Nuggetfinder Advantage coils --versus-- Coiltek Goldstalker coils

Gday

It seems that there are two major players in the coil manufacturing arena, and what I mean by major is the manufacturers that both produce a wide variety of coils that most detectorists want in there kit for one reason or another.

Previous to Nuggetfinder coils being available I mainly used the Coiltek coils, and must say that I had some real success with them, but in later years I started using the Nuggetfinders as they started to produce the lightweight variety of spoked coils, as most serious users would know, there is a real bonus to being able to use a lightweight coil when you are detecting, particularly for the semi professional or professional detectorist.

Anyway I would like to keep an open mind on the subject, so I and would like to know what other users would consider to be the upsides and the downsides of the coils that are produced by these two manufacturers????.

I have no doubt that both these brands of coils will do the job, but there are in my mind some differences to the way that they have been manufactured, when I look at the Nuggetfinder coils I see coils that have been made with longetivity? in mind,when I look at the Coiltek goldstalker coils I see coils that appear to be more flimsy and more cheaply made, am I right or wrong, just my opinion ?

Anybody care to comment??

cheers

stayyerAU

As a beginner I like my Minelab 11" DD I do have a 14" coiltek but I find the 11" Minelab good to use, But I'm only new to the game.

Shane

I have never owned a nuggetfinder coil but it is interesting to note that they used to make fibreglass coils but changed to using high impact plastic the same as Coiltek and Minelab use. This was probably due to an undesirable failure rate in the fibreglass coil. Nugget Finder coils are now much more robust and can be compared in this way to both Minelab and Coiltek. But if you were to ask me to rate the 3 coils for long life I would say the Minelab coils last the longest (they seem to be over engineered) followed by Coiltek then Nugget Finder. As I said, I have never owned a NF but have paid a good deal of attention to first and secondhand reports. This is, like most reports on this forum, is simply my own opinion.

Cheers, Jim

I'd have to say three...you cant forget the ML Commander series.

As far as sensitivity, depth etc.. from what I've found in a field stuation, in a given size the Coiltek and Nugget Finder seem to run neck and neck.
I recently sold my CT16" round mono and replaced it with a NF16" round mono. My CT had found me gold, but I just didn't have the confidence in it like I do the NF.

I prefer the NF's shaft mounting point, being seperate and not part of the housing, but then it's basically the same as the way ML Commanders are and I love the Commander series...go figure

To me the NF's just feel and appear more sturdy, but that may be in my head. I've never pulled either apart and viewed the guts to compare, and as far as depth and sensitivity, I've never taken a micrometer into the field or bench tested either so it's only eyeball observations.

I just have more confidence in the NF's and the ML Commanders, and confidence in your gear is a huge part of fining gold.

Either brand will do the job if you do your part.

Hi all,
I own all three... N/F...C/T and M/L and as far as I am concern with my slight case of industrial deafness anyway they are much of a muchness. My two favorites are 16inch N/F Mono and 14X9 coiltek mono, they will/do find me gold and punch down very deep.

I seem to have ended up with three coil from every manufacturer... and that's far more than I'll ever have a need for. I think most people have a use for two... possibly three different coil types and sizes. But individual needs may vary. I suppose I can lend some to friends when they rent a detector or bring their own out.

What Granite and Madtuna said is spot on...

The earlier NF coils had some issues which were ironed out some time ago. The problems seemed to relate to the use of fiberglass over the newer ABS plastic frames. Still, even when those earlier coils were suffering from splits in the shaft mount area, people kept buying replacements because they found that the coil was working the way they wanted it to. I believe that more effective UV resistant material is now used in the newer coil casings. For some reason, NF have stopped advertising and yet their factory is going hell-bent to keep up with orders. I also like that they are tested in water now.

The new CT/Goldstalkers and the NF/Advantage coils are very similar in performance and capability - the newer Advantage coils seemingly more immune to EMI issues ... making them quiet on the ground. It's actually surprising just how quiet they are compared to earlier coils. It's interesting to note that NF uses Minelab's LITZ wire (which has a larger surface area) for their coils and yet CT apparently get just as good a result without the use of it.

