Switching PI coils between different brands?

[Anonymous]

I'm kinda curious seeing as the Goldquest (I think) can use coils made for the Minelab PI's. I have just received a Garrett Infinium & wonder, with the proper adapter, if I could do the same with the Infinium. What would have to match coil-wise? I'd really like an idea as to the feasiblity of doing so. Thanks..Willy.

 

[Anonymous]

Well, in first place, the Infinium has waterproof connector. The pins have been match in the Eric Foster GQ with an adpater to the Minelab and I believe will work with Coiltech also, Bill at Surfscanners has one for sale.
Anything is possible, The Pulse delay between them is similar I believe or close enough and I would assume inductance is close, but you would have to know what it is for the Infinium, there is possibility circuitry is match edto coil differently than Minelab, but could be adjusted with dampening resistor probably. You would have to use the Garrett waterproof connect and match to Minelab pin wise. I would think it is possible for Bill at Surfscanners to do it if he chose, he will probably reply on this and you will find out! Don

 

[Anonymous]

[No message]

 

[Anonymous]

I should say there are others beside Bill, such as Reg and I am sure Eric can comment lol, the reason I brought up Bill is he has made a connector commerically.
Weather any one of them have gone into an Infinium I don't know

 

[Anonymous]

The connector would probably be the easy part. Trying to find out, on the other hand, which coils are compatible (or how to modify them to be) would be the difficult part. One of the advantages of the Minelabs seems to be the vast coil selection. Import that to other machines & things might get a bit more competitive. ..Willy.

 

[Anonymous]

yes, Reg, has talked about this, but it would only I think today apply to a biger coil. Infinium has a number of coils today in the Mono and DD range. I question this really large coils and the practicality in American area for big nuggets at deeper depths, as compared to the need in Assie land.

 

[Anonymous]

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[Anonymous]

Well, the areas I hunt in are known for large nuggets. The largest "reported" nugget was 5 troy pounds & many were found that were close to it in weight. The thing is, unlike down in Az., where it seems almost every square foot has been detected, up here in B.C. it's still wild 'n wooly. In regards to big nuggets I've seen dug, up in Alaska a buddy of mine popped a 10 oz chunk & the next time I was up there he got a 7oz one. The largest I ever found up there was a 2 oz piece, but plenty of 1 oz & under. In regards to coil sizes, there could be a need for larger ones, but also lighter or even (if it's possible) more sensitive. Also, there are such exotics as salt coils; never know where one will be hunting. ..Willy.

 

[Anonymous]

Willy I also own an Infinium, the depth is very good with the larger DD and if you can run Mono, you can use large one for some increase depth. If you have large nuggets they will sound off. I would not say that a larger coil won't go deeper, but at the time no one is working on this combination. If you want it bad enough, there are alot of used Minelab SD's on ebay and you can check Nugget-Shooter.com form's classified for one or ask if anyone has one. Your best priced model is probably a SD2100. Sell your Infinium and bite the bullet and buy one, if you are correct it may pay for itself first time out, But I don't think you are in bad shape with the large coils for the Infinium__fine some gold with it and go buy a Minelab! HH....Don

 

[Anonymous]

I'll stick with the Garrett. Mostly curiousity since people were going on & on about the minelab having sooo many coils & therefor being better. I was nuggethunting up in the arctic circle; two guys swinging SD2200d's & one an Infinium. I was more impressed by the Infinium. One good reason for not getting the Minelab is that I hunt in streams. Slip on some algae & bye, bye detector. ..Willy.

 

[Anonymous]

Good choice! if you want to dig something or clean out a crack, just set in down in the water. Be mindful, the coil is a land coil and not waterproof. It is a good buy to get the waterproof one for that reason and also it will give you sharper response to a target, it more or less is amplified for underwater use to hear above bubbles if you SCUBA, great for land prospecting, discount about $75.00. HH...Don

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Willy,
As Mr Bill implied, swapping coils between PI detectors may, or may not, work. Some PI's are designed for high pulse currents and some for low. Inductances, resistances, capacitances and shielding methods vary quite a bit, and some PI's are tolerance of changes and some are not.
I have only tried Minelab PI coils on my detectors and I was quite surprised they worked. This was initially done to try out a DD and see what the benefits and disadvantages were. Conversely, none of my standard coils will work on a Minelab.
I have no plans to try any others and, generally speaking, it is best to stick with the manufacturer's range of coils, particularly on the more sensitive detectors that run at short delays. This is because coil damping needs to be optimised and the coil shielding characteristics become more critical.
Eric.

 

[Anonymous]

I hear ya! Should probably get out there & start swinging before considering coil swaps & mods. I was just thinking about how some of the guys swinging minelab PI's (nuggethunting like I'll be doing) feel the need for garbage can lid sized coils to get the deep ones. I'll probably be happy with the stock coils anyway...Willy.