Coiltek Ufo Coil, any good?

Hi only new here. First time poster long time listener (you know the drill). Just want to get some thoughts on the Coiltek 24x12 mono coil. I remember when it first came out Jack Lange was praising its benefits and wouldnt take it off. I have always been a bit of a round coil man myself but can see the benefit of a large elliptical. There are a few well priced ones on ebay ATM and I am nearly ready to take the plunge and purchase one.
What are your thoughts on this? Does anyone give them a big thumbs up?
Maxx

hey maxxAu
welcom to the forum, i know mono coils are noizy but they are an awesome coil not sure about the ufo ones but someone will help you out...what detector have you got?
cheers
stoppsy

Hi Maxx
I don't know about the coiltek 24x12 but I have the nugget finder 24x12 spoked mono and it's one of my favorite coils , don't expect it to find you many sub gm nuggets but anything over a gram or so is very good and well worth having.
cheers mark

Hi Maxx, I dont know bout the 24" but i use the Coiltek mini ufo the 17", I bought the coil from ebay. I very rarely take it off it is excellent and has found me many bits from .1 and up. I use it on a GPX4000.

Cheers Matt

Gday


I had one of these coils years ago and found it to be rather dull on small pieces and awkward to use as well, cumbersome is probably more likely the word for it, and I found myself forever adjusting it to sit flat.

My advice would be to pay a little more and get a later model coil, say a 14"round nuggetfinder advantage mono or even a 14x9 advantage eliptical mono, both of these coils work well, the 24x12 will give you better ground coverage for open ground but would be a lot harder to use for general detecting, but I believe that the 14" round nuggetfinder will give you better depth anyway, I would even suggest that you would be better off with the coiltek 17" mini ufo rather than the 24".

cheers

stayyerAU

G'day Maxx.

As was stated by Stoppsy, Hard to give you input on coil,without knowing what model machine you are using.

Cheers kon61.

G'day all, yeah sorry should have mentioned which machine I was running. 4500.
Thanks for your replies.
Stayer, you say

stayyerAU wrote:
the 24x12 will give you better ground coverage for open ground but would be a lot harder to use for general detecting

I can see where you are coming from here but I reckon that having an elliptical shape coil as opposed to round I may be able to poke its head in and around scrub more effectively and probe areas that I could not probe into before. Sorry, that doesn't sound too good does it?
I think for that reason alone it maybe a worthwhile investment. The 17" mini UFO you and Mattymatt mentioned might not be a bad option either but I figure if I'm going to do it, I mayza do it BIG. Plus I think they are similar in price.
Thanks for your input.
Maxx

Gday Maxx
I run a 14x9 NF advantage mono on my 4500. Prior to that one I used the 17x10 mini ufo Coiltek. Good coil but a fair bit noisier than the NF.
I'd reckon the big UFO would be ideal for proper prospecting/patchfinding rather than cleaning up old areas, although it should have a marked depth advantage on bigger stuff. I've found that over here in WA most of the alluvial is fairly shallow and there are only a few areas where the extra size for depth is warranted.
If I saw a cheap 24x12 floating around I'd probably buy it, as I don't have any coil that big yet but as I said I reckon there's a place for them..
cheers
Brett

G'day Maxx,

The UFO is my first choice coil on my GP3500 when I go out. My only other big mono is the Commander 15x12. The UFO can be a bit noisy in laterite/charcoal ground but it has been deadly on a wide range of target sizes and has good depth. I can cover a lot of ground quickly but as others have said it can be a bit cumbersome in tight spots. I expect the newer elliptical monos may be quieter and possibly better suited to the 4500 but that is just my assumption since technology is always advancing and the UFO have some age to them now.

" I expect the newer elliptical monos may be quieter and possibly better suited to the 4500 but that is just my assumption since technology is always advancing and the (24x12") UFO have some age to them now."

