Coiltek Goldhawk 10x5 Review

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Hi Folks,

I’ve been swinging the Coiltek Goldhawk 10x5 on the end of the 6000 for about two months now and decided it was time to put together a review of the coil. I originally purchased the 10x5 as I thought it would be a good little cleanup coil to pick up the scraps of gold missed by other detectors in tight areas or on old workings that have been flogged over the years. The standard 11” coil works very well but has limitations in my area due to the undergrowth that has popped up after the bush fires.
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When I initially picked up the coil, the first thing that I noticed was the simple, box like lines of the 10x5. The skid plate clipped in place rather than being taped on and was easily removed by hand. In saying that, it holds in place very well when in use. Due to the square lines of the coil and skid plate junction, taping would be a simple task if you wanted to head down that path. I removed the skid plate today for the first time and noticed there was very little dust inside. I would expect regular cleaning would need to occur if you used the coil in water. (Unless the coil was taped.) The winged lugs on the coil appear to be quite strong and have not shown any signs of cracking to date.

The coil is quite light, (as you would expect) coming in at 580 grams compared to 666 grams for the standard 11”. When attached to the detector, the balance point is at the second knuckle which makes the machine quite light in the front end. It is a lovely coil to swing and it glides well over uneven surfaces. The pointy nose of the coil slips into tight spots between shrubs or rocks that other coils have difficulty reaching. The coil has good sensitivity close to the nose which helps with this advantage.

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The coil is stable in operation and appears to be less prone to emi than the standard coil. When using the 10x5, I can normally run the detector at a higher sensitivity than my detecting mate who is running the 11” coil on his 6k. Quite often he is running at sensitivity 3 whereas I will be in auto plus. If I am able to run in auto plus, threshold is always turned on as small targets will often not trigger a response from the detector.

My mate and I regularly compare the two different coils on undug targets. This gives us an opportunity to compare settings and in this case, the performance of the two coils in real life situations. It’s a time consuming process but we enjoy discovering the characteristics of each coil. We will detect in close proximity to each other and call the other person over if a target is detected. Where possible, we try not to disturb the ground at all so that the comparison is fair. What we have found is quite interesting. The sound that each machine gives off on targets is different. The standard coil produces a mellow, rounded response to a target whereas the 10x5 gives a sharp, crisp signal. In about 90% of cases, the volume coming through is higher on the Coiltek coil. It’s narrow, elliptical shape and the sensitivity gain due its smaller size may contribute to this. If the nuggets are a little larger (just under .1 of a gram and up), the 11” coil comes into its own if they are deep in the ground. In saying that, we have not detected a piece of gold that the Goldhawk can not hear. It’s depth capability on micro nuggets is impressive. I have pulled small pieces from over 6” which is outstanding. Pinpointing is a breeze with this coil due to its narrow profile.

You can probably gauge that my mate and I are pretty impressed with this coil. It has made detecting trips to to old haunts a pleasant experience as we can generally come home with some yellow in the rattle jar. There has been many “wow” moments over the past month or so. When we run both coils over a target, that word tends to be my mates “go to“ comment. To pick up a sweet little signal on the 10x5 and have the standard coil give absolutely no response at all blows us away. It has happened on such a regular basis that we are no longer surprised by it. We have found incredibly small pieces with the standard coil but the Coiltek coil finds the micro bits deeper than what the 11” coil can hear. Last week I went out to an old spot that I’d run all my detectors over In the past. Even the 6000 with the standard coil was used in this particular area. Had a great day pulling tiny bits out of the ground.
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The negatives of this coil are what you would expect. It will occasionally false signal on wet or highly mineralised ground and it loves hot rocks to bits. I suppose this is the price you pay for sensitivity.

My detecting mate has been so impressed with this coil that he went out and bought one a couple of days ago. Thumbs up to Coiltek. You have produced a winner here.
cheers

Les
 
Good write up Les, very much appreciate time and effort spent.

PS I have wandered has your 6000 and your mates 6000 been affected by the speaker EMI mod?
I will be looking at a 6000 in the new year.

Cheers, Pro-oz.
 
Thanks Mackka. Pro-Oz, we both use headphones so it doesn’t impact on us. I did use the machine for a while without headphones the other day and it drove me insane. Thinking of sending it back for the upgrade. I use the speaker when filming a clip so that people can hear what I’m listening to but that sounds shocking as well.
 
Good review Les. Had mine since early September and they are a great coil.
I still reckon the 11 inch is just as sensitive though it does tend to pick up a lot more emi hence the tendency to miss small targets.
I took my 11 inch out yesterday and with the cloudy weather it was very chattery.
I did get one micro bit at a couple of inches and a bigger 0.8 bit not far away.
I'm going back to the same spot soon with the Goldhawk to see if I missed anything.
 

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Can we purchase scales that read down to 0.0000 grams? Pretty sad state of affairs really.
My thoughts exactly! There's no point taking digging targets all day to get several bits that only total say 0.3g. When the fuel costs more than you find - what's the point?
Just about every park in Aus will produce more gold ($1 & $2 coins) with an Equinox in half the time.
Sometimes it just makes sense to move on & find a more productive spot, I think 3 to 500 bits to an ounce belongs in a pan!
 
