[southerndesert]

Hi All,

Well as many of you know I have been testing the new Nugget Finder 16" Round DD coil for a couple days and here is my opinion so far...

I expected the coil to be light like it's cousin the 16" round mono, but boy was I surprised to find it weighs little if any more! I can swing this coil all day without getting worn down and yes I use a bungee (more for control than weight with these new coils).

I find the DD to be very sensitive to small gold at depth and picked up one small nugget of about 3/4 gram at 10 or 11 inches. The signal was very crisp and loud, Mike and I both thought the nugget would be much larger than it was. I have tried the coil in a couple different environments so far and both black sand and basalt were no problem. Ironstone and hotrocks in general are also all but eliminated in most cases in the areas tested.

I have not done enough testing to draw a full conclusion yet by any means as no one can give such a report after only a few full days use, but so far this coil is much more sensitive than other DD coils I own and have used and again it appears the Nugget Finder coils are all they claim to be. My hat is off to Rohan and the rest of the crew for bringing such a great product to the goldfields here in the US!

I will most definitely be adding one to my coil collection and I will add more info as I put more time on this new coil!

Good hunting, Bill S.

[Dirtscience]

Bill,
Thanks for the reports on this coil. It sounds like another winner for the Nugget Finder crew. I will be adding one to my arsenal as well; I have a few places in mind that are impossible unless you use a DD. I just haven't pegged the size I want yet. Did you ever try that coil in disc mode?
I know not many people use it. I just thought there might be a few that would like that question answered.

Regards

Mark.

[southerndesert]

Hi Mark,

I was asked that same question by another and I will try it tomorrow and post the results, as I get a chance to use the coil more I will post more detailed info. I am not sure how much longer I'll have my greasy hands on the test coil, but I am sure enjoying testing this sweet new NF-DD in some of my nasty soiled hunting spots and getting a little gold to boot. Maybe Chris will forget I have it

More to come, Bill S.

[Potholes Bob-NM]

Thanks for your report on the new 16" N.F. DD Bill, it sure sounds great.

What worries me is that I might find myself in a soil condition where the depth capability of my Mono is being compromised without my realizing it! How can you know if that is indeed the case?

With these improvments occuring with the new DD coils Bill, I can see myself switching over to one as my main coil, rather than my current 17" elliptical Nugget Finder!

Bill, is it as easy to "pinpoint" a target with this new 16" N.F. DD as it is- EG- with say a 14" Coiltek Mono? I put the 14" round Mono in my question as I didn't feel that it was fair to compare a ellipticals pinpointing with a circular coil. I think that any elliptical pinpoints a bit easier than any equivalent size circular coil. What do you think Bill?


Take care, and watch out for those loose Rich Hill rocks!

Potholes Bob

[southerndesert]

Hello Bob,

As for when one needs to switch coils there are a lot of variables involved, but I have learned to identify certain types of instability when hunting with a mono that signal potential depth loss. I guess the best way to give advise would be that if you are having a LOT of false deep type signals and threshold instability you may want to try a DD coil. What you may then discover is that some of those false signals will be targets at depth! If you think about it, it just makes since that if your mono is a hassle to use or get to run properly that it's depth performance will suffer.

Pinpointing with a DD is not all that difficult as long as one remembers where the coils "hot spot" is and that is right down the center of the coil front to back. On a mono you are hot all around the outside edge. So to pinpoint with a DD you use the tip of the coil as opposed to the edge and move side to side to pinpoint. Yes the elliptical will seem to work better (DD) for pinpointing due to the tip being narrowed down right at the "hot spot" (the back tip can also be used). With some practice it will get easier.

I use DD coils in many areas I hunt and have scored big in some areas most others have hunted with mono coils.

Hope I answered some of your questions Bob.

Regards, Bill S.

[Michael H]

One simple technique when using a large DD coil on my GPX is to switch to Enhanced when pinpointing so the whole left side of the coil acts like a mono and I can pinpoint easily using the left edge. This works great with the stock 18" DD Minelab coil. I would be anxious to know how well the 16" DD NF works in the Enhanced and Cancel modes. Thanks for the info!

[southerndesert]

Hello Mike and All,

I got out for a bit with my GP3K yesterday and tried out both "Cancel and Mono" (Enhance on GPX) with the new NF DD coil and found them both to work well.

There is of course a loss of sensitivity in cancel, but I was able to hear a 1.5 gram test nugget at several inches without any trouble.

The coil when switched to mono works well with a good clear signal and the expected gain in sensitivity.

I will be returning the coil to Chris Monday, but I will be putting some more hours on it this weekend.

Good hunting, Bill S.

[Michael H]

Thanks for the info Bill. Now the question is, when can I order one?? Have a great new year!!

[Chris Gholson]

Michael,

We are expecting to have a shipment of the new NF Double D coils arriving in mid January. I will post more about their arrival after the 1st.