Yes there are newer model large elliptical Mono's like the CoilTek Goldstalker 18x12" and the Nugget Finder 24x12" in two configurations, the white SL & grey Advantage. Do not forget the Minelab Commander 15x12" Mono also.

The performance of a Mono elliptical coil is based on its area, not width(up to a certain point). Ellipticals have a long magnetic field that penetrates the soil, while the rounds have a wide magnetic field. The 24x12" has the same area of about a 17" round. Both kon61(on bigger than 5 cent coin sized gold) and CoilTek say the 24x12" has the equivalent depth of an 18" round. Someone wrote Jack Lange said the depth of a 16" round.

Also the 24x12" is more sensitive on small gold(better signal) than the 18" round with better pinpointing, getting into a dug out hole better, hot tips/ends(equivalent to a 14" round according the kon61), and of course more coverage.

But I think when nuggets get really large the 18" is slightly deeper than the 24x12" on very big multi-ounce nuggets.

Disregarding coverage, the 24x12" as compared to a 12" round, is the 24x12" has more depth on larger nuggets, but the 12" has more depth and sensitivity on (subgram) small nuggets.

If the 24x12" Mono is too clumsy, cumbersome, or uncontrollable for you then get a Mono in 14x9", 17x11"(Mini UFO is a 17x10"), 15x12", 18x12", 11", 12", 14", 16", or maybe 18" instead.

My favorite sizes are the 14x9", 17x11", 18x12", 24x12", 16", 20", and 25" only in my opinion(IMO). Other people have different opinions and other favorites.

Like JP might prefer some I did not mention like the 11", 12", and 18". I know the 18" round is a favorite for him.

G'day Maxx.

Maxx now that i know your using a 4500 and your thoughts are hovering around an elliptical coil,a top all rounder would have to be Trevor's current 18x12 Goldstalker mono.It will offer the best of all worlds,(superb sensitivity,depth,and ground coverage) to suit a variety of ground conditions.

Cheers kon61.

Hi Guys, I run a GP 3000 & I find the 24" X 12" UFO a fantastic coil. I have found many sub gram bits with it. The smallest being .3 of a gram. In open country I always use this as a patch finder & when gold is found I will go over the same ground with a range of smaller coils to get all I can. It has a great coverage sweep.

Here is a .4 gram bit


A few sub gram bits



A few bigger ones


4.5 grams


Top 3 sub gram bits were found this last weekend with the 24" X 12" UFO & the rest were found with the little 6" mono


9 gram bit




I love the UFO. It is nice & light for its size although I have just made a hip stick & can swing it all weekend.

Happy hunting

JW

nice pics off your findings kiwijw, by the way welcom to the forum
cheers
stoppsy

Nice post Kiwi JW. For a moment there I thought it was you selling the 24" X 12 on ebay, but I re-checked and the serial numbers are different. It is heartening to know that its sensitivity is good on the small fry as well, but please dont tell me the 6" coil found the 9 grammer in an area that you had swung the 24 X 12 over.
I'm gonna take the plunge.
Maxx
ps, thanks to everyone that replied. This forum is very helpful for the gold forum virgins.

kiwijw wrote:

dude!!!! Parmolive gold!!!

Hi guys, Thanks for the welcome & no I hadnt scanned that spot with the 24" X 12" where I found the 9 grammer . I actualy wonder if some coils perform better on one detector than they do on others. I found it strange to read that some dont rate the 24" X 12" UFO for finding sub gram bits. I am gobsmacked by the sub gram bits that I have found with it.

Happy hunting

JW

MaxxAu,

Totally agree with your last comments and welcome to the forum Kiwijw.......Gee theres some very smart members on this forum, so thanks for sharing...its a great help.

HueyDuck......

I use a 24 x 12 coiltek elliptical mono on my GP3500 and is it a great coil for the deeper stuff on open ground, they struggle a little in the hotter ground, but can still be used effectively. You just need to train your ear to the right sounds and it will work like a dream.