You can't overlook the ML/Commander coils either as these are made to work flawlessly with any of their detectors, old and new. Always hang onto your ML/DD coil that came with the detector as this is a perfect all-rounder that can handle more mineralized soils that the monoloops can't. A lot of larger, deeper nuggets have been found with the larger (eg 18") ML/Commander Series coils too. The most robust and reliable coils out of these three is still the ML/Commanders. But the lighter and sometimes more sensitive alternatives are still there. It's pretty clear that the Goldstalker coils made a huge impression on detectorists when they were released. Tough and sensitive.

Madtuna: Those mounting brackets were deliberately redesigned to make it tougher. I like the three-bolt Epoxy mounting on them as well... makes them seem super-sturdy. They photograph well too... because of the darker grey plastic used.

Raymondj: I just obtained my first NF 16" Mono Advantage to test. Are you using the earlier NF 16" and how did you find it's performance in terms of depth (regardless of which version)?

Shane: The majority of owners around the world usually stick with their 11" DD coil (the default coil which came with the detector). And that's not necessarily a decision based on convenience or even finances. You can feel completely confident that it won't let you down although as you become more familiar with the detector, you may wish to try different coils to find one which suits your location and detecting style better. As the newer detectors can handle Monoloops better than previous models, don't leave your DD coil at home... it's a very handy coil in some locations. If you were left to wander the earth with just one coil... this would be the coil that most would choose if considering capability and physical robustness.

* Remember that some coils can break down over time with constant use. Part of the cause is electronic *(actual use), UV damage and composition. Not to mention physical damage from whacking it into rocks or having the coil bounce around in the back of a ute.

Marco..
Mine is the older version 16inch spoked S/L Mono... Its has paid for itself many times over (..and detector). It punches down deep and was surprised to see that it screamed when performing tests with DIG24K recently at 33 inches with a target equivalent of 20 ounces. I could lift the coil off the ground for about 3 - 4 inches and still hear it boom in. I love it... but must admit the 14X9 C/T is great as well....

I've been using a 24 x 12 NF mono that I bought new 18 months ago. I use it 90% of the time and find it very sensitive to small gold, very easy to pinpoint with and quite light enough to carry around all day. I use a 4000 and don't have any EMI issues with the NF coil.
I bought a Coiltek 18 x 12 Goldstalker 3 months ago and find it also to be an excellent coil.
I can't comment on how deep the CT coil will go in actual detecting use as I haven't as yet had to dig deeper than 6-8 inches. I can tell you that I have unearthed a musket ball approximately half an inch diameter from a measured depth of 24 inches in a very compacted mullock heap. I was very careful to ensure i had pinpointed the target as I dug just in case it was a multi-ounce nugget.
I believe both coils to be as good as we can get at present. I also agree with the comments about the Commander coils.
I would like to think that Rohan's coils are slightly better as they are still hand made.
This is just my experience and preference and I respect everyone else's opinions also.
Incidentally, my wife won't use anything but the 11" DD that came with her 4000 and she has found more gold than I have!!!

Robert

Gday

I guess when Nuggetfinder first started out the use of fibreglass was simply because it was a medium that could be used easily when making handmade coils, and the move to plastics was just a natural progression to the manufacturing process and that it would cut down the manufacturing time of each coil.

It is fair to say that there were issues with fibreglass cracking, but I have seen many cracked plastic coils from both manufacturers as well , and also coils that have loose internals, these have been mainly coiltek, but I have one 8" mono minelab that was loose inside too, I opened it up and glued it back together and it is still working fine.

I know that there have been issues with the quality of some of the plastic material that has been used on these coils in the past, but I think that these issues have been addressed now and we should see longer lasting and more stable coils, nf are obviously confident with the construction of the advantage coils as they are now giving a two year warranty on them, does coiltek do the same I am not sure?

