Coiltek 10x5" Equinox (NOX) Coil

My new 10x5" Nox coil has arrived, seems quite nice, I don't mind the weight, I'm yet to test the performance but I'll sort that out soon in comparison to the 6" ML coil.



The weight's not too bad, this is with the coil cover.



The standard ML coil bolts don't fit, the thread goes thru but not the bolt as in the picture.



The coil ears seem a bit stronger.



I'll update once I've given it a good run in.

The nugget hunters will be pleased to know the tip and tail of the coil are the most sensitive areas to small targets, a very small target (#9 birdshot) gets the best depth at the tip and toe of the coil. With the little stock 6" coil this same target has to be in the very center of the coil to get the depth. The Coiltek is giving the best depth at the tip and toe, not in the middle of the coil, I'm sure as targets get bigger that will change to the center of the coil however tiny targets love where the windings come together. This is awesome as it means you can poke that little nose up into tight areas and have good sensitivity there. On coin size targets I'm noticing no difference in depth over the 6", in fact it might be a little bit shallower but further testing required there, it's certainly not deeper though. I'm not bothered by that as I wanted it for prospecting and for that it's looking very promising with that hot tip I was hoping it'd have. Being a bit skinnier at the tip you can get it into places the 6" rounder coil would not go too, not to mention the edges of the 6" round are not sensitive, the center is most sensitive. Here is a photo comparing it to the 6"



I'm looking forward to hitting the bedrock with this coil, it looks like it might be decent.  

Their measurements were a little out of whack too

Having superb sensitivity on the tip end of a coil, would be regarded as a highly advantageous asset to have on any coil phrunt, more so on an elliptical.  There is nothing more frustrating than trying to pinpoint a small target out from its resting place, which restricts both a coils manoeuvrability as well as its accessibility to the target, very well knowing that the greatest sensitivity of a coil, (especially that of an elliptical in shape), comes from a couple of inches further back from the edge of the coil.  Thanks for the update.

Cheers Kon.

Aye tis tops when the tip and heel are so responsive on elliptical coils, not just for nugget finding but coins amongst lots of junk, the tip or heel right over the target with the coil swiveled vertical can help the discrimination take out close junk and allow a spotty iffy but interesting signal to clean up. This works real well with the Deus, I imagine even better with the 800/600, sounds awkward but once you`ve sorted it out comes quickly with time.

The tiny target sensitivity is no more than the standard 6" coil, the depth is also similar, it's splitting hairs but at the moment I believe the standard coil to be ever so slightly deeper on tiny targets.  So far the big benefit to it is the tiny target can be right near the tip of the coil and get picked up where as the standard coil is most certainly the most sensitive at the center of the coil so tiny targets don't get picked up with any depth at the front of the coil. It was quite handy with the 6" as you could pinpoint tiny gold knowing it's at the center of the coil. With the 10x5" you would pinpoint using the tip up to 3-4cm from the tip as it's looking to be deeper than the center in that area on the nose and tail on very tiny targets. That changes on coins and so on to the center.

Ground coverage is the biggest benefit to it, while maintaining very small target sensitivity and having the hot nose on the coil is very beneficial in rocky areas for poking it around. Although the lack of tiny target sensitivity in the center of the coil is a bit of a worry so overlapping swings would be beneficial too meaning is the ground coverage really any better when hunting tiny gold?

I haven't tested with bigger targets like coins and so on other than running over some coins that I've had buried for a few years, it hits the same ones as the 6" and misses the same ones as the 6" so no real difference there. It's slightly worse than the 6" in high EMI too, not much in it, but a bit worse, I guess the bigger size.

Unless someone wanted the elliptical shape and the hotter nose and a bit more ground coverage there isn't any real benefit to buying one over the 6" if they had that already. If they didn't have the 6" and were considering which of the two to buy then I'd likely buy the Coiltek just because it's so close in sensitivity with a bit more ground coverage. If absolutely tiny gold as close to the Gold Bug 2 sensitivity is required the 6" standard coil is best.

This is from a gold prospecting perspective, coins are a different story and it may show depth benefits on coins, my testing over a few is hardly conclusive, just that it misses the same coins the 6" does. Target ID stability is about the same on the ones it does pick up.

This isn't anything scientific, it's not trying to say one coil is better than the other or anything like that, just showing how each coil reacts to a tiny #9 birdshot and the hot spots on them.



I really like both coils, each for their own benefits. I'm going to struggle to decide which one to use for my next prospecting trip, I guess the 10x5" since it's new and I'll take it somewhere where I think the elliptical shape will help my success.