Like everyone else, I was waiting for a definitive report on both the Excelerator and the Hot Shot. I can't find anyone that is talking about the Hot Shot.
So far I've had about an hour to play with the coil - no falsing problems or anything to lead me to believe I got a bad coil ( <img src="/metal/html/grin.gif" border=0 width=15 height=15 alt=":grin"> ). I ran over part of an area that I've gone over with the stock and so far haven't found anything deeper than about 3" - 3 1/2". This particular plot of ground (about 25'x30'-35') yielded lots of horseshoe pieces, nails for the shoes - and an 1804 2-reale and an 1818 large cent (both in excellent shape). I know there used to be a small building on this plot and I'm guessing it was used as a workshop or 'blacksmith' shop for this farm. I would certainly think there is more and deeper stuff to find in this area. If I don't find anything there I guess I'll have to build a test plot.
I will say this - if you heft the stock coil and the Excelerator there doesn't feel like much difference, but it becomes noticeable once you swing this big thing. The pinpointing on the small stuff I've found so far is as easy as any other coil. I do like the area I can cover with this coil, and that was one of my main reasons for getting a larger coil. I'm taking it to Virginia over the weekend for some hopefully deep relics (we'll be diggin huts), so I'm looking to get some side-by-side comparisons with the stock coil. I'll get that posted on Monday.