The minelab commander coils are excellent coils, and I think the 11" commander mono is definately my favorite, the only issue I have with the larger commander coils is the weight factor, but you cant knock the quality or the performance, I didnt include them in the debate simply because they do not have the variety that the other two makers have.

I guess time will tell and in a couple of seasons we will see where the faults lie, just for the record if you are using a particular coil all the time it it reasonable to assume that you will find all of your gold with it, this does not necessarily make it a better coil than the next but its purely a case of the time it is being used, your confidence in the coil has a lot to do with it as well, if you dont like the feel of the coil or it does not suit your particular style of detecting then you wont do well with it because you will not use it as much.

cheers

stayyerAU

Gid'day
I've used a Coiltek Goldstalker mono 14" x 9" for a year now, and recently I purchased a Nugget Finder Advantage 14" x 9" mono. I'm yet to use the Nugget Finder but I've been comparing them physically.



The Goldstalker weighs 580 grams while the Nugget Finder weighs 760 grams, substantially heavier. I don't use a bungee in the bush so this extra weight is a negative from my perspective (My Goldstalker 18" x 12" weighs 800 grams almost the same as the Nugget Finder)



The shaft connection point on the Goldstalker is very flexible and responsive to tightening for rigidity or flexing, for easy coil manoeuvring over rough channelled terrain. The Nugget finder is very stiff and more awkward (it may become better over time as it wears?)


The Goldstalker was bump sensitive from new, but has lately become very unstable, to the point where I decided buying the Nugget Finder to try, which I have read has the windings potted in epoxy to stop movement in relation to the coil Faraday shield and external stimulus. Additionally this also helps reduce microphonic pickup by absorbing shock noise.



The Goldstalker uses heavier cabling than the Nugget Finder, which is likely to be more durable over time. The connector has dual clasp terminals, whereas the Nugget Finder uses the single grasp terminal. I'm unsure which type has the better life expectancy, but dual clasp terminals tend to be more reliable, especially when power connections are involved. I will be watching this closely, as high resistance contacts in the coil connecter can result in excessive noise and loss of performance. I'm presently testing an inductive coupling treatment to see if this improves performance over time.



The Goldstalker is showerproof only, whereas the Nuggetfinder will apparently handle a dunking to 0.5 metres

The Goldstalker fro me has proved to be a very responsive coil, finding a half pound of small deeply buried nuggets, so it will be interesting to see how the Nugget Finder goes when I have a sniff around my old patches. I will provide an update at a later date.



Cheers
Grey

re: the 6" Coiltek mono, anyone contemplating getting this coil be aware it may not fit the standard minelab lower shaft...mine didn't and 3 others I know didn't either. Fits an Otto lower shaft like a finger in a bum though

can you make it fit with spaces .
cheersDave1963

no it's the other way....too tight

Thanks for the field test report and the info everybody.

I will add that a coil size that is not made and I would like to have is a either a GoldStalker or Advantage 16" x 24" mono. Also a 6" x 18" mono for snapping up small nuggets with great fast ground coverage.

What would Trevor(@ CT) or Rohan(@ NF) say? I know Rohan would probably say he is really short on work and he also needs more new coil sizes, heheha!

My 6 goldstalker arived today,was a bit worried when i heard they would not fit the shaft on my 4500 but it fitted perfect,very happy.hope to try it out on weekend,hope they are as good as i have heard.
cheers Dave

glad to hear it fitted!
we tried 3 on 4500 standard shafts and none fitted.
Mr Nero posted once here before about the same problem so that made 4 that I know of.

Hi To all.

I have seen that some of you are having trouble with the 6" coil not fitting the Minelab Shaft. We manufactured the 6" coil wings to fit the Minelab and OTTO shafts so i would think that the issue would be a manufacturing error as we have not heard of this issue before. It must have been something which slipped through our quality inspection.

If you are having a problem with the 6" GS MONO coil not fitting the Minelab shaft then please send the coil back for a replacement under warranty.