You are right about that but there is also another way of looking at it. It’s quite easy to spend a couple of grand a year playing golf. When I used to play, occasionally I’d win a chook on a Friday afternoon in the comp. I think it may have been cheaper to buy the whole chicken farm…… I chase gold for the whole experience. A bit of exercise, the peaceful solitude of being in the bush and the thrill of the hunt are the reasons why I like this hobby. Petrol money is not considered when I go out. It’s just a part of the expense incurred to allow the activity to take place. If I wanted to make money from gold, I would move locations, buy a lease and work hard. I am pleased that you raised this point and there will be a lot of people who agree with you. Thank you for doing so. It would be an interesting topic in itself as to why we chase gold and what our expectations are.
 
You are right about that but there is also another way of looking at it. It’s quite easy to spend a couple of grand a year playing golf. When I used to play, occasionally I’d win a chook on a Friday afternoon in the comp. I think it may have been cheaper to buy the whole chicken farm…… I chase gold for the whole experience. A bit of exercise, the peaceful solitude of being in the bush and the thrill of the hunt are the reasons why I like this hobby. Petrol money is not considered when I go out. It’s just a part of the expense incurred to allow the activity to take place. If I wanted to make money from gold, I would move locations, buy a lease and work hard. I am pleased that you raised this point and there will be a lot of people who agree with you. Thank you for doing so. It would be an interesting topic in itself as to why we chase gold and what our expectations are.
I understand it's a hobby not a job, I've found many bits sub 0.1g and gold in the scoop always produces a sense of pride and like many I've been guilty of hanging around too long on those spots in the past and I don't discount the future too as it's hard to walk away (you can always come back), but a lump of gold in the hand produces a sense of awe, doesn't taste as good as 🐔 though 😋.
 
My thoughts exactly! There's no point taking digging targets all day to get several bits that only total say 0.3g. When the fuel costs more than you find - what's the point?
Just about every park in Aus will produce more gold ($1 & $2 coins) with an Equinox in half the time.
Sometimes it just makes sense to move on & find a more productive spot, I think 3 to 500 bits to an ounce belongs in a pan!

I know blokes who've spent many 10s of thousands on a boat, another 10 on the accessories and they come home with a flathead and a few whiting and to top it off both the bloke and the boat smell like a dead fish. I'm happy to find a bit of colour.

Today's gold.jpg

For that bit of dust I ran a CAT 928F loader and a Honda driven dryblower but it beat sitting in front of the TV for the same amount of time. If been asked "Is it worth it", it is to me :)
 
I know blokes who've spent many 10s of thousands on a boat, another 10 on the accessories and they come home with a flathead and a few whiting and to top it off both the bloke and the boat smell like a dead fish. I'm happy to find a bit of colour.

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For that bit of dust I ran a CAT 928F loader and a Honda driven dryblower but it beat sitting in front of the TV for the same amount of time. If been asked "Is it worth it", it is to me :)
Ahh yes the boat (bring out another thousand) been there done that! Lots of fishing ending with eating lots of chicken 😁 and if you did catch a load of fish it's illegal to sell them and you have to throw the tiddlers back, unlike gold where the tiddlers go in the catch jar and you can sell as much as you can find. No question which is the preferred hobby for me, it's not always about just finding gold as you always see things you wouldn't have in front of the television.
 
Been there and still doing that. I sometimes wonder if the fishing gets in the way of the prospecting or the prospecting gets in the way of the fishing…. At least I can say that I built my own boat. The main thing is that we are out there, being active and having a ball. What else could we wish for? That collection of yellow looks pretty Phil. I can feel the nervous shakes starting again.
 
On Sunday my wife and I went out for a morning session. Came back with a nice box of flathead. That afternoon I snuck out for a swing for a couple of hours and came home with a small rattle jar of gold. My grandkids and some of the family ate the fish last night. I honestly can’t complain about days like that.
 
On Sunday my wife and I went out for a morning session. Came back with a nice box of flathead. That afternoon I snuck out for a swing for a couple of hours and came home with a small rattle jar of gold. My grandkids and some of the family ate the fish last night. I honestly can’t complain about days like that.
Didn't share the gold then🤣
 
Well not all of us do it for money. Or trying to make a fortune. A big lump would be good for a doorstep though.
I do it for my mental health mostly.
I work part-time and get out to the quiet of the bush for peace.
Lost my best mate this year and found out last night another great mate of mine passed from cancer.
I spoke with him at my best mates funeral and he was realistic at what was going to happen to him.
Now he is gone and I'm waiting for the funeral details.
In the end just do whatever makes you content.
Time passes and eventually we all go.
I'm ok at the moment sitting in the bush having some lunch between detecting.
It's a beautiful sunny day and I'm grateful for all that I have.
Peacefully enjoying my environment.
 

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