that it was deep silver. The pic turned out fuzzier than would have liked it to, but here it is in the clump. One of few barber dimes to come.
http://s1357.photobucket.com/user/tman332003/media/IMG_0378_zpseadd8508.jpg.html?sort=3&o=10
We ended up comparing signals between the 2 machines, as we stayed fairly close and was curious how well the deus 11" could hang in there with the explorer. there wasn't anything the explorer found that the Deus couldn't or visa versa. In this next photo is a pic of the grey stuff, the quarter was banging loud and clear and was almost 9" deep. the Canadian dime came right after the quarter and was a nice repeatable signal @ 7"+ only a few feet away. The deus was really lighting up on the silver, and the extra surface coverage was nice to have as well.
http://s1357.photobucket.com/user/tman332003/media/IMG_0375_zps69e1f7f8.jpg.html?sort=3&o=9
A couple more pics of the goods from that day.
http://s1357.photobucket.com/user/tman332003/media/IMG_0386_zps631c48aa.jpg.html?sort=3&o=5
http://s1357.photobucket.com/user/tman332003/media/IMG_0388_zps8f45b0c2.jpg.html?sort=3&o=4
Next the 11" went for a couple of swims. Took it to a sand bar out on a local lake. The first thing I noticed was that the drag wasn't at all too bad, at least not as bad as I thought it would be. I was able to push/pull the coil along for several hours without pain or fatigue.(for me that's good) After testing on some "native" signals 17 kHz got the nod for the water work. I was quite surprised the 11" was still able to find the "smaller" stuff, and not only that but some pretty old and deep brass spinner blades in an area that gets hunted regularly. Some of the nickles were deep also.
http://s1357.photobucket.com/user/tman332003/media/IMG_0383_zps7d7cc421.jpg.html?sort=3&o=7
The next pic was quite an eye opener. We hunted the shallows in front of an old hotel/resort site which we, and others have hunted for at least 15 yrs (that were aware of) unfortunately the NEW owners of the property didn't have the same "come back and hunt any time you want attitude" like the previous owners did. we explained ourselves and we were asked to come back after the season was over. This pic only represents 10 minutes in a previously hard hunted spot, in fairly heavy bobby pin/nail scattered area, running 17 kHz. I do believe the 9" will probably do better, but didn't have time to try it. The 11" did very well.
http://s1357.photobucket.com/user/tman332003/media/IMG_0385_zpsf194f53d.jpg.html?sort=3&o=6
the next photo comes from an old but well-known ghost town site. This area has been hammered since the early 80's. This next photo may not look like much, but not many coins come from here any more. There was also a small brass childs ring that didn't make the photo, as it got hung up in the bottom of my pouch
http://s1357.photobucket.com/user/tman332003/media/IMG_0389_zps8db9633e.jpg.html?sort=3&o=3
Last weekend we decided to make the pilgrimage back to the grove/encampment site we hit previously. We didn't find as many coins as the first time, but it was close. After hunting in the woods for a while my partner mentioned that he was in a small area between some fallen trees and dug 2 barbers in one hole, but he thought there had been some for of old structure there and couldn't get through the nulling/falsing/weird signals. He pointed me to the spot and said, go see what the Deus can do. I walked to the spot that was approx. 6'x 8' and seen where he had already dug 3-4 holes. I was a bit skeptical but tried it anyway. The first target was a loud clear banging signal, dug it up to find an '93 indian. I hollerd to him it was an indian and turned and got a second signal. It was a nice sweet 92 signal, BUT it was right where his spoil pile had been from one of his digs. I kicked the excess dirt away (thinking he missed it in his pile) to find it was still down in the virgin dirt. Took a plug and found a '90 seated at 4" This was quite shocking for both of us.
once we had our fun in the woods we decided to go to the other side of the lake, as there head also been an old grove there. We weren't expecting to find much as it was now a small park/boat launch area and had most likely been hunted, but we were in for a few more surprises. After digging a few older pennies and a rosie in the water we tried some land hunting. My first target was a large old flat button (not pic'd) and then an indian. Moving around I got a mercury dime, and thought wow first dime grand-slam in quite a few years Then a few minutes later a fairly soft yet consistent 94-96 signal popped through the headphones. Thinking it was going to be quarter at 6-7" I cut a plug 7" deep, but it was still in the hole. Trying to be careful not to cut something good I dug down 2" more to see a larger silver half dollar disc. Hoping for a barber half, but no dice..... still, a walker is a welcome addition!
