Learning the Nox, which coil to use?

Either one is fine. Fortunately the id's will be about the same regardless of coil. Personally I would go with the 11inch. If it's a nail infested site or insane trash, I would go 6".

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Thanks for the advice

I like the 6" for tight spaces and separating targets (trash). The 11" obviously allows for covering more ground quicker. It's a trade off. Both are great coils. I will add that the 6" pinpoints like a boss, not that the 11" sucks at pinpointing.

I would stick with the 11” coil. Don’t discount it’s ability to separate or un-mask because of its size. It’s an awesome coil. Learn with it. You’ll net more finds because of its coverage and greater depth. I think for starting out you’ll have more fun with it. Once you get the hang of using your nox, then try the 6” and see what if anything you missed with the bigger coil. A good tip for using the 11” in trashy areas is to lower the sensitivity. Good luck!

NCtoad said:

I would stick with the 11” coil. Don’t discount it’s ability to separate or un-mask because of its size. It’s an awesome coil. Learn with it. You’ll net more finds because of its coverage and greater depth. I think for starting out you’ll have more fun with it. Once you get the hang of using your nox, then try the 6” and see what if anything you missed with the bigger coil. A good tip for using the 11” in trashy areas is to lower the sensitivity. Good luck!

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I agree with all above. Also maybe with just starting, try going to those areas that are not dead center and might have the most trash.

Try some open out of the way, less traveled areas to get some experience.

I'm not one to give the greatest examples of settings and such with an Equinox, even though I did own an EQ-800 and both the Minelab coils, but I will offer these suggestions:

1.. Be Patient. Don't be in a hurry to fuss around with multiple adjustment settings until you first learn how each mode performs, then, one-at-a-time, learn the pros and cons of each adjustment function.

2.. I suggest you work both trashy locations as well as those that are fairly clean. That helps you learn more about recovery time, target masking and unmasking, to better know both detector and coils.

3.. The standard 11" DD coil works fine in more open environments, but I mainly use smaller-size coils because I hunt 'busier places. The 6" DD was used a good 80% of the time for me.

Monte

I appreciate all your advice. This is exactly the kind of practical knowledge I am after. Since i posted this topic I have hunted twice. Once with the 6 and once with the 11. I used the 6 inch at a trashy park and the 11 at a freshwater beach.

eTXOne: said:

I appreciate all your advice. This is exactly the kind of practical knowledge I am after. Since i posted this topic I have hunted twice. Once with the 6 and once with the 11. I used the 6 inch at a trashy park and the 11 at a freshwater beach.

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It will take more than just two hunts using those coils and working different areas to really get a good understanding of them and their performance for you. That said, how did you do at both locations and what comments might you have at this point regarding those two coils?

I worked with a fellow using a stock coil on a new detector and it was his 1st time using it and he said Gee, I like this it works really well. After a couple of hunts I let him use a smaller-size coil, like I use on my unit, and he liked it better for the littered place we were hunting.

Later he commented that he could understand why I like to use 2 or 3 different coils on a detector to better handle the different site environments, and he could see why he needs to buy at least one extra coil to compliment the stock coil.

Without going after-market you are kind of limited on what Minelab offers, but the 6" and 11" do make a nice complement to handle a wide range of conditions.

Best of success on future detecting jaunts.

Monte

Agreed Monte,
I really couldn’t help myself. I had to try both. At this point though I have so much I could comment on since i am so new with the Minelab itself. BUT, i will give my opinion with that disclaimer.
I think i will use the 11 inch primarily. On the fresh water beach i found two dollars worth of Clad and a silver necklace pendant. With the 6 inch in a very trashy park i found 35 cents and dug a few deep old cans.
I would like to swap the two and take the 11 inch to the park etc and see how they do. I did have an issue with the 6 inch at first, it was super chatty in any mode i put it in even after gb. So i reset to factory presets and it fixed whatever was happening.
So i did have more fun with the 11inch but that could also be because I was at the beach. So to be fair i will take the 6 inch next time

eTXOne: said:

Agreed Monte,
I really couldn’t help myself. I had to try both. At this point though I have so much I could comment on since i am so new with the Minelab itself. BUT, i will give my opinion with that disclaimer.

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Being 'new' to the hobby or just 'new' to any detector means there will need to be time to learn.

eTXOne: said:

I think i will use the 11 inch primarily. On the fresh water beach i found two dollars worth of Clad and a silver necklace pendant. With the 6 inch in a very trashy park i found 35 cents and dug a few deep old cans.

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I'd guess most folks would opt for the 11" round DD the most for "coverage-and-depth", but my preference was the 6" for "better separation and unmasking". Plus it was easier to work th4 coil in and around dense brush, rocks and building rubble. Also, working a wide-open beach is a great place for the 11" DD coil.

eTXOne: said:

I did have an issue with the 6 inch at first, it was super chatty in any mode i put it in even after gb. So i reset to factory presets and it fixed whatever was happening.

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If it was "chatty" in any mode but fine a the default settings, then is suggests whatever custom adjustments you used were th culprit. In over 56 years of hunting, even with some "high-tech' models, I never liked to get too radical with a lot of adjustment features the detectors offered. I found from experimenting and using them to learn them that quite often it didn't take much adjustment to really mess up and degrade the overall performance. Keep it 'simple' with 'functional' control settings to achieve sufficient 'performance' and that's all we need.

In time, as you learn the Equinox, you'll have a better understanding of the control settings to avoid that 'chatty' behavior.

eTXOne: said:

So i did have more fun with the 11inch but that could also be because I was at the beach. So to be fair i will take the 6 inch next time,

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You accomplished the main goal, and that was to 'Have Fun'. Keep working both coils and continue learning the device. Remember, too, that with a smaller and lighter-weight coil some folks have a tendency to sweep too briskly, and that's not the best idea when hunting trashier places. Use it with a slow and methodical sweep speed remembering to overlap at least 50% on each sweep.

Continued "Good Fun Times" and find stuff!!

Monte

eTXOne said:

Good morning,
I am new to the equinox 600 and I hoping to find some hold jewelry and silver coins in my local parks. I will occasionally hunt the beach but only a few times a year. Mostly hunting parks and some old house sites. I have two coils the one it came with and the 6 inch. I am wondering if i should start learning with the 6 or the 11. Maybe its doesn’t matter which i choose but since i have no experience with this machine im 100 percent sure there someone can give some insight on this decision.
Thanks

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I always try to use the biggest coil I can.

The 11-inch stock coil is great in most situations. If the trash is just too high sometimes I put the 6" on to kind of clean things out and then go back over with the 11.

If it's a really good spot I'll throw the 15" on after all that's done and go for the really deep ones!