This is not a recall of the coil as its performance is not in question, just the shaft fitting issue and we believe it is a very small minority as mentioned in this forum. We will only replace those coils which are experiencing this problem. Just had to make that clear

Please forward them back to us
COILTEK MANUFACTURING PTY LTD
PO BOX 91
SALISBURY SOUTH, SA, 5106

Alternatively you can forward them back to your place of purchase and they will organise the return. If you wish to discuss this further you can call us on 08 8283 0222 or email on ctmenquiry@coiltekmanufacturing.com.au

If you ever experience issues like this with our products please let us know ASAP as it is hard for us to fix a problem we are not aware of. It is best to contact us first before anything else. We usually try to fix these issues inhouse before they are sent out to the customer!

We apologise for the inconvenience and hope all your targets are the right colour!

Regards,
Trevor @ Coiltek Manufacturing
www.coiltekmanufacturing.com.au

thanks Trev.
I actually did ring someone at Coiltek some months ago and was told it was due to Minelab changing the shaft size to stop the use of after market coils??? I thought this was odd as every other Coiltek coil fitted and it was no bother as I use Otto shafts anyway.

The coil was serial number 0002, I'm pretty sure it's the coil is pictured on page 17 of this months GG&T in an artical by Goldsearch Australia.
The 3 others we tried were low serial numbers too, though I couldn't tell you what.

All that being said, it was a brilliant little coil which paid for itself handsomly.

Glad to hear it went well for you Steve,

Minelab have changed their shaft sizing over the years but we have always tried to keep up and what you were told is certainly strange.

If you feel it is not to your satisfaction please send it back for a replacement.

Regards,
Trevor

...cant ask anymore then that ..well done..

Thanks for the wonderful offer Trev... but I've already sold it (sort of wish I didn't)
Had I still had it I would have had to turn you down anyway thanks, as I use Otto shafts and it fitted perfectly

Howdy,


I said in the above post that I’d give an update when I’d had time to compare my Nugget Finder Advantage 14”x9” mono (NFAEM) with my Coiltek Goldstalker 14”x9” mono (CGSEM)

The following are a few observations made over the last few days, however I must point out here, that this is one 4500, and one of
each of the coils, which means that this is not an absolute result as any one of these 3 could vary from the average.

* I found the NFAEM was a little more immune to EMI, compared to the CGSEM, and this enabled me to up the gain a notch or two.

* The NFAEM was more responsive to bits below 0.2 grams, but the CGSEM was more responsive to bits over 1 gram.

* The CGSEM has a brighter crisper response, with the NFAEM being more muted.

* The NFAEM has to hit obstacles quite hard to evoke a response, and this was likely due to cable movement, whereas the CGSEM will
respond to a fairly light knock (Note the windings in the CGSEM are not glued in place, thus the potential exist for one of the wire turns to become loose from repeated bumps against rocks and such like, resulting a very noisy knock sensitive coil over time)

* The lighter weight of the CGSEM made lifting the coil up the sides of tailings and bank sides much less tiring than the NFAEM.

* The NFAEM would run for longer on my Pocket Rocket battery system, so although I’ve not checked it, I suspect the CGSEM draws more current than the NFAEM, and this would also explain the difference in size/depth responses observed.

Conclusion: Neither coil to me is an outright winner, they are both extremely good coils, each having their respective strengths and weaknesses, and once these are understood they can both be used to advantage, ultimately putting more gold in your pocket at the end of the day.

Cheers
Grey.

Although im a NF man ATM, there is one thing missing from NF coils that makes the wold of difference compared to CT coils.

And that is ....... Trevor is here, on the forums listening to the end
user with correspondence & back up service, & that's bloody
golden.

G day all
Couldn't agree more Narrawa.
So here's some feedback for you Trevor.
The CT 14" round DD Pro Elite on my machine (SD2200v2) is the best coil for detector combination i've used,whisper quiet, very sensitive and back breaking depth.
There was some talk of some Goldstalker DD's but i'm starting to wonder if that was just rumour

Brett