17" Elliptical Mono Review(s)

Bob "Montana" Dansie

When I was asked to do a field test of the new Nugget Finder coil I selected the 17” elliptical from the list of 6 coils currently available, this being an average size and  shape that I felt would lend itself well to the conditions usually found in the brushy, rocky terrain of the western U.S. goldfields. I should add here that these coils are designed to be used on the Minelab SD and GP series of detectors and are a monoloop type coil. Double D configurations will be available soon, according to the manufacturer.

Since the weather here in Arizona is close to unbearable this time of year, I decided to carry out the test for short periods spread over 5 days rather than trying to do it all in one day and risking heat stroke. This also allowed me to try it on a variety of conditions. I picked the GP3000 to try it on.

The first day I took it to a place where I have found small flat nuggets in the past on a gently sloping hillside with a moderate amount of mineralization. The first signal proved to be a small flat piece at about 2 inches deep. When I tried to weigh it later it would not even activate my digital scale (it takes 1/10 of a gram). From past experience this was outstanding sensitivity for a coil this large. The next signal turned out to be a long flat skinny nugget at about 3 inches deep. This one weighed 1/10 of a gram. It was really heating up and despite the fact that I was finding gold I called it a day.

The second day was forecast to be even hotter so I opted for a spot near Prescott at about 6,500 ft. elevation. This location has a little more mineralisation and is quite brushy. It has also been detected with every type detector and coil made for over ten years. The gold on this spot is typically rough, ragged and pitted which often results in a weak signal. This was going to be a real test of what the coil would do. After trying the open spots without finding anything but a few bullet fragments, I started working under some oak trees where the leaves were piled up about 4 inches deep. I soon got a fairly good signal and after scraping off the layer of leaves rechecked the spot. It was much stronger now so I dug down about three inches and tried again. Still there and much stronger. I then used the tip of the coil to pinpoint the exact location and was getting a little excited . One more scratch with my pick and it was out of the hole and in the pile. The tip of the coil is very sensitive and made pinpointing a snap. I got the nugget on my first grab. I checked the surrounding area for more but it appeared to be a loner. Even at this elevation it was getting very hot so I decided to take the nugget home and clean and weigh it. It weighed 1.4 grams. So far so good . Two mornings and 3 nuggets .  At this point I was really feeling comfortable with the Nugget Finder. Now it was time for the real test.

On day 3 , the forecast was for cloud cover and much cooler temperatures so I headed for the Black Canyon just north of Phoenix on the east flank of the Bradshaw Mountains. The spot I selected for today was on a bench above the Black Canyon Creek where some ancient gravels had been deposited on an inside bend. These benches are known to have good gold on them but create a real challenge for detectors. The soil is extremely mineralized and contains lots of ironstone hot rocks. I have detected this spot many times with many different coils and detectors with very limited success. I knew there had to be some nuggets there if I could just find a coil that would handle these hot rocks. I was pleasantly surprised when I found that the hot rocks were only a small annoyance, with only the larger ones on the surface giving a signal. The deeper ones seemed to have disappeared. It didn’t take long to find two flat nuggets that weighed 3/10 of a gram each and a smaller one that weighed 1/10 gram. Picking small nuggets out of this situation with a large coil was pretty impressive. I left this spot and headed back toward Prescott on some back roads and spotted a large wash that I knew had some nice nuggets and stopped to give it a quick try. After digging several bullets at impressive depth I got a good signal along the side of the wash where some bedrock jutted out. After digging down through six inches of very wet sand I started scooping with my hand and caught a flash of gold on the bedrock. This beautiful stream polished nugget weighed exactly 2 grams. Another good day, and 2 more to go.

I decided to spend the last 2 days doing my favorite type of detecting ; in the gullies . I decided to try a very remote location where the nuggets were never plentiful but nice sized when you find them. After struggling over terribly washed out roads from recent rains I parked the Jeep next to a good-looking wash with lots of schist bedrock showing. This one was just full of ironstone hot rocks and did pose a problem .The coil didn’t handle this situation nearly as well because it was hard to keep such a large coil from being over several of these hot rocks at the same time. I was wishing I had the 10” that will be available from Nugget Finder soon. I’m sure it would have a better choice for this wash. I persisted for several hundred yards down stream and after kicking numerous hot rocks aside finally got a good signal with the edge of the coil next to a bedrock ledge. The signal seemed to come from within the rock itself and after looking closely I spotted a deep crack in it. Luckily the rock was soft and rotten and after breaking it apart I spotted a nice 1 ½ gram nugget peeking out at me. By this time it was heating up real fast so I detected my way back up to the Jeep and started back down the horrible road. One more day to go on my field test. Could I find gold 5 days in a row?

The fifth day started out hot and humid with thunder clouds building. This would be a real short trip from the looks of things so I picked a spot close by where I had detected many small nuggets in the past. The lightning was already starting a few miles away and was giving my detector fits. The darn thing was making all kinds of peeps and squeals. I decided to stick it out for a while and was able to pick a good signal out of all the noise .  I scraped off about 4 inches of sand and hit bedrock.. In this case there was a crack filled with gooey red clay.  After scraping the clay out and waving the clumps over the coil I got a good beep from a mud ball. I mashed the mudball between my fingers and felt a hard lump in it. Sure enough that lump was a nice little 7/10 gram water worn nugget. The lightning was getting closer and the air conditioner was calling to me so I loaded up and went to town. A little luck and excellent equipment had given me gold 5 days in a row.

To sum it all up, I was very impressed with the sensitivity of this large coil and being a large coil it gave very good coverage. The obvious quality of construction, with very rigid design was apparent right away. There is no flex or wobble to create false signals. Bumping it against rocks and brush caused no falsing whatsoever. The coil wire itself comes out of the coil right next to the shaft, which also is a real plus and keeps the wire from catching on brush. The clear sharp signal on a good target was another real plus. I saved the best for last; this large coil weighs less than many coils that are much smaller. I didn’t weigh it but I noticed it right away and never even thought about hooking up the support bungee. The ultra thin profile made it very easy to poke under brush and rocks. I could find no faults with the design or operation of this coil. The only problem I noticed was a little chipping on the edge of the replaceable skid plate from banging against the rocks. This in no way affects the operation of the coil and the manufacturer is working on that small problem.

The coil I used costs $ 342.00 plus S&H.. For prices on other sizes and styles you can contact Arizona Outback at www.Arizonaoutback.com or call (928) 777-0267.