http://s1357.photobucket.com/user/tman332003/media/IMG_0401_zpsceb86711.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1
close-up of the silver...
http://s1357.photobucket.com/user/tman332003/media/IMG_0402_zps0a3a0a97.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0
Bottom line on the 11" = This is a deeper coil on coin-sized targets, approx. 3/4" deeper in my bone dry soil (others may find more gains) It is very light for its size, and I was able to swing this coil for 8+ hrs on two separate occasions(not a feat I can accomplish with other brands) It is very durable, and will run with the big dogs (or out-gun them) Once I get my hands on my own 11", it will be my personal go-to coil, and the 9" will be reserved for the heavy iron! This coil is the real deal , And I believe folks are going to love it.
Upon opening the box I mounted it to the lower rod, and took a side-by-side comparison pic next to the 9" stock coil, which was mounted on the water rod. Then it was off to the test garden. Once the coil was programmed in, it was simple to bounce from coil to coil. I was liking what I was seeing and hearing in the test area with the 11". It was quite obvious that depth on coin-sized targets was improved over the 9", but the real test was to come.(As you can see below Ive opted to go the route of photobucket in order to attempt to maintain better pic quality)
http://s1357.photobucket.com/user/tman332003/media/IMG_0374_zpsc1e1ca75.jpg.html?sort=3&o=11
I was amazed at how light this coil felt compared to its larger 11x 13 brother, and yet it was still almost as light as the stock 9. I pulled off the coil cover to inspect the bottom side, and that's when I noticed an air gap on each end of the "cross-members" At first I was skeptical about this being a hardy design, but it couldnt be bent or tweaked, and ended up taking quite a beating for close to 50 hrs of hunting/trial time without a single hiccup. It seems to be an ingenious way to keep weight off, yet it is very sturdy.
http://s1357.photobucket.com/user/tman332003/media/IMG_0381_zps698fc496.jpg.html?sort=3&o=8
The coil happened to show up the day before a couple of us were leaving early in the A.M. to make a several hr roadtrip to look for a grove/encampment site that had been well researched in some woods, that appeared to be still intact. We didn't know if this site had been hunted or not but figured we'd better head over there and check it before someone else did. Less than 5 minutes into the woods I went south while my partner, who was swinging an explorer, went west. He starts finding older wheats and a couple Indians.I didn't realize it at the moment, but I was getting ready to learn (or relearn) a very valuable Deus lesson. When he hollered for me to head his way he already had 5-6 older coins. Swinging the 11" over his latest signal left me hearing a decent yet kind of scratchy/washed signal. I was fairly new to running V3.2 so I took a minute to drop the freq form 12 kHz to 8 kHz and retried sweeping the target....it lit up. Then I bumped the sens up to 96, reactivity and silencer each down to 1, redone the manual GB, retested the signal and it was banging loud and clear. (Andys book mentions a change of 1 or 2 numbers can make a big difference) After watching him dig his newest indian I moved off to dig a few of my own, and then came the sweet sound of a deep coin. the numbers bounced around 92-94 and it was evident that it was deep silver. The pic turned out fuzzier than would have liked it to, but here it is in the clump. One of few barber dimes to come.
http://s1357.photobucket.com/user/tman332003/media/IMG_0378_zpseadd8508.jpg.html?sort=3&o=10
We ended up comparing signals between the 2 machines, as we stayed fairly close and was curious how well the deus 11" could hang in there with the explorer. there wasn't anything the explorer found that the Deus couldn't or visa versa. In this next photo is a pic of the grey stuff, the quarter was banging loud and clear and was almost 9" deep. the Canadian dime came right after the quarter and was a nice repeatable signal @ 7"+ only a few feet away. The deus was really lighting up on the silver, and the extra surface coverage was nice to have as well.
http://s1357.photobucket.com/user/tman332003/media/IMG_0375_zps69e1f7f8.jpg.html?sort=3&o=9
A couple more pics of the goods from that day.
