DetectingWales.com

                                   I not sure if the following should really be titled as a strange "metal detecting" experience...............

                                   For some time now, I have been contemplating buying a much larger coil for the Safari. With being strapped for cash and needs eating into any couple of quid that i Manage to put aside for a new coil, I couldn't see me splashing out on a Nel Big coil or a Goliath any time soon.

                                   I have never been much of a gambler and I don't even have a punt on the Derby or the Grand National. Last weekend I was down in North East Wales with the wife and her cousin and we visited a beach-front arcade. The wife loves to play the 2p arcade games and I generally read the daily news paper or a magazine whilst she feed the ever hungry machines with copper coins. Having grown tired of the hurly-burly of the flashing lights and repetitive tunes, I told the wife and her cousin that I would return to the car and wait for them there.

                                  Well, fifteen minutes passed, then twenty, and then forty. I gave up waiting and returned to the arcade only to find them playing one of the big boys machines at £2 a go. Cutting a long story short; they eventually persuaded me to part with my last twenty quid and they then started playing with a total of sixty quid in the kitty. I could hardly believe what followed. The machine just kept pumping money at us. When we got to £660, I chickened out and took my cut as an investment for a new coil and the girls continued on. In all, we took over seven hundred quid out of that machine before closing time.

                                 As already said; I'm not a gambler and I'm not going to be throwing my my cash down the throat of any of those machines any time soon, but I will be getting that new coil. God bless serendipity!  ;D

That was very daring of you Chris. I'd say Lady Luck was definitely smiling on you that day. Normally she just loves to lead you on then let you down.
Be warned though. The NEL coils are heavy. Have you thought about the 13 inch Detech Ultimate. I had one for my Safari and found it excellent.

i tested a 13inch detech ultimate sunday and did not notice a difference in weight and it gave a cracking depth comparing to the usual. Ace 250

                           Thanks for your replies folks. I replaced the stock coil with a Detech 13" Ultimate and have been more than happy with the performance and as you say, the weight isn't a problem. The ultimate now stays on the machine; that is unless I need to pop my diddy coil on for getting into tight spots.

                            I had been contemplating getting something bigger just for my beach work. Hopefully, a larger coil would give me more coverage and possibly a little more depth. The thought of putting too much weight on the end of the shaft is something of a deterrent but I do have a bungee harness on stand by.

                           Just at present, I am looking at a Coiltek 15" All Terrain, a Mars 15" Goliath, a 15" Nel Attack, a 15" X 17" Nel Big, and an 18" Musketeer from the USA. This will probably be the last coil that I ever buy, so I do want to get it right first time. Next stop YouTube for some comparative performance viewing. Any advice is more than welcome.

                           Oh, and I am staying away from gambling machines; I watched the wife and her cousin lose two hundred pounds of their
original winnings yesterday. ::)

There's only one winner when you gamble in the end  ;)

Great story Chris, and wishing you further great fortune with your new acquisition'd coil what ever one you decide on getting.👍

                      Spot on Nobby; the only winner is the bookmaker. Or the one armed bandit!

                      Generally, the wife loves to play small coinage machines just for fun. We are on general chatting terms with the owner of the Harker's arcade in Rhyl I I have always been impressed by the way he runs the arcade. I have frequently seen the guy walk around the arcade giving tubs of coins to people and even popping a quid in the bingo machine for others. When the weather was hot, he arranged cool drinks for the kids in there; as well as coffee or tea for his bingo players. Me; I'm not a gambler, or an arcade person, but I am impressed by the way Harkers is run.

                      And no, I'm not on the payroll!  :)

                     

Save your money Chris, those big coils are heavy, unwieldy and more importantly not that much deeper. They are a nightmare to pinpoint with especially if there's plenty of scrap in the ground.  I learned the hard way with a 15)×12 sef on the T2, great on clean ground but   a  pig if there's  any iron in the ground. Just my.opinion  ;) ;)

High Chris, I never really understood what the word "serendipity" meant 😱,so I looked it up.....and....now ...I... know !!!!
Caw!! Chris, you'll have me watching "COUNTDOWN" at this rate !!!..LOL 😁

                                Oops, just ordered a Nel Big from Eastern Europe and saved £40 on the general asking price Chris. I don't intend using the coil on pasture or ploughed but intend giving it a go on selected sections of beach that I know to be low on iron contamination and WWii scrap. If, as you did, I find the coil too unwieldy I can just sell it on and still be on a winner. I only started with £20.  ;D

                                I am contemplating selling on my C-Scope CS4PI, but haven't yet made up my mind. I just hate the lack of discrimination on the CS4PI. I may first do some comparison tests between the Safari and the CS4PI on wet sand before finally making up my mind.

                                As for "serendipitous" events; some people call them "Holy Coincidences" or "Miracles". I guess I was just lucky.  ;)