http://s1357.photobucket.com/user/tman332003/media/IMG_0386_zps631c48aa.jpg.html?sort=3&o=5
http://s1357.photobucket.com/user/tman332003/media/IMG_0388_zps8f45b0c2.jpg.html?sort=3&o=4
Next the 11" went for a couple of swims. Took it to a sand bar out on a local lake. The first thing I noticed was that the drag wasn't at all too bad, at least not as bad as I thought it would be. I was able to push/pull the coil along for several hours without pain or fatigue.(for me that's good) After testing on some "native" signals 17 kHz got the nod for the water work. I was quite surprised the 11" was still able to find the "smaller" stuff, and not only that but some pretty old and deep brass spinner blades in an area that gets hunted regularly. Some of the nickles were deep also.
http://s1357.photobucket.com/user/tman332003/media/IMG_0383_zps7d7cc421.jpg.html?sort=3&o=7
The next pic was quite an eye opener. We hunted the shallows in front of an old hotel/resort site which we, and others have hunted for at least 15 yrs (that were aware of) unfortunately the NEW owners of the property didn't have the same "come back and hunt any time you want attitude" like the previous owners did. we explained ourselves and we were asked to come back after the season was over. This pic only represents 10 minutes in a previously hard hunted spot, in fairly heavy bobby pin/nail scattered area, running 17 kHz. I do believe the 9" will probably do better, but didn't have time to try it. The 11" did very well.
http://s1357.photobucket.com/user/tman332003/media/IMG_0385_zpsf194f53d.jpg.html?sort=3&o=6
the next photo comes from an old but well-known ghost town site. This area has been hammered since the early 80's. This next photo may not look like much, but not many coins come from here any more. There was also a small brass childs ring that didn't make the photo, as it got hung up in the bottom of my pouch
http://s1357.photobucket.com/user/tman332003/media/IMG_0389_zps8db9633e.jpg.html?sort=3&o=3
Last weekend we decided to make the pilgrimage back to the grove/encampment site we hit previously. We didn't find as many coins as the first time, but it was close. After hunting in the woods for a while my partner mentioned that he was in a small area between some fallen trees and dug 2 barbers in one hole, but he thought there had been some for of old structure there and couldn't get through the nulling/falsing/weird signals. He pointed me to the spot and said, go see what the Deus can do. I walked to the spot that was approx. 6'x 8' and seen where he had already dug 3-4 holes. I was a bit skeptical but tried it anyway. The first target was a loud clear banging signal, dug it up to find an '93 indian. I hollerd to him it was an indian and turned and got a second signal. It was a nice sweet 92 signal, BUT it was right where his spoil pile had been from one of his digs. I kicked the excess dirt away (thinking he missed it in his pile) to find it was still down in the virgin dirt. Took a plug and found a '90 seated at 4" This was quite shocking for both of us.
once we had our fun in the woods we decided to go to the other side of the lake, as there head also been an old grove there. We weren't expecting to find much as it was now a small park/boat launch area and had most likely been hunted, but we were in for a few more surprises. After digging a few older pennies and a rosie in the water we tried some land hunting. My first target was a large old flat button (not pic'd) and then an indian. Moving around I got a mercury dime, and thought wow first dime grand-slam in quite a few years
Then a few minutes later a fairly soft yet consistent 94-96 signal popped through the headphones. Thinking it was going to be quarter at 6-7" I cut a plug 7" deep, but it was still in the hole. Trying to be careful not to cut something good I dug down 2" more to see a larger silver half dollar disc. Hoping for a barber half, but no dice..... still, a walker is a welcome addition!http://s1357.photobucket.com/user/tman332003/media/IMG_0401_zpsceb86711.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1
close-up of the silver...
http://s1357.photobucket.com/user/tman332003/media/IMG_0402_zps0a3a0a97.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0
Bottom line on the 11" = This is a deeper coil on coin-sized targets, approx. 3/4" deeper in my bone dry soil (others may find more gains) It is very light for its size, and I was able to swing this coil for 8+ hrs on two separate occasions(not a feat I can accomplish with other brands) It is very durable, and will run with the big dogs (or out-gun them) Once I get my hands on my own 11", it will be my personal go-to coil, and the 9" will be reserved for the heavy iron! This coil is the real deal , And I believe folks are going to love it.
Jerry.